News

2020 School Camp

Wed, 26 Feb 2020 11:32:22 AEDT

Coronavirus - Department of Education statement

Tue, 28 Jan 2020 20:26:29 AEDT

The department is working with the Ministry of Health to monitor and respond to the unfolding international novel coronavirus situation.

Get up-to-date information about the department's response to novel coronavirus.

How to be smart and safe on social media

Thu, 05 Sep 2019 11:10:37 AEST

Use our new Digital Citizenship toolkit to empower your child to understand how their online behaviour affects themselves and others.

You and your child can find information on:

how to ‘be positive’ by understanding online behaviour and its effect
'be smart’ by thinking critically and being digitally aware
'be safe’ by protecting your security, privacy and wellbeing.

A toolkit to empower you and your child

You can find articles and videos to equip and empower your child to minimise the risks and maximise the opportunities in our digital future.

We’ve partnered with leading researchers to produce a curated toolkit – aligned to the curriculum – which teachers and you can share with the young people in your lives.

Guide your child through important concepts such as:

managing privacy settings in social media
collaborating online
avoiding scams and hoaxes
understanding the law when it comes to online speech
Internet banking, shopping online and much more.

Keep your child safe and happy online

Visit and bookmark the Digital Citizenship website. We’ll continue to add articles and resources to ensure the best possible tools are available to help you guide your child to be positive, smart and safe online.

Apply now for My Community Project funding

Mon, 29 Apr 2019 15:14:30 AEST

Do you have a great idea to improve your area?

My Community Project is a new NSW Government funding program that is all about local ideas, local projects and local decisions.

You can apply now for grants from $20,000 - $200,000 for projects that will make a difference to your community. Projects could include new playground equipment, sports facilities, paths or ramps to improve access, public art or a community service.

The local community can vote for their favourite projects in July and successful projects will be announced in September.

Project applications close 15 May 2019.

Apply for My Community Project funding

2019 school budget allocations

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 08:48:43 AEDT

Like all NSW public schools, this week we will receive a School Budget Allocation Report with our funding for 2019. The report will help us manage our total budget delivered through the Resource Allocation Model (RAM).

The RAM supports schools through needs-based funding to ensure a fair, efficient and transparent allocation of funds. Our school has the flexibility to make local decisions based on the specific needs of our students.

We will use our 2019 funding to support students and improve educational outcomes. The school executive will continue to work with the school community as we implement the school plan using this needs-based funding.

Learn more about the 2019 RAM funding.

Careers Advisory Service

Thu, 01 Nov 2018 09:38:35 AEDT

Managing exam stress

Sat, 22 Sep 2018 20:04:17 AEST

As students prepare for end-of-year exams, child psychologist Kimberley O'Brien, from Sydney's Quirky Kid Clinic, has some good advice to help families manage pre-exam stress.

"Stress isn't necessarily a bad thing – adrenalin can be useful in helping kids stay on track, study longer and finish tasks more quickly," Kimberley says.

"The problems arise when it takes over and your teenager starts to feel overwhelmed and even isolated."

In a perfect world, your teenager will have organised their study and revision into manageable chunks throughout the year, balancing work with social activities, exercise and plenty of sleep.

But in the real world, most kids have some level of pre-exam anxiety and some wake up the morning of an exam convinced that they "know nothing" at all.

According to Kimberley, the best thing parents can do as exams approach is provide support with the basics, restrain the desire to jump in and fix everything, and encourage their child to see the "big picture".

Read more about managing exam stress on the School A to Z website.

Careers and Transition Website

Sat, 22 Sep 2018 20:04:17 AEST

Our school has now provided its students and their parents/caregivers with a ‘School Careers Website'. You can find it at www.scsdecareers.com

It's a "One Stop Shop" for your child's needs with their Career Planning, information, HSC, Post School Options and much more.

They can also use it to create and save their resume.

The site is also designed with you, the parent/caregiver in mind, to provide you with all the information you need about your child's Career Planning and post school options – and the information is constantly changing in these areas. When you are able please spend some time on the site as we are sure you will find it informative. There will be regular updates on the site and students will have their own log in and access to resources.

Welcome

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 21:54:45 AEST

The Southern Cross School of Distance Education welcomes aboard our latest addition to the family. A primary component of our school exists as of Term 2 2018 with the Casino Campus joining us. This will allow us to cater for a larger variety of students ranging from Kindergarten all the way to HSC level. We would like to extend a warm welcome to the families, staff and community, and look forward to providing you with positive outcomes for you and your children. Please feel free to contact the school with any questions, ideas or queries. We are here to assist.

Keeping Facebook Private

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 21:54:44 AEST

Facebook is a powerful social networking space. But for many parents who grew up squabbling with their siblings over access to the family phone it's a new frontier.

Messages, comments, conversations and photos which were once exchanged personally are simply posted for many to see. Just how many depends on your child's Facebook privacy settings and the lengths they've gone to build up lists of cyber friends.

Facebook is mostly a positive tool for social interaction, says Dr Kirsty Young, a specialist in education and social media at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Children under 13 years old are not permitted to register for Facebook.

However, Facebook gradually exposed more and more personal information on its pages. As public search functions and third parties were able to reveal that information, there was global debate over privacy, the on-selling of personal information by web companies and the potential for cyberbullying or stalking on social media pages.

Some Facebook users even launched Quit Facebook Day, commenting that "Facebook makes it damn difficult for the average user to understand or manage" their privacy settings.

After much bad press, in August 2011 Facebook made sharing and privacy options more visible, by introducing a dropdown menu on the Status and Wall pages. The best way to understand these new functions is to read the Facebook Blog entry "Making it easier to share with who you want".

Five ways to help your child manage Facebook

Start by signing up your own Facebook account, work out how to make a few friends and spend a couple of hours navigating your way around. In fact, why not start with the new School A to Z Facebook pages where you can tell us what information you need to help your child succeed at school.
Find the privacy settings in the drop down menu by clicking on 'Account' in the top right hand corner on the page. Facebook organises privacy settings into 'Everyone', 'Friends of friends', 'Friends only' and 'Customise', which can restrict access to an individual or small group.
Search for your child online yourself. You may find that their profile information including their name, photo, and a list of names and photos of all their friends can be accessed by anyone with a computer.
Then, ask your child to show you how their privacy settings are configured and find out whether they understand them.
Also ask them to show you how to block someone, how to refuse a friend request from a stranger and how to un-tag themselves from other people's photos; that is, take their searchable name off an image.

What parents should know about Instagram

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 21:54:45 AEST

It's hard to keep up with all the social media platforms and apps our kids want to use. Instagram is currently one of the most popular social networks for school-aged children at the moment. It's a free, photo and video sharing mobile application and social network for people aged 13 years and over. There's no age-verification process though, so younger children can create an account pretty easily, sometimes without parents even knowing. Instagram say they'll remove under-age users' accounts if they are reported.

Instagram has just published "A Parent's Guide to Instagram", and it's a great place to start if you want to know more about how it works and how it can be used safely.

The simplest way to stay informed is to ask your child what apps and social media they know about and ask them to show you how they work.

It's a good, non-threatening approach because:

kids and teens find out about new apps, games and social networks long before we do
even less chatty teens tend to enjoy the chance to share their expertise
you'll narrow your focus down to only those social networks and apps your kids use
it opens up the conversation about social media tools and their social life in general
if you ask your child to show you how to "block" other users, "report" abuse, "delete" their own posts and change their privacy settings, you'll learn how it's done but also know they're able to use those options if they need to.

The good news is we don't have to be social media experts to keep our kids safe, but we do have to be good communicators and talk to them regularly about their social lives – both on and offline.

Managing exam stress

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 21:54:44 AEST

As students prepare for end-of-year exams, child psychologist Kimberley O'Brien, from Sydney's Quirky Kid Clinic, has some good advice to help families manage pre-exam stress.

"Stress isn't necessarily a bad thing – adrenalin can be useful in helping kids stay on track, study longer and finish tasks more quickly," Kimberley says.

"The problems arise when it takes over and your teenager starts to feel overwhelmed and even isolated."

In a perfect world, your teenager will have organised their study and revision into manageable chunks throughout the year, balancing work with social activities, exercise and plenty of sleep.

But in the real world, most kids have some level of pre-exam anxiety and some wake up the morning of an exam convinced that they "know nothing" at all.

Read more about managing exam stress on the School A to Z website.

Careers and Transition Website

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 21:54:43 AEST

Our school has now provided its students and their parents/caregivers with a ‘School Careers Website'. You can find it at www.scsdecareers.com

It's a "One Stop Shop" for your child's needs with their Career Planning, information, HSC, Post School Options and much more.

They can also use it to create and save their resume.

When older kids struggle with reading

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 21:54:45 AEST

When older kids struggle to read and write, the issue can become fraught for the whole family.

Parents can lose their patience and blame the child or themselves and the child loses their confidence and begins shying away from reading at all. Grades fall and interest in school can flag.

Kids who struggle to read often try to hide it from teachers and parents, and develop unhelpful strategies, which only exacerbate the problems.

Ways to encourage effective reading in older children

Ask your child what subjects they would like to read about.
When reading with your child, limit reading time to 10 minutes of quality time – and make it fun.
If reading together is traumatic in your house, do it in a café, or under a tree.
Before reading aloud, orient your child to the text by talking about it beforehand. Look at unfamiliar words, for example.
Encourage your child to predict what a word could be based on the meaning.
Try ‘echo reading'. Depending on the text, read a sentence, paragraph or page aloud first, and then get your child to read it.
Try ‘shared reading'. Take turns reading sentences or paragraphs. You read the first sentence and your child the next.
Read aloud and encourage your child to mimic you by following along behind you. Trace your finger under the words in a fluent way to show where you are reading. Avoid reading word by word.

Read the full article on the School A to Z website.

Nurturing the artist in your child

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 21:54:44 AEST

Your child may not go on to become a famous musician, actor, dancer, filmmaker or artist.

But by nurturing the artist in your child you can help them grow up able to think for themselves, problem solve and work out different ways to do things.

They'll also be better able to see different points of view, communicate and express their feelings in different ways.

Here are some top tips:

Stimulate your child's senses - Provide opportunities for your child to experience different sights, smells, sensations and sounds. These sensory activities are food for the brain.

Don't overschedule your child - Resist the temptation to overcrowd your child with organised activities in an attempt to nurture their creativity. Allow them time to be alone, to daydream and to think.

Encourage experimentation and exploration - A cardboard box has limitless potential. Provide materials and objects that encourage your child to explore ideas, experiment, imagine, play and perform.

Encourage difference - Artists and performers respond to the world in many different ways. Move outside your own comfort zone and introduce your child to different kinds and styles of art, music, drama and dance.

Encourage hard work and perseverance - Show appreciation for your child's efforts and suppress the impulse to complete tasks for your child.

Learn from mistakes and learn to take risks - Whether things go well or not, try asking your child these questions: "What worked?", "What didn't work?", "What did you do well or what are you pleased with?", "What would you like to work on?" and "How can I help?"

Sorting fact from fiction

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 21:54:45 AEST

You can't always trust what you read when researching information for homework, assignments or projects.

Here are ways your child can tell a good website - or any document - from a bad one.

Reader beware

With so much information on the web and no-one responsible for fact checking, students need to look out for:

bias and hidden agendas
factual errors
outdated information
information which is country specific
commercially motivated information.

Play the detective

Colleen Foley is a curriculum adviser who helps school librarians with the NSW Department of Education and Communities.

She says the teacher librarian and class teachers will help your child develop their research skills online in the library and classroom.

Colleen says the ability to question information is a vital tool for students to use to assess everything the media presents them with each day.

"The reality is anyone can publish anything on the internet."

"You can publish something that looks great but is full of factual errors, for example. Just as any publication – whether it's a book or whatever – can reflect a bias, any website can too."

Find out more about sorting fact from fiction on the School A to Z website.

Social media, kids and privacy

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 21:54:45 AEST

Regardless of your child's age, the world may already know a lot more about them than you suspect. According to recent research:

92% of children under the age of two have a digital presence (it starts with proud parents posting newborn baby photos on Facebook or Instagram)
a quarter of Australian children aged between eight and 12 use Facebook, despite the minimum age for a user being 13
more than 20 per cent of tweens publish photos of themselves on the photo-sharing website Instagram
young people between the ages of 14 and 19 have an average of 453 fans, friends or followers on social media.

Even if you don't know a lot about social media yourself, you can help your child stay safe online simply by asking them about the social media accounts they are using, and regularly reminding them the importance of keeping their personal information private.

The Information and Privacy Commission NSW has created a lot of practical informationfor parents and children, to support 2014 Privacy Awareness Week. It includes:

security tips for parents and teens
resources to help prevent identity theft
information on cyberbullying
guides to protecting your digital reputation
information about mobile apps and the data they may collect.

You can also find a parent's guide to social media – including Kik Messenger, Instagram, Vine and Facebook - in the School A to Z technology glossary.

New Anti-bullying Technology

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 21:54:44 AEST

A new website and mobile application have been designed to help parents and students address bullying.

The Bullying, No Way! website includes interactive applications, including a game for students to learn how to deal with bullying, and videos for parents and students.

The site also includes information on:

helping your child if they are being bullied
identifying the signs that your child might be bullying others
help and support.

The website and the Take a Stand Together mobile app were launched to coincide with the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence.

Related links

New videos about bullying—dealing with what it is, what to look for and how to help your child are on the NSW Public Schools website.

You can also visit the School A to Z website to find out what cyberbullying is and get ideas on how to safely guide your child's online experiences.

Vocational Education at School

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 21:54:45 AEST

Staying on to complete the HSC isn't only a good idea for students who are planning university studies.

Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses can be taken as part of their senior studies, so your child may want to undertake a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship while doing the HSC.

There are also options to do workplace learning in Years 11 and 12, which means kids who previously would have left in Year 10 now are able to stay at school while they get practical skills.

Almost all VET courses in schools lead to nationally recognised (Australian Quality Training Framework or AQF) qualifications, either certificates or statements of attainment.

In fact, one in three students in Years 11 and 12 in NSW are currently undertaking a VET course, which can work towards an accredited industry qualification, the HSC and entrance to university.

VET studies are also a great alternative for those who aren't sure what they want to do after school. They can explore a career, get some experience under their belt, and keep all their options open.

Choose subjects based on enjoyment or career?

When helping kids choose subjects in Year 10, Cheryl Russell from the NSW Board of Studies says we should encourage our teens to make choices that emphasise their strengths and interests.

"If you encourage your child to choose subjects they're good at, interested in and can see themselves using in the future, they're more likely to do better in the HSC, and be clearer about their work and study choices when they leave school," Cheryl says.

Sue MacLean, with the Department of Education and Communities, says subject selection in Year 10 can be an exciting opportunity for students to focus their aspirations.

"It's a good idea to start by looking at those subjects your child is most interested and successful in," Sue says. "They should also test their suitability for different careers by gaining work experience in the area, talking to people in the industry and exploring the myfuture website. "

Who can help?

Subject selection can seem a bit complicated. Sue says the Student Pathways Survey / Plan, which students can access through their school portal, can help kids figure out their career preferences and show them how to develop a flexible career plan.

You should also make an appointment to sit down with your teenager and the school careers advisor, to discuss how to make Year 11 and 12 count towards a career pathway.

Subject selection at a glance

Your child will be able to select a mix of subjects from three types of courses:

Board developed courses
Board developed Industry Curriculum Framework courses,which can contribute to the Higher School Certificate and can contribute to the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR).
Board endorsed (non-framework) courses, which contribute to the Higher School Certificate, but not to the ATAR.

To achieve an HSC your child will need to complete at least 12 units in Year 11 and at least 10 units in Year 12

The HSC is made up of two kinds of marks:

school-based assessment – based on assessment of tasks and tests, and
the examination mark – based on the HSC examination.

Together with the school's career support team, you can help your child choose subjects that will give them the best possible headstart on their future career.

Extracted from Schools A to Z Website

Emotional Support for Parents

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 21:54:43 AEST

As parents, looking after ourselves is something that seems to get put way down the list of priorities. Everything and everyone are somehow organised, nurtured and sorted out irrespective of how we may be feeling. If life appears to be getting out of control or you're not coping so well, don't think you have to manage it alone. The old adage ‘a problem shared is a problem halved' has truth in it, and there are plenty of professional services which can help you in a time of need.

School counsellors

When there is an issue in some way related to school that is affecting the whole family, school counsellors are a great place to go for help. School counsellors are experienced teachers who have formal qualifications in counselling. They are available for all students from preschool to Year 12, and their families. As with any professional service, they will keep information confidential, unless child protection legislation overrides it or where someone may suffer serious harm from information being withheld.

Face-to-face support

Your doctor is a good person to approach initially for some advice or assistance if life is getting out of hand. If you need further support, your doctor can provide you with a referral to a psychologist or another other type of counsellor. However, if you want to find a psychologist yourself, the Australasian Psychology Society provides an online find a psychologist service which can help you to locate a professionally trained psychologist in your local area. Alternatively you can call 1800 333 497 to confidentially discuss your needs.

Another option is your local community health centre, where services are free to members of the local community. These services are part of the NSW Health Services network, which includes hospitals. Psychologists and social workers at these centres can provide support or refer people to more specific services they need.

Phone support

Helplines are great resources for people who feel there is no one else to talk to when they need it, or want to remain anonymous. Helplines are often available 24 hours a day and can be used when other services are closed. Helplines are usually staffed by social workers or psychologists with additional specialist training, or trained volunteers.

Lifeline 13 11 14
24 hours a day.

Parent Line 1300 1300 52
24-hour telephone counselling, information and referral service for parents.

Beyondblue
Information and referral to services for depression and anxiety related matters.

MensLine Australia 1300 789 978
24-hour confidential helpline support for men and their families. There is also specialised support for Indigenous, Arabic and Vietnamese families, along with young men.

Centrelink's Financial Information Service 13 63 57
A free financial counselling service available to anyone.

Credit and Debit Hotline 1800 808 488
Monday to Friday 9.30am to 4.30pm. This is run by the Consumer Credit Legal Centre NSW to assist you with managing credit and debt.

Family Relationship Advice Line 1800 050 321
Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturdays 10am to 4pm. This is service is provided by the Australian Government to assist families with relationship or separation issues.

Websites

Technology has made it easier for people to research information, investigate sources of help and even to receive online counselling.

Relationships Australia (NSW), which is known for providing relationship counselling, family dispute resolution, mediation and relationship courses, can provide counselling online for couples in rural and remote areas as well as face-to-face counselling.

CounsellingOnline is a service where you can communicate with a professional counsellor via email about an alcohol- or drug-related concern, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The service is free and helpful for anyone seeking support with drug use or the drug use of a family member or friend.

MensLine Australia offers discussion forums on relevant topics so that men can come together anonymously in an online peer support group. There is also an innovative tool to assess the health of your intimate relationship as well as a database to find appropriate services in your local area.

Help for young people

There are many online services that offer support to young people. Read more about them in Online Lifeline and share this information with your family and friends so that everyone can get the help they need when they need it.

Extracted from Schools A to Z Website

8 Tips for Writing Skills

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 21:54:43 AEST

Extracted from the Schools A to Z Website

Use these practical tips to help your child to work out the best way to express themselves through their writing.

Help your child to understand writing tasks that they may have been given for homework. Ask them to talk about what has to be done.
Help your child to use reference materials such as dictionaries, thesauruses, encyclopaedias, CD-ROMs and the internet.
Before your child attempts a task, help them to understand what reference materials are needed by talking about the task and asking questions which will guide the child's planning.
Draw your child's attention to technical words in writing and discuss their meaning or look them up together in a dictionary.
Help your child to understand and use information in graphs, diagrams and pictures when they are researching a writing task.
Encourage your child to use different types of paper for drawing and writing and to use pens, pencils, crayons and markers.
If you have a computer at home, help your child to use it to present their writing task.
If your child is having difficulty with homework, talk with their teacher.

Motivating Lazy Children

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 21:54:44 AEST

Why do some children lead a lazybones life, while others tear around the sports field? Is it a hereditary trait? And what can parents do to encourage those children to get up off the sofa, or switch off the computer, and get a little physical?

Children's exercise specialist from Melbourne's RMIT University Dr Jeff Walkley says while everybody is born active some children learn a few lazybone habits early on, and in those cases parents can play a vital role in helping those kids to get moving a little more.

Switching off

Parents can help encourage exercise by limiting those activities that revolve around sitting and watching screens. Any more than two hours of small screen time a day can have a significant impact on health.

Postdoctoral fellow with the NSW Centre for Overweight and Obesity Dr Louise Hardy is currently researching the effects of limits on screen time. She says the best way for parents to help is to provide opportunities for children to be active. Don't buy e-games as presents; instead give kids ‘active' presents such as balls, bats and totem tennis that all the family can play.

But active presents won't do it alone. A really successful sofa extraction also requires some active parenting to keep kids moving in different ways through the day, says Jeff.

"There'll be some children reluctant to do things because they've never had the expectation before. And at those times it really does come down to the strength of parenting and practising active parenting."

Tips for getting kids physical

Choose activities that your child already has some skill in to build confidence, eg don't choose tennis if they have difficulty with ballgames.
If they don't like traditional sports, try recreationally focused activities such as skateboarding, cycling or flying a kite.
Organise occasions where your child can be active with or around other children so they can experience some success among their friends and develop confidence.
Drop the kids off two blocks from school and watch them walk in.
Explore different ways of being active, eg starting a garden provides a tangible reason to be active every day.
Build physical activity into the daily routine, eg active travel, or 30 minutes of physical activity before starting homework.

Read the full article on School A to Z

Homework Help Newsletter

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 21:54:44 AEST

Did you know that you can subscribe to updates from the award-winning website, School A to Z?

Each term you'll receive newsletters with the latest information to help you support your child's education with homework and study help, technology assistance and health updates.

School A to Z has been created by parents at the education department to answer the common questions and challenges parent's face on a daily basis.

The free School A to Z mobile app, which features the popular Spelling Bee and Maths Monkey games for kids, has been downloaded by more than 125,244 users in Australia and overseas - and was showcased as one of the best apps and games for 2011 in Apple Australia's App Store Rewind 2011.

You can also ask questions and suggest ideas for more articles, assignment starters, videos and podcasts through the website, or on Facebook.