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A newsletter of Principals Australia Institute

Issue 3: May 2014

From the CEO


Jim Davies

Attention to student wellbeing in Australia is growing. It is exciting to see schools embracing wellbeing initiatives, focusing on stamping out bullying, and giving students the tools that they need to be resilient and healthy.

This month, KidsMatter Primary celebrated a significant achievement. The initiative reached its 2,000th school. (That’s more than a quarter of Australia’s primary schools!)

KidsMatter Primary is making headlines around the country as it makes a positive difference to the wellbeing of students:

Also this month, we’re pleased to be launching with beyondblue the new look MindMatters for secondary schools. I encourage you to visit the new look MindMatters website and see what is on offer.

Principals and teachers have a vital role to play in supporting the wellbeing and learning of our students. I urge you to consider connecting your school with these initiatives if you haven’t done so already.

Jim Davies - CEO
Principals Australia Institute

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Join the Leadership Revolution


Student Principal for a Day is on again - and this year is even more exciting as we launch the Leadership Revolution Project

We’re inviting students around the country to submit photos that tell us what leadership means to them. Submissions will come together to create the Leadership Revolution Video.

To add your student voice to the Leadership Revolution Project register your school to take part in Student Principal for a Day on June 4 2014.

 

Professional Learning Survey


What type of learning do you participate in as part of your professional development?

A current study, being conducted by the University of WA, is investigating the learning habits of contemporary school leaders. This study is seeking to understand the types of learning school leaders engage in and what motivates them to seek the learning that they do.

Find out more

Start the survey

MindMatters - for secondary schools


MindMatters has had a refresh and is being launched at events around the country this month.

MindMatters is about young people; their health and wellbeing. It helps schools to support young people to achieve their goals, build relationships and cope with challenges.

To connect with MindMatters simply register to attend an event near you:

  • Briefing - This module provides an introduction to the redeveloped MindMatters framework and processes. Built around 4 components, the framework provides continuity with the KidsMatter Primary initiative to grow wellbeing in Australian schools.
  • Getting Started - This module is designed for School Action teams to familiarise themselves with the newly redeveloped MindMatters framework and tools. Teams will use their own data to develop an Implementation Plan to improve the mental health and wellbeing of their school community.

To register for events go to MindMatters website.

Positive schools


Principals Australia Institute is delighted to be involved with the Positive Schools mental health and wellbeing conferences again in 2014.

PAI’s Mark Sparvell is part of the great line-up of guest presenters.

Come and see us at our conference stand to find out more about how your school can connect with KidsMatter, MindMatters and other Institute programs.

Can’t be there? Get insights from Mark Sparvell’s conference blog.

 

What is Principal Certification?


Want to know more about Principal Certification? Take a look at our infographic or find out more at the Institute’s website.

Principal Certification also has a new twitter handle! Follow @Principal_Lead

Join a growing number of national and international leaders engaging with the hashtag: #principalcertification

Email the team to learn more or to discuss an opportunity for Louisa Rennie to meet with your executive or principal network.

 

Three free webinars


beyondblue: SenseAbility and the National Curriculum

Wednesday 4 June 2014 at 5:00 PM ACST
Presented by: Jessica Sartori, Leading Teacher from Victoria

Find out more on the PAI website

Register for this event.

Learning and Thriving in a Hyper-Connected World

Wednesday 18 June 2014 at 3:30 PM ACST
Presented by: Sean Tierney, Microsoft, Mark Sparvell, PAI

Find out more on the PAI website.

Register for this event.

 

Learning and Demand Creation

Wednesday 13 August 2014 at 3:30 PM ACST
Presented by Yong Zhao, an internationally known scholar, author and speaker

Find out more on the PAI website.

Register for this event.

You can also look at recordings of past webinars online.

Better than OK


Principals Australia Institute is pleased to have contributed two chapters in a new book - Better than OK: Helping young people flourish at school and beyond.

Edited by the organisers of Positive Schools 2014, the book features 27 of the world’s expert advocates for student mental health and wellbeing. It is a book of up-to-date strategies for helping children and young people flourish.

The book can be ordered online.

 

Events


There are a number of upcoming events for educators including:

  • Happiness and its Causes - May 29 – 30 2014 - Sydney, NSW
  • National Safe Schools Symposium  - June 13 2014 - Melbourne, VIC
  • Behaviour in Australian Schools - National Summit - July 15-16 2014 - Adelaide, SA
  • New Territory of Leading Learning: The Ungooglable - SASPA Conference - August 14-15 -Adelaide, SA
  • Effective Strategies for Improving Students Motivation and Behaviour  - CHERI Conference -September 4-5 2014, Parramatta, NSW
  • ACEC 2014 - 26th Australian Computers in Education Conference - Sept 20 – Oct 3 2014, Adelaide, SA

See our events page for more details.

Websites worth a visit


Reading Australia

The Reading Australia website has been established by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund to help encourage the teaching and reading of Australian literature.

The Reading Australia website contains useful free teacher resources.

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SCLO

Are you looking for support to lead rolling out the Australian Curriculum in your school? The Institute has developed a range of resources you can use to work with your leadership team.

Visit the Supporting Curriculum Leadership Online (SCLO) website.

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MindMatters

Passionate about supporting the wellbeing of secondary students? MindMatters has revamped its website with more online learning modules coming soon.

One feature will be to provide schools with detailed progress of their MindMatters journey on their own School Dashboard. ‘Create an Account’ now, so you are ready to register for events, receive news updates and participate in forums.

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