President’s Message
In the past two months, I have had the privilege of attending three of the Chapter Conferences – Western Australia, Queensland and, of course, our very own SA/NT Conference. Each one reflected the unique culture of their respective State and Chapter and all were wonderful examples of professional learning, collegiality, sharing and networking.
For those who attended the Conference in the Barossa Valley and ‘wandered through the vines’ for two days – thank you! Your contribution is highly valued and complimented the experience and knowledge imparted by the presenters to ensure interchange and discovery at every level of Advancement.
As a committee, our focus for the first half of the year was to present the best Chapter Conference possible and based on the incredibly positive feedback so far, I am confident that we achieved that. It was extremely rewarding to see that almost 75% of our membership attended the conference along with a number of prospective members and interested practitioners. A survey is included within this e-news and I encourage you to complete it. Your input provides valuable feedback, ensuring we deliver professional development to you that is relevant and topical.
A survey is included within this e-news and I encourage you to complete it. Your input provides valuable feedback, ensuring we deliver professional development to you that is relevant and topical. Please click here, it should only take a few minutes.
The Conference provided a wonderful opportunity to network, learn and discover the possibilities in all that we do and recognise excellence through the participation of 2014 International Conference Award Winners – Amanda Houston from Stuartholme School in Queensland, and from Vicoria, Tim Shearer from Scotch College and Paul Thompson from Woodleigh School. Added to this was our marvellous Ambassador, the ever-inspiring Duncan Armstrong OAM and Board Members and Chapter Presidents: Mandy McFarland, WA, Bruce Perry, NSW and Chris Klaussen, New Zealand.
The Committee worked extremely hard to provide a meaningful and enjoyable professional development experience and my deepest thanks go to each of them. A team is only as strong as its leader so I especially want to thank and recognise the Conference Convenor, Kay Fife, for the personal commitment she made in achieving success and delivering a very happy and vibrant conference. Thank you Kay and the team – we are very fortunate to have such supportive practitioners in SA who are prepared to give back to our industry!
Snapshot of the Conference:
Registrations: 65 (including sponsors and speakers, some of whom were delegates)
Representation: 22 different schools, tertiary residential colleges and other membership associations from South Australia, Western Australia,Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and New Zealand.
Fellows: 10 Fellows including two past Chapter Presidents
Speakers: 16 (including our Ambassador, three board members and three International Conference Award Winners)
Sessions: 17 (mix of workshops and presentations)
Round Table Discussions: 6
It would not be possible to offer a Conference of this quality without the support of the sponsors and to each of them we say THANK YOU! Most of our sponsors have been loyal supporters over many years, thank you from all of us!
News Australia – Claude Bin, Jordan King, Guy Turner, Dan Lauterio, Adrian Dezen
Openbook Howden – Grant Woolard, Greg Hassold, Sarah Leo
Add Value – Helen Lindon and Pippa Shanks (represented by Melani and Rachel)
Hurley Hotel Group – Jackie Newton
A big thank you to the band, Groove Brothers and Sister of Soul for supporting us again (if you need a band guaranteed to get your guests dancing then do think of them for your next function). We also thank the Novotel for their generous offer of a two-night package which was won by the lucky Eli Andreou from Rostrevor College. Congratulations Eli!
Your committee will now turn its attention to the task of delivering a strong second half of the year with additional PDs, SIGs and activity so watch out for further information. Thank you for supporting Educate Plus and we hope to catch up with you at other events later in the year!
Sharee Kinnaird F.Edplus
SA/NT Chapter President
