ALEA President's Report 2006 - 2007
As I sat down to begin this report I wondered if I would have much to write about but as I looked back through minutes and reflected on the year I realised that we actually have much to be proud of and continue to be a busy and active council who work hard under time and work constraints.
Membership
ALEA Top End Council currently has 44 individual & institutional members in the Northern Territory. In April we had 63 and I attribute the drop in numbers to the renewal period over May and hope that as members renew our numbers will increase again.
Early this year a letter was sent to all schools including a poster and a copy of our newsletter and Practically Primary to promote local membership and we continue to actively seek members through our projects and other opportunities. Thanks also go to Dallas Glasby who has recently established a List Serve that enables us to keep in touch with our members and forward any information regarding workshops or local issues via email. Dallas has also continued to produce our local newsletters and our last edition included an article written by local teacher Carol Putica on creating literacy programs as a neophyte teacher. It is intended to approach members and identified literacy experts to write articles as a way of sharing practice with members and others.
Professional Development
As our committee began this reporting year ALEA & AATE hosted the joint national conference at Darwin High School from 8th to 11th July, 2006. A number of executive members where involved in the Steering Committee for the Conference and were recognised for the enormous amount of work and time given freely to make the conference the success it was. This year we are funding 3 of our executive members to attend the ‘Critical Capital' conference in Canberra in July.
After the conference our Professional Development activities have been minimal. Whilst our Book Chats continued until the end of the year it was decided in 2007 to end PD in this format due to low attendance.
We have a few exciting professional development projects in the pipe line. The first is the formation of a Curriculum renewal group targeting teachers & ALEA members to review the English Learning area and Literacy within the NT Curriculum Framework. A reference group has already been established and a number of executive members are involved. We also hope to run a workshop as part of this process with a National Literacy expert to highlight the renewal and current national debates around curriculum and Literacy learning. Top End Council have also secured funding from NT Joint Council to bring a visiting author to the NT to run workshops for teachers and students in Term 4.
Community Initiatives
Top End Council once again celebrated International Literacy Day across the Territory by sending gift packs to all regional hospitals for babies born on September 8th. Using texts purchased from our sponsorship in 2005 from the Casuarina Lions Club, packs were sent with an ALEA baby t-shirt and literacy information, as gifts for new babies and parents. The coordination was shared across executive and members from council also visited Darwin Private and Public Hospitals to deliver packages personally. In 2006 eleven babies were born across the Territory & received Literacy packs.
Excellence in Literacy Teaching Awards
In 2006, six teachers from across the Territory were nominated for this award. From these nominations two teachers were selected and winners were announced during the launch of Literacy & Numeracy Week, 2005. Congratulations went to Marilyn Van den Elzen from Wagaman Primary School and Susanne Cameron from Darwin High School. Recipients were presented with certificates, membership to ALEA and an ALEA membership pin in recognition of their outstanding contribution to literacy education in the NT.
Constitution
In 2006 as an incorporated association it also became necessary for Top End Council to change it's constitution to fall in line with current NT Legislation concerning clubs and associations. Whilst this was an arduous process and a difficult one considering we are affiliated with a national body and only a small association, our constitution was passed earlier this year and is now compliant with NT regulations.
Future Directions
Whilst we continue to be an active council our success is driven by the dedication and commitment of the executive, many who have been involved and held positions in one form or another for a number of years. We hope to attract new members to our committee this year to continue to drive and support the work we do at local council level. If we can continue to innovate and constantly reshape our future and purpose then I believe we can continue to support our members in relevant and rich literacy learning and development.
Wanita McNeill
June 2007
