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| MARCH 20, 2012 |
| New-look Compass Directions |
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Thank you for your feedback. We like the kind words and helpful advice! If you haven't noticed this already, it's better to select the 'Online' version of the newsletter for navigation, which you can do when prompted at the top of the screen. We've also noticed some occasional formatting or layout glitches that seem to strike different computers randomly, so apologise in advance if your line breaks appear mangled, and will persevere with solutions to this.
We might not have finished redesigning Compass Directions yet, so keep an eye out for further changes...
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| UPCOMING ACTIVITIES |
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Sir Joseph Banks HS
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Tuesday 20 March Year 7 campus visit
Buses arrive 9.45 a.m.
Buses depart 1.00 p.m.
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Staff meeting at Yagoona PS
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Tuesday 20 March Compass staff to attend
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Staff meeting at Athelstane PS
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Wednesday 21 March Compass staff to attend
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Condell Park PS
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Wednesday 28 March Compass staff to attend
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Westfields Sports HS
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Wednesday 9 May Compass staff to attend
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Year 3 Introduction to University
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Wednesday 2 March
Time: 9.30 am - 2.00 pm
Program: TBC, but see below for example.
Over 600 year 3 students from our Compass partner primary schools will visit the University of Sydney to participate in the Compass annual Year 3 Introduction to University Day.
Students will be treated to a number of activities hosted by many of the University faculties. Activities will be hands-on and span a range of areas including art, science, social sciences and archaeology. Science toys, geometric painting, hula hooping, x-rays, creepy crawlies, and strawberry DNA are just some of the things that students have explored in previous years!
Information packs will be mailed to schools later this week.
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Multilit (Word Up) Begins
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The Multilit program begins in Week 2 of Term 2
Monday 30 April - Friday 4 May
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| REMINDERS AND NOTICES |
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FP&E and Animation Consultation Meetings
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The following times have been confirmed for consultation meetings with Sylvia Utami and Jack McGrath:
Thursday 22 March
- Athelstane PS 10:00 AM
- Kogarah PS 11:30 AM
- Kogarah IEC 12:40 PM
- Bexley PS 2:00 PM
Friday 23 March
- Condell Park PS 10.00 AM
- Marrickville IEC 12.15 PM
- Marrickville HS 1:00 PM
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Seymour Centre Visits for May 2012
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BUBBLEWRAP AND BOXES (50 minutes, no interval)
Panania PS at 10:30 AM
Condell Park PS at 12:30 PM
Yagoona PS at 12.30 PM
Picnic Pt PS 10:30 AM
Revesby Sth 12:30 PM
THE GRUFFALO'S CHILD (55 minutes, no interval)
Marrickville West PS 10:00 AM
Bexley PS 10:00 AM
(Numbers to be confirmed)
BINDJAREB PINJARRA (100 minutes, no interval)
Marrickville West PS 10:30 AM
Wattawa PS 10.30 AM
Athelstane PS 10:30 AM
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| PROFESSIONAL LEARNING: FACULTY OF ENGINEERING & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES |
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Call for expressions of interest
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The Faculty of Engineering & Information Technologies is looking at offering a four-day professional development course at the end of Term 1 for high schools teaching the new Engineering Studies Stage 6 syllabus or teachers who wish to increase their skills in engineering studies.
If you would like to be involved in future professional learning in this area, please contact Victoria Loy.
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| CATCHING UP WITH PARENTS |
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Compass staff out and about
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In the last few weeks the Compass team has been busy visiting partner schools' staff and parent meetings, talking to teachers, principals and parents about Compass and some of the programs and activities taking place in 2012. In the last few weeks the Compass team has been busy visiting partner schools' staff and parent meetings, talking to teachers, principals and parents about Compass and some of the programs and activities taking place in 2012. Read the full story on the Compass website.We're always keen to share information about Compass and the University and to hear more about your schools and communities. If you are interested in having Compass representatives at your school Fair Day, Open Day, or P&C meeting, please complete the Compass online booking form and we'll be in touch. You can can also visit the University's Social Inclusion and Compass websites to find out more.
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| PROFESSIONAL LEARNING CALENDAR 2012 |
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Game Sense
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Friday 30 March
Game Sense
For PDHPE teachers
- NSWIT endorsed professional development for maintenance of
accreditation at Professional Competence.
- Practical classes in the sports of hockey, athletics, football, softball,
touch football and lacrosse by international and national practitioners.
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Conversations about literary texts – module 1
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Oct 17, 24, 31 & Nov 7, 14, 21
Conversations about literary texts – module 1 Blended mode – 12 hours face-to-face at Homebush Boys High School + 8 hours reading/online activities
NSWIT Course Code C08360.
- Teaching grammar in primary school and middle years.
- The teaching of literary texts as the context in which grammar is taught to support meaning.
- Details and dates TBA
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Reading and writing for the middle years – module 1
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Reading and writing for the middle years – module 1
10 hours face-to-face at Belmore South Public School Weeks 3–7
Day TBA 4–6pm
+ 10 hours reading/online activities
NSWIT Course Code TBA.
This module will enable teachers to:
- Articulate the reading and writing skills and understandings required by students to access content and achieve syllabus outcomes in their subject areas
- Expand and enhance the teaching of the reading and writing required for learning in their subject areas, and
- Use a range of strategies to support and develop students' reading and writing skills.
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Children's literature
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TERM 2
Children's Literature Module 1
10 hours face-to-face at hub school + 10 hours reading/online activities
NSWIT Course Code TBA.
This module examines the critical role that literature can and should play in the lives and imaginations of young children and adolescents (K–12); the importance of children's personal, aesthetic and socially critical responses to literary texts; and the role of literary texts in developing particular kinds of literacy practices. In this module we will explore a range of questions including:
- What are the characteristics of quality literary texts?
- What are the practical and theoretical issues surrounding the use of literary texts (picture books, novels, short stories, poetry) for children and adolescents in today's primary and secondary classrooms?
- How does new media impact on narrative?
This module will involve discussion of participants' wide and close reading of a range of children's literature and of the recent theory and research relating the characteristics of such texts to the classroom practicalities of literacy pedagogy.
Blended mode in-school session outline
Session 1: The role of the arts in learning and literature as an art form
Session 2: Choosing quality literary texts for the classroom
Session 3: Responding to literature
Session 4: Literature and the Australian Curriculum
Session 5: Exploring visual literacy through picture books
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Mentoring - Module 1
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Mentoring - Module 1
Available all Term 4 2011 – Opens Week 1
NSWIT Course Code C08579
This course is designed to meet the needs of teachers who are involved in mentoring and all teachers interested in professional development related to mentoring, teacher induction and teacher accreditation issues.
The course will include:
- a critical overview of the research in the areas of professional development, mentoring and teacher induction
- a study of key issues related to the concept of mentoring and teacher induction identified through the review of literature
- analysis of the current developments around standards of professional practice
- opportunities for individuals to discuss and investigate specific mentoring issues and develop mentoring skill.
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Dr Michael Ungar, ‘Resilience in the Middle Years’
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1 – 2 November
Dr Michael Ungar, ‘Resilience in the Middle Years’
Michael Ungar is a University Research Professor and Professor at the School of Social Work at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. As the Director of the Resilience Research Centre, he currently leads a number of studies of resilience involving researchers from more than a dozen countries on six continents.
He is also the author of eight books including:
- Strengths-Based Counseling with At-Risk Youth
- We Generation: Raising Socially Responsible Kids
- Playing at Being Bad: The Hidden Resilience of Troubled Teens, and
- Too Safe for Their Own Good: How Risk and Responsibility Help Teens Thrive.
See future Compass Directions for more information.
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| COMPASS |
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| MUMS, DADS, AND MUMMIES |
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Almost 100 parents and children joined Compass and staff from across the university for a fun day of activities at the University on Sunday.
What did parents think?
- "A very impressive day"
- "It will certainly make a difference for my child in the future"
- “The activities were fun and engaging”
Almost 100 parents and children joined Compass and staff from across the university for a fun day of activities at the University on Sunday. Families from Panania PS, Kogarah PS, Revesby South PS Bexley, Sir Joseph Banks HS and Westfields Sports HS enjoyed a talk, a tour of the campus, and the arresting antiquities of the Nicholson Museum! In the afternoon the kids made some fantastic badges with our helpers from the Sydney College of the Arts, built earthquake-proof structures and boats with students from the Faculty of Engineering, and watched a glass-blowing demonstration. What did parents think?
- "A very impressive day"
- "It will certainly make a difference for my child in the future"
- “The activities were fun and engaging”
Thank you to all the staff from across the university, and the student ambassadors, who came in to help out on a Sunday, and thank you to all our partner schools for putting the word out to the school community. Look out for photos from the day to be posted to our website. We hope that your parents enjoyed themselves, and we look forward to the rest of the parents visits throughout the year! |
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| MUSICA VIVA: PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES |
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Music, drama, and PDHPE teachers may be interested in these professional learning courses from Musica Viva.
Dates:
Song Safari: Thursday 21 June 8.45am – 3pm
Rhythm Safari: Wednesday 8 August 8.45am – 3pm
Sound Safari: Thursday 30 August 8.45am – 3pm
Cost: $240
You can register for these workshops via the Compass website.
The VIVAZONE is a fun, animated site with a swinging soundtrack and classroom resources, including a teacher's resource page.
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| NEW RESOURCES FOR CAREERS ADVISERS |
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The Student Recruitment Unit at the University has just launched a new website which Careers Advisers might find useful.
In particular, the 'Talk To Our Students' pages feature brief interviews with students from a variety of backgrounds who've all taken different paths to university.
- The students give real-life advice about scholarships, degree choice, HSC support, specific programs and successful study that your students will find engaging and helpful.
- Your students can ask the Uni students questions via email for even more detailed information.
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| MACLEAY MUSEUM'S CORAL EXHIBIT & SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAM |
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If your students visited the Nicholson Museum last year, how about the Macleay Museum this year?
Coral: art science life
Examining the boundaries of our concern for the coral reefs that sustain life on the east coast of Australia, this exhibition will include contributions from artists, scientists from The University of Sydney and Torres Strait Islander schools.
Children of all ages are invited to build a coral creature at the Macleay Museum exhibition, with inspiration from the work of professional artists exhibiting in the museum’s current show Coral: Art Science Life. Craft activities for kids aged four and up will teach them to make leather corals, sea fans and spiny urchins. This activity is free and runs for the duration of the exhibition Coral: Art Science Life until September 1.
Macleay Museum
Coral: art science life
Examining the boundaries of our concern for the coral reefs that sustain life on the east coast of Australia, this exhibition will include contributions from artists, scientists from The University of Sydney and Torres Strait Islander schools.
Children of all ages are invited to build a coral creature at the Macleay Museum exhibition, with inspiration from the work of professional artists exhibiting in the museum’s current show Coral: Art Science Life. Craft activities for kids aged four and up will teach them to make leather corals, sea fans and spiny urchins. This activity is free and runs for the duration of the exhibition Coral: Art Science Life until September 1.Open Monday to Friday 10am – 4.30pm and the first Saturday of every month from 12 – 4pm.
Where: Macleay Museum, Gosper Lane, off Science Road, University of Sydney
Cost: Free
FREE SCHOOL HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES IN APRIL
Wednesday 11 April, 10am-4pm
UNDER THE SEA IN THE MACLEAY
Arts and craft activities throughout the day as you help us build a coral reef.
Friday 13 April, 10am-4pm
ANCIENT GREEK MYTHS IN THE NICHOLSON
Arts and craft activities throughout the day, Greek myth storytelling and a chance to handle genuine ancient archaeological artefacts from Athens and Sparta.
Thursday 19 April, 4-6pm
FILM NIGHT IN THE NICHOLSON: JASON & THE ARGONAUTS
A free screening of the 1961 family film Jason and the Argonauts surrounded by ancient artefacts.
Bring a cushion!
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| USEFUL LINKS |
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