Archive for September, 2006

School closures files dispute reaches court

Monday, September 25th, 2006

From ABC News
The ACT Opposition will today begin legal action in an attempt to force the Territory Government to release documents relating to school closures.
Education spokeswoman Vicki Dunne says she will lodge an application with the ACT Administrative Appeals Tribunal to review the department’s decision.
She says she has already applied to the Government for access […]

Tharwa residents fear impact of bridge’s closure

Tuesday, September 19th, 2006

From ABC News
Tharwa residents are calling on the ACT Government to find an immediate solution to the closure of the town’s bridge.
The bridge was closed this morning after inspections discovered it was no longer safe to carry traffic.
Motorists must now take a six-kilometre detour via Point Hut Crossing.
Tharwa store keeper Val Jeffrey says the bridge […]

Pre-school education spending ‘lowest in OECD’

Monday, September 18th, 2006

From ABC news
The organisation representing the world’s richest nations says Australia spends less on pre-school education than the rest of the industrialised world.
In a report to be released tomorrow, the OECD study shows Australia spends only 0.1 per cent of its gross domestic product on formal pre-school education.
The report, previewed in The Australian newspaper, shows […]

The Hobbit Effect – Small Schools Work

Sunday, September 10th, 2006

Numerous studies have documented that small schools effectively boost student achievement, especially among at-risk students. A new research report published this month summarizes the vast research literature that explains just why small works in schooling.
The report, The Hobbit Effect: Why Small Works in Public Schools from the Rural School and Community Trust in […]

Student Transport an Issue for Tharwa Residents

Friday, September 8th, 2006

Although busy roads are not an issue for us in Tharwa, there are some traffic issues that our children face in driving longer distances to school.
For Tharwa children to attend their next closest school (over 10kms away) they must travel over Tharwa Bridge. Over the last couple of years this bridge has been closed for […]

Education Department cut, and runs

Friday, September 8th, 2006

Deb Foskey, Greens MLA, today queried the capacity of the ACT Education Department to support teachers, students and families through the upheaval of the Towards 2020 proposal.
“The Education Department is being asked to shed a quarter of its staff, as a result of cuts mandated by this year’s budget. And some sections of the […]