News

The stories on this page are:

• Book launch held for Getting Down to Business - a guide for Beginning Teachers
• UWS Hosts The Gifted Challenge Conference
• UWS Hosts the Science Teachers' Association 2009 Annual Conference
• UWS Hosts Master Classes for Western Sydney's Talented Year 10 Artists
• Science and Engineering Challenge 2009
• UWS Sponsors Student Tutoring Service
• NSW Schools Titration Competition 2009
• NSW Brain Bee Finals 2009
• South Western Sydney Department of Education and Training – Student Ambassador Day
• Histrionics

Book launch held for Getting Down to Business - a guide for Beginning Teachers

Professor Barbara Holland, Pro Vice Chancellor University Engagement formally launched the UWS publication Getting Down to Business - a guide for Beginning Teachers on 10 November. The book was co-authored by teachers from Greater Western Sydney NSW Department of Education, Catholic systemic and Independent schools. 

Developed through UWS Schools Engagement and sponsored by the NSW Teachers Credit Union, the guide will assist new teachers to build upon the skills and knowledge derived from their teacher education programs, helping them to undertake the many tasks and meet the expectations that come with being part of a school community.

“There are aspects in the book that I would not even have considered until my first day of teaching and now I can be prepared,” says Master of Teaching (Primary) graduate Mitchell Watkins.

According to Master of Teaching (Secondary) student Marc Vassallo, “the guidebook explains nearly every aspect a beginning teacher needs when starting in the workforce.”

The guide, which will be distributed free to all UWS teaching graduates and approximately 900 schools in Greater Western Sydney, supports the University's commitment to working with the school sector in areas of mutual benefit, including building knowledge and capacity within the education sector.

See Resources for information on how you can receive a copy of the book.

UWS Hosts The Gifted Challenge Conference

The University of Western Sydney and the NSW Association for Gifted and Talented Children recently held a two day conference for community members, parents and teachers working with gifted and talented children.

Held from 1-2 November, approximately 75 participants attended the conference at UWS Bankstown campus, with participants coming from the Department of Education and Training, Catholic systemic and Independent primary and secondary schools; some travelling from as far as Melbourne, Wagga and Bathurst to participate.

The conference was opened by Professor Barbara Holland UWS Pro-Vice Chancellor and Denise Wood, the President of the NSW Association for Gifted and Talented Children.

Workshops and papers included:

• Gifted girls and popular culture: exploring the relationship
• Transition to school and high school for gifted students
• Building a school culture of 'personal best'
• Supporting schools in gifted and talented provision
• Providing gifted and talented learning experiences in a mixed-ability class
• Kensai - an enrichment program for gifted and talented boys
• NSWAGTC residential camps for gifted 7 - 12 year olds

UWS Hosts the Science Teachers' Association of NSW 2009 Conference

Over 100 of the state's science teachers gathered at the University of Western Sydney for the Science Teachers' Association of NSW (STANSW) annual conference, held at UWS Campbelltown campus, Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September.

 
Nine UWS academics spoke at the conference and presented workshops. 

 
For more information on the Conference, see Switching Students on to Science.

UWS Hosts Master Classes for Western Sydney's Talented Year 10 Artists

Schools from all over Greater Western Sydney nominated their most gifted year ten students to participate in the 'UWS Digital Master Class' at Penrith campus on 22 - 23 September.  An elite group of twenty-two students participated in the classes.

For more information on the classes, see UWS Hosts Art Master Classes. 

Science and Engineering Challenge 2009 

A regional round of the Science and Engineering Challenge was held at UWS Kingswood campus on 29 June 2009.  Students from Bankstown Grammar School, Freeman Catholic High School, Penrith High School, Pendle Hill High School and McCarthy Catholic College participated.

The Challenge engaged students in the principles of science, engineering and technology through a series of fun and competitive activities. The students, competing in teams, gained valuable problem solving skills while completing eight different challenges that involved realistic scenarios.

“The day was fantastic,” said teacher Ross Cutts from McCarthy Catholic College, “and we are looking forward to next year’s challenge.”

The winning team, from McCarthy Catholic College, and the Penrith High School team who placed second, competed in the State Super Challenge held at Macquarie University on 31 July.  McCarthy Catholic College placed second in the State. 

The annual Science and Engineering Challenge is conducted by the University of Newcastle. The Challenge is sponsored nationally by the Australian Constructors Association.   There are also many regional sponsors throughout Australia.  The initiative is supported by the Australian Government through The Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

For more information see Science and Engineering Challenge

UWS Sponsors Student Tutoring Service

On 27 July the Pro Vice-Chancellor Engagement, Professor Barbara Holland, presented the Mayor of Fairfield Nick Lalich with a cheque for $36,000 to continue UWS's sponsorship of the online tutoring service for school students, "yourtutor", at Fairfield Library.

For more information, see UWS partnership helps local young people

NSW Schools Titration Competition 2009

The 2009 School Titration Competition was held on Saturday 20 June at the UWS Hawkesbury campus.  The two hour quantitative and analytical competition operates at university and school venues throughout the state.

Participating in the competition this year were students from Nepean High School, Caroline Chisholm College, Cerdon College, Model Farms High School and Catherine McAuley High School.

The 45 students worked in teams of three to complete a set of acid-based titrations to determine the unknown concentration of a weak acid.  The final scores were based on the accuracy of each team's work.

The winning team, which may be invited to participate in the National Competition later this year, came from Caroline Chisholm College.

Mr Alasdair Hey, the NSW Titration Competition Coordinator, said that the feedback from the participating schools had been extremely positive, both with the competition and the UWS Hawkesbury campus venue.

NSW Brain Bee Finals 2009

The State finals for the "Brain Bee" neuroscience competition were held at the UWS School of Medicine at our Campbelltown campus on 16 June.  More than 120 students from 34 schools around the State competed in the individual final, which began with a written quiz with the top scorers progressing to the oral quiz in the afternoon. 

Andrew Li from James Ruse Agricultural High School was declared the NSW State Champion.  He will go on to compete in the National Competition in 2010.

Second place went to Elizabeth Huynh, also from James Ruse Agricultural High School, while third place went to Jedda Elliott from Illawarra Grammar School. The photo below shows Professor Vaughan Macefield with Elizabeth, Andrew and Jedda.

Each individual place getter received a $20,000 scholarship from UWS to be used for any UWS course they meet the usual entry requirements for, other than Medicine.

Thirteen schools competed in the teams competition which was won by students from Baulkham Hills High school.  The following photo shows Professor Macefield with the winning team.

The event also included short presentations on neuroscience by UWS academics and a talk by UWS Advanced Science students, computer-based learning sessions in either neurophysiology or neuroanatomy, and medical research laboratory tours. 

Brain Bee is always an exciting event for participants and the audience. 

For further information on the 2009 final, see NSW winner of Australian Brain Bee Challenge

For further information about the competition see http://www.abbc.edu.au/ 

South Western Sydney Department of Education and Training – Student Ambassador Day

The South Western Sydney Department of Education and Training (DET)’s Student Ambassador Day was held at Campbelltown campus on 25 May.  Two-hundred-and-forty students from across the South-West participated in educational and fun activities.  Each young ambassador was chosen by his or her school on the basis of leadership, communication and community service skills as well as commitment to the values of public education.

The day began with an official opening attended by the South-Western Sydney Regional Director Tom Urry, School Education Directors and senior UWS staff.  Following this the ambassadors took part in DET leadership workshops, with the high school students mentoring the primary school students.  In the afternoon they enjoyed activities run by UWS academics and students from different faculties including a moot court (Law), plastering of arms and fingers (Medicine), reptile show-and-tell (Natural Sciences), learning Italian on a computer (Humanities and Languages) and “Chemistry – the Big Bang” (Biomedical and Health Sciences). 

Histrionics

'Histrionics' is an exciting new television quiz show that addresses the high school history syllabus.  The program was launched on Monday 18 May by former NSW Premier, the Hon. Bob Carr, Professor Janice Reid and TVS Chief Executive Laurie Patton.

Schools compete against each other in the seven-part TV series created by the UWS School of Communication Arts together with the NSW History Teachers Association.

The program is telecast on TVS, Sydney's free-to-air Community Television channel.

"'Histrionics' has been a true collaborative effort," said Professor Reid, "with the UWS College of Arts, the Office of University Enagement and the NSW History Teachers' Association all combining their creative energies to develop the program.  It stands as a fine example of how UWS is 'Bringing Knowledge to Life'."

Pictured below is the Hon. Bob Carr at the launch with some of the students. 

For more information on the program, see the Histrionics website.