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Message from the author, Margaret James
We are extremely excited to launch the first of our monthly newsletters to keep you, parents, teachers, students and supporters of the Honey Ant Readers up to date with our very latest news. We have had a very busy start to the year- May has come very quickly and we have so much to share with you!
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Sharing books, just like his teacher, this little preschooler models good reading practices. "This is the title page. The illustrator's name is Wendy."
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Drawing honey ants in the sandpit is so much fun!
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Reading doesnt have to be confined to the classroom.
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HARs 1-3 in 6 languages
Earlier this year we launched the translations of books 1-3 in six languages: Western Arrernte; Central Arrernte; Warlpiri; Luritja; Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara. The books are accompanied by an audio CD so that readers can follow the text and hear the pronunciation and rhythm of the language. This project is important as it contributes to a very small collection of resources available in languages, and allows people of all ages, and those learning to read, to enjoy reading the books in their own language.
This month we are working with the project funders, the Indigenous Literacy Foundation to get the books out to communities across the Northern Territory.
Grateful thanks to ILF and The Mary Mckillop Foundation for their generous sponsorship of the project and to the translators, Yipirinya School Council and community who wholeheartedly support this project.
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Margaret Heffernan, highly respected Central Arrernte elder, who has been involved with the Honey Ant Readers since their inception, very generously helped us to make final changes to our Central Arrernte books.
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Jennifer Inkamala and Marjorie Williams will present their translations at the SNAICC National Conference in Cairns, from the 4th to 6th June.
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Luritja translations with audio CD.
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A terrific visit to Ngaanyatjarra Lands Schools |
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We spent a terrific fortnight at the Ngaanyatjarra Lands school in remote Western Australia. Margaret James assisted by Emma Browne, visited 6 of the 9 campuses (Blackstone, Wanarn, Warakurna, Warburton, Wingellina and Tjukurla) to deliver workshops to staff on Aboriginal English, Second language acquisition and the rationale and uses of the Honey Ant Readers. At each campus, workshops were complemented with classroom demonstrations at all levels- early childhood, primary and secondary, sharing ideas on how to use the HAR resources and how to engage children from non-English speaking backgrounds through books, songs and rhymes.
We received very positive feedback from teachers,
“It is so great to have a set of readers that students in remote schools can relate to. The opportunities for class discussion and engagement are huge”. (Primary teacher)
“Thank you for such an engaging, informative and valuable PD session! We need more of these sessions across the lands” (SecondaryTeacher)
“Excellent work, Margaret. It’s a privilege to benefit from your hard work and have your books available for the kids in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands. Keep going!” (Curriculum Coordinator)
It was a great privilege to be welcomed into so many communities, homes and schools to work with dedicated teachers living miles from their homes, and bright, multilingual students with so much potential. A big thank you to Executive Principal Kevin O’ Keefe, to Coordinators Sandy Robertson and Judy Boston and to all the teachers and staff in the NPY lands for a truly inspiring visit!
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Enthusiastic staff at Blackstone campus
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Bright and colourful Wingellina School, where Margaret delivered PD and held classroom demonstrations of the HAR resources
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Digging for Honey Ants, while singing 'Nana Dig' at Warburton School
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Learning English through songs and rhymes. Thank you Beck Thorne! |
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Wherever we go, students love singing the songs in the HAR which are developed to teach aspects of standard English. We would like to say a BIG thank you to Beck Thone who so generously gave her time to lay down the music scores in every book.
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Margaret Presented at QUT's Oodgeroo Seminar Series
Amongst a stimulating group of people from disciplines as varied as nursing and education (co-ordinated by senior lecturer, Juliana McLaughhlin), Margaret spoke about the responsibility of teachers to address inequality. She highlighted the advantages Standard English speakers have over Aboriginal English speakers when they arrive at school and then described how the Honey Ant Readers address this ‘beginning of the gap’ in education. The animated group discussions led into various aspects of the books, rationale and Indigenous education generally.
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New, interactive order form
We have a new interactive order form that you can download, fill in, print out, send back. Available on our webshop: http://honeyant.com.au/shop/
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The Oodgeroo Seminar series is a forum to showcase exemplary work by leading academics and scholars in the field of Indigenous studies.
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We are working hard to develop and publish new and exciting resources to complement the Honey Ant Readers series.
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Our interactive order form includes new resources and discounts for bulk orders.
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