[Offtopic] Fwd: edna-for-schools newsletter

Sat Aug 11 02:01:04 EST 2007

At 04:06 PM 10/08/2007, EdNA for Schools wrote:

edna-for-schools is an edna newsletter published fortnightly during the 
Australian school year. The newsletter calendar is available at 
http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/schooled/schools_news/pid/210 

Newsletter theme: Reading

Within the edna database is a category of resources related to teaching 
and learning about this fortnight's theme.

Alphabet
http://url.edna.edu.au/fGuz 

Interactive books
http://url.edna.edu.au/SUZp 

Language Theory
http://url.edna.edu.au/8npt 

Mass Media
http://url.edna.edu.au/Ev3j 

Online literacy games
http://url.edna.edu.au/ZFMj 

Phonics
http://url.edna.edu.au/8TfX 

Reading and Viewing
http://url.edna.edu.au/6bgV 

Speaking and Listening
http://url.edna.edu.au/JQPH 

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Diary dates

International Home Movie Day, 11 August 2007
http://url.edna.edu.au/ZXBP 

International Youth Day, 12 August 2007
http://url.edna.edu.au/FVbc 

Obon, 15 August 2007
http://url.edna.edu.au/seRE 

Children's Book Week, 18 August 2007
http://url.edna.edu.au/58GN 

National Science Week, 18 August 2007
http://url.edna.edu.au/rEAk 

Vietnam Veterans' Day, 18 August 2007
http://url.edna.edu.au/abvW 

Keep Australia Beautiful Week, 27 August 2007
http://url.edna.edu.au/kkWM 

MS readathon - Sponsorship Due, 31 August 2007
http://url.edna.edu.au/meMH 
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Conferences and events in Australia

Spaces and Places - for learning, Melbourne, 17 September 2007
http://url.edna.edu.au/Unyf 

Digital Futures - on managing information, records and archives, Canberra, 
18 September 2007
http://url.edna.edu.au/wJ7Y 

Come and play outside, Perth, 28 September 2007
http://url.edna.edu.au/bZn8 

View all conferences and events listed with edna:
http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/events 

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KLA focus - Science

Antarctic Science
http://url.edna.edu.au/PKt2 

Living together
http://url.edna.edu.au/BSSv 

Biodiversity, Change and Continuity
http://url.edna.edu.au/exkG 

Polar Regions
http://url.edna.edu.au/Fvsp 
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Getting to know edna

Book Week 2007 Theme Page
http://url.edna.edu.au/r536 
Book Week is a week to highlight and promote the fun and learning 
associated with reading books for children.

Antarctica Theme Page
http://url.edna.edu.au/KGAK  
As it is the International Polar Year plus the theme for Science Week is 
Antarctic Science this theme page may provide some useful resources, 
lesson plans, learning quests and images. 
__________________________________________________________

Opportunities

The National Education Directory of Australia
http://www.education.net.au 
The National Education Directory (Neda) and has been a proud sponsor of 
the edna Schools Calendar in 2006 & 2007. Neda is the largest and most 
comprehensive guide to all the government and private schools and 
educational facilities available in Australia. The Education Directory 
provides parents and students, locally, interstate and internationally, an 
easy way to find the right school and/or education facility according to 
type and location suitable for them. Neda is dedicated in providing 
effective communication for the education sector and has a proven track 
record in improving enrolment and course enquiries for individual 
facilities. For further information contact Mr Peter Price JP, Director of 
Neda at: peter at education.net.au 

The National Young Leaders' Days
http://www.halogenfoundation.org/eventlist.asp 
The National Young Leaders' Days have become one of the largest and most 
significant student leadership events in Australia. Students attend from 
government, Catholic and Independent schools. Participants in the events 
learn from other inspirational leaders from all walks of life who choose 
to share their talent to help others. The following dates are when the 
Young Leaders Days will be held in capital cities later this year:
Brisbane Monday, 5th November 2007; Melbourne Wednesday, 7th November 
2007; Adelaide Monday, 12th November 2007; Perth Tuesday, 13th November 
2007; Sydney Monday, 26th November 2007.
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Featured sites

Film Australia Update
http://www.filmaust.com.au/learning/ 
If you were to name 15 objects that defined Australian identity, what 
would they be? Join cartoonist Warren Brown online as he discovers 
sometimes-forgotten national treasures that reveal who we are and where 
we've been as a country. This entertaining and engaging interactive 
website features video portraits of the treasures along with an interview 
with Warren and a gallery of his cartoons as well as elearning activities 
and a curriculum guide for teachers with lesson plans and classroom 
worksheets. These treasures include the Endeavour Journal, The Magic 
Pudding Illustrations and the Waltzing Matilda Songsheet. 

Go to http://www.filmaust.com.au/learning/ and click on the Investigating 
National Treasures icon at the foot of the page.
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Government Education Portal news updates 
http://www.education.gov.au/ 
Keep up-to-date quickly and easily by subscribing to the Government 
Education Portal email news update service. Receive a weekly email alert 
of the top education and training news headlines, compiled from each 
sector around Australia. Find out about government policies, reports, 
initiatives and programmes, in addition to opportunities for awards, 
grants and funding. Visit the Education Portal and subscribe at 
http://www.education.gov.au.
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Network ten - ttn next week 14 August 2007 
http://ten.com.au/ten/search-results.html?search-text=ttn 
Three up and coming bands including Operator Please, Skybombers and Oh 
Mercy will play for schools around the country to raise awareness of the 
importance of music education as a part of the 2007 Rock the Schools Tour. 
Matt catches up with the Skybombers to see how they got involved in the 
tour. The outbreak of the disease in England is causing widespread 
concern. Amelia chats to a livestock science expert to find out what 
causes the disease and how it spreads.
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EnhanceTV - Hating Alison Ashley free study guide 
http://url.edna.edu.au/wDFq 
This study guide will provide a range of tools to help Middle Years 
teachers and students to explore and to compare and contrast the book with 
the film version of Hating Alison Ashley. In particular, activities in the 
guide will assist students in becoming familiar with the codes and 
conventions of film and to appreciate that the adaptation of a book to 
film is not merely a simple transfer of ideas from one medium to another.
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NetAlert
http://www.netalert.net.au 
The NetAlert site is currently being redeveloped under the Protecting 
Australian Families Online programme, announced recently by the Hon. 
Senator Helen Coonan. This new initiative will give families the tools 
they need to manage their internet experience, as well as tough new 
policing and enforcement measures. NetAlert will be the providers of PC 
based filtering software or an ISP filtered internet service. Both options 
will filter web content against the Australian Communications and Media 
Authority (ACMA) Blacklist, but family's will be able to tailor their own 
individual preferences. The new site is scheduled for launch on the 20 
August 2007. 
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Schooldays' Schools Prospectus Awards 
http://www.schooldays.net.au 

The Schooldays' Schools Prospectus Awards which attract entries from all 
over Australia and internationally and the Awards were presented at the 
Education Expo in Sydney on 23 June 2007. "This year we were delighted to 
see an even higher standard of prospectus entered into the Awards from all 
the entrants, however it did make judging more challenging", said 
Elizabeth Christie, Publisher of Education Today & Schooldays for Parents 
magazines. "A schools prospectus is a vital initial communication to 
prospective parents and their children whether given to families at 
initial enquiry stage or after a school visit. The competition is open to 
all government and non-government schools.", Elizabeth said.

We congratulate the winners:

Gold: Mentone Girls' Grammar, Victoria
Silver: The Armidale School, NSW
Bronze: Clayfield College, Queensland
The Hills Grammar School, NSW
Wesley College, Melbourne, Victoria
Best Practical Content: Mount Evelyn Christian School, Victoria

International Category Winners:
Gold: The Leys, Cambridge, UK
Highly Commended: Springfield Convent School, Cape Town, South Africa

A special note of recognition goes to The Armidale School and The Leys for 
their excellent DVDs. Two former students from The Leys now living in 
Sydney attended the Awards.
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Global Education
http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au 
Global EdNet is a discussion group for the sharing of news, events and 
discussion of global education issues, resources and ideas. It is open to 
all teachers and others interested in the teaching of global education in 
Australian schools. 

>From Monday 13 - Friday 24 August 2007, Hazel Edwards - a well known 
Australian Author will be available for a discussion. In 2001 she 
travelled to the Casey Station as the Australian Antarctic expedition 
writer. Some of her writing inspired by this experience 
include 'Antarctica's Frozen Chosen', a Young Adult eco-
thriller, 'Antarctic Writer on Ice', her expedition diary, 'Antarctic 
Dad', a picture book, 'Grandma Leaps the Antarctic' , an Auslan-signed 
DVD, and Hot Ice Squad, a pre-school animation. She will introduce you to 
some more of her thoughts about Antarctica to help us think about our role 
in protecting the Polar Regions during the International Polar Year. 

To join the discussion group Send a blank email to: join-global-
ednet at edna.edu.au.  You will then receive an automatically generated email 
message asking you to confirm your subscription. This is to ensure that 
you can't be subscribed to the Global EdNet discussion group without your 
knowledge. Simply hit reply and send the email.

Further information about this forum can be found at 
http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/go//pid/119.

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Recently added resources 

Additions to School Education
http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/schooled/pid/17 
This feature at edna allows visitors to check what has been added to the 
edna repository recently. The link above relates to additions to the 
school education part of the repository. For additions to the whole 
repository use http://url.edna.edu.au/wfsU 

Australian sites 

Australian forests
http://www.australianforests.org.au/ 
The Australian Forests website is a national portal for forestry education 
in Australia. The website aims to provide students, educators and the 
general public with balanced and comprehensive information about 
Australia's native and planted forests. Sections of the site include: maps 
and facts, careers, educators, youth, kids.

The Cat on the Mat is Flat
http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/resources/AG-TheCatontheMatisFlat.pdf 
This website has teaching notes for the book written by Australian author, 
Andy Griffiths which are suitable for primary age students and include a 
comprehension, drama, art and writing activities.

International sites

Pasifika patterns
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/wick_ed/pasifika/patterns.php 
Learn about symmetry while creating a Pasifika mat. Students can use this 
interactive learning object to investigate the symmetry in tapa cloth from 
each of 5 Pacific islands. Rotational symmetry and reflection symmetry are 
demonstrated.

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Just for fun

Science by email 
http://www.csiro.com.au 

Your body contains about how many muscles: 300, 600, or 900?
Answer = about 600 

__________________________________________________________
edna is a joint initiative of the Australian Government and all State and 
Territory governments through their education departments, and is managed 
by education.au.

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--

Cheers all ..
Stephen Loosley
Victoria, Australia