Philosothon Support and Help Available

Philosothon Development Officers

Sue Paff can offer a range of services to assist schools to host Philosothon. Since 2004, Sue has taught Stage 5 Elective Philosophy and conducted Philosophy programs for Stage 2 and Stage 3. She has been involved in the Australia Philosothon since its inception in 2011. In 2012 she organised the Northern NSW Philosothon at Bishop Druitt College, Coffs Harbour. In November 2017, the 6th NNSW Philosothon was held.

Services available.

# Phone/Skype support. Advise on topics, resources, general organisation, finding judges, catering hints, introducing students and staff to Community of Inquiry (the style of discussion used in Philosothons) and ways to promote the event to local schools. A friendly listening ear to voice concerns/issues and to get practical advice.

# Internet provision of resources and organisation. This would include adjusting ‘philosothon model’ to meet the specific needs and requirements of the host school and local area. All proformas, marking grids, advertising material, topics and resources would be sent electronically. On going liaison by phone/internet to help ensure a ‘hassle-free’ experience.

# Convening the Philosothon. Sue attends the Philosothon. Competition issues organised, oversight/facilitation during the Philosothon event, catering organised and results tallied. Staff from the host school would be required to assist and be available on the day. Visiting staff would also be involved in supervision of students and some activities.

# Promotion and convening the Philosothon. A two part package.Sue would provide training and promotion at host school for staff and students (including training in the use of Community of Inquiry as an assessment tool for a wide range of KLA’s) before the Philosothon. This would prepare both staff and students to become familiar with COI’sand to more effectively participate in the competition. The second part would be the subsequent organisation of the Philosothon at the host school.

Fees: Negotiable. The fee would be incorporated into the Registration Fee charged to the students attending the Philosothon. The event is designed to be cost neutral to the hosting school.For example, The NNSW Philosothon is a two day event that charges $35 per student. This amount covers an evening meal, lunch, morning and afternoon tea as well as the $950 convenor fee. Transport assistance would also be required in some cases.

Sue Paff (M Ed Studies, Grad Dip Psych and FASPA Level 2 trainer

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MatthewWills was the founder to the Philosothon….and he has been instrumental in its growth and success. He is a highly skilled organiser having successfully run over fifty local and national events. He has trained teams that have achieved 1st place at multiple Australasian Philosothons and many local Philosothons. He has taught Philosophy and Ethics for many years and his students have achieved outstanding results each year. He runs seminars for teachers, co-ordinates the Philosothon Project and offers support to schools as they introduce students to the Philosothon and the Ethics Olympiad.

Services available.

  1. Phone/Skype support. Advice on topics, contacts at other local schools, resources, general organisation issues. A friendly listening ear to voice concerns/issues and to get practical advice. Internet provision of resources and organisation. This would include adjusting the ‘model’ to meet the specific needs and requirements of the host school and local area. All proformas, marking grids, advertising material, topics and resources would be provided. On-going and regular liaison by phone/internet to help ensure a relatively ‘hassle-free’ experience is provided. ($500)
  1. Convening the event. Matthew does not run the event on the day but does the above (1) plus most the background work to make it straightforward for a school to host. Once a date has been set he will invite nearby schools to participate, he will address their questions, organise and resource judges and facilitators, deal with catering issues, organise badges, and in consultation with the school he will produce the program for the evening. Staff from the host school would be required to assist on the night with the smooth running of the event. Visiting teachers from participating schools would also be involved. (Cost $750)
  1. Promotion and convening a Philosothon. A two-part package. Matthew would be available for teacher PD and or student preparation ……and he would prepare, organise and participate in the event. He would do everything listed above and be there on the evening to run the event ($1500). He is also available to provide training and promotion at the host school for staff and students (including training in the use of Community of Inquiry as an assessment tool for a wide range of KLA’s) before the Philosothon. (Please note that the preparation courses would involve an extra negotiated honorarium. Also while the amount of $1500 includes his travel and accommodation costs for the event but if he is visiting at another time earlier in the year to do a PD or student preparation some travel and accommodation support would need to be provided by the host school.)

The event is designed to be cost neutral to the host school unless they would like some PD for staff and students. For example, if you had eight-ten schools involved, each school with eight students the cost to each school would be between $ 10 - $20 per student-depending on which option chosen from above. This cost would be passed on to participating schools as a fee for entry.)

Matthew Wills (B.Th. Dip Min, Dip Ed. FAPSA Level 1 & 2 Training)

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