Teachers' Toolkit Header

May 2008 Edition

Welcome to Issue 12 of the Teachers Toolkit e-newsletter. With May soon to become June, soon to become mid-year, we thought that we would provide you with another good serving of extra ideas to help you through the cooler months.

All this is ahead of Issue 11 of Teachers Toolkit magazine, due to arrive at your school in mid-June. We have redesigned the magazine, giving it a freshen-up and new coat of paint so watch out for Planet Arks ambassador Jamie Durie on the cover.

Teachers' Toolkit

In this e-newsletter you will find:

Faster and greater access to Teachers Toolkit

Remember to log onto www.teacherstoolkit.net.au where you will be able to download every part of every issue of the magazine. Youll also be able to access previous e-newsletters, find additional lesson plans and explore various resource links. Encourage your colleagues to register online to receive the additional support provided in the e-newsletters, and to be eligible for the regular giveaways.

Special and significant days

We acknowledge the use of the resource-rich EDNA Australian Schools Calendar website, where you will find many other events to enjoy and celebrate with your students: EDNA

Nim's Island – Wendy Orr

Thanks to Allen & Unwin for providing copies of Wendy Orrs book Nims Island, upon which the movie starring Jodie Foster was based. Congratulations to the following lucky recipients:

  • Glenn Mugavin (Vic)
    		•
  • Sue Matene (SA)
    		•
  • Donna Reard (NSW)
    		•
  • Sam Tyndall (Vic)
    		•
  • Jennifer Nelson (SA)
    		•
  • Liz Marinos (NSW)
    		•
  • Athena Warren (Vic)
    		•
  • Adele Williams (Qld)
    		•
  • Rae Hyde (WA)
    		•
  • Prue Noble (Vic)
    		•
  • Lindy Maddock (NT)
    		•
  • Judy Trewarn (Tas)
    		•

    Pan Macmillan giveaways

    Congratulations to all the teachers who were the lucky recipients of the giveaways from Issue 10 of the magazine. Copies of one of the following titles:

    Eric & Einstein
    The Cat on the Mat is Flat
    The Gypsy Crown

    were sent to:

  • Karen Cossins (ACT)
    		•
  • Jennifer Nelson (SA)
    		•
  • Andrew Gilbert (NSW)
    		•
  • Janet Hanratty (ACT)
    		•
  • Jo Guthrie (SA)
    		•
  • Francine Borg (NSW)
    		•
  • Josephine Corrigan (ACT)
    		•
  • Jo Bevan (SA)
    		•
  • Anne Chetcuti (NSW)
    		•
  • Brigida dal Santo (Vic)
    		•
  • Judith Murray (Qld)
    		•
  • Cathryn Voak (WA)
    		•
  • Glenn Mugavin (Vic)
    		•
  • Fran Cooper (Qld)
    		•
  • Corie Lobwein (WA)
    		•
  • Sam Tyndall (Vic)
    		•
  • Jenny Bullock (Qld)
    		•
  • Marilyn Murray (Tas)
    		•
  • Wendy Morgan (Vic)
    		•
  • Theresia Gawa (NT)
    		•
  • Judy Trewarn (Tas)
    		•

    New Kids' Books in Oz

    Have you visited Chris Cheng’s new blog featuring the latest Australian children’s book releases? See New Kids’ Books in Oz to view the list.

    MacquarieNet: Australias leading online reference library offers schools a 30-day free trial!

    www.macquarienet.com.au

    Did you know that MacquarieNet is offering schools a 30-day full access free trial to use its online reference library? To sign up, contact MacquarieNet by email (support@macquarieonline.com.au) and you will receive your login details.
    Individual teachers can register online for a free 7-day trial — it only takes a few minutes to receive your login details, enabling you to explore and research some truly amazing information.

    Les Murray to judge Macquarie Dictionary/MacquarieNet Poetry Competition

    MacquarieNet and Macquarie Dictionary are proud to give advance notice of their primary school Poetry Competition, which will be held during 2008 National Literacy and Numeracy Week (NLNW) and run from September to early December. Any student at a primary school can enter, but they or their school will need to have access to MacquarieNet: Australia’s Online Reference Library. The competition will be divided into Middle Primary and Upper Primary sections. Stay tuned!

    1000 Hour Day educational resource website for teachers

    The iiNet company has launched a great educational resource for teachers. The website provides lessons that can be downloaded by teachers to explain the science, geography, culture and mathematics behind the 1000 Hour Day expedition to Victoria Island in the Arctic Circle. Teachers will find 37 lessons, complete with background notes, outcomes, supplementary material and activities, linked into the eight key learning areas relevant to various state curricula. iiNet 1000 Hour Day Teaching Materials.

    World Environment Day: Thursday 5 June

    Go kick the habit — towards a low carbon economy
    Make this a special day to focus on the environment. Consider how to be proactive as a part of your local community, your state, our country and our world. There are heaps of great websites to visit. Start at the United Nations World Environment Day site, and don’t forget to also take a look at Planet Ark’s site for many ideas and activities.

    How are you and your students contributing to rising CO2 emissions?
    Here’s a simple calculator to use with your students to find out their CO2 emissions. This is a great homework activity that will lead to some useful classroom discussions. Visit Origin Energy Efficiency Calculator for more.

    Now calculate your carbon footprint by using the fun online activity at 1degree.com.au

    Koalas under threat
    With rising temperatures and CO2 levels, the availability of koalas ’ food is at risk. Climate change could reduce the levels of nutrients that koalas find in their favourite eucalyptus leaves, while increasing toxins. It’s another good reason to plant native trees and reduce our CO2 emissions.

    MobileMuster: Old Phones, More Trees World Environment Day Schools Challenge

    As part of World Environment Day, primary and secondary schools across the eastern seaboard can help plant thousands of native trees for free and receive great resources for their school by participating in MobileMuster’s Old Phones, More Trees Schools Challenge. MobileMuster, the official recycling program of the mobile phone industry, has partnered with Landcare Australia and will plant a tree for every mobile phone handed in for recycling. Learn more about this great program at the MobileMuster website.

    Platypus mystery revealed

    The platypus is a monotreme — a furry mammal that lays eggs and feeds its young milk. It has venom like a snake, a bill like a duck, and it detects its prey using electricity. Now it has had its genetic code — its DNA — sequenced, and scientists have been able to discover why the platypus is Australia’s most distant mammal relative, sharing a common ancestor with humans about 170 million years ago!

    This is a great research activity for your students. Read more about this fascinating topic at ABC News in Science.

    The platys the new cane toad!

    We all know how our native ecosystems are being attacked by creatures such as cane toads, myna birds and rabbits. Now there is a new menace — a small tropical fish known as the platys. This small, aggressive fish eats frog and fish spawn and breeds very rapidly. Read about this fish and what you can do in this article by the NSW Department of Primary Industries: ‘Alien fish escape threatens native species’.

    You could create a student research activity looking into species that are threatening our native wildlife.

    Childhood Hero Dress Up Day: 13 June

    The Australian Childhood Foundation wants to encourage students to arrive at school on 13 June dressed up as their hero — a sporting identity, family member, fire chief, a superhero, etc. Each student who dresses up donates $2 to their school. The funds raised are divided: 50 per cent is kept by the school and 50 per cent is donated to the Australian Childhood Foundation. There are prizes for schools that raise the most money.

    The Australian Childhood Foundation supports children devastated by the impact of abuse, neglect and family violence. Get more information and register your school at the Australian Childhood Foundation website.

    Football codes celebrate

    150 Years of Australian Rules Football (AFL)
    Visit the official AFL website where you will find activities across a range of key learning areas designed for use from early primary school upwards. AFL: Schools Section

    100 Years of National Rugby League (NRL)
    Another football code celebrates in 2008! Visit their website where you will find some useful educational resources for the NRL’s Learning with League Program. NRL: One Community

    Music. Play for Life.

    Music is so very important in every student’s education. Music. Play for Life. is Australia’s premier music education website for schools — teachers, students and parents. If you haven’t already taken a look at the broad array of resources available to help your school music program, then do so soon. You can also sign up for the Players for Life Newsletter which keeps you up to date with latest developments in the area of music education. Music. Play for Life.

    Macquarie Dictionary Online

    We know the importance of students using and having access to good dictionaries. Have you ever considered access to The Macquarie Dictionary Online?The Macquarie Dictionary Online is updated annually, making it the most up-to-date Australian dictionary and thesaurus available. You will also find other helpful resources such as a spellchecker, crossword resources, Word of the Year and Word of the Week, and even an opportunity to submit your own words. The Macquarie Dictionary Online.

    Classroom debate

    2008 Olympics
    08-08-2008 draws ever-closer as our athletes prepare for the Beijing Olympics.
    Teachers’ Toolkit Magazine will have a teaching unit in the June issue that will help bring this event to your classroom. Students will learn all about the Olympics, while also looking at the country of China.

    There has been much debate and media coverage about the decision to hold the Games in China. Discuss the topic with your students and, depending on where the discussion goes, you might wish to divide the class into two groups and debate the pros and cons of holding this year’s Olympics in China. There are a number of angles that the students could take. Also consider the topic: ‘Should the Olympics be permanently based at their modern-day birthplace of Athens?’.

    Professional support for teachers

    The Macmillan Professional Learning Program — Sharing the Knowledge has been launched and is already receiving outstanding support. Macmillan Professional Learning (MPL) is committed to working together with school staff and students to develop a tailor-made whole-school plan to help achieve best classroom practice and success for all — helping to realise the learning goals of your school.

    ‘Macmillan Professional Learning has all the hallmarks of delivering an effective program that will meet and exceed schools’ expectations.’
    Terry Condon, Principal, Roxburgh Rise Primary School (VIC)

    For more information about the new Macmillan Professional Learning Program, and its presenters, topics, sessions in your area — and to receive a copy of the National Planner — contact Lee Collie, Macmillan Professional Learning Manager, on (03) 9825 4907, or email enquiries to professional.learning@macmillan.com.au

    The importance of teachers

    (Maybe air something like this at the next community meeting!)
    There is no need to convince everyone at Teachers’ Toolkit magazine how important teachers are to Australia’s future — we already know! Recent articles have highlighted some of the important aspects that our teaching community provides in being responsible for nearly every aspect of human development, including having to:

    • assess and improve literacy and numeracy standards
    • arrange special needs programs
    • act as welfare, health and safety officers
    • protect children from a range of hazards, from peanuts to sunlight
    • be event managers (sports days, art performances, excursions, etc.)
    • raise funds and be PR managers
    • socially skill students in order for them to ‘behave’ in society
    • educate students about bullying, peer support, drugs and sex awareness, road safety, child protection, healthy eating, justice and values, environmental education, computer literacy, Aboriginal and multicultural perspectives ... the list goes on!

    And while they’re doing all this, there’s the task of ensuring students achieve the necessary outcomes as dictated by various state curricula.
    While every day should be Teachers’ Day, for the record, World Teachers' Day is celebrated annually on 5 October, providing the opportunity to draw public attention to the important role of teachers within society.
    Who once said that teaching was all about teaching the ‘three Rs’?

    The Teachers’ Toolkit team

    Want a change of work within primary education?

    Macmillan Education is seeking a full-time sales consultant to promote a range of highly regarded literacy resources to Primary Schools on Sydney’s North Shore and Northern Beaches.
    This change would suit you if you are highly organised with excellent planning skills, interested in building sales relationships with key decision-makers within primary schools, like working independently as well as part of a team, and possess excellent verbal and written communication skills.

    The position offers an attractive salary package including company car and laptop computer. Email your application and resume (including 2 work references) to: applications@macmillan.com.au
    Be quick, as applications close Friday 6 June 2008

    Please encourage your colleagues to subscribe to this newsletter by forwarding a copy to them. Subscription to the newsletter is free and ensures that teachers do not miss out on any of our classroom-friendly ideas and resources. Subscriptions can be entered using the link below.
    Teachers' Toolkit e-Newsletter