And the news is ... grade 5 junior journalists report on the world from Wantirna
Sherryn Groch Writing, editing and producing their own newspaper – covering all the big issues of the day – has engaged a group of 96 students although tensions in the newsroom can be high close to deadline.
Latest education news
Department intervenes in case of girl enrolled at two schools
Henrietta Cook The Education Minister has intervened in the case of a 12-year-old girl who was set to attend two high schools because of a bizarre education department ruling.
They don't need no education in the final weeks of school
Henrietta Cook For many Victorian students, school's out … before it feels like summer.
ATO targets private school parents
Nassim Khadem Parents who had private school fees paid from overseas accounts will be contacted by the ATO this week.
Research on autism education focuses on emotional needs
Danielle Kutchel A needs-based survey of teachers, parents and specialists dealing with students on the autism spectrum has found greatest concern about social and emotional wellbeing of students at school and future research will focus on intervention strategies and classroom design.
School embeds Indigenous culture into its curriculum
Kate Nancarrow From Indigenous dolls in the childcare centre to a discussion of the treatment of Adam Goodes, embedding Indigenous culture into the curriculum is transforming one outer-suburban Melbourne school.
Hearing unit shows transformative power of integration and technology
Kathy Evans Yarra Valley Grammar School was the first to have a hearing unit offering integrated and supported education for profoundly deaf students. It has become a model for others around Australia.
VCE authority under fire for taking the 'physical' out of Phys Ed
Timna Jacks The VCE authority is taking the "physical" out of VCE physical education.
Academic sues Melbourne University
Timna Jacks A Melbourne University academic is suing her employer, alleging she was denied a job at the university because she had launched a legal case against them at the Fair Work Commission.
Communication priority for bilingual school for deaf
Kathy Evans A community-based school in Blackburn teaches deaf children both sign language and their mother tongue.
Andrews government approves closure and sale of 10 schools
Henrietta Cook The Andrews government has approved the closure and sale of 10 schools since coming to power with promises to build the Education State.
Attacks on principals on the rise
Henrietta Cook Attacks on Australian principals are on the rise, with new research revealing one in three have experienced violence in schools.
Vandals paint over Coburg mural hours after it was finished
Craig Butt and Tom Cowie A 45-metre, publicly-funded mural, which a team of high school students had worked on for eight weeks, has been painted over just hours after it was finally finished.
Confessions of a VCE chief assessor
Henrietta Cook When thousands of VCE students fling their pens to the desk, Marilyn Wiber embarks on a mammoth task.
Teach teenagers to read says NAPLAN chief
Henrietta Cook With results in the national literacy and numeracy tests failing to get much better, one education expert has come up with a simple solution.
'Not just reading to learn but learning to read'
Henrietta Cook, Eryk Bagshaw High schools must focus on the reading skills of teenagers if literacy and numeracy results are to improve, authority says.
Parents wave goodbye to 'free' public education
Timna Jacks Free public education comes with exceptions in Victoria.
Aboriginal languages to become new HSC subject
Eryk Bagshaw Aboriginal languages will become a new HSC subject from 2016, a decade after the indigenous languages policy was introduced.
Indigenous books open doors to literacy
Garry Barker An outback publishing house – a little room attached to a school in remote Wadeye – is producing books in local languages to improve literacy by teaching children to read in their original language first.
Education news in brief
Bendigo students in energy-efficient car race; William Angliss produces a commemorative cookbook and a new hotel training school opens in Melbourne.
Schools hit a wall with open-plan classrooms
Henrietta Cook They promised to revolutionise learning, but open-plan classrooms have caused nothing but trouble for some schools.
Opinion, Analysis
The private school myth that doesn't add up
Our grossly inequitable education system is propped up by a lie that even kids would find hard to swallow.
VET sector: a get-rich scheme for shonks and shysters
Competition policy is all very well, but beware the pitfalls of privatisation that led to the great unwinding of vocational education.
VET loans freeze will not stop rogues
The government has been slow to react to claims of fraud in the vocational education sector.
Take a risk – set your child free
Excessive safeguards don't ensure children's long-term wellbeing, quite the opposite. Parents and schools should be facilitating and dreaming of the odd small accident.
We need an ombudsman to protect free state education
The education industry is one of our biggest and most important exports and is not protected by solid governance.
Seasons greetings and a casual goodbye
A year is a long time as a casual academic - a dance of fitting in, being an outsider, getting up to speed, making your mark and then in this, the season to be jolly, it is the time of very casual goodbyes.
Turnbull hints at return to egalitarian education
The new prime minister's statements about education give hope that he will commit to the final years of funding for the Gonski reforms and will use education and opportunity as a key part of economic growth.
Are you letting your kids call the shots?
Children have inflated self-esteem and lack humility because parents are unsure what authority they ought to have and how to exercise it.
Time to close the laptops - and improve learning
Technology was supposed to transform education but there is evidence the enthusiastic rush to teaching with iPads and laptops is harming literacy and numeracy levels.
Why the 'best' university isn't always best for you
A VCE score of 90+ opens many doors but it is a mistake for successful students to be seduced only by prestige and status.
Digital disruption and academia: Are we ready for Uber-versities in 10 years?
The photographic, media, telecommunication and taxi industries have all experienced the pain of digital disruption but academia has so far been immune. That may be about to change.
What if Mr Chips doesn't want to retire?
When today's older teachers retire, the loss of knowledge and experience will be felt across the whole education system.
State schools lead the way in handling sex abuse
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard of schools keen to protect their reputations before children. State schools' culture is different and the independent sector could learn from it.
Former Geelong Grammar student reveals school's 'peculiar' culture
Questions now abound for me: why were the teachers almost all single middle-aged men, why were the girl students never invited to dinner ... and was I being groomed for abuse?
School sex abuse: why didn't we do anything?
Geelong Grammar horror stories make us question why kids’ voices went unheard. Will we say the same about detention centres?
Well may we say: who cares? It's clear many schools don't
Children are entrusted to schools and their teachers for 13 years; they spend more waking hours with teachers than parents in those years but it is clear many children leave school feeling no one actually cared for them.
Children with dyslexia need science, not neurobabble
Parents are understandably drawn to programs promising miracle results for their child with dyslexia, but all programs need to be appropriately tested.
Why NAPLAN is a waste of time for year 9s
For year 9s, the focus should be on building and assessing the development of the personal skills and qualities that will determine whether they make a successful transition to adult life.
Kate Ellis: We need to send LGBTI students a message of unwavering support
The importance of eliminating homophobia and transphobia in our schools should not be underestimated.
Send in the writers ... teaching English needs more than analysing Austen
English teachers are required to have a major in English Literature - analysing and understanding others' writing - but students are denied the opportunity of being taught by those with writing degrees. Why?
Victoria: the education state, or ghetto?
Dan Andrews needs to show that he cares about state schools.
