Education Excellence Awards finalists
The Department of Education and Training is excited to announce that the 2019 finalists for the Victorian Education Excellence Awards (VEEA) have been released by the Acting Minister for Education Gayle Tierney.
The finalists include a primary school teacher passionate about raising literacy standards, a school supporting and promoting Koorie culture and a principal who has advocated for strong student voice and leadership
- See the Minister's media release
- Read more on the Victorian Education Excellence Awards website
Gender neutral toilets: PV comment
The Herald-Sun recently reported on the installation of gender-neutral toilets at Brunswick East Primary School. (The article 
is behind a paywall, you can read it if you're a Herald-Sun subscriber.)
The article reports,
"Brunswick East Primary School says smelly urinals and safety and privacy fears have pushed it to choose gender neutral toilets. They are just one of the Melbourne schools embracing all gender restrooms. In a just completed maintenance upgrade, Brunswick East Primary School decided to embrace unisex toilets for a range of reasons including safety, privacy and hygiene. The Brunswick East school is among a number of schools choosing gender neutral toilets, often as part of an upgrade of existing facilities. Princes Hill Secondary College has committed to install the toilets. Carey Grammar has gender neutral toilets and uniforms... the lobby group Parents Victoria welcomed the toilets. “Some schools are realistic and sensible. We all have gender neutral bathrooms in our homes why not schools?” president Gail McHardy said."
(Note: Gail is actually PV's Executive Officer; our President is Sharron Healy).
PV Conference - save the date
18 & 19 November, 2019
Pullman Melbourne on the Park
Keynote speaker: Andrew Fuller
Brochure and program available soon - keep an eye on the website
Expert: we must fix inequity in education
Interesting article on the ABC website from Pasi Sahlberg, a Finnish education expert who now lives in Australia. He explains why equity is so important in an education system, why competition between schools delivers bad outcomes, and why his kids go to their local public school.
Australia must fix school inequity to create a top education system
About a year ago my life turned upside down, literally.
My wife and I, with our two school-aged children, moved to Sydney from Helsinki.
We soon realised that Australians do not walk upside down. But there were some things that we were not prepared for.
Ever since we arrived in our new hometown, people were curious to know how we chose a school for our sons.
For us it was no-brainer — the neighbourhood public school.
'Diverge' career workshops for Year 9/10 students
Provided by the Reach Foundation, Diverge comprises 2 workshops with an Interview Project in between them. During the two full-day workshops, the awesome Reach crew will help your Year 9/10 uncover their passions and start planning for life after school. The workshops are fun, interactive and full of activities designed to get them thinking about themselves and the things they care about. These leaders will shed some light on how they got to where they are and give advice about how you can turn your passions into an awesome career! Even better, these workshops are free of charge.
Victorian workshops are on 27 Aug and 10 Sep in Collingwood.
Download a PDF flyer with more information.
Herald-Sun quotes PV in article about online tests
This article, published in the Herald-Sun on 17 July, quotes PV Executive Officer
Gail McHardy.
New online tests for all Prep to Year 10 pupils
New online tests could help spot knowledge gaps in Victorian students, as well as decreasing stress around NAPLAN.
Ashley Argoon, Herald Sun
July 17, 2019 6:52pm
The online testing platform for Prep to Year 10 students will start with maths and expand to other subjects. Picture: iStockThe online testing platform for Prep to Year 10 students will start with maths and expand to other subjects.
Victorian students from Prep to Year 10 will soon take regular maths tests online, with other subjects set to follow.
Read more: Herald-Sun quotes PV in article about online tests
New Model Constitution for your Parent Club
As of Term 2, 2019, the Secretary of the Department of Education and Training has published a new Model Parent Club Constitution. Developed in consultation with Parents Victoria, this replaces the Model Constitution that was published in 2017. All Parent Clubs will be required to adopt the new Constitution.
What has changed?
There are a number of changes to the Constitution which aim to support the improved operations of Parent Clubs. These include:
- A change in the method of membership of the Parent Club. The previous Constitution required parents to become Financial Members of the Club. Financial Membership has now been changed to ‘Registered Membership’. The Registration Form is at Schedule 1 of the Constitution
- An additional section addressing Parent Club values. These are in line with the Department’s values
- The requirement for a quorum is now prescribed as ‘a minimum of 3 members’
- Clubs are encouraged to devise their own standing orders, dispute resolution process or code of conduct
- A requirement for Clubs to comply with Victorian privacy law and the Schools’ Privacy Policy
- The stipulation that Parent Clubs are not permitted to incorporate.
Next steps
See our Constitutions page for everything you need to know about adopting the new Constitution.
Saturday detention: our view
“What is the purpose, what is the benefit to everyone involved and how does that shift the behaviour?”
-PV Executive Officer Gail McHardy
In the media
A recent article in the Herald-Sun raised the issue of Saturday detention at Victorian Schools.
We can’t link to the article because it’s behind a pay-wall, but it covers a number of Melbourne government schools that list Saturday detention in their student handbooks. The article contained comments from a number of school Principals, including Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals president Sue Bell, who said, “It’s a last-ditch effort, really.” Ms Bell said when she was principal at Wantirna College, students who tagged school buildings in graffiti were required to come to the campus on a weekend and repair the damage. She said the exercise offered an opportunity to talk to the student about what was going on. “And it was a nice way for them to give back,” she said.
National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence
The National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence was on 15 March. There was a terrific response from Victorian schools to the Day of Action this year – over 1,000 Victorian schools, and nearly 500,000 students, signed up to participate in the day. The Education Department launched a new video it has developed in collaboration with VAEAI and the Melbourne Football Club. The video addresses racist bullying, particularly directed towards Koorie students, and promotes upstander behaviour. It shares practical and safe strategies that students can take if they see or hear racist bullying – with the message of support ‘I have your back’.
Poster competition
The Department is also running a student poster competition, with ISV and CEO, to continue promoting the theme of upstander. As well as some generous prizes, the winning posters will be printed and sent to all schools.
More resources
See our Anti-bullying resources page for more information from the Education Department and other sources.
