What date: Friday 21st June

What time: 8.45am – 3.30pm

Where: C3 Convention Centre, 64 Anglesea St, South Hobart

Who:    Principals, other educators, speech pathologists, parents, learners, policy makers, all.

Cost:    $45.00

Register: Colleagues @ The Heart of Literacy

What is at the Heart of Literacy?

Like the complex human heart, the heart of literacy also has many parts – inputs, outputs, and chambers for re-fuelling. When the parts function together smoothly, the lifeblood of written language flows. The chambers and arteries of this metaphorical heart of literacy include communicating, oral language, schools, family nurture, and that human quality poetically associated with the heart across centuries – love. For love is connection, and connection is the spring of life and growth. Connection between literacy colleagues is very much at the heart of literacy development. 

Colleagues @ The Heart of Literacy is a 3/4 day-long seminar exploring the potential for language and literacy advancement that lies within enriched, trusting and unfettered collaboration between educators and speech pathologists. The combination of the knowledges and practices lying within each profession has catalytic potential for rapid, practical implementation of solutions to Australia’s literacy challenges.

In this seminar we’ll hear from public school practitioners from interstate – a Principal and a Speech Pathologist. Each are involved in innovative, evidence-based responses to low literacy and weak oral language, through an oral language strategy which collaboratively draws their teaching teams and speech pathologists together – to the benefit of their students, school communities and both professions.

We’ll also hear local stories of this collaborative work:

• Understanding the essential role of oral language as a building block for academic and social success, Fran Bearman, Principal of John Paul II Catholic Primary School in Clarendon Vale, initiated collaborative work in her school this year. We’ll hear from Teacher Sharni Rickards, Support Teacher Alison Wightman, and Speech Pathologist Lisa Johnson on their early experiences of expanded collaboration for driving language-based opportunity for student success.

• Teacher Renae Millikan of St Paul’s Catholic Primary School at Bridgewater will also share her experience of working closely with a speech pathologist in her 2018 Grade 3 classroom. This work was first led by Principal Stuart Kelly and is being continued by new St Paul’s Principal, Jo Clark.

We’ll hear parent voice as Amanda Norgaard shares her insights of the home and school journeys when children have challenges with language and literacy. And we’ll hear the voices of students themselves. 

But here, let us introduce our keynote presenters, Cezanne and Pam:

Cezanne Green | Principal

Adelaide High School, Adelaide, SA.

Before her position at Adelaide High, Cezanne was Principal at Seaford Secondary College in Adelaide’s southern suburbs. Cezanne will share how during her time at Seaford Secondary College, she supported speech pathologists to collaborate with the teaching teams to deliver extra language-building therapy and strategies to classrooms with students with low literacy levels and poor oral language skills.

This experience and the positive impact on outcomes became the catalyst for Cezanne in her role of Director, Secondary Learners for the Department of Education, SA to establish a state wide Speech Pathologist position to collaborate with other Speech Pathologists, Leaders and teachers across the state to deliver strategies for students with low literacy levels and poor oral language skills.

The enormously positive results of these experiences have changed Cezanne’s collaborative practice, and that of the teachers and speech pathologists working in the teams at both Seaford Secondary and in her current school, Adelaide High.

Pamela Thuan | Speech Pathologist

Mahogany Rise Primary School, Frankston, VIC.

Pamela Thuan is a certified practicing speech pathologist with over 18 years’ experience working with school-aged children in government and special schools in Australia.

Pamela currently implements the Response To Intervention model linked to the Victorian Curriculum across 3 schools. She has a particular interest in language and literacy skills in primary and adolescence, transdisciplinary learning and coaching of teachers, speech pathologists and speech pathology students.

In 2014 she began the Whole Class Language Interest Group for speech pathologists and leading teachers & principals implementing tier one oral language programs. She has developed a website of resources for speech pathologists and teachers, including scope and sequences linked to the Victorian Curriculum (www.languageintheclass.com).

Pamela has presented at several conferences, provided presentations through Speech Pathology Australia, and spoke at the new Language and Literacy Conference in 2018.

#100PercentLiteracy

THANK you to the generous partners-in-values of Colleagues @ The Heart of Literacy and #100PercentLiteracy.