The latest Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey reinforces the extent of the sector’s crisis and indicates urgent interventions by government and school employers are needed.
   The number of Principals looking to retire has tripled in the last three years for the same reasons as teachers - workload and a lack of time to focus on their core duties as a school leader.
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In 1849, The French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote “plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" - the more things change, the more they stay the same.
   Fitting words to apply when discussing education priorities for 2023.
   The Australian Government Productivity Commission recently released the report of the National School Reform Agreement. The report identified ‘common reform challenges’ across all jurisdictions. Read more

Experts say an overhaul of religious education programs in public schools is due, replacing religious instruction with religion classes that foster social cohesion and intercultural understanding.
   Many government schools provide religious classes in the form of church-based ‘Religious Instruction’ that segregate students into faith-based groups in which they receive instruction in the beliefs and practices of one religion. Read more

Registrations for Wakakirri 2023 are near capacity as enthusiastic schools shrug off Covid and return to the performing arts. Festival Director Adam Loxley said “It really shows that life is back to normal. Principals are telling us that they see Wakakirri as a great program to help students reconnect after the isolation created by Covid.”
   Wakakirri is an award-winning performing arts program and festival that helps student engagement and well-being. Read more

RMIT University’s Space Industry Hub and One Giant Leap Australia Foundation are offering high school students the opportunity to participate in a virtual space program, the brainchild of a former NASA astronaut.
   Space Teams Academy uses an online platform to give students the opportunity to design spacecraft, navigate to another planet, land their vehicle, build a planetary habitat and explore a new planet to find resources to sustain human life. Read more

After a busy career, many look forward to a nice, easy time of things, others find the transition from work to retirement difficult and come look at another commitment free day with a sense of emptiness if not dread.
   But for teachers there is opportunity to continue to contribute, especially since the shortage of teachers has become so acute, accomplished professionals are welcome too, especially if you can do maths.
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