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Welcome to the Northern Territory Principals’ Association (NTPA). Happy New Year to all our Principals and Assistant Principals around the Northern Territory. I hope you have had a wonderful and restful Christmas break. Welcome back to a new school year….one that promises to be eventful with elections in the Territory in August, as well as everything that is happening at your school and through NTPA. We will be conducting our first face to face executive meeting on Friday 21 February and will have a calendar of events out following that.
I would like to congratulate and welcome all of our newly appointed Principals and Assistant Principals for 2020 either for the first time or in a new school. I wish you well for this year and I wish you continuing success and joy in your important work leading your communities. Your work is pivotal to the learning of students across the territory. It is a complex and demanding role, and one that you can find support in through our professional association.
As the voice of school leadership in the NT, we represent the interests of principals, assistant principals from all schools across the NT.
We work collegially and collaboratively to promote leadership and learning to create better outcomes for all students, in our schools and communities, regardless of geography and socio economic circumstances. Principals are the forefront in this work.
We understand that when principal leadership is strong, even the most challenged schools can thrive. Therefore, the NTPA seeks to enhance the quality of educational leadership and to influence the direction of the NT educational agenda. We believe we can achieve our purpose by:
- supporting members to grow professionally and personally throughout their leadership journey
- effectively representing members in educational policy development and implementation:
- advocating for education and whole school leadership.
We will continue to learn and grow as we enhance our diversity, build our resilience, and excel in our fields.
We look forward to continuing to have a strong voice and be influential advocates for educational leaders across the NT. Our Executive team work hard to support members and attend regular meetings with the Minister, the CE, HR, COGSO, AEU just to name a few to advocate, inform and influence for the benefit of school leaders.
By becoming a member of NTPA you are enhancing your network: For most people, creating professional relationships is important, and joining a group allows you to have a sense of security and trust. Our members are bonded together as they advocate for their peers and share their challenges and triumphs with one another. Joining an association provides members with a competitive advantage because they become active, informed members of education. Through NTPA we brief our members on important education trends, highlight new legislative rulings, research and professional learning. NTPA provides networking opportunities, allowing individuals to connect with their peers, mentors, and other leaders. While we understand it can be difficult to take the time out to attend meetings and events it is critical for your wellbeing that you do. Listening to the experiences of others may even leave you feeling energized and refreshed with the feeling you are not alone in the role.
Please take the time to look at NTPA 2020 strategic priorities as attached.
I am honoured to continue as president in 2020 and hope to continue to grow our membership base. I look forward to working with and advocating for our great Territory leaders. I am hoping to visit more schools this year for the purpose of connecting for support, to hear your challenges and share the amazing work going on in schools. Please get in contact if you would be interested in me coming to visit your school.
I can be contacted on:
Email: ntpa.president@ntschools.net
Phone: 0409386744
Thanks
Warm regards,
Britany Roestenburg
ph. 0409386744
President Email: ntpa.admin@ntschools.net or ntpa.president@ntschools.net
We are proud to present the NTPA Executive team for 2020.
Please feel free to reach out and make contact with the team.
As a valued member we would like to hear your opinion on how we shape NTPA for 2020
We would appreciate you taking the time to fill in our survey.
Here is some of the some terrific feedback on our Assistant Principal Days. We look forward to tayloring the professional learning around your survey responses.
Opportunity for government school principals
NTPA are committed to supporting and developing our next wave of leaders, to this end I would like to draw your attention to the opportunity to mentor 1 of 23 emerging school leaders who will be participants in the Leadership for School Improvement Program.
The Program has been designed with the dual purpose of growing the Northern Territory’s emerging school leaders while also harnessing the knowledge and experience of our current principals. It is a contemporary, cutting-edge leadership development program that will expose participants to international research and world renowned educational thought leaders. Working in partnership with the Queensland Education Leadership Institute (QELi), the school leadership development team has designed a program that will challenge and reward experienced principals as they embark on a mentoring partnership with an emerging school leader, outside of their school. Throughout the course, the experienced principals will also undertake action research to influence and lead system improvement and transformation.
Please be advised this is an 18 month professional learning program. If successful, you will need to be in Darwin on 18 and 19 March 2020.
Expressions of Interest are now open and further information can be found on the Leadership for School improvement site via the intranet.
Applications close Sunday 11:59pm - 23 February 2020
Have you renewed your membership for 2020 yet?
NTPA membership is a calendar year- so its time to renew for 2020!
Please email completed forms to ntpa.admin@ntschools.net
Links to other Professional Learning Opportunities, Publications, and Professional Reading:
Dear Australian colleagues
On behalf of all ICP Member Associations from across the globe I reach out to you,
our Australian members, colleagues, families and communities at this extremely difficult time.
For many of us it is beyond comprehension - the terror, the devastation, and the impact both now,
and into the future, of these catastrophic fires. Each day we wake to more images and news of loss
of life, property (including schools) and the destruction of entire communities, and feel so helpless.
Summertime in Australia is normally a time of rest and rejuvenation, and instead for many
it has been a time of great fear, tragedy and uncertainty; and it is far from over. While I do not know
your personal circumstances, I do know that school principals are always community leaders, and
in small communities, you are often the only leader.
Many of us have visited your magnificent, beautiful country – the amazing environment
and unique wildlife, and in many ways we are too stunned to adequately express
what is in our thoughts.
Please know that the ICP Community is here to offer help and support from afar – you are in
our thoughts and prays.
Although words can never truly convey my deep concern, please know that
our support for you is only an email or phone call away.
Alta
Early learning services and schools can play a critical role in supporting communities to respond and recover from the bushfire crisis, whether they have been directly or indirectly affected by the fires. While the physical impact of the bushfire crisis is obvious, the mental health impact may not be.
To support educators in looking after themselves and the children and young people in their care as they return from holidays, Be You has developed a Bushfires resource pack.
The online pack of resources from across the Australian mental health sector will enable you to quickly find information and support that’s relevant to you.
The pack is split into three sections: immediate, short-term and longer-term, acknowledging that mental health recovery from these bushfires may take some time. As more resources are developed, they will be added to the pack.
We hope your learning community finds this information useful and we’ll let you know when more Be You support is available in response to the bushfire crisis.
Warm regards
The Be You Team
On behalf of the Conference Organising Committee, it is our pleasure to invite you to participate in the Joint Conference of the Australian Special Education Principals' Association (ASEPA) and the Special Education Principals’ and Leaders’ Association NSW (SEPLA).
The 2020 Conference will be held at International Convention Centre (ICC) Sydney from Monday, 20th July to Wednesday, 22nd July 2020.
Our theme for the Joint ASEPA National Conference and SEPLA-CON 2020 is:
‘Voice!’
The 2020 Conference Program will consist a mix of presentation types, which include:
Workshops (45 minutes)
- Oral Presentations (45 minutes)
- Poster presentations.
The Conference Organising Committee is seeking submissions related to the following topics:
Student Voice - How do we enable student voice and agency in our schools and communities? How do our students co-design their learning? How are our students supported to express their knowledge and their opinions? We want to hear from the learners in our school communities.
Community Voice - How can our community support us to listen to and enable student voice? What can our community teach us about how we create environments for students that enable success? We want to hear from disability elders, therapists, charities and other disability support agencies.
Parent Voice - What can parents and carers of students with disabilities teach us about how we create environments for students that enable success. We want to hear from parents and carers.
Educator Voice - How do we ensure our well being and professional capacity as educators to create and maintain environments that enable success for our students and school communities? We want to hear from educators including teachers, School Learning Support Officers, co-educators and teacher educators.
School Voice - How do schools engage with their networks and wider community? How are schools innovating and collaborating to enable student voice, support transitions, foster inclusive practice and use resourcing flexibly to create better learning outcomes for our students? We want to hear from school teams and school leaders.
System Voice - How do education and other state systems support their mainstream and specialist settings to ensure high quality education for students with a disability? We want to hear from people working within the different state and territory education departments.
For more information on the Call for Abstracts process, including accessing the submission portal, please download our Submission Guidelines below. All abstracts must be completed and submitted via the portal before the deadline of Monday, 17th February 2020.
TFA’s impact in the Northern Territory
Teach For Australia (TFA) is celebrating 10 years this year.
We wanted to share with your members the below report on our impact across Australia. Since we began partnering with the Northern Territory in 2012, TFA has placed 72 teachers at 14 schools across the NT. We are happy that you were able to see some of our work yourself when you attended a Selection Day last year.
Your members may also be aware, we partnered with Shepherdson College on Galiwin'ku this year with a fit for purpose support model that meets the needs of remote schools and Associate development. We are happy to report it is going really well!
Two of our teachers placed in the NT were recently interviewed for our website;
Hannah Morris talks about starting a nonprofit focused on connecting aspirational high school students with work experience placements while teaching at Nightcliff Middle School in this article.
Michael Kingston, who is now at Palmerston College, reflects on his experience teaching in in this article.
For futher information please visit our website:
https://www.teachforaustralia.org/
Australian Women’s Leadership Symposia
The Australian Women's Leadership Symposia are a national series of events focused on the experiences of women leaders in the contemporary workforce.
Taking place in every state and territory capital between May and September, the Symposia are an unparalleled gathering of the best and brightest female talent. Keynote speakers include: Nova Peris, Ita Buttrose, Libby Trickett, Ann Sherry, Catherine Fox, Tammie Matson, Sallyanne Atkinson and many, many more.
The events will feature a range of presentations, panel discussions and interactive sessions covering a highly captivating range of topics.
An attendance discount of 25% is currently available by entering code ANSY20 at the time of booking (available until each symposium sells out). For more information and to book: https://www.wla.edu.au/symposium.html
The potential consequences of undetected hearing loss:
- Speech & language issues
- Difficulty reading
- Social isolation
- Risk of academic failure
- Disruptive behaviour
- Depression
800 schools nationally and over 20,000 students have utilised the free Sound Scouts hearing check App
To find out more about using Sound Scouts at your school check out our School Resources.
Looking for a good podcast or TED talk to tune into ?
Words can change the world: how language learning deepens connection | Louka Parry | TEDxAdelaide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tMuDl_iPxk
Why learn another language? Words provide us with the ability for connection, empathy and perspective-taking. And when you learn multiple languages you improve your brain, you accelerate your capacity to learn, and you become a better communicator. Vitally, you are also able to step into the world of another human being. To truly understand them and speak to their heart. The question isn’t why should you learn a language, it’s why wouldn’t you. Louka Parry is an award-winning educator and hyperlearner who speaks five languages, holds two Masters degrees and has traveled to over 50 countries. After growing up monolingual in the city of Adelaide, Australia, Louka moved to Europe and uncovered a passion for languages, culture and learning. He returned to Australia to become a teacher and began his career in a very remote Aboriginal community, now working globally to help transform schools and learning. He continues to accumulate languages and advocates for all of us to step into the unknown to grow, connect and thrive. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
We would love to hear of some of your favourite podcasts or reads that we can share with the members.