TA TALK

Issue 26

December 2017

The team at ATA would like to wish you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday and a happy Christmas and New Year.

As another year draws to a close we once again reflect on the year that was. Did you know that in 2017 we published twenty new professional development resources? Six of these were presented by our amazing partners, who shared their time and expertise on a range of educational topics from disability to literacy.

Our community webinars have become a popular regular event with educators, and the support of our partners has made it possible to access professional development that is both current and relevant to teacher aides.

Have a look at next year’s upcoming events, to read about the many exciting topics we have already planned for you. 

Lastly, a very big thank you to schools, training organisations and individual and student members, for the support and encouragement you have shown throughout the year, in webinars, on MyPLC, in person, and by email.

We will close for a break over Christmas and New Year, and look forward to bringing you more exciting professional development in 2018.

Merry Christmas!

Warm regards

Stella and Mandy

Special thanks to Lynne, Mike, Yurii and team at Aspedia for their ongoing support and service to Australian Teacher Aide. The Aspedia team  designed, built and now service the ATA website and membership portal and enable us to provide you, our members and subscribers, a seamless professional development experience everyday.

THE SPEECH TREE 

Frances Brennan, Speech Pathologist, and owner of The Speech Tree, has been working with children with additional learning needs for over seven years as an integration aide, tutor and speech pathologist. In February this year, Frances presented the webinar, Teach Children And Adolescents To Read And Spell With Confidence, where she discussed both systematic and analytic phonic approaches and the importance of explicit teaching in literacy.

NORTHERN CENTRE FOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Amanda Abel, Paediatric Psychologist, and owner of Northern Centre for Child Development, has over fourteen years’ experience working with families and has a special interest in paediatrics, autism spectrum disorders, developmental delays, learning difficulties, disabilities and behaviour management. In March this year, Amanda presented the webinar, Top Tips for Helping Students with Anxiety, where she explained how anxiety presents in both primary and secondary school students and discussed the impact that anxiety has on a student’s behaviour. Amanda shared strategies to manage anxiety in the moment, as well as proactive strategies for teaching replacement skills to reduce the impact the anxiety has on the behaviour and learning of students.

ASSISTIVE AND INCLUSIVE TECHNOLOGIES, Department of Education and Training QLD

Jeff Souter is an Assistive and Inclusive Technologies consultant at the Department of Education and Training. In May this year, Jeff presented the webinar, Assistive Technology for Students with Disability, where he explored a range of technologies that can be used to enhance the capacity for students to engage with their curriculum and to support the role of the teacher aide in delivering effective learning to their students. This is a highly practical webinar with lots of useful hints and tips.

AUTISM UNDERSTANDING

Lydia Meem, Clinical Psychologist and Founder of Autism Understanding, presented our July community webinar, Practical Strategies For Assisting Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Lydia shared practical strategies for overcoming common difficulties in the classroom (e.g. interrupting, difficulties with transitions, group work) and in the playground (e.g. being the playground policeman, coping with noise, dealing with losing). Lydia has given us access to her ASD student profile checklist which is very useful for getting to know students with ASD. You will find this tool below the webinar recording.

We are excited to announce that Lydia will be presenting with us again next year, in October, and the topic will be Working Inclusively.

ANDRELL EDUCATION 

“If they can’t say it, they can’t write it” says Samantha Taylor, registered teacher and founder of Andrell Education. Samantha presented our highly popular August community webinar, Big Write and VCOP – A Fun Program To Improve Student Writing, where she shared the oral based approach to writing that assists students to transfer their verbal skills to written skills. We are delighted to advise that Samantha will present another Big Write and VCOP webinar, with a focus on older students, in February next year.

THE KITCHEN GARDEN TEACHER

Robyn Cook, veteran garden teacher and founder of The Kitchen Garden Teacher, presented our final community webinar for 2017, Growing Entrepreneurs and Sustaining Communities with School Kitchen Gardens. In November, Robyn shared her experience on how to extend learning beyond the four walls of the classroom, including creating micro-business opportunities and building productive relationships with communities.

FROM BULLIED TO BRILLIANT

In 2016, Karen Clarke presented the webinar, Ending the Pattern of Bullying, and we have been working with Karen since to create a more comprehensive coaching program for schools. Module 1: Understanding Bullying in Schools is close to completion and will be available in the first part of 2018.

MEMBER WEBINAR: How to Apply for a Position as a Teacher Aide: A Step by Step Guide

Teacher aide jobs are in high demand, with many people competing for the one position. For many jobs you will need to submit a formal application, and answer a set of selection criteria, to be shortlisted for an interview.

In this two part webinar, you will learn how to write a great job application, including:

• the do’s and don’ts
• why key words are important
• breaking the selection criteria code
• using the STAR model to write effective    responses
• how to demonstrate your experience for the job
• preparing for the interview

At the end of the two sessions, you will be ready to apply for your dream job in a school.

UPCOMING COMMUNITY WEBINARS

We are busy putting together our 2018 calendar of events and, whilst we still have some events to finalise, we are excited to announce that we already have the following great webinars confirmed:

February

Writing in the middle years: Using fast, fun oral based activities to engage older students

Presenter: Samantha Taylor, Andrell Education

March

Supporting the transition to school

Presenter: Di Homer, C&K

April

Working with students with disability

Presenter: Rachelle Day, HappyDots

May

Reading strategies - before, during and after

Presenter: Reading Coach TBA, Reading Centre

July

Supporting students with dyslexia

Presenter: Marion McMahon, SPELD QLD

October

Working inclusively

Presenter: Lydia Meem, Autism Understanding

November

Building resilience in adolescents

Presenter: Dr Paula Barrett, FRIENDS Resilience

POST 1 What is one of the more remarkable gifts you have received from a student?

5,675 views

87 reactions, comments and shares

Oh my goodness, your comments were a delight to read. Some of your gifts had a very personal touch such as heartfelt notes and hand-written cards, a signed canvas, home baked goodies, hand painted gifts and videos created by students. But you also told us you received perfume, flowers, Christmas decorations that you still hang on your tree today and jewellery from the Solomon Islands. How wonderful to see the thought that has gone into choosing or creating these gorgeous gifts to acknowledge their amazing teachers and teacher aides.

POST 2 No matter how old I become, I will still sing the ABCs in my head ...

4,267 views
177 reactions, comments and shares

Many of you were brave enough to 'fess up' and admit that you recite the alphabet in your head, sometimes out loud!, when needing to recall the order of letters. Just for the record ... we do it too!

WINNER - School Membership

Briagolong Primary School, Victoria

Entry submitted by Kylie Johnston, pictured left.

Principal: Mark Donald (not pictured). 

WINNER - $500 Resource Voucher (Sponsored by ATA)

Fennell Bay Public School, NSW

Entry submitted by Kristina Snowden, pictured right, alongside Principal, Colin Scully. Kristina and Colin were snapped in costume before their recent school performance of the Perfect Potion.

WINNER - $100 School Supplies Voucher (Sponsored by Teacher Superstore)

Wyoming Public School, NSW

Entry submitted by Victoria Austen-Young, pictured alongside Principal, Rebecca Wild.

If you are a new ATA member, or considering becoming one, this video will familiarise you with the member portal in just 8 short minutes. Grab a cuppa and start your tour!