 |
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
Meanjn End of Year Breakfast and Awards Celebration On Sunday 19 November, the friends of Meanjin gathered to celebrate our achievements throughout the year.
We also offered our thanks to outgoing Executive members, Dani Hayes, Elaine Felstead and Dorothy Byrnes. Between then they have amassed decades of service, with Dani and Elaine accepting appointments as President at various times. Finally, Meanjin Vice-President, Kay Bishop, extended thanks to Jann Scott and Helen Cooper for successfully coordinating another Meanjin Writers’ Camp in 2006. The 2006 venue at Brookfield was a hit with the camp attendees and we’re looking forward to seeing some of their work published on our website in the months ahead.
Early Years & Key
Teacher Professional Development This year, the Meanjin Key Teacher & Early Years PD focused on Functional Grammar in the Early Years (Level 1 & 2 Learning Outcomes). Full day PD sessions were held for members at five venues: Robina, Sunshine Coast, Kedron Wavell, Carindale & Ipswich. Sessions were presented by Dr Beryl Exley and David Green and included an overview of the English syllabus, an introduction to subject matter (participants, processes & circumstances), roles and relationships and mode and medium. Special thanks to Valmai Nolan from Morningside SS for assisting with group work at the Carindale venue where we had 60 enthusiastic participants. Feedback indicated that this was a completely new area of knowledge for most people and a great ‘brush up’ for some old hands. Teachers and HOCs who want to learn more should consider registering for our 9 module intensive functional grammar course in Semester 1, 2007, to be held at Ipswich Boys’ Grammar on selected Wednesday afternoons and at Caboolture SS on selected Tuesday afternoons. Registration details are available on the Meanjin website. MTA held a stall of resources at each venue, and we thank their co-sponsors, Learning Media, for the donation of prize packs for five lucky members. We’re going to continue the key teachers days in 2007, but will re-focus on the role of the key teacher and include an afternoon ‘bring and share’ session. More details will be faxed to all schools early in 2007.
We had another fantastic turn out for our Semester 2 half day PD, held at Cavendish Road SHS on Saturday 28 October, 2006. Our keynote speaker, Professor Claire Wyatt-Smith, Dean of Education at Griffith University, reviewed the findings from a DEST funded middle years literacy assessment project. Core findings included ‘front-ending’ assessment and making assessment criteria explicit to students increased the results of ‘at-risk’ students. After a sumptuous morning tea prepared by Meanjin members, Pat Edgar, a Meanjin Committee member, drew prizes donated by trade stall holders. Congratulations to the people who took home some very special prize packs. Thanks to our supporters, Sonia Evans (MacMillan), Trish Hart (Thomson Nelson), Leona Greer (McGraw Hill), Sharlene Coombs (Pearson Education) and Zara Herron (Learning Media) for holding stalls and donating prizes. The following workshops were held after morning tea:
National Literacy
& Numeracy Week, 2006 – Free Events for Members Nine free events were made available to ALEA institutional & individual members, resulting in 60 middle years girls being skilled up in designing personal webpages, 25 parents in attending workshops on internet safety in the home, and 225 teachers in reviewing the theory of 21st Century Literacies and being shown examples of teachers’ practice from around the world. Special thanks must go to our host schools and coordinating teachers for extending warm welcomes to students, parents & teachers from all schooling sectors and arranging venues and resources: Mrs Catherine Monz from St Ursula’s (Toowoomba); Ms Tess Fordham & Mrs Eleanor Nicholson from Canterbury College (Beenleigh); and Ms Anne Nunan from Morayfield SHS (Morayfield). All sessions were a resounding success!
National Literacy and Numeracy Week Last
week the staff at my high school was fortunate enough to participate in a
digital literacies workshop led by Dr Chris Walsh from Deakin University,
Victoria. Can I just tell you how positive and motivating his presentation
was?
National Conference Darwin 2006 Highlights in Darwin (by Sonya) Being an education student from QUT Brisbane, you could well imagine my excitement at the opportunity of attending my first National Literacy Conference!! And the fact that it was situated at such an exotic location was an added bonus!! I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it and felt like a sponge soaking up all the information, along with the exhilarating atmosphere. The people were just wonderful and very accepting. The speakers were professional, interesting and informative. I have no doubt I will be implementing all that I learnt into my future classrooms, making for a more enjoyable learning process. As for highlights… the need for literacy to be acknowledged in all its forms was well represented throughout the conference, and to learn that literacy is alive in the classroom from beginning to end, and not a separate entity, was the highlight of my trip away! The whole conference was an inspiration …….. I can’t wait for next years!!
Members of the Meanjin
Executive attend the ALEA National Council bookstall Reflections on Darwin (by Kay) The National Conference of AATE & ALEA, held in the tropical paradise of Darwin in winter, was undoubtedly a true success. Although Darwin is at the ‘top-end’ and many miles from our southern capitals, many delegates willingly travelled vast distances to avail themselves of a program that challenged both our practices and understandings of English and literacy teaching in the 21st century. No doubt there was the enticement of escaping the cold that added to the appeal, but the conference in itself was exciting. I was intrigued by the oppositions – a highly engaging, thought-provoking program in a laid-back, friendly and relaxed environment; world renowned academics and writers quite at home presenting in a typical Australian high school; and the unswerving commitment to embracing diversity in a strife-torn world. There was a very clear purpose to this conference and much to learn in Darwin. Although, as a participant, one can attend only a small selection of a vast array of offerings, I can only say that I was impressed by every session I attended. For me, the focus on Aboriginal learners left a lasting impact. The conference was more than a celebration of Aboriginal culture as it provided insights, in a way I have never experienced, into a world where people from different backgrounds work and succeed together. The conference not only offered a vast array of opportunities for educators to indulge their passions – whether it were reading, writing or speaking, but challenged us to think more about our purpose as teachers and educators of teachers. The tone of the conference was set by the engaging keynote of Dr Jeannie Herbert who confronted the reality of disadvantage and addressed the critical role that teachers must play in providing accessible and high quality learning for all students. Keynote speakers from across the globe, Hilary Janks (South Africa) Annette Patterson, Jeanne Gerlach (America),and writers Mem Fox, Gillian Rubenstein, Matthew Reilly and Jen McVeity, addressed a range of issues and perspectives and added to the richness of the program. The conference concluded with two challenging sessions - Kirsty Sword Gusmao, an Australian teacher and now First Lady of East Timor, told us of the immense hardship experienced in a country where war, poverty and abuse prevent access to the everyday conditions and opportunities we take for granted. The collection that resulted from her story was evidence of the impact of her words and of the generosity and compassion of those who listened. Finally, Rob Pope from the UK presented the Garth Boomer address and took the opportunity to challenge us with workshop that made us think! Rewriting texts is a complex notion, but confronting us with Freud in the dying hours of the conference somehow taxed our brains to the limit! The small team of conference organisers not only provided us with an intellectually challenging smorgasbord of offerings but also, in the hours before an after the formal proceedings, included a wonderful taste of Darwin’s hospitality. Movies and dinners under the stars, breakfast by the beach and entertainment provided by Ted Egan, the Administrator of the Northern Territory, kept us in a state of awe. Where else in the world would these things happen, we wondered. Congratulation to Jennie Rennie, John Sarev and the team - including those two students with a flair for comedy! You succeeded in providing a balance among global and national issues while informing us about the Territory. This was indeed, a memorable conference.
Saturday 29 April 2006, Half Day PD @ Ipswich Boys’ Grammar School
In an attempt to take our PD opportunities to more members, we accepted Ipswich Boys’ Grammar School’s invitation to hold our April half day PD at their Junior School Campus. Mr David Macknish, as Headmaster of Ipswich Boys’ Grammar Junior School, welcomed 80 attendees to the day’s events, which started with a trade display from MacMillan, Nelson Thomson, McGraw Hill, Pearson Education & Queensland Teachers’ Union Health. Mrs Kay Bishop, English Syllabus Implementations Officer with EQ, delivered the keynote, & in doing so, stimulated the audience to consider the trial English syllabus from alternative viewpoints. Attendees could then attend 3 out of 12 workshops, which included sessions on functional grammar, drama, poetry, moving images, documentation, prep matters & text clustering. We extend special thanks to Mrs Dani Hayes, Mrs Elaine Felstead & Mrs Dorothy Byrnes for providing a wonderful array of tantalising treats & nibbles for morning tea, & Ms Sonya Fox for catering for everyone’s needs with a awesome choice of hot & cold beverages. Many thanks to Mrs Pat Edgar for coordinating the trade display & organising for the provision of a wonderful set of prize raffles. Six of our members went home with fantastic prizes just for entering our free raffles. We must thank our sponsors, Ms Sonia Evans from MacMillan, Ms Trish Hart from Nelson Thomson, Ms Leona Greer from McGraw Hill, Ms Jackie McKay from Pearson Education & Mr Bill Harrison from Queensland Teachers’ Union Health for setting up displays & providing prizes on the day. Mrs Helen Cooper & Mrs Jann Scott also provided a Writers’ Camp display to promote the 26th annual event, to be held in November this year. As usual, Dr Robyn Henderson, Mrs Valmai Nolan & Mrs Anne Siemon did a fantastic job coordinating the registration desk. We also thank our administration officer, Allan Henderson for all the promotional work, receipting registrations, & answering the plethora of questions that arise when we undertake activities of this ilk. Thanks too to Ms Monica Nolan for attending to the AV requirements across a number of rooms. Then finally there is the committee to thank for stuffing the sample bags & hosting the workshop sessions. From your evaluations, it would seem that you find these days to be highly beneficial, well priced, & as one attendee put it, ‘chicken soup for my professional development’. I think she meant it was ‘warm’ & ‘hearty’ – that’s good!! As a few have requested some changes, our 28th October PD at Cavendish Rd SHS, Holland Park, will run slightly longer workshop sessions, & include a 10 minute toilet or talk break between workshops. We’re still going to keep the special members’ price at $50 per person. The keynote will be delivered by Professor Claire Wyatt-Smith from Griffith University & focus on literacy & assessment. Workshops will include the return of the ever-popular functional grammar topics, multiliteracies in the early years & resourcing literacies in the middle years. More information.
Meanjin Local Council Celebrates 25th Annual Writers Camp
|
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
Our
first task was to pay tribute to David Green for his 25 years service to
Meanjin Local Council of ALEA. David was Meanjin Secretary/Assistant
Secretary for over ten years, involved in the hugely popular Meanjin
Writers’ Camp for 21 years, and a writer and reviewer for ALEA’s
publication ‘Practically Primary’ for three years. Since 2000 he has
hosted the Key Teacher days at Kedron/Wavell and is currently presenting
an intensive functional grammar PD for Meanjin members. David has also
been a regular conference presenter over the last quarter of a century and
in 2005 was co-chair of the sponsorship committee, helping to net $40 000
in support for our national conference on the Gold Coast. He has made an
enormous contribution to Meanjin and has worked tirelessly for the aims of
our association. David was recommended for the ALEA Special Services Award
by Elaine Felstead, a long term Meanjin Executive member, and it was
approved by Nikki King, State Director of ALEA Qld. 
With
the support of a National Literacy & Numeracy Week grant past and present
camp students, teachers, authors, coordinators & Meanjin executive members
came together, both physically and virtually, to acknowledge all that
Meanjin has achieved as it celebrates its 25th Annual Writers’ Camp this
year. Two of the evening’s highlights were the readings of past
students’
works by professional storyteller Daryll Bellingham & the presentation of
teaching champion awards. All in attendance were treated to Daryll’s
passionate delivery of poetry by Thomas Hatch (Winter’s Prayer) and Ruby
Williams (Why?), a short story by Nyssa Coombes (I’m Sorry) and the
inaugural public performance of the opening chapter of
Five teachers were nominated by their students as being the teacher who
most positively impacted upon their writing achievements. These teachers
were presented with certificates and flowers for the many decades of
inspiration and encouragement they have provided to literally hundreds
upon hundreds of students. We congratulate Pamela Bauer, Cheryl
Andrews,
Laurel Featherstone, Libby Weir & our own Helen Cooper (Meanjin Writers’
Camp Coordinator & executive member). To be in a profession where we can
make a difference to children’s lives is a wonderful thing; to be singled
out as the one who has made the most difference means that these people
really are ‘Teaching Champions’. Many thanks also to David Green (Meanjin
executive member, past camp teacher & bus driver) for taking on the MC
duties, to Sharon Millman from Queensland Teachers’ Health Union for
donating three fabulous gift baskets and to Dani Hayes, Meanjin President,
for hosting the evening.
