New Town High School Association Inc
Minutes of Meeting held on Tuesday
31stJuly 2007
Present: Jan Rooke, Elizabeth Bowden, Ann French, Louise Mason, Janet Cripps, Benjamin Cripps, Grace Guerzoni, Jenny Snape, Gayle Cracknell, Corinne Dorsett-Nand, Rex Beamish, Kevin Livingston, Karin Hodel, Paul Fenton, Jill Budge, Daniela Schurink-Moeller, Perry Foster, Jill Burrell, Anne Ling, Rosina Beaumont, Alan Waugh, Martina Alexander, Sher Khan, Farida Band, Bernadette Bell,Dianne Snowden, Darryl Moir, Annette Ginger, Roger Hanson, Sue Bailey, Allison Lonergan, Rick Lonergan, Lorraine Davidson, Ben Coates, Joel Geeves, Joseph Thompson, Angus Ling.
Apologies: None.
Minutes of the Previous Meeting:
Motion: That the minutes of the previous meeting be accepted.
Moved: Allison LonerganSeconded: Rick LonerganCARRIED
Business Arising from the Minutes:
Teachers’ Pay Negotiations – no change to this issue.
Constitution – still awaiting opportunity to progress this matter.
Technology and Children Speakers –being pursued by Jan for September meeting.
Quiz Night Planning – progressing well – bar, quiz master and advertising all organised.
Old Scholars future plans – plans are in abeyance – interested committee members encouraged to attend NTHSA meeting on 27/8 to plan for next reunion of students 1957 to 1960 inclusive.
School Uniform Track Pants design – waiting to hear from Uniform Shop; track pants may already have been ordered for next year so current ideas may be postponed; a short-term solution may be possible for mending track pants – to be pursued.
Treasurer’s Report:
The Treasurer’s Report wastabled as attached. Allison explained that there has been little movement in the three accounts.
Motion: That the Treasurer’s Report be accepted.
Moved: Allison LonerganSeconded: Elizabeth BowdenCARRIED
Second-hand Clothes Report:
Bernadette advised that the Second-hand Shop will open again on the last Friday of the school holidays. Used clothing from departing students is welcomed.
Correspondence:
IN: Australian Red Cross Tasmania – Community Challenge 2007
NetAlert Helpline (Email) – Speaker Program 2008 and advice re ICT and teenage use
Fundraising: Creative Art Projects
Bon Vivant Bonbons
OUT: Nil.
Principal’s Report:
Technology and Teenagers presentation planned for September meeting was explained.
Dance Classes for Grades 7 and 10 were going well plus information on Grade Socials.
Cross Country event was held last week in good weather and conditions and went very well.
Course selections coming soon.
School Reports – explanation of process and encouragement of parents to participate in Parent-Teacher sessions; encouragement of feedback or queries; general comments from Grade Supervisor or AP; (from the floor – Report from Home Group Teacher; explanation about changes in future; query about parent expectations of achievement; comment on not knowing “level” of subject a student is studying).
General Business:
No items.
Next Meeting:
28th August 2007
The meeting closed at 7.25p.m. in time for visiting speaker – see notes below.
7.35 p.m. Di introduced the Minister for Education, Mr David Bartlett who addressed the meeting as follows:
Introduction and matters important to him.
Outline of 3 main goals:
1) Early Years – invest more in pre-school and early primary school years; first 6 years fundamental to learning and education; learning starts before school so need for early exposure to literacy, inquiry and learning processes Launching into Learning – encouraging children 0 – 4 and parents into learning before school and resourcing communities where historic cycles have affected children and education.
2) Improving Literacy and Numeracy Rates – particularly important in middle years when students disengage; need good national testing and data; literacy services are developing literacy plans; more resources and funding; other areas of the curriculum are important too, e.g. Science and Arts – money to upgrade science labs; Tasmania has worst adult literacy rates in Australia excluding NT.
3)Improving Post-Grade 10 Completion/Retention – Regardless of data, Tasmania is 10% to 20% behind other states of Australia in level of educational achievement; Tasmania has lowest level of Certificate 4, Diploma or Bachelor achievement in Australia; OECD information shows 1 year of improvement in educational attainment = 6% – 8% increased productivity.
All three areas are interrelated.
3 areas to be invested in to support shift in educational outcomes in Tasmania:
1) Better community and parental input/engagement in state education with education seen as partnership between schools and parents.
2) Ensuring more resource reaches school principal/school empowerment (= smaller bureaucracy/head office) schools telling Department what they need, not other way around free up money not assigned already.
3) Professional skills of teachers – support them to keep them teaching (remuneration mentioned).
Overall need to be more flexible about meeting needs of schools and their communities.
Questions from floor:
Question re: provision for inclusion in new DOE plans/changes regarding inclusion policy.
David Bartlett: Varying degrees of effectiveness in current implementation – not all students getting best from inclusion; concerns about implementation of policy where student is clearly not included; future plans include possibility of multiple enrolments (at regular school, special school and centre of excellence with access to important technologies); commitment from DOE over time of child enrolled at education department school so that parents and school are not knowing provisions from year to year; funding recommendations to ensure money is doing what it is intended for.
Question re: post high school options (as some colleges already offer mixes of pre-tertiary and VET courses).
David Bartlett: Elizabeth College and TAFE possibly to offer everything all the way through to diploma level; plans seem like more separartion when they are actually less; benefit would be that VET students will also access other elements of college life such as pastoral care, pathway planning and cultural and sporting activities; aim is to continue engagement; will provide many more pathways and opportunities for accreditation in more courses; provides opportunities for TAFE and College staff to collaborate.
Question re: provision of 1:1 support for struggling students.
David Bartlett: Assurance of aim for schools to utilize extra literacy funding to identify and assist students.
Question (from student) re: continuity of courses with proposed changes to post-Grade 10 education.
David Bartlett: Assurance of continuity and availability of courses commenced in 2008.
Question (from student) re: extension of Grade 10 year and staffing provision.
David Bartlett: Main reason for this change is that Tasmania attains lowest level of educational achievement because students leave school so early; Tasmania is the only state with elaborate leavers’ dinners and that allows grade 10 students to leave 4 weeks prior to other grades; need to break cultural/historic cycle to encourage focus on future learning.
Question re: consideration of 4 term model.
David Bartlett: Committee inherited by David Bartlett did not arrive at a consensus either way (to retain current 3 term model or change to 4 terms); issue not ruled out but not to be considered until 2009.
Question re: bullying/violence in schools.
David Bartlett: Schools reflect their wider community; issue of bullying needs to be dealt with in an educational way at a school level.
Question re: student-free days – why these can’t be held during school holidays.
David Bartlett: Fully committed to paying teachers at a competitive rate with other states but that children need to be in classrooms as much as children in other states; currently in negotiations; many student-free days have occurred because of the introduction of the Essential Learnings curriculum; various ways that student-free days are arranged; confident that in future students will be spending more time in classes.
Question re: Teacher Assistants and how they are considered as part of the education picture.
David Bartlett: Historically TAs were employed on casual basis but now many are employed permanently; if they were to have same conditions as teachers then not affordable; need to consider what their benefit is to students; (suggestion from floor to pay TAs more) - CPSU moving forward with DOE to improve working lives of TAs; (query re PD for TAs) - CPSU negotiations also considering this of add to career structure for TAs; (comment from floor regarding work done by TAs to implement inclusion policies) – acknowledgement of this as well as reiteration of varying roles and responsibilities of TAs.
Di thanked David for his attendance and information and closing comment urged attendees to participate in NTHSA meetings. The meeting was followed by refreshments.