TA TALK
Issue 55
May 2020
Welcome to the May edition of TA Talk.
The past few months have certainly brought changes to the way we work.
We know from our recent Facebook poll that many of you have learned new ways to support students with remote learning, such as joining in with classes on Teams, using Google Meets to connect with students, and checking in with students via email.
Over the past few months, we have also noticed an uptake in professional learning for teacher aides, by schools around Australia. From the number of certificates, we have been issuing, we know you are really embracing this opportunity.
Who could have imagined that a world pandemic would lead to more professional development for education support staff!
Schools can also recognise the contribution teacher aides make to the learning and wellbeing of students by nominating a teacher aide for the 2020 Australian Teacher Aide of the Year. There are only 5 weeks left to submit nominations.
If you need some inspiration, we have just published a series of Australian Teacher Aide Stories, where you can hear from last year's finalists and learn about the amazing work they do.
We know you have been missing your students and colleagues, and as everyone returns to school over the coming weeks we wish you all a safe and productive Term 2.
Warm regards
Mandy and Stella
2020 AUSTRALIAN TEACHER AIDE OF THE YEAR AWARDS
Nominations close Friday 3rd July
It's that time again!
Recognise a teacher aide at your school by nominating them for the Australian Teacher Aide of the Year award.
Criteria:
- Positive impact on student learning and wellbeing
- Collaboration with colleagues and the community
- Continuous improvement through professional development and training
This is your opportunity to acknowledge the important role teacher aides play in your school by nominating them for Australian Teacher Aide of the Year.
We received over 100 nominations last year, and the winner was Jacque Mengel, from Maribyrnong Primary School in the ACT.
Will your school have the winning nomination this year?
DO YOU HAVE CERTIFICATES FOR ALL YOUR PD?
Did you know you can request certificates for any PD you do from our Professional Development library? We know many of you have completed loads of professional learning but have not yet requested certificates as evidence of your participation.
It's not too late to request certificates for what you have already completed. Simply follow the steps in the FAQ below.
More Assistive Technology for Students with Disability
Our latest resource, More Assistive Technology for Students with Disability, presented by Jeff Souter, is now available on demand, in our member’s library. Jeff who is the Queensland Department of Education, State-wide Advisory Visiting Teacher for Assistive Technologies demonstrates how to help students engage with the curriculum. Some of the apps and features you will learn to use in this webinar include: iPad accessibility features, PowerPoint screen recording, voice control tools, augmented reality and many more freely available assistive tools.
Top Tips to Turn Your Fear About COVID-19 into a Fierce Focus
Beth Berghan, a Personal, Business and Executive Success Coach explains how to understand your fears about COVID -19, and what drives them, and shares strategies to manage your fears and help you cope with the new 'normal'.
Essential Behaviour Support Skills for Schools Part 1: Prevention
Tuesday 9 June 2020 at 3:30pm AEST
Join us to learn how to use the language of expectation to talk with students about learning and behaviour. We will also be exploring practical strategies to prevent behaviour issues arising in the first place.
N.B At our last live web event, we had more people try to attend than available places. Our apologies to those who tried to join but were unable to. We have since addressed this issue by upgrading our webinar facility and we can now accept up to 500 attendees at any one live event.
PREVIEW THE LATEST VIDEOS
Not yet a member but want to know more about our professional development?
You can view trailers of many of our video resources. The latest previews are on the ATA home page, and you will also find links to previews in each of the Interest Groups.
AUSTRALIAN TEACHER AIDE STORIES
Why it took us 6 months to publish!
Last year we invited the eight finalists in the Australian Teacher Aide of the Year Awards and the people who nominated them, to join us for a series of interviews.
We finished the interviews by the end of October last year, and were ready to publish them when the bushfires struck! Some of the schools where our finalists work were severely impacted by this tragic event, so we decided to hold the stories over to early this year.
Then the pandemic happened! And once more it seemed inappropriate to publish these stories while we were focused on how to navigate our way safely in this strange new world!
Six months down the track we are delighted to finally share these stories with you, which are inspirational and give us an insight into the passion, skills, and collegiality of each of the finalists. We hope you enjoy them.
WHAT'S TRENDING ON THE ATA FACEBOOK PAGE
Time to 'defrag' and that means closing as many work tabs in your head, as possible
15,073 views
542 reactions, comments and shares
We wonder how many of you managed to find 'Control Alt Delete' and relax on the weekend following this post. We know it's a challenge but worth mastering the art :)
The perfect teaching combo
9,294 views 508 reactions, comments and shares
From your comments on this post, we can see that you value collaboration and great teaching teams! Thank you for posting your nominations, too, but don't forget to follow through and nominate a teacher aide for the 2020 Australian Teacher Aide of the Year. The nomination form and details are HERE.
Leaders in Professional Learning for Teacher Aides
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