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2025 CSSA Trial HSC Examinations – Expressions of Interest for Committee Member Roles (Ref: 209/24)
The Head of Assessment is seeking expressions of interest for the following position.
Committee Member for the following 2025 CSSA Trial HSC Examination:
- History Extension – with speciality in Ancient (Egypt)
The letter regarding the Expression of Interest requirements for the Committee Member role with the CSSA and the application process is found here.
Interested applicants are asked to send a Cover Letter and current Curriculum Vitae to Monica O’Brien, Head of Assessment here by 9am, Tuesday 10 September 2024.
Together for Humanity – Social Cohesion Webinars (Ref: 215/24)
Together For Humanity is an inclusive, not-for-profit educational organisation that works with school communities to combat prejudice and advance belonging and inclusion.
To register or find more information on the upcoming webinars, click here.
Topic: Culturally responsive strategies to foster belonging in the classroom
- Date: 27th August 2024, 5:30pm-6:30pm AEST
Topic: Effectively responding to racism and hurtful language
- Date: 3rd September 6-7pm AEST
Topic: Understanding extremism in young people
- Date: 10th September 2024 5:30pm-6:30pm AEST
Topic: Effectively Engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Families
- Date: 16th September 3:30pm-4:30pm AEST
Topic: Culturally Responsive Strategies to support Muslim students
- Date: 14th October 2024 5:30pm-6:30pm AEST
To learn more about Together For Humanity, click here.
Change to the HSC school-based assessment ACE rule (Ref: 208/24)
As noted by NESA, the ACE 2.1.2 rule change allows schools to develop assessment schedules to suit their school context.
Schools can continue to follow NESA’s assessment settings for the number, type, and weighting of each course, as provided in the course-specific Assessment and Examination information released with each syllabus.
Schools must notify NESA through Schools Online if they use this flexibility. This will involve completing an additional checkbox in Schools Online when Year 12 final assessment marks are submitted.
The new ACE rules come into effect on 14 October 2024.
Click here for more information.
Have your say: 7–10 Draft Syllabuses (Ref: 200/24)
Feedback on the following draft syllabuses closes very soon. Please encourage Subject Matter Experts in your schools and systems to have their say.
The surveys close on 9 September for:
- Child Studies 7–10
- Work Education 7–10
The surveys close on 23 September for:
- Design Innovation Technology 7–10 (previously known as Design and Technology 7–10)
- Industrial Technology 7–10
To complete the surveys, visit NESA’s syllabus consultations page here.
All feedback from the ‘Have your say’ period will be used to inform the development of the final syllabuses.
Any questions regarding the Curriculum Reform can be directed here to Joanne Hack.
Privacy, Complaints and Conducting Risk Assessments Webinar (Ref: 212/24)
Join us for a webinar on Privacy, complaints and risk assessments. Who should have access to employee records, and what information must be retained, and for how long? How do you effectively manage records across various formats?
Gain insights into privacy and confidentiality laws related to handling complaints. This webinar will provide an overview of records required to be kept and how personal information of employees may be used or disclosed.
📆 Wednesday 25 September 2024
🕗 10:30 – 11:30 am
🖥️ Online webinar
Register now here.
New Disability Standards for Education Resources for Students, Parents and Carers (Ref: 199/24)
The Australian Government Department of Education has published new information resources on the Disability Standards for Education 2005 (the Standards) for students with disabilities and their parents and caregivers. These resources were co-designed with people with disabilities with the help of Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA).
They can be found on the Department’s website here.
The five new resources include:
- Getting started – for culturally and linguistically diverse parents and caregivers new to disability and the Australian education system.
- How to advocate – helps school and tertiary students with disabilities to build self-advocacy skills and provides guidance on how to raise and resolve concerns with education providers.
- Steps to raise concerns and resolve a complaint with your school – supports parents and caregivers of students with disabilities to raise, escalate and resolve concerns with their school.
- A day at school – a video about the rights of students with disabilities at school and reasonable adjustments.
- Be a disability ally – a video exploring the rights of students with disabilities to join in with every part of school life and how to be an ally to students with disabilities.
The resources are available in English and Auslan. There are also versions in Easy Read and translated into Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Farsi, Hindi, Khmer, Korean and Vietnamese. The content of the new resources was created by students with disabilities and their parents and caregivers, with help from CYDA. Development was informed by consultation with a range of disability organisations and with input from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disabilities and people with disabilities from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Next steps
A resource aimed at supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students with disabilities and their parents and caregivers is currently in development.
For further information on these resources, please email here.
Colouring Competition - Win a school visit from PAW Patrol and your local fire station! (Ref: 214/24)
Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) alongside Nickelodeon’s PAW Patrol, is excited to announce a fun and educational colouring competition for Kindergarten and Year One students! The lucky winner will receive an unforgettable school visit from their local Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters and the PAW Patrol pups.
Educating and protecting children from the dangers and trauma of fires is crucial. Through participating in the competition, students will not only have the chance to win a fantastic prize but also gain valuable knowledge about fire safety.
How to Participate:
- Head to the BrigadeKids website here to download the colouring sheet and instructions.
- Once completed, upload your 5 best entries here and tell us in 25 words or less why you would like to have a Fire Safety demonstration with Fire and Rescue NSW and PAW Patrol characters visiting your school.
Entries close Friday 27 September 2024.
FRNSW is proud to partner with Nickelodeon and the beloved characters of PAW Patrol to share vital fire safety information in a memorable and fun way. As part of this collaboration, the PAW Patrol pups can be found helping our firefighters with Community Service announcements on Nickelodeon on channels 13 and 10 Play, fire safety tips for young children, and within the pages of our educational activity book. In addition, FRNSW offers a wealth of age-appropriate Fire Education resources available on the Brigade Kids website here. These resources include educator kits, lesson plans, and the option to book an in-person session with local firefighters.
We’d love for your school to get involved in this competition and explore our educational resources. Happy colouring!
CCSP Part-Time Administrative Operational Assistant (Ref: 211/24)
The Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT is seeking a part-time experienced and proactive Administrative Operational Assistant to deliver high quality administrative support that is necessary to the operations and management of the Secretariat team and Council.
About the Role
CCSP is looking for a mature minded, calm person with experience as a Personal Assistant/Administrative Operational Assistant and strong office management, administrative and computer skills to join our small team 2 days per week. In addition, you will be required to work one Thursday and Friday each term to support Council and Committee meetings.
The role of Administrative Operational Assistant is responsible for providing a varied and comprehensive range of high-level support functions for the Executive Director and the Secretariat. Drawing from your previous experience, you will be adept at coordinating a wide range of office procedures, providing executive support while ensuring administrative expectations are met in an efficient and professional manner.
Click here for more information on the position.
What We Offer
- Inner city Sydney location
- Salary range $85,488 pa – $94,327 pa pro rata plus employer’s contribution to superannuation and annual leave loading based on skills and experience.
- 4 weeks annual leave pro rata per year of service
- Great supportive team environment, with a constant learning focus
- Purposeful, challenging and value-driven work
How to Apply
Your application must include:
- Your resume
- A cover letter outlining your motivation to apply for this opportunity
- A statement addressing the Required Knowledge and Attributes listed below:
REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND ATTRIBUTES
- Advanced computer and desktop publishing skills (all Microsoft Office programs).
- Ability to organise workload, meet deadlines and work unsupervised, setting priorities planning and organising one’s own work and that of others to meet team objectives.
- Proven skills in organising and maintaining relevant documentation for meetings with experience in providing executive support to committees including the ability to draft documentation for senior executives.
- Ability to develop, implement and monitor office systems, schedules, procedures and methods, adapt processes and techniques as required, to facilitate efficient team operations in line with CCSP standards, policies and procedures.
- Strong understanding of and ability to create and maintain all CCSP social media platforms.
Please upload your cover letter and response to the requested knowledge and attributes as one PDF document not exceeding 4 pages (2000 words).
For specific position enquiries, please contact Cath Garrett-Jones on 0414186428 or via email here.
Closing date: 3 October 2024 at 11.59pm AEDT
Sun Protection at Your School (Ref: 213/24)
In Australia, up to 95% of melanomas are attributable to overexposure to UV radiation from the sun. If we protect our skin when the UV index is 3 or above, we reduce our risk. Schools can protect students and staff from skin cancer by:
- providing shaded learning and play areas
- influencing sun protection attitudes and behaviours
- acknowledging that UV protection is a duty of care issue and a WHS requirement
In addition to providing sun safe environments for children, it is important that all teachers and staff are aware of their own occupational UV exposure and protect themselves by using a combination of sun protection measures.
Please contact SunSmart NSW here if you would like more information or assistance.
They can offer:
- A meeting to help navigate our websites
- Assistance with shade or clothing questions
- Conversations about advocacy
- A webinar for interested schools or parent groups
Shade
Improving access to shade at school is one of the easiest ways to protect students and staff from overexposure to UV radiation. Good-quality shade can reduce UV exposure by up to 75%.
- Cancer Institute NSW has a range of info and tools available here.
- To learn more about planning shade in schools, click here.
- ‘Sun and UV at school’ videos found here.
- ‘Shade audit tool’ can be accessed here.
- ‘Guidelines to Shade’ can be accessed here.
- ‘Shade advocacy toolkit’ can be accessed here.
ShadeSmart Winners
In 2024, two school facilities projects won an Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) NSW ShadeSmart Award. In 2022, AILA launched the inaugural ShadeSmart Award in collaboration with the Cancer Institute NSW and the Cancer Council NSW as an initiative of the ShadeSmart program. To learn more about the program click here.
The winners demonstrated best practice in shade planning and design for UV protection effectiveness and thermal comfort. To learn more about the 2024 winners, click here.
Sun Safe Clothing
Students should wear uniforms that provide adequate coverage for sun protection at school and during sport. Research (found here) indicates that even small changes to school uniforms, such as slightly longer sleeves, dresses or shorts, may help reduce melanoma risk, especially in high-risk populations.
Cancer Council NSW’s SunSmart program’s policy guidance states that SunSmart clothing includes wearing:
- Loose fitting shirts and dresses with sleeves and collars or covered neckline.
- Longer style skirts, shorts, and trousers.
Midriff, crop, or singlet tops do not provide enough sun protection and therefore are not recommended. View the guide here.
No hat, play in the shade
In addition, a sun smart hat is a simple, effective way to protect the face, head, neck and ears from UV radiation. The ears, temples, lips and nose are among the most common parts of the body for skin cancers to develop. Learn more here.
For more information:
Now Open: 2024 Australian Principal Health & Wellbeing Survey (Ref: 203/24)
The Australian Principal Health & Wellbeing survey is now live. The survey aims to uncover the real but often hidden costs and benefits of changing policy initiatives such as the introduction of a national curriculum and changes to national testing and accountability requirements. All participants will receive a confidential, individualised report on their health and wellbeing status relative to others. The survey closes on 6 October 2024.
Responses are sought from:
- School Leaders and Principals
- Deputy/Vice/Acting Principals
- Retired or On-leave Principals
To complete the survey, click here.
Help Prepare for the 2025 Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey (Ref: 198/24)
How you can help
- Promote the survey: Before students leave school, inform them about their invitation to take part in the Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey between July and November 2025. Encourage their participation through channels such as school assembly or class announcements.
- Share the flyer with senior students (years 10-12).
- Include the flyer in your school newsletter and social media channels.
Example school newsletter article
We’ve prepared a draft article or social media post, which you can tailor to suit your school community’s needs.
Help us make a difference for future school leavers
Attention school leavers: In July 2025 you’ll receive an invitation to participate in the Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey. This is your chance to share your experiences and help shape those of future school leavers.
The survey will take 10 minutes to complete and will close in November 2025.
Once you complete the survey, you’ll go in the draw to win a $200 JB Hi-Fi voucher. Prizes are drawn for 10 weeks. The earlier you submit your response, the more chances you have of winning.
Why it’s important
This survey is a crucial way to get insights into the post-school pathways and experiences of our school leavers. It is the best way for us to focus attention on providing meaningful post-school pathways for students.
Feedback from past school leavers indicates that some were unaware of the survey before they received it. Some even thought it was spam.
For previous results and further insights, continue reading here.
We’re asking you to remind your students of this survey before they leave school, so they will know it is an official survey they can trust. Their feedback contributes to shaping the future of education and post-school transitions in NSW.
Nominate Now: NSW Women of the Year Awards 2025 (Ref: 206/24)
The NSW Women of the Year Awards recognise and celebrate women and girls who inspire us with their actions, whether they are ground-breaking thinkers, everyday heroes, social reformers or innovative role models. Anyone from the public can nominate, including self-nominations.
Nominations are now open for the following categories:
- Premier’s NSW Woman of Excellence Award
- NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year Award
- NSW Community Hero Award
- NSW Regional Woman of the Year Award
- NSW Young Woman of the Year Award (ages 16-30 years old)
- Ones to Watch (ages 7-15 years old)
Nominations close Sunday, 15 September 2024, at 11.59 pm.
For more information on each award category, click here.
The award winners will be announced at the NSW Women of the Year Awards ceremony on Thursday, 6 March 2025, as part of NSW Women’s Week.