2007 News and updates
December 2007
Indigenous scholarships and cadetships for 2008
(27 December) Indigenous Territorians considering a career as a teacher are encouraged to apply for scholarships and cadetships that provide financial and study support. The support packages provide a weekly living allowance, book allowance, tertiary study reimbursements and a paid 12-week work-based placement for Indigenous Territorians studying to be teachers at Charles Darwin University or the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education. For more information visit www.indigenousteacher.nt.gov.au. Media Release
Season's Greetings
(24 December) The Department of Employment, Education and Training wishes staff, students and their families a joyful holiday season and a prosperous New Year.
Northern Territory Certificate of Education Achievers
(19 December) Congratulation to the record number of 985 students who have achieved their NT Certificate of Education this year. The Northern Territory's top student was Kelly Beneforti who will undertake a Batchelor of Dance at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne. NTCE top achievers | Media release
Northern Territory Certificates of Education results
(19 December) Territory students can access their individual NTCE results from 7am today by logging on with their PIN and registration number at www.ssabsa.sa.edu.au. A free Results and Enquiries Service is provided by the Department of Employment, Education and Training to assist students and parents interpret results and discuss career and tertiary options on 1800 009 282.
COOLmob School Energy Blitz
(13 December) Over the past year school students and teachers from 6 Darwin schools have been working with COOLmob to investigate energy use and its relationship to the greenhouse effect. Participating schools Anula, Berry Springs, Humpty Doo, Woodroffe and Malak Primary Schools and Dripstone High School are working towards a whole school approach incorporating environmental action and sustainability practices into all aspects of learning, decision-making and management of resources. This week over $100 000 total will be made available to these schools to fund improvements that will lower electricity consumption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save money. more
Achieving Excellence in Literacy at Wallace Rockhole School
(11 Dec) At the small remote school in Wallace Rockhole Community where most of the children speak Arrente at home and English at school, 7 students will be receiving Chief Minister's Literacy Achievement Awards this week. more
Top End Group School wins human rights art prize
(10 December)
Congratulations to the Top End Group School who was the overall winner at the Darwin Community Legal Service’s Human Rights Art Exhibition on Thursday 6 December at the Supreme Court in Darwin. The school won a $500 art award for their entry, a set of 3m silk banners made by students and artist in residence Janie Andrews as part of a unit on drug education. more
Indigenous Education Council First Meeting
(5 December) The new members of the Northern Territory Indigenous Education Council met today for the first time. Representing a broad cross section of the Indigenous community including educators, employers and students, the Council will provide expert advice to the Northern Territory and Federal Governments. more
November 2007
Alice Springs Indigenous Education Strategy
(26 November) Improving school attendance rates and education results are the main aims of the Alice Springs Indigenous Education Strategy launched at Gillen Primary School today.
Under Moving Alice Ahead, the project has been led by officers of DEET's Indigenous Priority Projects Unit in Central Australia and has been strongly supported by a range of stakeholders in Alice Springs. more
NT Youth Business Awards
(26 November) 11 future entrepeneurs from Casuarina Senior College, Darwin High School and Maningrida Community Education Centre were recognised today for their business acumen. As part of the awards about 70 secondary students learned business planning, marketing and financial management skills by creating 25 small business enterprises in areas ranging from hospitality and beauty to real estate and sporting initiatives. more
Educators gather for Early Years expo
(19 November)
About 40 Early Years educators from across the Territory gathered in Darwin to share stories, celebrate learning and to meet their professional colleagues during a two day workshop. Manager Early Years Robyn Benbow said the purpose of the event was to give teachers an opportunity to report their experiences following a series of ‘best practice’ workshops based on the Strong Beginnings resource. “It was a time for early childhood educators to share ideas and for teachers to give testimonies about what worked best for them in the classroom,” Robyn said.
Igniting a passion for chemistry
(12 November)
Casuarina Senior College Science teacher Sue Quong has been recognised with an award from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute for Chemistry teaching in secondary education. Sue was pleased to share the glory with some of her Year 12 students, gold medalists in the National Chemistry Titration Competition. Whilst working as a Northern Territory teacher, Sue has inspired and motivated students and colleagues for more than 20 years.
2007 Australian Training Awards Announced
(9 November)
Congratulations to George Brown who was Runner Up for the Australian Apprentice of the Year award . Six category winners from the NT Training Awards represented the Northern Territory at last night's national award ceremony in Hobart. The 2008 Australian Training Awards will be held at the Darwin Convention Centre next November.
Taminmin galloping ahead with racing course
(6 November)
The Melbourne Cup may be the race that stops a nation, but there’s no stopping Taminmin High School. More
October 2007
Appointments to Indigenous Education Council Announced
(30 October)
Twelve members of the Northern Territory's inaugural Indigenous Education Council bring together skills and experience from across the Territory. The council will consult with Indigenous parents, schools and remote communities and provide advice to inform education and training policy. Local community leader Mark Motlop will chair the new council.
Media Release
World Teachers’ Day
(26 October)
Northern Territry teachers inspire, encourage and guide students to reach their highest potential. Today we celebrate all of our teachers and thank them for the time and care they put into nurturing children throughout the year. Congratulations to all of the nominees and winners of the Teacher Excellence Awards announced last night and today at celebrations across the Territory.
Ministerial release | Teacher Excellence Awards
Applications open for Indigenous leadership program
(25 October) Indigenous secondary school students are encouraged to apply for the 2008 Indigenous Students’ Leadership and Mentorship Program. The program provides leadership skills, access to a mentor and funding to give 50 students a boost towards attaining their personal goals. more
Making the NT a safer place to work - Safe Work Australia Week (21-27 October)
(24 October)
Making the Territory a safe place to work is everybody's business. Safe Work Australia Week is about highlighting workplace safety issues and engaging the community in thinking about reducing death, injury and disease in the workplace. Incorporating safety into our everyday work practices and making it a daily consideration improves occupational health and safety performance and significantly improves productivity.
Worldskills off to a sizzling start
(4 October) Australia’s largest and most prestigious trade and skills competition runs throughout the month. Worldskills provides an opportunity for young Territory apprentices, trainees and employees to demonstrate and develop their skill and knowledge in their field. Winners will compete against Australia’s best at the national championships in Sydney next year. more
September 2007
Territory educator helps Aussies win hockey gold
(27 September) Senior Physical Education Coordinator Jane Slater has returned from the International Masters Hockey Tournament in England with two gold medals.
Jane was the only Territorian in a strong Aussie squad that played eight games in the10-day tournament which involved teams from Australia, England, New Zealand, Wales, Malaysia, Singapore and Scotland. more
Health and Physical Education Week (24 - 29 September)
(25 September) This week one of Australia’s most successful female gymnasts, Olympian Allana Slater will be visiting schools in Darwin and Alice Springs to advocate the ‘Live Clean Play Clean’ message to young aspiring athletes and lead a discussion on the moral and ethical reasons for not taking performance enhancing drugs. In conjunction with the Australian Olympic Committee, Health Promoting Schools NT is also running information sessions for teachers on lessons for primary students focusing on the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation together with Health Promoting Schools NT are hosting ‘Come and Try’ days at Lake Alexander where 350 upper primary students from 14 Top End schools will participate in a range of water and land based activities.
Westfield Chief Minister's Scholarship Program
(7 September) The Chief Minister Clare Martin officially declared this year's Westfield Chief Minister's Scholarship Program open this morning at Casuarina Senior College. Previous scholarship recipient Shayne O’Halloran visited Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya and studied best practice examples of transition programs for African refugee secondary students at schools in Vancouver and London. All government and non-government Northern Territory teachers are encouraged to apply.Time to celebrate learning
(3 September) Territorians will celebrate teaching and learning in our schools during Education Week which begins Monday 3 September. This year’s theme is ‘Making a Difference’, reflecting the purpose of education: to make a difference to young Territorians' lives now and in the future. Education Week includes National Literacy and Numeracy Week and Engaging with Asia Week. Details about activities scheduled during Education Week can be found in the online calendar of events.August 2007
Palmerston City Schools
(27 August) Palmerston’s seven government schools are working together to provide consistent goals and values from pre-school through Year 12 with the launch of Palmerston City Schools. The new Palmerston City Schools logo, which utilises the Palmerston City colours, is also a symbol of the close relations established with the local council and the wider community. moreColour and excitement at Anula Expo
(24 August) The Anula Primary School community has celebrated their second annual expo amid scenes of colour, music and excitement. A parade of children dressed up as their favourite book characters provided one of the highlights. There were pirates, mermaids, soldiers, witches and many more. Children took part in novelty games, tried their hand in the lucky dip and some had their fingernails painted. Among the special guests was Federal MP Dave Tollner who represented the Australian Government which has provided funding for computer equipment and health & fitness infrastructure.Students check out options at Careers Expo
(21 August) Hundreds of high school students visited the Employment, Education and Training Department’s Careers Expo in Darwin this week to gather information on job, training and education options. Representatives from government departments, education and training organisations, industry and business were on hand to advise students about the skills and training they will need to target their dream job. The Careers Expo will be held in Katherine and Nhulunbuy later this week. moreGrowing our Indigenous workforce
(16 August) Indigenous Territorians are encouraged to consider a career as a teacher with the launch of the ‘Teaching – You Can Do It’ recruitment campaign. Indigenous role models in the classroom can promote the importance of staying in school and achieving a good education. The campaign includes posters featuring Indigenous teachers, a comic book about becoming a teacher aimed at younger students and a DVD with testimonials from Indigenous teachers. more
Better educational outcomes for Indigenous students
(3 August) Chief Executive Margaret Banks has signed a historic agreement designed
to deliver better educational outcomes for Indigenous students. Chief Minister
Clare Martin, Ms Banks and the Yambirrpa Schools Council co-signed the Yirrkala
Remote Learning Partnership agreement before about 1000 onlookers at the Garma
Festival. Yirrkala is the first of 15 communities that will enter into Remote
Learning Partnerships with the Department of Employment, Education and Training.
July 2007
Territory lifestyle to attract teachers
(31 July) Qualified teachers from interstate are being encouraged to move to
the Territory as part of a major teacher recruitment campaign launched this
week by the Minister for Employment, Education and Training Paul Henderson.
The campaign highlights our unique lifestyle and the personal rewards for teachers
who learn about Indigenous culture. Other incentives include excellent salary
packages and remote allowances, a laptop for full time Government teachers
and fast tracked career advancement opportunities. Visit www.teaching.nt.gov.au to
find out about current vacancies and read the stories of teachers working across
the Northern Territory.
Back to school
(25 July) The holidays are over and it’s back to school for thousands of Territory school students. Humpty Doo Primary School students were excited and full of energy after their four-week holiday break. Territory drivers are reminded to observe the 40km/h speed limit around schools between 7am and 5pm on weekdays.
NAIDOC Week celebrations
(12 July) The department is proud to celebrate Indigenous contributions to modern Australia during National NAIDOC's 50th Celebrations. DEET's Indigenous staff in Darwin hosted a morning tea featuring bush tucker foods and a display of Indigenous artefacts attended by local celebrity Allyson Mills who performed a creole version of 'Waltzing Matilda'. Find out more about NAIDOC week activities in the Northern Territory.
2007 show circuit to focus on literacy
(10 July) The department's 2007 show circuit will focus on literacy, complete
with celebrity readers and a chance to win a set of Dr Seuss books. The 'Raising
a reader' program includes tips for parents about introducing reading and
nurting a love of reading at home. Each child who attends one of the two public
readings hosted by celebrity readers every show day or participates in reading
activities can enter a competition to win a limited edition 50th birthday set
of Dr Seuss books.
June 2007
V8 Racing Green environmental initiative
(22 June) As part of the V8
Racing Green environmental initiative racing car drivers helped 8 Alawa Primary
School students plant native trees donated through the program at the school's
on site farm. The motorsport series has made a season-long commitment to reduce
its impact on the environment and will help to educate V8 Supercar fans and school
students about climate change.
New laptops for teachers
(13 June) About 2500 teachers across the Northern Territory are about to receive new computers under the 'laptops for teachers' program. The move to supply laptops directly to teachers acknowledges their valuable role in delivering brighter futures for Territory students.
Darwin Middle School construction on track
(5 June) The Territory’s first purpose-built middle school is taking shape at Darwin’s Bullocky Point, with stage one of construction on track to be ready for the 2008 school year. The $19.94 million school is part of the Building Better Schools program to improve secondary education results for young Territorians.
May 2007
Safe Schools NT Code of Behaviour
(1 June) A campaign against violence in schools launched by Education Minister
Paul Henderson today aims to create safer schools to deliver better educational
outcomes for Territory kids. The launch of Safe Schools NT Code of Behaviour
coincides with National Safe Schools Week. The Safe Schools website www.safeschools.nt.gov.au provides
information sheets for students, parents and teachers about the Code, professional
learning modules for teachers and links to other related information.
Alawa celebrates National Safe Schools Week
(31 May) Alawa Primary School has been celebrating National Safe
Schools Week with colour, costumes and lots of energy this week.
Students, staff and families dressed up as 'caring characters'
for a school community picnic and disco on Wednesday 30 May.
Classes will showcase what they have been doing to make Alawa
a safe and happy environment at a special National Safe Schools
Week Assembly on Friday 1 June. Alawa was one of the first schools
in the Territory to adopt the 'Friendly Schools and Families'
program, which empowers students with skills to deal with bullying.
New Learning Centre at Bees Creek
(23 May) Bees Creek Primary School Learning Centre will help teachers take students ‘beyond
the classroom.’ Available for the use of all students at the school, the
new open plan facilites offer an electronic whiteboard and data projector, computer
room, study room, teachers’ office and kitchen. The centre's two withdrawal
rooms will offer specialist teachers a quiet environment to work with special
needs students outside the classroom. more
46th annual Eisteddfod a great success
(24 May) Congratulations to more than 2000 talented young people from across
the Top End who have competed in this year's Eisteddfod during the past two
weeks. A finale concert at the Darwin Entertainment Centre on Friday 25 May
at 730pm will showcase a diverse range of performances from schools, community
groups and individual performers.
Build Skills NT
(22 May) Sixty-seven jockeys and trainiers at the Darwin Turf Club
are on the home straight to national qualifications as part of
the Build Skills NT program which recognises years of on-the
job training and experience. more
Conference inspires remote principal (15 May)
Indonesian artists enthral Top End students (15 May)
Jobs Plan 3
(2 May) Newly released Jobs Plan 3 highlights strong partnerships between the
department, schools, registered training organisations, local businesses and
individual students. The Workready program is an example of a successful partnership
that offers flexible vocational training for senior school students. More
Workforce NT Report 2006
(2 May) The annual Workforce NT report brings together the latest
research and industry intelligence to provide local businesses,
industry and government with up-to-date information about the
Territory's labour market. The 2006 report contains the results
of an industry-wide survey from across the Territory. More
April 2007
Arafura Alive
(20 April) About 600 students from 14 Top End primary schools participated in the Arafura Alive inter-schools sports carnival at Marrara Stadium on 18-19 April. The athletes took part in a range of events including Aussie Rules, Badminton, Basketball, Disabled Athletics, Football, Golf, Hockey, Bowls, Table Tennis and Volleyball. more
Students Sign Futures Charter
(20 April) More than 160 Palmerston High School students have made an important promise about the next 12 months of their lives. The Year 10 students participated in the Palmerston Futures Charter Signing, a commitment to be either in school, a job, or in training in 12 month’s time. more
Territory schools scoop national education awards (4 April)
Awards support Indigenous teachers
(4 April) The Northern Territory Government is committed to recruiting
more Indigenous teachers for our schools and has today awarded
35 fellowships, scholarships and cadetships to assist Indigenous
Territorians to pursue careers in education. Supporting Indigenous
people who have committed to studies, the initiative will assist
almost 40 Indigenous people to complete an education degree over
the next four years. more
March 2007
Remote student finds feet as a leader (29 March)
Nhulunbuy teacher rides wave of success (29 March)
Strong start to a lifetime of learning
(29 March) A comprehensive resource and teaching kit to give young Territory
kids a better start to a lifetime of learning was recently launched. Strong
Beginnings: An Explicit Guide to Quality Practice in the Early Years provides
materials that will support early childhood educators to deliver quality learning
programs for children aged from three to five. Over 50 Northern Territory early
childhood educators worked on the document. more
2007 NT training awards nominations open
(21 March) Trainees, apprentices, trainers and employers are invited
to enter the 2007 Northern Territory Training Awards. The Department
of Employment, Education and Training will also host regional
workshops in April to provide more information and practical
advice for interested applicants about how to prepare their nomination. more
Comments invited on new education certificate
[15 March] Parents, school communities and stakeholders
are encouraged to comment on the future South Australian Certificate
of Education (future SACE) and implications for the Northern Territory Certificate of Education (NTCE) by 13 April 2007. Changes will not take place before 2009 and students due to begin Year 11 or 12 in 2008 or 2009 will not be affected...more
February 2007
Student careers off to a flying start
(7 March) A group of high school students will complete a traineeship
this year at the Territory Insurance Office as part of the school
based apprenticeship program. While still at school studying
towards their Northern Territory Certificate of Education, senior
secondary students can work for one or two days per week in local
industry while also gaining a nationally accredited training qualification...more
Students and teachers benefit from new technology
(13 February) Ten Territory schools have begun trialling new computer
technology that gives students and teachers a digital environment,
which allows them to store and retrieve work, and access emails
from school or home. Education Minister Paul Henderson this week
launched the Student Learning Profiles and Portal Services at Alawa
Primary School (one of the pilot schools) before a Territory-wide
rollout, scheduled for April...more
Interactive learning goes walkabout
in Top End landscapes (7 February)
School
art competition to raise awareness of democracy (2 February
2007)
January 2007
Back
to school dates for Term 1 (25 January 2007)
Equipment
boost for Jabiru Training Centre (25 January 2007)
Back
to school for Territory students (24 January 2007)
Apprenticeships
and traineeships – the
way ahead (24 January
2007)