News

The North Queensland HPE Conference was a great success.  As always, one of the most anticipated events is the drawing of the "Trade Passport" prizes.  This year, the winners were:

On Tuesday 23 April, Caroline Brooks delivered a one and half hour workshop on the Australian P-10 HPE curriculum to over 20 HPE teachers from the Metropolitan North Region of Brisbane.

ACHPER QLD is pleased to announce the launch of our first "Twilight PD Series" to allow HPE teachers to access quality professional development outside of school hours. The first in the series will be held 21 May commencing at 3.45 pm and finishing at. 5.30pm.

QUT have received funding via the Queensland Government Department of Health from the National Partnership Agreement on Preventative Health funding program, for the delivery of Professional Development for Early Childhood Teachers on the Get Up and Grow, healthy eating and physical activity guidelines.

Another part of the funding initiative is to contribute to the reduction of the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Queensland children increasing the capacity of the families who participate in it to adopt healthy lifestyles related to healthy eating and physical activity in the future and promote healthy weight and weight management through sustainable behaviour change. ACHPER QLD is one of the three partners, with Nutrition Australia Queensland, to deliver the Professional Development Workshops for Early Childhood Teachers and will be working closely with QUT to support the delivery of the second component.

We are delighted to be working with these organisations, to support the Health of Children in Queensland and look forward to developing further partnerships as the 4 year project progresses.

In May and October 2012, graduate teachers who completed their teacher education program in 2010/ 2011 completed two national surveys investigating the effectiveness of their teacher education program.

Over 6,000 graduate teachers across Australia participated in the first two rounds of teacher survey conducted in 2012.

Led by a research team from the Deakin University, this survey is as part of two studies being conducted by Deakin University and developed through the SETE (Studying for Effectiveness of Teacher Education - Queensland and Victoria) and LTEWS (National Longitudinal Teacher Education Workforce Study – All other states and territories) projects. Through the online surveys, the projects seek feedback on the relevance and effectiveness of teacher education for teaching employment and readiness for teaching in diverse settings.
We are inviting teachers who participated previously and all other 2010/2011 graduates to participate in a third teacher survey.

Teachers who participate will go into the draw to win one of six iPad Minis( 16GB, WiFi). The survey is at: http://tinyurl.com/SETE-LTEWS
Teachers’ responses to this study will inform policy development, program accreditation and design and delivery of teacher education programs in Australian universities.

If you would like more information, please contact the researchers on (03) 5227 1488 or phillipa.hodder@deakin.edu.au.

The ACHPER International Conference has been launched.

This year's theme 'A Defining Time' examines the Australian Curriculum and the significance of Health and Physical Education moving into the future. Educators are being asked what role will they play in shaping the Health and Physical Education learning area. The International Conference will provide vision, direction and initiatives of what HPE will look in the Twenty First Century whilst encouraging educators to share their views.

ACHPER QLD is pleased to release the DRAFT Program for the North Queensland HPE Conference.

It is with great regret that we announce the ACHPER QLD Early Career Teachers Conference has been cancelled due to insufficient registrations. Read more

Principal and teachers warn student learning will suffer in state schools as a result of the controversial move.

But Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek says parents want to see their children have the same teacher throughout every school day and denies the move is a cost-cutting measure.

The State Government has sparked widespread concern and surprise by its decision to ban Professional Development (PD) during school time in state schools, amid a national focus on improving teacher quality in a bid to boost student results.

Grattan Institute school education program director Dr Ben Jensen said the ban was a giant step backwards.

"It goes against what the best schools in Australia are doing and what the best systems around the world are doing and directly runs against the idea that schools should operate in a way that continually improves learning and teaching, which should be our objective,'' Dr Jensen said.

Five of Queensland’s top sporting identities will come together to deliver a plan to get more women and girls involved in sport, Acting Recreation and Sport Minister Tracy Davis announced today. 

Ms Davis said the group would hold its inaugural meeting today ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, which is held to celebrate the achievements of women worldwide.

“The Newman Government’s theme for International Women’s Day 2013 is ‘Queensland Women – Building Connections’ and this Ministerial Advisory Committee is a great example of that ethos,” Ms Davis said.

On Monday March 4, HPE teachers from around South East Queensland met at the Hotel LA in Paddington to take part in ACHPER QLD's Australian Curriculum Consultation Forum (Brisbane).

Attendees listened to presentations on the development and progress of the draft P- 10 Australian Curriculum for Health and Physical Education from Janice Atkin, Senior Project Officer at Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, and Theo Clark, Principal Education Officer with the Queensland Studies Authority. A feedback and discussion session was then facilitated by ACHPER QLD President, Kim Lavin, in which attendees had the opportunity to comment on the draft curriculum materials and ask questions of Janice and Theo about the development and implementation process from a state and national perspective.

The feedback provided by these teachers will be combined with that obtained at ACHPER QLD's Australian Curriculum Consultation North Queensland Forum to inform the Queensland Branch's response to the draft document. In addition to this collective response, individual teachers and members can also have their say on the draft materials at http://consultation.australiancurriculum.edu.au/. Submission close April 12, 2013.

From 2013, the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) school vaccination program is being extended to boys. The free vaccine is being offered to boys aged 12-15 years and will continue to be offered to girls aged 12-13 years.

The Department of Education, Training and Employment has an arrangement for Sports Equipment that resulted in savings to schools of approx. $60,000 in the last six months of the 2012 school year. This arrangement is accessible to all state and non-state schools throughout Queensland.

The State Government is committed to child safety. The Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum has been developed for all Queensland students. The curriculum aims to improve students’ knowledge, skills, understanding and awareness about personal safety through three core messages: Recognise, React and Report. Further information about the curriculum is available on the Department of Education, Training and Employment’s website at www.education.qld.gov.au/child-safety-curriculum .

ACHPER QLD are hosting two consultation forums for interested members to feed in to our response to ACARA on the DRAFT Australian Curriculum for HPE. These will be held on Monday 4 March in Brisbane and Tuesday 5 March in Cairns. Click here for more information and to register.

The Annual General Meeting of ACHPER QLD will be held on Monday 4 March at Hotel LA on Petrie Terrace, Milton. The AGM will commence at 6:30pm. Come along and meet those who are working for you to support the profession. Click here for more information.

Get a jump on your required hours of professional development by signing up to attend some of the ACHPER QLD events.  No matter if you are in Brisbane, Central Queensland or North Queensland, if you attend our annual conference in these areas you will already have satisfied half your yearly PD requirements.

We have a fantastic program lined up for all three conferences, with the theme Connecting, Collaborating, Consulting. The conferences will have a common focus on Creating and planning P – 12 HPE units of work, plus have all the usual exhibitors, sport sessions and other practical and theory sessions.  Click here to register.

For more PD Early Career teachers (those in their first 7 years of service) can attend our ECT Conference.  This is held in Maleny on 24 & 25 March.  This is a live in conference and counts for 14 hours of PD. 

This year, all attendees will get to hear from the experienced mentors in the room, with each of them delivering a quick 15 minute presentation.  There will be more time for our "Gallery Walk" and networking/solution sharing across groups. 

Don't miss out!  This is once again offered with only limited space.  More information and registration details can be found here.

ACHPER QLD is currently looking for volunteers to assist with our 2013 event program.  Specific positions are available for:

• Conference Event Assistant
• Women in Sport Breakfast Event Co-ordinator/Assistant

Full details and position description can be found here.

The 2013 Events Calendar has been released.  Mark these dates in your diary now.  Further details on venues and costs will be released soon.

• Annual General Meeting -  Monday 4 March 2013
• North QLD HPE Conference (Townsville) - 16 & 17 May, 2013
• Brisbane HPE Conference - 15 & 16 August, 2013
• HPE Week (Statewide) - 2 - 6 September, 2013
• Awards Night - 12 September, 2013
• Women in Sport Breakfast (WISB) - 16 October 2013

Mark these dates on your 2013 planner now or download the pdf below.

Nominations for the Rising Star awards have now closed.  We have received some amazing entries, and are currently in the process of collating all entries and judging the winners.  Keep an eye on your in-box to see if your student has won.  We will be notifying you soon.

If you haven't booked your tickets to the event, do so now as you only have 4 days left to do so.

Today is National HPE Day. All around Australia schools are participating in the Run Around the World and plan to complete over 4 laps of the world, with over 170 000 students participating.

According to ACHPER QLD President, Kim Lavin:

"The Australian Council of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, Queensland Branch (ACHPER QLD) is delighted to participate in Addidas run around the World event as part the National Health and Physical Education (HPE) Day. ACHPER QLD is also pleased to coordinate and promote HPE week in Queensland. Events such as National Health and Physical Education (HPE) Day help to shine a light on the place of HPE in the curriculum and showcase the great work that Queensland HPE teachers do with their students every week.

HPE is important not just today, but every day, if we are to combat increasingly sedentary lifestyles and rising obesity rates. Positive attitudes towards physical activity along with an understanding of lifelong healthy behaviours are developed through good quality HPE programs. It is essential that HPE is not pushed aside for other school and curriculum commitments.

ACHPER QLD committed to the promotion of HPE in the curriculum and the professional development and support of teachers working in the area of HPE" 

HPE Week is Monday 3 September to Friday 7 September in Queensland and we would love all schools to send us details (and photos) of how they are celebrating HPE week in their school.

National HPE Day is next week, and ACHPER QLD is celebrating the importance of HPE by inviting Queensland Schools to take part in the HPE Head to Head challenge.

With the annual Women in Sport breakfast less than 6 weeks away, tickets are selling fast.

ACHPER QLD is putting active and healthy students to the test in a competition we’ve coined HPE Head to Head and it’s all part of celebrating HPE Week 3rd-7th September. 

Schools around the state will be set a week of daily challenges and will compete against each other to see which schools excel in spreading the word about the importance of HPE and healthy lifestyles.

Check out the competition details and prizes on our HPE Week page.  You can register your school by visiting our Events page or clicking here.

ACHPER National’s response to ACARA for feedback on the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education Shape Paper is now available online for members to view at the following link http://www.achper.org.au/programs-activities/national-curriculum-development

The inaugural Central Queensland HPE Conference was a huge success. 

ACHPER QLD invites you to submit abstracts and proposals for the 2013 Conference Series, and also invites sponsorship applications for our Conference Series, Awards Evening and Women in Sport Breakfast.

Aims: The conference aims to explore and expand on current pedagogy and research in health and
physical education with active participation workshops and theoretical presentations to support:
• Early Childhood, Primary, Middle Years and Secondary teachers
• Health and Physical Education specialist teachers
• Beginning teachers
• Government and non government employees in all areas of health and physical education.

The draft program for the Central Queensland HPE Conference has just been released.  The program includes practical and theoretical sessions with key note address from Glenn Amezdroz HOD of HPE All Hallows School and ACARA panel member.

The school uniform, bullying and school rules have been shown to be barriers to school lunchtime play, a new study has shown.

The study based on South Australian school children aged 10-13 years, featured in the January 2012 issue of The Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport (JSAMS), published by Sports Medicine Australia, looked at the factors influencing children’s activity during the ‘critical’ lunchtime period.

ACHPER QLD are pleased to offer a relevant and diverse program for the North Queensland HPE Conference.  With speakers from ACARA, AITSL, NQ Department of Education & Training it is a conference you do not want to miss.

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has released the draft Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education for public consultation until Sunday 3 June 2012. The draft paper is now available for viewing on the ACARA website at http://www.acara.edu.au/hpe.html.

ACHPER is proud to support the adidas School Fun-Run in 2012.

Here is an opportunity for your school to hold a fun-run/walk that can help raise money for your school while promoting active and healthy messages.

It is a pivotal year for Health and Physical Educators with the development of a new National Curriculum and at last night’s Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (Queensland Branch) AGM, the newly appointed President Kim Lavin declared she was ready to lead the charge and support members.

Have you got something to share with HPE teachers and allied professionals?  Why don't you join us at one of our conferences, being held in Brisbane, Rockhampton and Townsville in 2012.

ACHPER QLD is excited to announce our theme for 2012 - "Health and Physical Educators - Ready for Action".  We know how hard HPE Teachers work, and how they are always ready to lend a hand - always ready for action!

In other exciting news, we are pleased to announce TWO new conferences to our events calendar in 2012.  These being;

•  Early Careers Teachers conference being held in Maleny on 25 & 26 March; and
• Central Queensland Conference being held in Rockhampton on 9 & 10 July

For more information on our events calendar, read on....

Announcement of Professor Doune Macdonald - 25 year member of ACHPER,  as Lead Writer for the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education

Professor Macdonald completed her undergraduate degree in Human Movement Studies at The University of Queensland before teaching health and physical education in primary and secondary schools. Professor Macdonald obtained her PhD through Deakin University and rejoined the School of Human Movement Studies at University of Queensland in 1990.

The line up of athletes  wanting to be part of our annual ACHPER QLD Women in Sport Breakfast is outstanding.  Check out the line up below!

There was standing room only at the ACHPER QLD Brisbane HPE Conference!  With over 240 registered delegates Riverglenn Conference Centre at Indooroopilly was bursting at the seams.

Recent changes to Australia's education system won't go far enough to lift the performance of students and avoid a national education crisis according to keynote speaker scheduled to address the 12th Biennial Independent Schools Queensland conference in Cairns this week.

Significant changes of the past 12 months include the introduction of a National Curriculum and the decision in Queensland to move Year Seven to high school but Grattan Institute Program Director Ben Jensen said politicians failed to fully appreciate the true scope of reform required.

Click on the PDF to read the full article.

The program for the Brisbane HPE Conference is diverse, relevant and entertaining.  We have speakers from across many sectors of HPE and related fields and practical sessions suitable for both primary and secondary teachers.

Our speakers include Rosemary Davis (ACARA), Dr Leanne Perry (Principal All Hallows School) Ron Pearton (Fantastic Games), Rob Nolte (Perceptual Motor Program) and many more.  Download the program below now.

ACARA welcomes expressions of interest for the following role: Health and Physical Education advisory panel members.

Panel members will have extensive knowledge, understanding and expertise in the area of health and physical education and experience in the development of curriculum and/or achievement standards.

In 2011, advisory panel work will focus on the shaping phase for health and physical education in the Australian Curriculum from Foundation to Year 12.

Visit www.acara.com.au for further information.

Expressions of Interest close Sunday, 21 August 2011 at 5:00pm (EST).
Please send your application with the appropriate attachments to: HPE@acara.edu.au

If you have any questions regarding ACARA’s Expressions of Interest for advisory panel members, please contact Rosemary Davis, Curriculum Manager on 02 8098 3143 or email rosemary.davis@acara.edu.au

After being welcomed at our North Queensland HPE Conference, Rosemary Davis will speak at the Brisbane Conference to delegates about the new National Curriculum and the implications it will have on HPE Teachers.

Rosemary brings specific insight and knowledge about how the National Curriculum is shaping up and what the future holds for HPE teachers. Rosemary also shared a special announcement with our delegates in North Queensland, with cheers from the crowd in response. Make sure you are there to hear the same!

Secure your place now.  Download the registration form below.

The incumbent president of ACHPER QLD, David Keating, has informed the Management Committee that he will not stand for the position of President again at the next AGM in March 2012.

The Management Committee members have prepared a Role Description for this position outlining responsibilities and desired attributes. The Management Committee is now seeking 'Expressions of Interest' from suitably qualified individuals interested in this position.

For more information, please contact David Keating on dak99@bigpond.com.au or 0413 880 188.

The Queensland Government has announced that from 2013 the QSA will merge with the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board to form the Queensland Education Standards Authority. This new independent body will perform curriculum, assessment and reporting functions and accredit all schools. The reform was one of several announced in the White Paper — A Flying Start for Queensland Children. For the next 18 months, QSA will continue to perform its current functions.

ACHPER QLD are pleased to announce that the Brisbane Health & Physical Education Conference program is now available. With keynote speaker Dr Leanne Perry, Principal All Hallows' School, Brisbane and Steve Francis of Gr8 People, the conference is not to be missed. For more detail on all the speakers and topics, please download the draft program below. Registrations can be done online or by faxing the form below.

We have received some great entries from schools across Queensland in our HPE Primary School and Secondary School competition.  The entries are being collated and our panel of judges will soon announce the winners.

The winners will each be presented with a $500 prize pack, courtesy of our long-time sponsor, HART Sport.

Keep up the good work!

ACHPER QLD are pleased to announce that the North Queensland Health & Physical Education Conference program is now available. With keynote speakers acclaimed author and speaker, Shane Pill, presenting using the "Play with Purpose" methodology and Komla Tsey, renowned research presenting on Wellbeing in Schools, the conference is not to be missed. For more detail on all the speakers and topics, please download the draft program below. Registrations can be done online or by faxing the form below.

Over 400 delegates (42 from Queensland) attended this conference where the theme was Moving, Learning and Achieving. At the conclusion of the event all delegates would have agreed that they moved, learnt and achieved.

The 27th ACHPER International Conference was extremely well organised and from a number of perspectives can be viewed as a great success and a credit to the South Australia Branch of ACHPER. This Conference has certainly set a high standard for the next International Conference in Melbourne in 2013. The program had something for everyone and the Keynote Presenters were of a particularly high standard. The venue was imminently suitable; well located; and provided all the services and facilities required for the number of delegates attending. There were 13 Trade Exhibitors – all of whom engaged enthusiastically with the delegates. One of the many high points was the Fritz Duras Memorial Lecture given by Professor Alan Reid – his topic “HPE & Capabilities: Towards an active national curriculum” was timely, relevant and challenging. (We will provide a link to this paper to ACHPER members in Queensland in the near future.) It was also great to see more than 40 Queenslanders in attendance at the Conference – we were well represented amongst presenters, panels, and at all the social networking activities.

Our resources page is constantly being updated with news and articles from Industry leaders and partners.  Check it out now and access some great resources from Family Planning Queensland, the Paralympic Education Program and MindMatters.  To see all articles and resource links currently available via our website, simply click on this resources link.

John Clancy was welcomed at the ACHPER QLD PD event by a small group of committed Senior PE Teachers interested in hearing about the process of reviewing the Senior PE Syllabus and the implications that review had for their teaching.

ACHPER QLD is proud to announce Dr Lee-Ann Perry as one of the keynote speakers at the Brisbane Conference to be held 18 and 19 August at Riverglenn Conference Centre, Indooroopilly.

Professor Komla Tsey is a highly qualified research professor with more than 25 years experience undertaking specialised research and development.

In this article, the National Executive Director of ACHPER, provides some interesting observations around the questions of how well we do as a profession and how well respected we are as professionals. 

Exploring how we describe our profession, and the attributes used to describe professional behaviour, Jeff urges all to undergo some self observation and look at individually how we behave as professionals.

The article concludes with a summary of the part ACHPER National has played in various initiatives and identifies the future challenges we face as a profession and how we can all as individuals contribute to meeting these challenges and continuing to have the Health & Physical Education profession remain highly regarded.

This article originally appeared in Volume 17 No. 1 of the Active & Healthy Magazine. Download the full text below.

The Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation Inc (ACHPER) has welcomed the announcement of the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA) to include Health and Physical Education in the National Curriculum. The decision comes in response to a strong recommendation by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

Download the full media release here.

Or click to see read it on our website

ACHPER National Executive Director, Mr Jeff Emmel has just advised that the subject area of Health and Physical Education has been included into stage three of the National Curriculum.

Please see the following Communique from the Ministerial council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs.

http://www.mceetya.edu.au/verve/_resources/MCEECDYA_Communique_April_15_2010.pdf

Step Up - Health and Physical Education for Queensland has been written by Queensland teachers for Queensland students in Years 8 to 10. It builds upon the foundations established in the H&PE syllabus and comprehensively covers the three core learning strands of Health, Physical Activity and Personal Development.

Step Up explicitly addresses the Essential Learnings and Standards for H&PE to assist students and teachers in meeting the Queensland Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting (QCAR) Framework requirements.

Available from the Healthy Lifestyles bookshop.

Download the flyer below.

Check out the latest article by the ACHPER National Executive Director, Jeff Emmel and Dawn Penney, convenor of the ACHPER National Curriculum Working Group discussing the current state of the inclusion of HPE into the National Curriculum.  

Over 20 people were in attendance at the Special Guest Presentation by Andy Gibson, on Thursday evening.

Andy's presentation covered a range of scenarios and provided practical information and case studies relevant to health and physical education teachers in the school setting.All in attendance agreed the presentation was very worthwhile material and have returned to their schools armed with more knowledge of the responsibilities associated with their roles.

We are grateful for the support the Australian and New Zealand Sports Law Association (ANZSLA) provided in arranging this event. Should you wish to obtain the notes from this event please email achper@achperqld.org.au