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April 2024
We're on the countdown to the 2024 SASTA Annual Conference! Will you be joining us? Don't miss out on your chance to network with colleagues in the science community and make new connections.
We have made a few changes to the information we collect when you join as a member and would love for you to log on and update your profile so we can get to know you better! This will also enable us to personalise the information you receive and know more about how you want to be involved in our science community.
SASTA News
Member Dashboard
Our member resources page has also been updated with several new categories; space, Ediacara, environmental science, mental health & wellbeing and AI, with more to come!
Have you seen the new Member Dashboard? We're so excited it's finally live! Here you can find all the details about your membership perks, manage your account, access Member Only resources, events, blog posts and check on your free PL credits.
Jobs Board
The Members Dashboard has a Jobs Board! 🥼
If you have a science teaching position to fill at your school, you can now log into your account, visit the jobs board and upload all the details! This information will then be available to our members to access.
SASTA Community Forum
We also have a Community Forum 💬
Whether you've got an idea worth spreading or a query to ask your peers, connecting with your SASTA community is the solution. Get the conversation started and introduce yourself on our first post.
SASTA Annual General Meeting
The 2024 Annual General Meeting of members of the South Australia Science Teachers Association Inc. will be held on Tuesday 16 April at 10.10am at St Peter's Girls' School as part of the Annual Conference
Current financial members should have received details about the AGM and documents. These can also be accessed in the Members Dashboard.
Professional Learning
Last chance to register! Registrations close 10 April
We're excited to welcome Tiahni Adamson, Young Australian of the Year (SA), as one of our Keynote Speakers! Plus there are 7 Cutting Edge Presentations and over 40 Workshop Sessions to choose from. Find out more and register here.
Members FREE Webinar Series
The Mega Guide to Teaching Science: 50 hints and tips for seriously fun learning
10 April 2024, 1.00 pm – 4.00 pm
Embedding gamification, innovation, immersion and storytelling into science lessons to engage and inspire
15 May 2024, 1.00 pm – 4.00 pm
Inspire & Engage: Crafting Innovative Science Lessons to Engage Young Minds Workshop
Friday 10 May
This course is designed for all teachers to provide the tools and strategies to promote and harness the benefits of engagement, embed immersive, gamified and storytelling strategies to your lessons and create a love of science through innovative practices.
Design and Deconstruct Workshop
Monday 27 May
This workshop is aimed at people who want to further their skills in setting, assessment and providing feedback on the D&D + practical report task. It also will cover the writing and marking of practical questions for tests and exams as well. There will be time to examine your own student work and participate in some cross-moderation and marking of work/drafts.
Implementing the Australian Curriculum: Science V9.0
Monday 1 July
AC 9.0 has been released and with that the need to make changes to our sequences/rubrics and curriculum documentation to fit with the new descriptors. This session will take a practical approach and show implementation (which we have done this year) and also cover (more briefly): task design, assessment types and rubrics.
Oliphant Science Awards
The 2024 Information Booklet is available and can be downloaded here.
Coordinators, have you registered / re-registered for the 2024 competition? Student registrations close on Friday 17 May. You can find all the Key Dates here.
Judging registrations are open!
We welcome all teachers including pre-service, TRT or retired teachers, along with science industry professionals as judges in the Oliphant Science Awards!
Participants can judge either in their own home or school (Electronic Categories ONLY) or at dedicated Judging Days. Judges more often than not work as part of a judging team; this provides the opportunity to network, gain ideas and inspiration. Find out more here.
Resources
SASTA is excited to make available sets of Topic Tests that may be used as formative or summative Skills and Applications Tasks (SATs) in Stage 1 & 2 Biology, Chemistry and Physics. These tests are of the highest quality and feature a comprehensive range of questions including science understanding, science inquiry skills and science as a human endeavour.
You can also bundle your Stage 1 & 2 Topic Tests with Trial Exams! All trial exams are new for 2024.
Contributions from the science community
Teacher PD Opportunity: Exploring South Australia's Critical Minerals
Wednesday 17 April
We have partnered with the Resources and Engineering Skills Alliance and Hillgrove Resources to deliver a full day of mineral resources immersion, industry and career pathway insights and a site visit to South Australia’s newest copper-gold mine!
This free professional development opportunity is tailored to teachers across all STEM disciplines and will explore the South Australian resources sector and significance of critical minerals, to enhance teaching and learning in the classroom. Find out more and register here. Places are limited.
Day of AI
Day of AI introduces the basics of AI to students in Years 5 - 10! The hands-on, creative and easy-to-teach activities are designed to be delivered by any teacher (no digital technology specialisation required). Equip your students with a foundational understanding of AI, how it works, its risks and limitations, empowering them to be responsible and ethical users and designers of AI systems. Our comprehensive resources for teachers require no additional preparation and lessons are aligned with the Australian Curriculum v9. Best of all, the program is completely free! Give your students an unforgettable introduction to AI. Register today to bring Day of AI to your classroom in Term 2.
2024 SA Science Excellence + Innovation Awards
The search is on for South Australia’s top scientists, researchers, innovators and educators.
Celebrating 20 years, the 2024 SA Science Excellence and Innovation Awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding contributions and achievements of our best and brightest STEMM professionals, and shine a well-deserving spotlight on the social, economic, health and/or environmental impacts of individuals and teams.
Applications close Friday 26 April. Find out more here.
City Nature Challenge
The City Nature Challenge is on once again! In 2024, Adelaide, South Australia will be participating in the City Nature Challenge for the fifth time.
Join the project and help us compete with cities from around the world by making the most nature observations possible from Apr 26th 2024 - Apr 29th, 2024.
During the 4-day challenge, if you are anywhere in the Greater Adelaide region, snap a photo of any wild plant or animal and upload it to iNaturalist platform, making sure to include the location.
Don't forget to keep an eye on our School Projects page for some exciting competitions and projects coming up! And we've created a PL from the Science Community page to keep track of any additional PL events.
National Science Week: Teacher Resource Book
The school theme for National Science Week in 2024 is Species Survival - More than just sustainability. The theme aims to highlight the importance of science and innovation in ensuring the survival and thriving of different species in an ever-changing world.
Download the free Species Survival teacher resource book (17.5 MB, pdf) and the companion student journal (4.8MB, pdf). There is also a flipbook version of the resource book. A listing of the web links in the book is also available if you are using a printed copy of the book.
National Science Week - School Grants
Have a great idea for National Science Week at your school, but need help with funding it?
Visit asta.edu.au to find out how schools can apply for up to $500 to support your National Science Week activity/event.
Applications for the 2024 school grant round are open now!
Botanic Gardens Teacher Professional Learning
Trail Day | Tuesday 23 April
Join our incredible Botanical Educators for a day in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, as they lead you through three of our updated trails! Let our expert botanical educators guide you through the Gardens and be inspired with fresh ideas on how to deliver outdoor nature experiences.
Water in the Curriculum | 24 April
Hear from three South Australian institutions in this informative and hands-on teacher professional development workshop around water in the curriculum!
Join Educator Jade from SA Water, Wendy from Green Adelaide and Researcher Chelsea Novice from the State Herbarium to learn some new skills that you can transfer to in-class learning sequences.
Find out more and register here.
WOMAD Planet Talks
Listen to some of the world’s greatest minds live from WOMADelaide’s “The Planet Talks” stage. Fascinating, in-depth conversations about our environment and sustainable relationship with the planet. Find out more and listen here.
Contact SASTA
South Australian Science Teachers Association
249 Henley Beach Road Torrensville SA 5031
P 08 8354 0006 F 08 8354 0008 E office@sasta.asn.au
www.sasta.asn.au
