CMIS Evaluation

          September 3rd
                is National Flag Day

 Did you know that the Australian flag is the only national flag that has ever flown over an entire continent?
It has done so since it was first raised on the site of the new Capital City in 1908.  The flag was first flown in 1901 over the dome of the Exhibition Building in Melbourne which then housed the Parliament.

For this 108th Anniversary of the Australian Flag being flown for the first time,  schools are encouraged to hold flag raising ceremonies on the day.  Information about the flag can be found on the Australian National Flag Association website along with messages from the Governor-General and other dignitaries. Teachers can also find information on lessons. and a timeline of events. A blank flag for colouring can be found at this page and a video of the Story of the Flag is also available for download from the website.

On the Federal Government website It’s an Honour, there is some excellent information about the significance of flag elements and protocols to be followed when flying the flag. Schools can obtain a free copy of the publication Australian flags from electorate offices of Federal Members of Parliament and Senators.  A brochure guide about National Flag Day can be downloaded from the website.

ABC Online has launched an innovative website in time for ANZAC DAY 2009. Gallipoli: The First Day developers have utilized the latest technology to produce an amzing and extremely useful resource for teachers and students.  The innovative site allows the user to “be there” with the combatants – on the beach at ANZAC Cove and in the cliffs above.

The computer graphics and simulations are very realistic and are enhanced by the use of primary source materials and Google Earth at Gallipoli.

The website should help dispel the myth amongst some young people that history is boring.

Although the site is resource rich it is very computer resource hungry. It has been designed around ADSL delivery and dialup and wireless users may experience some difficulties with the downloads.

Other ANZAC Day resources are available on the CMIS ANZAC Day theme page

Each year the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) produces resources for teachers to use in schools. The department is currently conducting a survey to ascertain what teachers think about the educational services and products. The survey runs until November 30th 2008 and participants in the survey will receive a free education product from the DVA after the closing date.

The latest resource from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Australian Women in War  was sent to schools in late May. This publication provides teachers and students with self-contained classroom-ready activities about the roles of Australian women in wars of the past 100+ years. The full publication, and individual chapters, is available as a PDF to download from the DVA website and includes a Teachers’ Introduction.

On the DVA website schools can also apply for small commemorative project grants through the Saluting their Service  program. The grants can be utilised for activities such as erecting or upgrading memorials in school grounds.

The National Archives of Australia now has a Flickr presence
where a selected Pic of the Week from the vast collection is featured.

Each week a different image is uploaded from the NAA home page.

The featured photo is then linked back to the NAA site where teachers and students can explore the collection through the the extensive online resources section by registering with vroom [Virtual Reading Room] which gives easy access to archival records.

There is also access to special release documents, Australia’s Prime Ministers and Find of the Month. Each month, this section features something special of National Interest which has been selected by staff to display online.

Through the DET Portal teachers can utilise these resources when using the K-10 Syllabus resource Time Lines and Pathways to the Past: Find Yourself in History.

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.

This weekend [June 27th 2008] marks 128 years since the Siege of Glenrowan which saw the ultimate capture of Australia’s most well known outlaw – Ned Kelly.  History records Ned as a criminal – indeed he had murdered three policemen and committed several offences, but there are many who see him as a “freedom fighter”, standing up for his beliefs against authority and defending people who had no power.  Australians often back the underdog in lopsided confrontations- perhaps the Ned Kelly story and the Glenrowan siege was the beginning of this social peculiarity.

The argument surrounding Ned Kelly’s role in Australian History is one which can be long debated and never completely decided.  Students and teachers can investigate Ned’s Life and times through web links, literature and film.

WA teachers can use Part 4 of the K-10 Syllabus document “Time Lines and Pathways to the Past: Find Yourself in History” – Crossing the country : City, Town and the Bush - as a starting point for discussion.

Other useful resources include “Black Snake“ by Carole Wilkinson and “Ned Kelly’s Jerilderie Letter“ which is shortlisted for this year’s Eve Pownall Information Books Award for the 2008 Children’s Book Awards.  Teachers’ notes and information are available here.  The Jerilderie Letter Soundscape download recreates the scene of the letter handover through voice, sound effects and music.

Ned Kelly on film can be explored through the Australian Screen website which houses several clips of historic footage of the Kelly Gang story and includes teachers’ notes on the clips.

Other informative websites include :- Ned Kelly’s World ; Ironoutlaw ; Proposed Ned Kelly Centre ; Iron Icon ; Ned on the Net ; Ned Online ; Melbourne Gaol’s Most Famous Inmate ; In Search of Ned Kelly ; Death Mask