24 March 2016

Newsletter Articles

A Word from the Executive Director

We have arrived at Easter and I am sure everyone is ready for the children and young people as well as parents to enjoy the break while we celebrate the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. This is the most significant season in the Catholic Church. Easter is a day of celebration because it represents the fulfilment of our faith as Christians. St. Paul wrote that, unless Christ rose from the dead, our faith is in vain. Through his death, Christ saved mankind from bondage to sin, and He destroyed the hold that death has on all of us; but it is His Resurrection that gives us the promise of new life, both in this world and the next. I hope you will join your local parish during this Easter time.

We are getting excited about our conference ‘Engaged Communities for the Future’ to be held in Rockhampton on April 30 – May 2. If you have not yet registered we encourage you to do so in the next few days to catch our early bird rate. We will also be happy for you to register after this date and would love to see as many schools as possible represented at this event. It will be a time to learn, share, meet new people and also to have fun. Come along and help us to prepare for the future for parent engagement and also renew the parent voice in our Catholic Schools so that we are working together for our children.

Next term we will begin our Webinar series for new Executive members or any parents who are interested in the way we work in partnership with our Principals and schools. These webinars cover a number of topics and will be advertised through our newsletter, on our website and also our Facebook page. So if you want to learn more look out for these dates.

The Queensland government has this week announced some changes to our Senior Secondary Assessment and we look forward to working with them to ensure the best start beyond school for our young people. Further information about these changes are available in this newsletter.

Have a very happy and holy Easter. Stay safe if you are travelling and we look forward to a bright Term 2.

2016 Biennial Catholic Schools Parents Conference

Saturday 30 April to Monday 2 May 2016
Emmaus College, Rockhampton

Early Bird Registration extended to Thursday 24 March 2016

This year's Conference Theme is Engaged Communities for the Future.

We invite you to be part of conversation around the following:

• What does Parent Engagement and Parent Voice look like in your Catholic school in the future?

Your school community is invited to attend this important Conference and we encourage every school to be represented at this event.

Plan now to send at least one member of the school leadership team and a parent from your school community to this Conference to meet our Keynote Thought Provoker Dr Debbie Pushor

Please Pop In to www.pandf.org.au

Welcome to a new and regular feature of our newsletter.

Here in this space we will remind you of handy things we have listed on our website:

We also ask that you ensure we at the Federation office have a copy of your school’s P&F constitution. Please locate yours and send a copy to info@panf.org.au

STATE GOVERNMENT

Preparing for new senior assessment and tertiary entrance systems

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Minister for Education Kate Jones announced further information about the shape of Queensland’s new senior assessment and tertiary entrance systems.

To provide school communities with details of the changes to be introduced from 2018, the QCAA has developed a list of frequently asked questions.

Stem hub for parents and students

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) touch almost every aspect of our lives.

We have smartphones and tablets. We have driverless cars and surgical robots. We have expeditions going on beyond our solar system. Innovations driven by people skilled in STEM are changing how we live, work and understand the world. The Department of Education and Training is strengthening STEM education in Queensland state schools.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

Early Learning Languages Australia (ELLA) initiative

Following the success of an app that has supported language learning among more than 1,700 pre-school Australians, the Australian Government has announced it will invest $6 million to support a similar tool with a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

Minister of Education and Training Senator Simon Birmingham said the “Polyglots” app, as part of the Early Learning Languages Australia (ELLA) initiative, will be extended to up to 1,000 schools after the success of a trial across 40 pre-schools in 2015.

Minister Birmingham said using apps to support student learning is part of a commitment to deliver Australian families “the learning opportunities they want, in a form that works for them and their children and at a time, as early as possible in life, to establish a life-long interest”.

“We hope the Early Learning STEM Australia app inspires the same curiosity and enthusiasm that the ELLA app has,” Senator Birmingham said.

“Knowing that around 75 per cent of the fastest-growing industries require STEM-related skills, we want to work with Australia’s youngest minds to ensure they develop an interest in those fields.

“The skills and opportunities those children participating in these programmes receive are a perfect example of the Innovation Agenda that is at the heart of the Turnbull Government’s vision for Australia’s future.”

PARENTING

Three ways to help children become more confident

Feeling confident helps children do well in all aspects of their life, both now and into the future.

Confidence is important for developing and maintaining good mental health as confident children are more able to build positive relationships, do better at school and become happier, successful adults.

Confident children are motivated learners

Children who are confident are motivated to engage in more experiences; they expect to have successful and positive experiences because they have done so in the past.

Children who lack confidence in their abilities can sometimes try to avoid having a go at some things and this can stop them from developing the skills they need to tackle tasks confidently.

Cyber Safety – Top Ten Tips for Youth

The internet and mobile phones provide a great way to communicate and express yourself with others, but it’s important to make sure they’re used responsibly so that everybody has an enjoyable online experience. It’s all about respecting yourself and others.

Registrations are now open for BlueShift

BlueShift is a team competition open to all high schools in Australia. With tips and suppor t from successful QUT Business School students and experienced business professionals, you'll apply the theory you've learnt in class to a problem faced by real businesses. As you compete against other teams from across Australia, you'll develop professional presentation and creative problem-solving skills, and find out what it's really like to work in the exciting world of business.

Teams must consist of four students in total and can include any combination of students enrolled in Year 11 and 12.

BlueShift registrations are now open.

FUNDRAISING

Fundraising Tip: Class Canvas Auctions: Timing is Everything

By now, we all know about preparing class art canvasses and auctioning them off. Each child in a class contributes to an artwork. The artwork is carefully managed by a teacher or volunteer, and often turn out to be quite stunning. The art is then auctioned off, with proud parents competing against each other to take home the masterpiece.

This fundraiser can form its own activity, such as an art fair, but is often held in conjunction with a fete.

Schoolzine

Schoolzine is proud to be a digital partner and supporter of Parents and Friends Federation.

Schoolzine has been an industry leader in digital school communications for 14 years. They are dedicated to customer service, product development and understanding the school landscape that keeps them at the top of the industry. Schoolzine’s Parent Engagement Platform consists of 3 packages, an eNewsletter, Mobile App and Website offering. Purchased separately or together, they guarantee each package will make engaging with parents easy and even enjoyable for a school of any size. Schoolzine addresses the need for media-rich, interactive content that engages parents.