Dare to Lead June 2008 Newsletter
APAPDC's Indigenous education newsletter. Issue 34, June 2008.
In this issue:
- Early Childhood; Dare to Lead Activity Across Australia
- Dare to Lead project news across Australia
- Garma
- Moorditj
- Achievement Award Winners
- National Indigenous Education Conferences
EARLY CHILDHOOD; DARE TO LEAD ACTIVITY ACROSS AUSTRALIA |
EARLY CHILDHOOD
There is a growing awareness that the early years, especially the years prior to compulsory schooling, are critical for students. These years can be particularly crucial for Indigenous students but it is an area in which there has been limited resourcing or attention paid. That is now changing.
Dare to Lead is contributing to raising awareness about this via a forthcoming conference, 'What A Difference A Good Start Makes: Creating The Habit'. It will be held in Sydney on Friday September 26, 2008. This conference will investigate best practice and research in the area of Early Childhood education for Indigenous children. What are the current programs being implemented to transition children from Home to Pre-School, from Home to School and from Pre School to School? What programs and initiatives are available to support Indigenous children in their first educational experiences, and what could be learned from such programs. The conference information flyer will be available on the Dare to Lead website soon.
Examples of best practice in Early Years education and transition to school:
Ashmont Primary School, NSW
Challis Early Childhood Education Centre, WA
Moruya Primary School, NSW
Darlington Kindergarten, SA
DARE TO LEAD PROJECT NEWS ACROSS AUSTRALIA |
BUILDING LEADERS, BUILDING COMMUNITY
Enhancing partnerships between principals and Indigenous Education Workers (IEWs) and upskilling IEWs to help forge closer community connections is the focus of Building Leaders, Building Community. This is a joint project of Dare to Lead and Dusseldorp Skills Forum and builds on the work undertaken in the previous joint project, Same Kids, Same Goals. One of the project's first events was held in Townsville recently. To read about the event click here.
DEEWR NATIONAL EVALUATION
The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) recently completed a national evaluation of Dare to Lead. The report has been given to DEEWR and is extremely favourable in regard to what our project has achieved and is currently achieving. Precisely what this means for the future direction of the project is yet to be ascertained, but the message is that warm congratulations are due to all Dare to Lead coalition members for the positive change that we are creating together.
KOORI MAIL 2008 SUBSCRIPTION OFFER
Dare to Lead together with the Koori Mail have teamed up to offer Dare to Lead member schools a special subscription offer. Have the Koori mail delivered direct to your school for only $55 (25 editions). To take advantage of this special offer download a subscription form.
SA ANANGU SCHOOLS
Since the last Dare to Lead newsletter, much attention was attracted by the release of the Mullighan Report into conditions on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, including findings regarding child sexual abuse.
The Australian Principals Associations Professional Development Council (APAPDC) works extensively with communities on the APY Lands through Dare to Lead and also MindMatters. These projects not only address some of the underlying causes of the dysfunction documented by Mr Mullighan, but also model best practice in terms of genuine consultation and working with Anangu communities.
Dare to Lead supports school leaders on the APY Lands through professional development and the annual TriState Remote Schools Conference in Alice Springs. Dare to Lead also supports the work of the Wiltja program at Woodville High School, a metropolitan secondary annexe for students from the APY Lands. Wiltja was one of five High Achievement schools at the 2007 Excellence in Leadership in Indigenous Education Awards.
In the past month a Dare to Lead team has been working with school communities on the APY Lands. "Building Leaders, Building Community" is a pilot collaborative school leadership project building on the skills and understanding of the school leadership teams. It aims to do this through a mutual and collaborative mentoring process between the pirinpa (non-Indigenous) principal and the Anangu (Indigenous) school leader. One of the significant parts of this process has been close examination of pirinpa and Anangu concepts of leadership. According to Katrina Tjitayi (Improvement Coordinator, Aboriginal Lands District), a leader "fixes the ladder for others to climb". This work will continue at least throughout this year.
The 10th Garma Festival of Traditional Culture will be held at a traditional meeting ground in Arnhem Land, NT, later this year. For the past two years a delegation of educators has attended Garma as part of a Dare to Lead group. This year Dare to Lead will assist another group of educators to attend Garma. For more information click here.
Regarded as one of Australia's most significant Indigenous festivals, the Garma Festival attracts around 20 clan groups from north-east Arnhem Land, as well as representatives from clan groups and neighbouring Indigenous peoples throughout Arnhem Land, the Northern Territory and Australia.
The Garma Festival is a celebration of the Yolngu cultural inheritance. The Garma ceremony is aimed at sharing knowledge and culture, and opening people's hearts to the message of the land at Gulkula. The site at Gulkula (14km from Gove airport) has profound meaning for Yolngu. Set in a stringybark forest with views to the Gulf of Carpentaria, Gulkula is where the ancestor Ganbulabula brought the Yidaki (didjeridu) into being among the Gumatj people. The festival is designed to encourage the practice, preservation and maintenance of traditional dance (bunggul), song (manikay), art and ceremony on Yolngu lands.
Individuals who have attended Garma on behalf of Dare to Lead have described the experience as profound. Here are the words of some former participants:
JOHN ALDOUS, PRINCIPAL PRENDIVILLE CATHOLIC COLLEGE, WA: "It was a fantastic experience, very rewarding but at the same time very confronting. For us city dwellers who often have little access to cultural activity at this level, it really showed the magnitude of the issues facing Indigenous communities. Apart from anything else it is a wonderful celebration of Indigenous culture." To read his full report click here.
ROBERT HOFF, PRINCIPAL IMMANUEL LUTHERAN PRIMARY SCHOOL, SA: "The forum clarified in my brain what I know about the great challenges we have in terms of Indigenous education. Being there and hearing about what the issues are is very important. I also spent a lot of time talking with Indigenous colleagues. It is a powerful experience to listen to their stories and be fully aware of the great challenges we have ahead."
DONNA BRIDGE, PRINCIPAL EAST KALGOORLIE PRIMARY SCHOOL, WA: "I thought it was a great opportunity to network with other people who are also trying to make a difference in Aboriginal education. From a cultural perspective it was wonderful to be there."
ANDREW BLAIR, NATIONAL PRESIDENT AUSTRALIAN SECONDARY PRINCIPALS ASSOCIATION: "What Garma did for me was to clearly exhibit the complexity of issues around Indigenous education. It was a very powerful cultural experience and a privileged opportunity. I was left with a heightened sensitivity but increased frustration also, because there doesn't seem to be an ongoing structure to implement any of the initiatives or actions agreed upon by consensus in the Key Forum. This made it a bittersweet experience."
MOORDITJ:AUSTRALIAN INDIGENOUS CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS |
The Moorditj CD-ROM and associated materials represent a marvellous
and inexpensive resource for teachers wishing to integrate aspects of
Indigenous Australian culture with current classroom activities.
Participants in the Dare to Lead project receive a complimentary single-user licence copy of the Moorditj CD-ROM.
Here is the order form for the
various products available now for the Moorditj program - CD-ROM, site
licence, resource kit CD-ROM, printed units of work, and manual. These are highly recommended to make the most of your free resource. For more information visit www.moorditj.net.au
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNERS |
As reported in the previous Dare to Lead enewsletter, 11 schools won Achievement Awards at the 2007 Dare to Lead Excellence in Leadership in Indigenous Education Awards, announced at Parliament House Canberra in March this year. For more information on the initiatives and outcomes of these exemplary schools, please click on the school name below.
- Ashmont Public School, NSW
- Barcaldine State School, Qld
- Campbelltown Performing Arts High School, NSW
- Challis Early Childhood Education Centre, WA
- Cowandilla Primary School, SA
- East Kenwick Primary School, WA
- Glossop High School, SA
- Karama School, NT
- Muswellbrook South Public School, NSW
- Point Pearce Aboriginal School, SA
- Table Cape Primary School, Tas
Applications for the 2008 Dare to Lead Excellence in Leadership in Indigenous Education Awards are now open. For futher information regarding applications click here. To apply ** Error with file tag: file not found - 'id_84020697:Excellence_application_form_1.doc; nb: for the {file filename} tag the file needs to be uploaded via the depricated File Manager interface ** an application form.
NATIONAL INDIGENOUS EDUCATION CONFERENCES |
In 2008 Dare to Lead will be hosting three significant National Indigenous Education Conferences Each of the three conferences will follow a similar format. The day will begin with a research based keynote speaker. This will be followed by a brief panel session based on the research paper presented. Participants will then have a choice of workshops delivered by schools and institutions demonstrating best practice. The day will conclude with a plenary panel session.
The three conferences are:
Outside The Mainstream: Reopening The Door
Melbourne, Thursday July 31 2008
This conference will address the issues associated with Indigenous students in educational settings outside of the mainstream classroom context. What is successful practice and current research in the areas of behaviour, emotional needs, Autism, intellectual disability, juvenile justice, physical disability, hospital settings, vision and hearing, particularly as it impacts on the teaching and learning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in a diversity of learning environments?
Registration for this conference is now open. To register click here.
Maximising The Potential: Raising The Bar
Brisbane, Friday August 29 2008
This conference will investigate successful practice and research in the area of Gifted and Talented Indigenous students. What is happening to identify, support, retain and challenge Indigenous students to achieve to their potential? What more could be and should be done?
What A Difference A Good Start Makes: Creating The Habit
Sydney, Friday September 26 2008
This conference will investigate best practice and research in the area of Early Childhood education for Indigenous children. What are the current programs being implemented to transition children from Home to Pre-School, from Home to School and from Pre School to School? What programs and initiatives are available to support Indigenous children in their first educational experiences, and what could be learned from them?
Please visit the following link to download the conference information flyer. National Indigenous Education Conference Information flyer.
Reconciliation Week was celebrated across Australia during the week 27th May - 3rd June 2008. The theme of this year's week "Reconciliation: it's all our story". Many Dare to Lead schools held activities during this week and we invite schools to send in a photo or two and a brief article for showcasing on the Dare to Lead website.
THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT'S APOLOGY TO THE STOLEN GENERATIONS |
Kevin Rudd, The Prime Minister of Australia apologised to the Stolen Generations on February 13th 2008. For more details on the apology and to view the speech visit the Reconciliation Australia website
The Australia 2020 Summit was held on 19 and 20 April 2008.
The Summit was an exciting initiative aimed at harnessing the best ideas for building a modern
Australia ready for the challenges of the 21 st century. For more information on the summit and to read the report visit the website www.australia2020.gov.au
E:peter.obeirne@pa.edu.au Ph: 08 8394 2122
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