Minnis Journals

ET News Digest

Your Weekly Education Newsletter

New FOI data reveals 10k deficit for poor students
Australia’s most disadvantaged government schools receive at least $10,000 less per student in government funding than equivalent Catholic schools.
The 2016 funding figures, released by ACARA after a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Australian Education Union (AEU), categorise the funding data by school sector and by the Index of Community and Socio-educational Advantage (ICSEA) score. Read more

Success in life after exams
Based on the successful pilot in two schools in 2017, the XVenture Schools Program launched in 11 Sydney schools this year focusing on building confidence, emotional intelligence (EQ), resilience and leadership skills in students in Years 10 and 11.
The XVenture Schools Program consists of six stages delivered over 12 weeks with a blend of face-to-face, experiential, online, reflective practice and employer integration and was created by leadership expert, Mike Conway. Read more

Girls’ and boys’ STEM ability similar study reveals
Girls and boys perform very similarly in STEM – including those at the top of the class – says a new study led by UNSW Sydney PhD student Rose O’Dea, exploring patterns in academic grades of 1.6 million students.
The analysis, published in prestigious journal Nature Communications, casts doubt on the view that there are fewer women in STEM-related jobs because they aren’t as capable in those subjects as men – a notion that has been supported by the concept that gender differences in variability lead to gender gaps in associated fields. Read more

High-tech jobs pathway for girls
The Girls in STEM Toolkit will encourage Australian girls to study and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) by introducing them to the range of professions within the area.
Education Services Australia will develop and deliver the toolkit, which was provided $580,000 funding in this year’s Budget. The Coalition Government announced $4.5 million in new funding in the 2018-19 Budget to encourage more women to pursue STEM education and careers. Read more

The devastating physiological cost of bullying
When bullying takes place, there is an immediate acute stress response, which is also known as the fight-flight-freeze response. The physiology of the fight-flight-freeze response involves the autonomic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system, and the parasympathetic nervous system. Read more

Voting now open for Wakakirri’s 2018 People’s Choice Awards
Wakakirri’s 2018 Primary and Secondary Challenges People’s Choice awards are now open for voting.
This year thousands of students from 240 schools around Australia hit the stage at 40 events held at professional theatres across the country to perform Story Dances (a short performance using dance and drama to tell a story) that express their thoughts, ideas and aspirations.
Read more

Dymocks education play Potentia
Our book retailers have been through a torrid time, we won’t mention the A word, and they have been forced to adapt and innovate, which Dymocks is in the midst of doing.
Dymocks has announced the launch of a new education business, Potentia, which will open its first Learning Hub in Bankstown, Sydney on 15th October, followed by a Parramatta centre in late October. Potentia offers high school tutoring in Maths and English and HSC tutoring across a broad range of subjects. Read more

New education resources for Go Back To Where You Came From
Go Back To Where You Came From Live is required viewing and SBS is making teaching resources linked to the program available, contextualising the global refugee crisis and encouraging thinking around the issue from a range of perspectives.
Developed in partnership with the Australian Red Cross, the resources are tailored to English students in Years 10 to 12 and are aligned to the Australian Curriculum. Read more