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Meanjin End of Year Breakfast 2008
Saturday Half Day PD 25 October 2008 at Moreton Bay College Resources from Keynote:
Meanjin’s Term 4 Saturday Professional
Development was another resounding success for participants. This PD was a
repeat of the one held earlier in the year at Bremer, and as usual,
attracted a vibrant and enthusiastic group of teachers despite the
busyness of Term 4 schedules. Kev and Kay Bishop pulled together another
sensational speaker program, sourcing an interstate keynote and locally
skilled ICT teachers and educators. Thanks to Pat Edgar for organising the
catering and two trade displays. Two lucky members (one teacher and one
pre-service teacher) went home with wonderful prize packs kindly donated
by Sonya (Macmillian) and Pat (Logon Literacies). Special thanks to the
team from Moreton Bay College for hosting this event and for staying all
day to assist with the ICT demands. Your skill and expertise was certainly
appreciated by speakers and delegates alike. Last, but certainly not
least, thanks to Valmai Nolan for sorting the registration desk AGAIN!
Following another scrummy Meanjin morning
tea and a chance to debate the role and function of digital literacies in
classroom programs, participants could select from: a digital storytelling
workshop with Gayleen Jackson and Marianne Schubert; an introduction to
Kahootz (computer animation program) with Kev Bishop, or; Teaching Lockie
Leonard: An adventure in multi-literacies with Lindsay Williams. We
sincerely thank these outstanding presenters for giving of their time and
their teacherly knowledge for the betterment of the profession. Delegate
evaluations suggest participants acquired a plethora of ideas to take back
to the classroom. We know you’re going to explore these kernels and do
something amazing with them in the terms ahead.
Partnerships in Learning Conference, Saturday 6th September, 2008
Following a light
lunch, a Literacy Leadership panel was held. Three exceptional school
administrators, Richard Nash (previously of Seven Hills SS and recent
recipient of the Teaching Australia Best National Achievement for Teacher
Leadership 2008), Sue Giarola (Deputy Principal Gin Gin SS) and David
Mackinsh (Head of Junior School, Ipswich Grammar School), were introduced
by National Literacy & Numeracy Week Ambassador 2008, Dr Beryl Exley, who
is also the ALEA Queensland State Director. Richard, Sue and David shared
their strategies for effecting whole school literacy reform in their
context. This session was different in that it focused on the strategies
for empowering teachers to own the reform rather than on the ‘how to’ of
instruction. As always, You ALL
deserve our hearty THANKS!
Mrs Sandra Reid with newborn son, Jackson, being presented with books on behalf of ALEA by Ipswich Grammar School Prep students, Jonas Hughes and Declan Hohenhaus.
Saturday Half Day
PD (English) - 23 August 2008
Resources from EYPD at Raceview 5 August 2008
Meanjin Preservice
Teacher Stalls - UQ, Griffith University & QUT ALEA/AATE National
Conference - Adelaide July, 2008
Now is the time to make your commitment to the 2009 conference, to be held in Hobart. It’s during our school holidays too. Visit here for more details. The call for papers and conference registration have opened. Don’t get caught out with your dates: call for papers closes 14th January, 2009 and early bird registration ceases on 30th April, 2009. You can support our southern alliance by registering and paying as early as possible. Next year, a pre-conference workshop will be held on Thursday 9th July, followed by the conference proper from Thursday evening through until the evening of Sunday 12th July.
Annual
General Meeting – Wednesday 28 May, 2008 As is customary at
AGMs, all executive and committee positions were declared vacant, and
nominations were called and received for the position of President (David
Macknish), Vice-President/s (Anne Siemon & Kay Bishop), Treasurer (Kev
Bishop) and committee members (Keiran Abel, Shelley Ede, Beryl Exley,
Sincere and heartfelt thanks were offered to retiring Secretary, Shelley Ede (returning as committee member) and Eileen Honan. A special thanks was offered to Allan Henderson, our website manager and events administrator. A sumptuous meal and a few drops of wine were enjoyed by all in attendance.
DEEWR Literacy & Numeracy Summer School for Teachers A panoply of shrieks chorused through the air on the evening of Monday 19 May 2008 when two dozen DEEWR 2008 Literacy & Numeracy Summer School Teachers attended a reunion event hosted by Meanjin Brisbane Local Council of ALEA at the Kedron Wavell Services Club. The aim of this event was more than just a social gathering, for it was also semester prime time. It was to recognise the professionalism and dedication of this cohort, who bid their families farewell and gave of their time during the summer vacation to attend master classes focused on literacy and numeracy content and pedagogies, delivered by esteemed educationalists from around the world. On return to their schools, these teachers had to manage the seemingly impossible – everything they were already doing plus their six month research project that focused on one area of interest developed at the summer school. The reunion evening provided a forum for these teachers to touch base with those who were involved in their initial conversations, share successes and cast a critical and empathetic lens on the challenges. Five participants went home as lucky door prize winners of the ALEA publication, ‘The Best of Practically Primary’. Everyone else went home having embraced the spirit of the evening and affirmed in the knowledge that professional educators do make a difference.
Awarding of Lucky Door Prizes
DEEWR Summer Schools for Teachers – January 2008
These teachers represented all three sectors of schooling: EQ, Catholic Education and the ISQ and spent two full weeks in discussion with their counterparts from every other state in Australia.
Meanjin is committed to working with this group of quality professionals so that we all may benefit from their extended professional development. Stay tuned for updates on scheduled activities by ensuring you are added to our email list.
Saturday Half Day Professional Development On Saturday 8 March 2008, approximately 85 teachers (along with organisers, presenters and other helpers) gave up their time to attend a morning of Professional Development around Digital Literacies. After registration, all participants listened to Deb Cohen (ACTF) deliver the Keynote address. This was followed by two concurrent sessions - one delivered by Lindsay Williams discussing Lockie Leonard, and the other by Stacy Cottam on The Application of Digital Story Telling Using Comic Life.
All workshops were enthusiastically received and attended.
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Ah,
what a way to finish the year! Friends of Meanjin came together on Sunday
7th December, 2008, at a favourite haunt, Vine Restaurant, New Farm, to
consider the year that was (for only a few minutes) and to tell of plans
for R & R over the summer vacation. It was indeed a joy to spend time with
Meanjin colleagues who have also become firm friends. You don’t have to be
an active committee member to come along to this annual event – just a
passionate literacy teacher or educator who also loves someone else
cooking the breakfast and making the coffee! Consider this your invitation
to attend the 2009 breakfast.
Winter
is a busy time of year as all major Brisbane universities hold their
preservice teacher professional commitment events. Thanks to the able
assistance of committed Meanjin preservice teachers Dale Minchenton (QUT)
and Allan Richardson (Griffith University), Meanjin was able to hand out
membership and event information to over 600 students at UQ, QUT &
Griffith University. Meanjin warmly welcomes preservice teachers to all of
our PD events and actively encourages their attendance by offering reduced
price registration fees for most events. 
There
were four absolute highlights at the recent
Adelaide National Conference,
‘Stories, Places, Spaces’: [1] Seeing digital literacies used so
productively in a range of settings; [2] Professor Ilana’s Snyder’s
elequont keynote, ‘The Literacy Wars’. I appreciated her educational take
on the work of teachers vis-à-vis the Murdoch’s press’ interpretation; [3]
The launch of the ‘ALEA History Book’, compiled by Dr Nea Stewart-Dore.
This book will be posted to all members in August. It’ll raise many points
of discussion for you and your teachers, and; [4] Assoicate Professor
Karen Martin's workshop on Indigenous ways of learning.
Executive
and general members of Meanjin gathered to celebrate the year that was at
Thai Orchard, Mt Gravatt, on Wednesday 28 May, 2008. Meanjin President,
David Macknish, and Meanjin Treasurer, Kev Bishop, delivered their
reports, after which time David presented the hard working volunteer
executive with gift boxes containing beautifully engraved pens as a token
of our appreciation for their enormous and fruitful contribution to
Meanjin during 2007/2008. 
Helen
Cooper, Jann Scott & Pat Edgar). 
In
January of 2008, 61 talented and enthusiastic P-12 teachers from the
Meanjin area forfeited part of their summer vacation to attend the
inaugural DEEWR Literacy & Numeracy Summer Schools for Teachers at either
University of Wollongong (Sydney) or Edith Cowan University (Perth).
This
is the first time that such a dynamic mix has been brought together in
this way. Our Meanjin area teachers should all be congratulated for their
commitment to their profession and we very much look forward to learning
from their experiences and hearing of their findings from their individual
practice-based research projects. 
After
morning tea, the workshops presented were a continuation of the theme of
Digital Storytelling using Comic life, Using a Webcam and the
Associated Avatars to Help Create 'Personna' by Gayleen Jackson, and
Improving Literacy Skills using Kahootz by Kev Bishop.