CMIS Evaluation

National Threatened Species Day is held on 7 September each year to encourage the community to help conserve Australia’s unique native fauna and flora. We can all take action to prevent further extinctions by restoring healthy numbers of endangered species and ecological communities in the wild.

In 1996, the 60th Anniversary of the death of the last Tasmanian Tiger in captivity, was the initial catalyst for the establishment of a special day as a way to showcase Australian threatened species.  Threatened Species Day aims to encourage greater community support and hands-on involvement in the prevention of further losses of Australia’s unique natural heritage.

The main aim of National Threatened Species Day is to raise community awareness about conservation issues and to encourage people to undertake activities on the day. Information about the day can be found on the main National Threatened Species Day website.

Teachers can use information on the website to explore the issue from different aspects. The CMIS Theme page - Threatened Species is also a useful tool for exploring the topic.

It’s not too late to register your school for National Reading Day on September 3rd. This is just one of the Literacy & Numeracy Week activities. National Literacy & Numeracy Week runs from 1 -7 Sept and information and suitable activities can be accessed from the official website.

Reach for the Stars covers the numeracy angle for the week.  ‘Reach for the Stars’ activities allow students to practice ‘real-life’ mathematics.   Both the Reading and Mathematics websites have lots of practical ideas for classroom activities across all phases of development.

Along with the government initiated  week of activities,  teachers and students can also be involved with Indigenous Literacy Day which also takes place on 3rd Sept . Information about school registration, participation and activities can be found on the website.  On ILD, part of the Indigenous Literacy Project all Australians are invited to join together to raise funds to address literacy needs in remote Indigenous communities.

As part of the ILD in WA there is a morning of storytelling to be held at the State Library of Western Australia at 10.30 am on Wednesday Sep 3rd. Participants include author Sally Morgan and former Fremantle Football Club player Troy Cook.

The CMIS Evaluation Aboriginal Literacy Strategy page gives more ideas on books to use in the classroom.

All of these events are precursors to the United Nations International Literacy Day on September 8th. This year marks the middle of the UN Literacy Decade which aims to extend the use of literacy to those who do not currently have access to it.  Universal Eucation and literacy is a key aspect of the millenium Development Goals.

Staff members can become involved in a “Staff Reading” -  Perhaps a whole school assembly with different people reading a favourite book or using the school PA system.

Archery at the Wenlock Games 2008

As we head towards the end of the first week of exciting competition of the 2008 Beijing Games, do we know the true story behind the games’ evolution?

Pierre de Coubertin has long been credited with being the mastermind behind the modern Olympic movement. But where did he gain the inspiration for reviving the Olympic ideals in Athens in 1896 and subsequently bringing people together for the world’s major sports festival every four years?

In 1890 de Coubertin took a trip to the small Shropshire town of Much Wenlock, near Birmingham, UK. The local GP, William Penny Brookes, had invited him to observe the Wenlock Olympian Class, the town’s activities festival, which had been run since 1850. Brookes died a year before the first modern Olympics took place but de Coubertin always credited him with the idea which we know today.

The Much Wenlock games take place in July with events such as tennis, archery, volleyball, triathlon, pentathlon, a cycle road race and other athletic pursuits. Although international competitors occasionally take part, it is essentially a regional affair. Nowadays the games are always held in Much Wenlock but in the past they were shared around the district.  This idea was also copied by de Coubertin but at the international arena.

However, Brookes and de Coubertin were not the only people who should be recognized as rekindling the Olympic flame in the late 19^th Century. Greek philanthropist Evangelis Zappas and novelist Demetrious Vikellas can also take some measure of kudos for the emergence of the modern Olympic Games which culminated in those first presentation in Athens in 1896.

With the Olympic Games headed for London in 2012, one can assume that those humble beginnings in Much Wenlock will become more widely known in the future.

Further reading can be found on a number of websites -

• Wenlock Olympian Society
• Athens 1896
• BBC - Shropshire - William Penny Brookes
• Much Wenlock - Birthplace of the Olympic Games

The CMIS Olympic Theme page outlines resources to support Olympic related classroom activities.

Looking for more activities in the lead up to the Olympic Games in Beijing?

As well as 2008 being the year of the Summer XXIX Olympiad it is also the International Year of Languages. The Olympic Resource for Languages offers an opportunity to combine LOTE lessons with a study of the Olympic Games through a school-based Olympic celebration.  This resource has been developed by the Modern Languages Teachers’ Association of Victoria and is part of the a.s.p.i.r.e. school network of activities from the Australian Olympic Committee.

A review of The Olympic Resources for Languages is available on the CMIS Evaluation website. To find out about the International Year of Languages In Australia go to International Year of Languages 2008 : Australia.     

As part of National Science Week, 16 - 24 August 2008, one of the events listed for schools is The reality of going for Olympic gold. This is a panel discussion about the science of preparing an elite athlete for competition. Some of Western Australia’s top experts in sports nutrition, biomechanics, psychology and performance, ethics, neuroscience and trauma will give short talks and respond to questions about science in sport. Details are available on the website. 

NAIDOC WEEK, celebrated in the first full week in July each year, has become an important conduit in moving towards spanning the cultural differences between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. The current celebrations have grown from mainly unsupported activism during the early 20th Century, through the 1938 Day of Mourning, National Aborigines Day to the present NAIDOC WEEK observance. 

The NAIDOC Perth Logo 2008 was designed by Mt Lawley SHS student Helena Chestnut.

What’s on in WA for NAIDOC WEEK? Check out the activities at the PROGRAM of EVENTS on the Perth NAIDOC WEEK website.

Kevin Lawver

The Games of the Beijing 2008 Summer XXIX Olympiad are fast approaching. From August 8th to 24th the best athletes in the world will compete for the highest accolades in sport before an international audience of millions.

The Olympic Games provide students with an interesting variety of topics to investigate from the many sports played to advances in sports science and technology, as well as controversies such as drug use and political issues. Games organisation and the preparations required of the host city also extend students experience across many learning areas.

The People’s Republic of China is hosting the Olympics for the first time. Study of this ancient land with its fascinating history, culture and geography will reward students with an interesting background to the Olympics. Teaching and classroom resources to assist this study can be found at China in the Year of the Olympics.

For further ideas, the CMIS Olympic Games page has topics relevant to Beijing 2008 as well as the Ancient Olympics, future Summer and Winter Games, previous games and the Commonwealth Games.

Foundation Day 1st June 1829

Foundation Day, 1 June, is a significant date in the history of Western Australia. On this day in 1829 the State’s first European settlers, on board the Parmelia, under the command of Captain James Stirling, had their first view of mainland Western Australia.

Foundation Day commemorates the date in 1829 when there was a meeting of cultures; one that has evolved from this land over tens of thousands of years, another brought to this land from across the waters by free settlers seeking a new promised land to call home. Over the years these have been joined by further arrivals from all corners of the world. Each group contributes elements of its rich heritage to forge our unique, vibrant Western Australian identity and culture.

The Celebrate WA website has extensive links to materials and resources to support units of work about Foundation Day. Resources available for download include:

• historical information about Foundation Day
• the history of the Foundation of Perth on 12 August 1829
• activities and information sheets for classroom use
• two historical facts and trivia quizzes

A majority of Western Australian schools will celebrate the creation of the Swan River Colony around the date of Foundation Day June 2nd.The re-establishment of WA Week to coincide with Proclamation Day on October 21st is also a good time to celebrate this great state.  The CMIS Western Australia theme page has links to many different aspects of life in WA to assist teachers and students.

WA Week was re-launched by Celebrate WA in October 2007 to provide citizens from all regions and sectors with an opportunity to celebrate Western Australian’s unique history, heritage and development and applaud individual and collective achievement and contribution.

The October date was selected to include the anniversary of the State’s Proclamation Day on 21 October 1890, which marked the transition of Western Australia from a colony under British rule to self-government.

WA Week 2008 will take place from 20 - 26  October 2008.

Your school, (through the P&C) can participate by holding an event during the week. 
The Government of Western Australia has provided a WA Week small grants program for eligible groups and organisations to hold a project or event during WA Week. The program is managed by Celebrate WA.  On the website there is also a PDF list of suggested activities.

WA Week Small Grant applications will open 19 May 2008 and close on 27 June 2008.
For futher information contact Celebrate WA on 9481 8066

In May every year, libraries and information services throughout Australia showcase their many and varied resources and services through different programs and events targeted to a cross-section of the community. The week provides the opportunity to introduce new services and professional skills to the community, and to publicly canvas issues of importance to the provision of library and information services in Australia.

The Biggest Morning Tea@Your Library [Thursday 22nd].

Schools are invited to showcase their celebrations by submitting photos of their displays and Library Week events to cmiseval@det.wa.edu.au.nospam. (please remove ‘.nospam’ from address before sending).

Teachers are advised to familiarize themselves with the current Department of Education and Training Western Australia Students Online policy [March 2008] before considering publishing photographs or video of students. More information about Managing Student Safety Online is available on the CMIS Evaluation Website.

One in every 300 babies is born with a hearing impairment. Approximately 1000 newly diagnosed deaf babies will be born in Australia this year. It costs a minimum of $10,000 per annum to provide each of these children with services to teach them to listen and speak as early as possible to ensure their integration into the hearing world.

More information is available on the LoudShirt Day homepage.

Secondary teachers looking for fiction resources to support this special day should consider using Blind Trek by Jim Kennedy, Dovey Coe by Frances O’Roark, The Raging Quiet by Sherryl Jordan and Michael Sweeney’s Method by Sean Condon.