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LEVNT NETWORKS

15 October 2015

Issue No. 17

Prime Ministers come and go, AFL premiers keep rolling on with some degree of monotony, we find ourselves at the mercy of the elements with the hottest ever start to October and bushfires already raging in Victoria. Life is fragile. Ask the people of St John’s Lutheran School, Portland, who this week have been struggling with the sudden and shock death of a young man connected with their school community. Life rolls on but is it passing us by? Have we made, or are we making a difference in our world, so that it may become a better place as a result of our efforts? The combination of completing my tax return last week and compiling Gospel Reflections for this week has been a challenging exercise. (In the gospel reading for this week, Jesus concludes with the observation that

the rich man walked away sad.) There is a web site called GLOBAL RICH LIST - accessible via this hyperlink,

or easily found by typing those words into Google. If we enter a modest annual income figure of say $50,000 (which is well below the average full time weekly wage in Australia) we may be surprised by the result – it places us in the top 1% of the richest people in the world! We are enormously and bountifully blessed in this country. What are we doing with our wealth? As we in Lutheran schools shape our culture, including the way we serve those around us, we can do well to take a lesson from Ignatian Spirituality, which has as one of its four pillars, the focus on helping and supporting others – or simply the pillar OTHER. This is beautifully illustrated in the legend of an aging Jesuit who was scheduled to address his congregation at worship, but was so seriously ill that he was unable to even get out of bed. He decided to send his sermon in on paper. He sent one word: OTHER. May we be challenged to look at ways and means of helping and supporting those less fortunate than ourselves as we strive to make a difference.

Neville Grieger

Assistant Director

[email protected]

LEVNT Networks is distributed fortnightly

Please ensure that ALL staff and school councillors receive this communication

http://www.globalrichlist.com/

mailto:[email protected]


LEVNT NEWS

Welcome to Term 4, the beginning of the end of the school year! We wish school communities every blessing during this often hectic time, where staff are not only frantically planning activities for the end of school year, but also starting to cast one eye to the beginning of the next. As we are now entering the period of valedictory and end of year services, the LEVNT staff will make a concerted effort to attend all services. Attending these important events is a terrific way to connect to school communities, reaffirming the service of the staff and celebrating the achievements of the school community. At present our staff are confirming dates for attendance at services so confirmation regarding attendance will be communicated to schools next week.

Paul Weinert Director

[email protected]

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME 2016

Round 6 We are about to roll out Round 6 of the Leadership Development Program (LDP6). We now invite aspiring leaders from all schools across LEVNT to register an expression of interest in participating in this two-year program. A full application and information package will be available to anyone who expresses an interest. Places are limited given that our region has been allocated eight (8) places for 2016. Applications will close on Monday, 02 November. Further generic information is also available from the LEA web site via the following link: LDP information In the first instance, interested persons are invited to express interest in participating in LDP6 to the LEVNT Regional LDP Manager, Assistant Director, Neville Grieger via email to [email protected] Note that this is not to be confused with the LEVNT Emerging Leaders program and the subsidised study modules available through that program, which will continue as another leadership pathway development option. There will be more information in the near future about the planned Emerging Leaders day on Friday, 20 November.

Neville Grieger

Assistant Director

[email protected]


http://www.lutheran.edu.au/school-professionals/leadership/leadership-development-program/




PATHWAYS: VOCATIONAL

What’s this global and national network of Lutheran schools?

What is central to a Lutheran School?

What does it mean to be a teacher in a Lutheran school?

How can I contribute to the mission of the Lutheran school in which I work?

What does a Lutheran understanding of vocation mean for the work of a teacher in a

Lutheran school?

Where have we been and where are we going?

Please email confirmation of your attendance to: Liz Pietsch Education Officer [email protected] Tel: 03 9236 1271

Pathways: Vocational

We look forward to welcoming you to the regional workshop for

Pathways: Vocational

Date: Friday, November 27, 2015

Registration: 9.15 am

Workshop: 9.30 am – 3.30 pm

Morning Tea and Lunch provided

(please email Liz with any dietary requirements)

Venue: Holy Cross Conference and Retreat Centre

207 Serpells Road

Templestowe Vic

Facilitators: Neville Grieger, Assistant Director, LEVNT

Liz Pietsch, Education Officer, LEVNT



CURRICULUM NEWS

Welcome back to term 4 – how the school year flies by! A number of curriculum publications have been released over the term break which may (or may not, depending on which state or school you are in!) be of relevance to you.

The Education Council has endorsed the F-10 Australian Curriculum (the revised curriculum for

English, Maths, Science, Humanities/Social Sciences, Arts, Technologies & HPE), the Languages

curriculum, and Work Studies curriculum (optional for year 9-10)

The new Victorian Curriculum has been published on the VCAA website. It embeds the Australian

Curriculum and will replace AusVELS (which will continue to be available until the end of 2016). An

email detailing the major changes in the new Victorian Curriculum was sent out to principals and

curriculum leaders before the holidays, but this summary is a good starting point:

http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/foundation10/viccurriculum/viccurr-resources.aspx

If any curriculum/school leader would like to have a conversation about these curriculum changes, please contact me – if there is sufficient interest from a number of schools I can organise a teleconference to talk through particular changes, approaches to transitions or other issues.

Network meetings in Term 4 At this point there is just one curriculum network meeting scheduled for this term – the Central Hub Primary Curriculum Leaders will meet on Tuesday, 10 November at St John’s Lutheran Church, Southgate – please let me know of any items to add to our agenda. This group also met last term and was treated to a presentation by Kylie Mitchell, eLearning Coordinator at The Good Shepherd Lutheran Primary School. Kylie gave an overview of eLearning at GSLPS, gave food for thought about data storage and app/software evaluations at the school level, and shared her ‘ICT steps to success’. I’m hoping I can soon share this presentation with other curriculum leaders in our Region. Thank you Kylie and Good Shepherd for your generosity in sharing your expertise!

Yammer Once again I’d like to encourage curriculum leaders in our Region to engage with our Yammer group: please post questions, interesting links or resources to enable collegial conversations and sharing across our community of Lutheran schools. Please contact me if you think you should be a part of this group and have not been ‘invited’.

Riverina Innovation Expedition September 02-04 saw 20 teachers and leaders from Lutheran schools in the Riverina embark on an overland mission to be inspired, challenged and provoked (in a positive way) to think about innovation, cultural change and the nature of 21st century learning at two leading schools of innovation in Sydney. The driving force behind this trip was Sharon Kotzur, Principal of St John’s Lutheran School, Jindera, who booked the tour as a professional learning experience for her staff (almost all of whom were able to make it) and encouraged and included representatives from the other Lutheran schools in the Riverina Hub as well as myself as a LEVNT representative.

The program designed by Sharon featured a ‘Bootcamp Day’ at the Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning at Northern Beaches Christian School and a half day program at Claremont College in Randwick. While discussions about 21st century learning can often be focussed heavily on technology and its implementation, the major theme of this tour was that the real innovation begins in the minds/mindsets of leaders and teachers – innovation in school culture, and in the subsequent pedagogical choices of teachers in classrooms.

http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/foundation10/viccurriculum/viccurr-resources.aspx


Northern Beaches Christian School - Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning Northern Beaches Christian School has undergone enormous physical, professional and cultural growth over the past decade, and is now recognised both nationally and internationally as a leader in educational innovation. In our bootcamp Guru sessions we heard powerful stories of how school leadership and staff continually consider and refine their vision for learning in the school and give serious consideration to how any barrier can be removed so that teachers are enabled and encouraged to experiment, collaborate, reflect and refine their approaches to teaching and learning. The school makes extensive use of design thinking (see http://notosh.com/what-we-do/the-design-thinking-school/) to solve problems and create new ways of achieving goals. The result is a community that is obviously dynamic, energised, creative and flexible. Innovation at NBCS is focussed on technology, space and pedagogy. Technology NBCS has a BYOD (Bring your own device) program in place for all students from years 5-12. Teachers and students use MOODLE and Google Docs to create a virtual space in which to organise and access content, resources, learning activities and assessment. Teachers and students use a range of applications and devices, and the emphasis is on mobility and flexible delivery. While the learning spaces we saw featured trolleys of laptops, plenty of data projectors and so on, it was clearly not the focus of the classroom – rather, the interaction between students and teachers and the active work of learning was paramount, whether that occurred with a device in hand or a cardboard roll and sticky tape! Space NBCS has some impressive physical spaces. The paint had barely dried on their newest precinct, aptly named Manhattan and the City (see it here: http://www.nbcs.nsw.edu.au/showcase/manhattan-and-the-city-video-fly-through), which features open courtyards and gathering spaces (and the biggest screen you’d ever see in a school), a café, independent and collaborative learning spaces. It’s easy to be overawed, but important to remember that we also saw a range of older, more traditional school buildings that have been repurposed to enable agility, physical transformation, collaboration and groupings of many kinds. Key elements of the physical environment in classrooms included

furniture that could be easily moved to create different

groupings and spaces

plenty of natural light giving a feeling of openness and

transparency and

the lack of a single focal point in the classroom (ie the teacher’s board) – rather many surfaces

served as writing/thinking/teaching surfaces (think whiteboard surfaces on the back of furniture, desk

tops etc)

Each large space incorporated a range of smaller spaces for different types of groupings (caves, campfires and waterholes – see the Thorburg reading) and different types of activity (quiet work, building and making, wet areas, performance or gathering areas). An important emphasis was also on the ‘layers of space’ in the school: physical (including buildings, furniture), virtual (the access and flow of information) and cultural (the mindset and atmosphere), and that each of these layers must combine and align to contribute to the overall success of the learning environment.

We were encouraged to question the why behind the what for the things that we do, including simple mundane daily tasks right up to the way the school functioned.

Maddy Scholz

My opinion and mindset has certainly shifted. I was really encouraged to see that the focus was on students communicating and learning collaboratively rather than just using technology to learn.

David Miles

http://notosh.com/what-we-do/the-design-thinking-school/

http://www.nbcs.nsw.edu.au/showcase/manhattan-and-the-city-video-fly-through

http://www.nbcs.nsw.edu.au/showcase/manhattan-and-the-city-video-fly-through


Pedagogy NBCS is committed to growing their culture and practice of personalised learning. Core to their approach is the practice of collaborative teaching, where a team of teachers take responsibility for a cohort of around 60 students, planning together and sharing the delivery and management of students both individually and in like-need groups. Teachers made wide use of Passion Projects and Learning Matrices (Gardiner/Blooms) to empower students to make choices and

direct their own learning. Areas of teacher expertise are tapped through the scheduling of ‘guru sessions’ during open learning periods to enable students with a particular need to access just-in-time explicit teaching. Technology was purposefully embedded across curriculum areas and appeared pivotal to accessing information, demonstrating learning and monitoring student learning and progress.

It was in the discussion of pedagogy that the flexibility of the physical space really came to life. The physical space was really an enabler of the pedagogical vision of students and teachers moving to (or creating) spaces that met their requirements, gathering with peers who shared the same learning purpose and used resources (technological or otherwise) that enabled them to engage with each other and their learning. Flexibility is also a hallmark of teachers’ work in the classroom, as pop-up workshops appear as misconceptions or needs were identified, new resources are accessed in response to student ideas and checkpoints were created to ensure all learners were making (or were supported towards) progress. Claremont College

Claremont College is a 130-year-old Anglican primary school in Randwick, which is in the process of significant physical refurbishment in line with their vision for 21st century teaching and learning. At the core of Claremont’s vision is a conviction about the many benefits of teacher professional collaboration, and their gradual refurbishment has created open learning spaces where teachers share responsibility for students in groups of 50-60. Teachers and leaders at Claremont spoke passionately (and realistically) about the benefits (both for themselves and their students) of co-teaching – sharing the burden of classroom challenges, making the most of individual teacher strengths, learning from each other, keeping each other professionally accountable and encouraging growth.

Teachers talked about different models of co-teaching that are used at various times, such as teacher leader and assistant, parallel teaching, alternate teaching and station teaching (catering for different needs or interests). Co-teaching also has the distinct benefit of demonstrating to students how to learn from and work with others. Three key considerations for co-teaching were identified, namely:

The importance of professional dialogue in planning, evaluating and goal setting in regard to

teaching practices and activities

The importance of knowing the learners and how to cater for their learning needs

Consideration of groups within the larger group

Teachers on our tour reflected on the focussed, ‘homely’ and friendly environment of the school and the way in which students seemed to enjoy being in their classrooms which were both functional and aesthetically pleasing. The consistent use of explicit learning intentions to sharpen students’ attention on their purpose for learning was also readily evident. Of course any short term visit raises as many questions as it answers (perhaps more) – some of these seek to clarify things we saw or heard, others are a yearning to see more and go deeper, and yet others look to how we can reflect on our own practices and apply what we’ve learned to our own context.

Both schools focused on teaching the students to be THINKERS. Students were encouraged to be creative, ask questions, be involved in decision making, ask questions, research and explore.

Fiona Schulz

We saw open learning in practice … It was amazing to see the focus of the students. It also gave opportunity for safe experimentation and to trial new ideas in a safe supported atmosphere. The learners at this school had a real control and ownership over their learning.

Megan Dickins

It highlighted to me the importance of using people's strengths and holding each other accountable to better our teaching practices. Each of us has so much to offer and we can learn so much from those around us.

Natalie Wright


How can we reinvent what we already have? What skills do I need to develop in using technology to design learning tasks and to record and view student work? How can we make the best use of our meeting and release times to share professional dialogues and improve student engagement? Deb Kennelly I was challenged to think outside the box - what could Learning Support look like? What has the most impact? Which method do students feel most comfortable with? Natalie Wright How do we monitor what each student is doing when on computers or iPads in their special learning space? Therese Schmidt The heart of each of these questions is: does it actually work and if it does how can we adopt these strategies for ourselves? Maddy Scholz

I’m looking forward to seeing where these questions lead!

More information:

Northern Beaches Christian School - http://www.nbcs.nsw.edu.au/ ; a short Channel 10 news feature can also be accessed at https://vimeo.com/89886128

Claremont College - http://www.claremont.nsw.edu.au/index.html

To read more about David Thorburg’s learning spaces (Cave, campfire, watering hole see tcpd.org/Thornburg/Handouts/Campfires.pdf)

Vicki Schilling

Assistant Education Officer [email protected]

GEELONG LUTHERAN COLLEGE ST JOHN’S LUTHERAN SCHOOL BUSINESS MANAGER APPOINTMENT As announced in the Newsletter on 23 July, John Aras will retire from his position as Business Manager at Geelong Lutheran College and St John’s Lutheran School by the end of this year. Working in close co-operation with the Lutheran Education Vic, NSW & Tas Regional Office, applications have been sought, interviews conducted and an appointment of a new Business Manager made. Geelong Lutheran College and St John’s Lutheran School are pleased to announce that Andrew Dowd has accepted this position and will commence in November this year. Andrew, who is currently the Business Manager at Emmanuel College, Warrnambool, comes to our Geelong Lutheran schools with broad educational, business, finance and accounting experience that has also included senior business and finance roles with the Transport Accident Commission (TAC), the Geelong Advertiser, Nestle Australia and within the general accounting industry. A resident of Geelong since 2003, Andrew who is CPA qualified, is excited with the opportunity to work at our Geelong Lutheran schools and is a strong advocate of the education system and the vital role it plays in the development of our future young men and women. We look forward to warmly welcoming Andrew to our school communities when he commences later this year.

Barry Krueger HOS

Geelong Lutheran College

http://www.nbcs.nsw.edu.au/

https://vimeo.com/89886128

http://www.claremont.nsw.edu.au/index.html



TLIGHT ‘THE SPOTLIGHT’ LUTHERAN SCHOOL WAGGA WAGGA


PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Details of ISV VIC Professional Development for 2015 can be found at: http://www.is.vic.edu.au/services/professional-learning/calendar/index.shtml

Details of AIS NSW Professional Development for 2015 can be found at: https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/CoursesEvents/Pages/default.aspx

EMPLOYMENT WEBSITES

Below is the website for schools to place employment advertisements and for staff to seek employment. It would be useful if this website could be advertised in staffrooms for their information. http://www.teachers.on.net/leavacancies

LEVNT DIRECTORY AND CALENDAR OF EVENTS (TERM 4) Attached to the LEVNT Networks Newsletter is the LEVNT Directory and the LEVNT Calendar of Events for Term 4 for your information and reference. Thank you for providing me with the updates for the Directory and a reminder to make sure your entries on LExICON are also updated, particularly with staff changes towards the end of 2015. Please note the reference to LExICON regarding the Valuing Safe Communities refresher course can be found on Page 15 of the Newsletter (highlighted in yellow)

Josie Muratore Office Administrator

[email protected]

http://www.is.vic.edu.au/services/professional-learning/calendar/index.shtml

https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/CoursesEvents/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.teachers.on.net/leavacancies



Position title: Director of Research and Development

Reporting to: LEA Executive Director

Accountable to: LEA Executive Director

Context: Lutheran Education Australia Ltd (LEA) is committed to the mission and ministry of the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) through supporting quality, Christ centred education. It operates on behalf of the LCA in partnership with regions, schools and early childhood centres (ECCs) in pursuit of this vision. Accordingly it:

encourages and supports the spiritual and professional growth of its ECCs and school staff and leaders

promotes and develops uniformly high standards of teaching, learning and leadership

represents Lutheran ECCs and schools at national and international levels in matters affecting Lutheran ECCs and schools

develops and maintains national policies which take into account appropriate regional, school and ECCs responsibilities

will maintain effective communication and information links with LCA, Australian Lutheran College (ALC), regions, schools and ECCs – and with the wider community

The LEA national office is part of the Lutheran Church of Australia national office community and in conjunction with other LCA departments works towards the fulfilment of the church’s mission and ministry aims. Position role: The Director of Research and Development is a member of LEA (and as required National Leadership Team (NLT)) and is responsible for the professional leadership and support for Lutheran education across Australia through the areas of research and development in both national and international education. The Director of Research and Development leads the design and management of Lutheran education’s research and development activities to support and enhance the Australian Lutheran education system in:

providing inclusive, high quality, future focussed education

informing and challenging Lutheran schools to engage young people in deep learning to live purposeful lives and are active in service

The Director of Research and Development will assist and deputise for the LEA Executive Director from time to time. Term of employment: This position is full-time. The position may be based in the Lutheran education national office (Adelaide SA). However, dependent on the appointee’s personal circumstances, this may be negotiated otherwise. The appointment is for three years, with the opportunity to extend this appointment for an additional three years, dependent on future LEA strategic directions. There will be a six month probationary period from the commencement of the position. Hours of work: The incumbent is required to work the hours required in order to fulfil and achieve the Key Duties and Responsibilities applicable to this role. Employment conditions: The incumbent is employed under the terms of the LSA principal salary and conditions, with a negotiated salary. Reporting relationships: The incumbent reports formally to the LEA Executive Director and is required to liaise with NLT, ALC and other approved tertiary providers, LEA staff and the three regional offices of Lutheran education within Australia, as well as relevant professional consultants as approved from time to time.

Lutheran Education Australia

Director of Research and Development


Major accountabilities: Under the direction of the LEA Executive Director, and in cooperation and liaison with NLT, ALC, LEA staff and regional offices, as required, the incumbent is required to manage a collaborative and nationally consistent approach to the successful completion of the following: a) lead and manage relevant Lutheran education research and development activities b) create, conduct and analyse research and development projects upon the advice of NLT and BLEA c) leads and conducts research about Growing deep, school improvement survey, principal health and

wellbeing and other relevant areas d) support the LEA Director of Formation in the ongoing application and improvement of Growing deep e) develop and maintain relationships and partnerships with ALC, other relevant tertiary providers and other

relevant organisations, ensuring that the interests and benefits of Lutheran education are foremost in such relationships

f) establish a contemporary education conversation group to ensure that the latest thinking and research in education, nationally and internationally, is considered and, where identified, applied and promoted amongst Lutheran education

g) lead the professional learning and research for Lutheran education professionals h) represent Lutheran education both nationally and internationally as relevant and required from time to

time i) support, and liaise with, the Director of Formation as necessary Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Key result area Key tasks Key performance indicators

Building and celebrating high performing leaders across Lutheran Education nationally

Ensure schools have access to high quality data, leading the Quality Schools (QS) project and understanding and application of QS data

Strengthen principal and school leadership team performance

Lead and shape research into principal health and wellbeing

Quality Schools is implemented for all Lutheran schools

NAPLAN results are analysed and reported

Principal Performance and Professional Learning Process (PPPLP) is developed and linked to Growing deep

Assist in the preparation, review and delivery of LEA leadership and formation programs

Engage NLT and LPA in research into principal health and wellbeing

Create and seek relevant research and learning

Ensure all in Lutheran education are exposed to high quality professional development, research and learning

Collaborate with NLT, ALC and LEA staff to prioritise areas for research and development

Lead and promote Lutheran education research and development nationally and internationally

Lead and contribute to LCA, ALC, Lutheran education and external bodies via publications, conferences and professional learning to inform and grow the LCA and Lutheran education community

Support the LEA team in strengthening Lutheran identity and the promotion and take up of cultural change through deep engagement and research of Growing deep

Initiate and lead research into leadership succession, leadership development and relevant leadership support within Lutheran education, supporting LDP and considering further leadership development programs

Assist NLT, LPA and LEA teams in planning national conferences (eg, National Lutheran Principals Conference, ACLE) and supporting international conferences

Consider the introduction of travelling scholar programs or similar to promote high quality professional learning for all Lutheran schools and leadership teams

Communication with the LCA, ALC and Lutheran education community is reviewed and enhanced

Regular reports and recommendations on the status and future of leadership in Lutheran education are provided

Support provided for the review, delivery and promotion of LDP and other relevant leadership and formation


Establish and lead a Lutheran education contemporary education conversation group (think tank) that: o identifies, creates and fosters

collaborative and innovative research projects designed to build networks and relationships consider relevant current

research engage key educational leaders enhance and celebrate thriving

learning communities for all Lutheran schools

enhance principal and staff professional practice and reflection

further improve Lutheran education resources which are accessible to all Lutheran schools via LEA website and other avenues

o studies, tests, evaluates and recommends best practice that supports teaching and learning design to meet contemporary needs

o performs analytical, design and development tasks on all research projects

o makes presentations at cluster, regional, national and international meetings and conferences

activities and programs

Contemporary education conversation group (think tank) is established and meets regularly

Lutheran education leaders and schools are engaged and challenged to consider their QS data and how this regularly informs educational practice, programs and professional learning

Presentations to cluster, regional, national and international conferences are made

Lutheran education career and professional learning pathways

Support the Director of Formation in the establishment, maintenance and review of relevant tertiary qualification pathways and partnerships

In cooperation with the Director of Formation, select suitable LEA Academic Scholarship recipients

Lead Lutheran education by building partnerships with relevant national and international tertiary providers as well as research people, organisations and funders

Tertiary pathways are established and reviewed

LEA Academic Scholarships are promoted and candidates selected

Tertiary partnerships are established

Policy review Regular review of all LEA Board policies, statements and guidelines as they apply to the Director of Research and Development’s area of responsibility

Relevant LEA Board policies are current, relevant, known and easily accessible

General Undertake other tasks as agreed Agreed tasks are completed in a timely manner

General responsibilities: The incumbent is required to:

act in accordance with principles of good practice, protocols and office standards in the performance of Key Duties and Responsibilities

regularly attend staff devotions

attend professional development activities and meetings of the LCA/LEA national office as required, and regional offices if necessary

perform other duties as determined by the LEA Executive Director from time to time

adhere to responsible ICT use, Occupational Health and Safety requirements


Review: An annual performance review will be conducted to provide feedback and develop an annual professional learning plan. The nature of the review will be determined by negotiation with the LEA Executive Director. Person specification:

an active communicant member of the Lutheran Church, who has served with distinction within Lutheran education, has an intimate knowledge of what makes Lutheran education distinctive, is preferred

a proven record in research, project management and educational leadership

an excellent writer and communicator

a person who challenges and motivates others to see the big picture, works together as a team player for the common good and is able to contribute to Lutheran education futures planning

a person with an excellent understanding of Lutheran education with an ability to articulate this simply and effectively

a knowledge of, and experience in, human resource management, as well as a proven performance in an environment of goal-setting and professional growth and achievement for all

preferred the person has a doctorate or is working towards such a qualification


LEA News for school leaders 14 October 2015

LEA Executive Director [Stephen Rudolph]

LCA General Synod On behalf of the LCA and Lutheran education, I wish to sincerely thank the following people for their attendance and participation at the 18th Synod of LCANZ.

Dr Neville Highett – BLEA Chairman Mr David Bliss – LEQ Executive Director Mr Paul Weinert – LEVNT Director Mr John Proeve – LSA Executive Director Ms Heather Vogt – Principal, Endeavour Lutheran College (SA) Ms Angela Branford – Principal, Calvary Lutheran Primary School (SA) Mrs Janelle Turner – Principal, Peace Lutheran Primary School (Qld) Ms Jodie Hoff – Principal, LORDS (Qld) Mr Shane Jurecky – Principal, Good Shepherd Lutheran College (Vic) Mr Thomas Brennan – Principal, Sunshine Christian School (Vic) LCA Board delegate Mr Steve Wilksch – Principal, Faith Lutheran College (SA) LCA congregation delegate Mrs Kathryn Krieg – Principal, St Jakobi Lutheran Primary School (SA)

The LEA stand, presence of Lutheran principals and directors, as well as the Lutheran education sessions (x3) were received most positively by the Synod delegates. Thank you to these people for committing time and effort for the LCA and Lutheran education. Additionally, it was an honour and pleasure for me to launch Valerie Volk’s latest book Bystanders at Synod. Valerie has been a significant contributor to Lutheran education over the years.

Board for Lutheran Education Australia Just prior to Synod, BLEA held its final meeting for 2016. The key agenda item was to approve the LEA strategic plan (2016-2018) which has taken the majority of 2015 to prepare. BLEA would like to sincerely thank the regional council representatives, regional directors and LCA/LEA staff in the positive and deep collaboration to prepare this LEA strategic plan. While a promotional and explanatory LEA strategic plan summary will be circulated to all Lutheran ECEs, schools, regional offices, district offices, LCA departments and other relevant groups in early 2016, the strategic plan has three strategic objectives, namely:

THEME 1: Strengthening Lutheran identity THEME 2: Enhancing and celebrating thriving learning communities THEME 3: Ensuring long term system sustainability

LEA and the regions look forward to further sharing details of this plan in 2016. Finally, BLEA received the resignation of Board Director, Michael Paech, at the meeting. Michael has faithfully served on BLEA for 12 years, as the LSA representative, and has made frequent and positive contributions to both the Board and Lutheran education. On behalf of BLEA and Lutheran education, thank you sincerely Michael. May God continue to bless your service and leadership at St John’s, Highgate, SA.

LEA Director of Research and Development As a result of the recently endorsed LEA strategic plan (2016-2018), LEA has begun advertising a new LEA position titled Director of Research and Development. This position is being advertised on Teachers on Net as follows


http://www.teachers.on.net/view/238669 with the position description available from LEA ([email protected]) Please feel free to pass this onto any people you believe may be interested and suitably qualified. All enquiries and applications are to be directed to the LEA Executive Director ([email protected]) with the closing date for applications Friday, 30 October 2015.

500 Protestant Schools – One World Towards the Reformation Jubilee 2017 From 15-17 October 2015 in Wittenberg, Germany, Dr Bronwyn Dolling (Principal, Pacific Lutheran College, Qld) and I will be attending the 500 Protestant schools – One World Towards the Reformation Jubilee 2017 conference. In 2011 I was fortunate to be able to attend the inaugural conference to begin planning for the worldwide Protestant Schools Reformation Celebration in 2017. This year it would appear that approximately 40 countries will be represented by their Lutheran (and other Protestant denominations) educational leaders. Each country has been asked to also bring a female principal, hence Bronwyn’s attendance. In 2016 LEA will be circulating further information to Australian Lutheran schools as we near the 500th Jubilee Celebration of the Reformation in 2017. Additionally I will also be representing LEA at the following two events in the coming days:

Board for Asia Lutheran Education Association meeting in Hong Kong The 2015 ACU Education Executives Symposium on the Gold Coast, Qld

LEA Assistant Director: Leadership [Shane Paterson]

Leadership Development Program (LDP 6) Applications are now open for LDP 6 which will commence in 2016. All principals received an email about this next round on Monday, 12 October 2015. All information can be obtained from the LEA website by using the following link http://www.lutheran.edu.au/school-professionals/leadership/leadership-development-program/ Principals are strongly encouraged to promote this program to staff members.

Valuing Safe Communities (VSC) Valuing Safe Communities (VSC): VSC is currently being revised to include online components with the new package ready for use by the beginning of the new school year. For your information the package is as follows.

Initial training (for all staff new to Lutheran schools). Two modules will need to be completed: o An online module of about 90 minutes in length. This can be

completed at the convenience of the staff member in a number of sittings.

o A face-to-face workshop module of 60 minutes. Notes and activities for this (based on the current program) will be available for school trainers.

Refresher course: o An online module of about 45 minutes for all staff who have completed

the initial training. This module can be completed at the convenience of the staff member. No further workshop needs to be completed.

It is important to note that online access for staff will be determined by the accuracy of the data in LExICON. While further information will follow on this, all schools are encouraged to ensure their data on LExICON is current.

Volunteer and relief staff: All volunteers and relief staff will be able to complete training through an online module of about 30-45 minutes.

http://www.teachers.on.net/view/238669






The Initial training online module is expected to be in trial mode by the end of next week and once again I am seeking some schools to trial this online module. If you have staff that need to compete VSC it may be a good opportunity for them to begin the process. The completion of the workshop module will also need to occur – but that can be held off until early next year. Please let me ([email protected]) know if you are able to assist in the trialling of this module. Trainer update: All existing trainers will need to be briefed on the updated materials. This short session will be held in the middle of November via ‘Google Hangout’ (or the like). Details will be distributed in the coming weeks.

LEA Business Manager [Stephen Kroker]

Lutheran Education Transfer Fund For schools who are members of the transfer fund please notify us ([email protected]) of any new permanent staff appointment for next year as soon as possible. LEA will organise for the removalist companies to contact the staff member for quotation purposes. There is no longer any need for the staff member to chase up their own quotes.

LEA federal news

Australia’s Minister for Education and Training [20 September 2015]

Senator The Hon Simon Birmingham, Liberal Senator for South Australia, issued the following media statement following his appointment as federal Minister for Education and Training:

I thank the Prime Minister for the honour to serve as Australia's Minister for Education and Training. Australia enjoys one of the best education and training systems in the world and it is an enormous privilege to continue the government's work to make our great system even better. Since December last year I have greatly enjoyed serving as the Minister responsible for vocational education and training, pursuing reforms focussed on lifting the quality of training, it's relevance to modern jobs and the status of VET. Ensuring Australians have the right skills for the jobs of today, and the jobs of tomorrow, is essential if we are to deliver on the Prime Minister's vision for our nation to take maximum advantage of the opportunities created by economic and technological change and global innovation. I am committed to ensuring that from early learning through schools to universities and vocational education and training, our education system equips all Australians with the opportunity to be their best, do their best and make our country its best. I look forward to building on Christopher Pyne's unstinting efforts to ensure Australia has the highest standards of education at all levels, and to working collaboratively with education stakeholders to develop policy and to build broad support for any future reforms we need to undertake. As a South Australian I also note the increase in our state's representation in both the Cabinet and the full ministry, which I am sure will be welcomed by many South Australians given the high unemployment and particular economic challenges our state faces.

ISCA congratulates new ministers [20 September 2015]

The Independent Schools Council of Australia (ISCA) has welcomed the appointments of Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham as Minister for Education and Training, the Hon Luke Hartsuyker MP as Minister for Vocational Education and Skills and Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck as Minister for Tourism and International Education. Read the full media release

My School website improvements agreed [18 September 2015]

A raft of improvements aimed at making the My School website even more user friendly have been agreed at today’s Education Council meeting. The Minister for Education and Training, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, said the upgrades would ensure My School continues to be a valuable online education resource for parents, teachers and schools. [See ACARA communique below] Read the full media release



http://isca.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Media-Release-20-September-2015.pdf

http://ministers.education.gov.au/pyne/my-school-website-improvements-agreed


A new national curriculum from 2016 [18 September 2015]

Significant changes to the national curriculum from Foundation to Year 10 have been endorsed today by the Education Council, delivering on one of the Coalition Government’s key commitments. The changes made to the Australian Curriculum by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) were in response to the Review of the Australian Curriculum initiated last year conducted by Professor Ken Wiltshire and Dr Kevin Donnelly. [See ACARA communique below] Read the full media release

ACARA communiqué re Australian Curriculum and My School [18 September 2015]

Australian Curriculum The Education Council has endorsed Australian Curriculum in eight learning areas. The Australian Curriculum endorsed today includes: The revised Foundation – Year 10 Australian Curriculum: English, Mathematics, Science,

Humanities and Social Sciences, The Arts, Technologies and Health and Physical Education.

Foundation – Year 10 Australian Curriculum: Languages for Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Modern Greek, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Australian Curriculum: Work Studies, Years 9–10.

My School website ACARA is working with federal, state and territory education authorities to ensure My School is user-friendly and fair and continues to be an important resource for parents, principals and policy makers. The improvements agreed to today include a new measure of student attendance to be added to the My School website by end 2015; and a new My School landing page with concise and accessible information and a review of standard text on all pages, to ensure it is readily understandable by a range of audiences for My School 2016. Read the full communique

Education Council communiqué [18 September 2015]

The Education Council today held its third meeting of the year via video link. Ministers discussed a range of key policy issues and progressed significant education reforms. Ministers discussed: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Strategy; STEM Education; Online assessment; Review of ACARA; Students at risk of radicalisation; Initial Teacher Education; Improvements to My School; Improving access to the Australian Curriculum for parents; Australian Curriculum: Foundation to Year 10; Improving access to the Australian Curriculum for students with disability; Reducing domestic violence. Read the full communiqué

Historic teacher education reforms to be implemented [18 September 2015]

Key recommendations of the Coalition's Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group report that will transform teacher education in Australia have been unanimously adopted today by the Education Council. This agreement is further progress on another significant commitment of the Coalition Government in education. Read the full media release

http://ministers.education.gov.au/pyne/new-national-curriculum-2016

http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/20150918_AC_endorsed_media_release.pdf

http://scseec.edu.au/site/DefaultSite/filesystem/documents/Communiques%20and%20Media%20Releases/2015%20Communiques/Education%20Council%20Communique%20-%2018%20September%202015.pdf

http://ministers.education.gov.au/pyne/historic-teacher-education-reforms-be-implemented

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