July 2023
SASPA E-Bulletin:
July Edition
jayne.heath@saspa.com.au Ph. 08 8463 5810 Mb. 0422 005 101
It’s nearly the end of Term 2 and it has certainly been another busy time for us all. We’ve taken a moment to look back over the activities of your Association and would like to share a few with you here!
Contribution to and provided feedback on numerous DfE initiatives including: Purpose of Public Education statement; IESP funding reforms; leader workload; Collaborative Placement process; SSO deployment in schools; Country Education Strategy; Sport in schools; IT Working Party; Career Education & Skills Strategy
On a national level SASPA has provided National Schools Reform Agreement; Expert Panel to inform a better and fairer education system; as well as numerous contributions through ASPA involvement.
Coalition of Secondary Alliances Project has progressed, with those Alliances interested in being involved meeting on June 23rd to map out plans for collaborating in addressing common challenges and priorities. SASPA looks forward to supporting them in their next steps for:
Engaging students in meaningful learning programs for success.
· Focus of this work will be on those that are struggling to connect or stay connected and/or to engage in mainstream education programs
· Once FLO redesign is clarified Alliances in CoSA Project are keen to work in collaboration to share approaches in order to effectively meet the needs of their students.
Alliances involved in this Project: Yorke Peninsula Secondary Alliance (YPSA), Inner South Curriculum Alliance, Adelaide Hills, North Eastern Secondary Principals Network & North Adelaide Secondary Schools Alliance (NASSA).
Teacher & leader supply and retention.
· Focus on strategies to secure teacher & leader supply in Alliance schools. Including recruitment, selection & placement processes
· Focus on supporting middle level leaders in their leadership of significant change in their schools.
Alliances involved in this Project: Southern Adelaide & Fleurieu & Barossa Secondary Alliances
Secondary school curriculum & pedagogy aligned with SACE Thrive Strategic Directions.
· Sharing good practice in senior secondary schooling is highly valued, especially when across schools and possibly Alliances. Through the CoSA Project, Alliances will explore ways to make this happen.
Alliances involved in this Project: Riverland Secondary Schools Alliance, Eastern Alliance Secondary Principals Network, NASSA
In term 3 the SASPA Board will begin planning for our 2024-2026 Strategic Plan and will design a process that will engage our members, Strategic Network Groups and our key stakeholders. I will keep you updated on our progress in this important work and please reach out to me if you have some thoughts you wish to share regarding our planning for SASPA’s future priority work.
I would like to finish by sharing with you the following SASPA Board endorsed statement:
The United Nations Declaration of Rights for Indigenous Peoples provides for the direct input of indigenous peoples in decision-making; promoting their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them.
The Uluru Statement from the Heart calls for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution.
In recognition of both the United Nations Declaration of Rights for Indigenous Peoples and the Uluru Statement from the Heart; the SASPA Board strongly supports that a First Nations Voice be enshrined in the Australian Constitution.
SASPA respects the right of individuals to make their own decision for the national referendum.
Take care and I hope you make time to have a restful term break.
Watch
Professor Yong Zhao: Improbable probabilities: Equitable education for all.
You’ll need to skip the adverts and set aside 1 hour, so sit back and settle in, I hope you find this thought provoking!
Get Involved
NAIDOC Week is this week.
We encourage you to celebrate within your schools, just like Eastern Fleurieu
R-12!
Student Citizenship Awards 2023
As the mid-year break rapidly approaches, now is the time to identify one or two students from year 11 or 12 whom you think meet the criteria, download the information and complete the nomination form for the 2023 Student Citizenship Awards.
Nomination forms can be downloaded from here.
Time to ‘study up’ on your deductions
Tax time is right around the corner. Not sure what deductions you can claim this year? Well good news, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) have shared a range of helpful tips and resources to help make tax time simple.
Check this out
Australian Schools Plus is a national not-for-profit that believes all children have the right to equal opportunities in their education. They partner with schools in under-served communities to provide those opportunities to children and young people.
Have a look
Revisit Pasi’s 2022 SASPA presentation: Equity & Excellence in School Education
Watch
Melb University Graduate School of Education: Funding, Equity and Achievement in Australian Schools. Some interesting insights into funding of Australian schools. You’ll need 1.15mins to watch this all the way through! Not got that much time? I’d recommend you fast forward to Prof Verity Firth’s presentation 27 minutes into the presentation.
Join In
This year, Life Ed SA are bringing together a diverse group of thought leaders to explore topics such as vaping, violence prevention at school, gaming and addictive behaviours, and the wellbeing of teachers and school staff.
SASPA Board
2023 SASPA Board Priority Work
We held our latest Board meeting on Friday 16th of June, see details here!
SASPA Annual Conference
Connecting for Equity & Community will explore the centrality of equity & inclusion for excellence in public education schools, focusing on our subthemes: Belonging. Inclusivity. Agency. Keynotes will be provocative!
Breakout sessions will take us deeper into the work of school leaders who are connecting with student’s culture, interests, passion, learning needs and community.
Daymap
Experience Seamless Data Integration with Daymap and Timetabling Solutions V10!
Are you looking to take advantage of the enhanced features offered by Timetabling Solutions? We've been collaborating closely with schools and Timetabling Solutions over the past year to streamline the import process through a method called LISS (already utilised by schools using EDVAL).
With LISS imports, you can say goodbye to the hassle of saving files in the right place or dealing with file name changes that prevent Daymap from locating them. Simply push the
sync button, and your data will seamlessly transfer from Timetabling Solutions to Daymap. It has never been easier to import your data into Daymap.
To explore how this and other valuable features could benefit your school, we invite you to reach out to Kristen (kristen@daymap.net), who will show you how to maximise your experience with Daymap.
