The Languages and Culture team would like to warmly congratulate Katherine Brownlee (Gosford HS) for being awarded the NSW Premier's Language Teacher Scholarship for 2020.

This prestigious award recognises teachers investigating exemplary practice relevant to teaching and learning in languages. Valued at $15,000, the funding will enable Katherine to research how Comprehensible Input (CI)-based approaches to language teaching can lead to improved student engagement and learning outcomes across NSW and Australia.

We're also very proud at the Languages and Culture team, as Katherine is one of network leaders, mentors and LANG Professional Learning Leaders. Katherine is an exemplary teacher and leader, a passionate languages advocate and educator, and this honour is thoroughly deserved.

Congratulations, Katherine!

The Language Teacher Network – Sydney South will hold its Term 3 meeting on Wednesday 18 September. The meeting will run for 2 hours and contribute to 2.5 hours of registered professional learning on Languages and Stage 6 school-based assessment. To receive the registered hours, participants will need to: 
- complete a short pre-task
- attend the meeting
- complete a post-task.

All language teachers living and/or working in the area are welcome to attend. DoE teachers are eligible to receive the registered hours; non-DoE teachers can include their meeting as Teacher Identified hours.

Date: Wednesday 18 September 2019
Time: 3:00-5:00pm
Venue: Kogarah High School - common room
Enrol: Course code RG04979
Session name: Kogarah High School

For further information please contact Gaelle Homma.

The Language Teacher Network – Central Coast will hold its Term 3 meeting on Tuesday 10 September. The meeting will run for 2 hours and contribute to 2.5 hours of registered professional learning on Languages and Stage 6 school-based assessment. To receive the registered hours, participants will need to:
- complete a short pre-task
- attend the meeting
​- complete a post-task.

All language teachers living and/or working in the area are welcome to attend. DoE teachers are eligible to receive the registered hours; non-DoE teachers can include their meeting as Teacher Identified hours.

Date: Tuesday 10 September 2019
Time: 4:00-6:00pm
Venue: Gosford High School – languages block
Enrol: Course code RG04979
Session name: Gosford High School

For further information please contact Katherine Brownlee.

The Language Teacher Network – Sydney Greater West will hold its Term 3 meeting on Monday 9 September.

​The meeting will run for 1.5 hours and contribute to 2.5 hours of registered professional learning on Languages and Stage 6 school-based assessment. To receive the registered hours, participants will need to:
- complete a short pre-task
- attend the meeting
​- complete a post-task.

All language teachers living and/or working in the area are welcome to attend. DoE teachers are eligible to receive the registered hours; non-DoE teachers can include their meeting as Teacher Identified hours.

Date: Monday 9 September 2019
Time: 3:30-5:00pm
Venue: The Ponds High School – library
Enrol: Course code RG04979
Session name: The Ponds High School
​
For further information please contact Amanda Singh.

We're delighted to announce 2 new team members, who have been appointed on 3-year contracts with the Learning and Teaching Directorate.

Coreena Allen
Coreena is a Chinese, Indonesian and Japanese teacher whose substantive position is at Merewether HS, and she also works as Assistant Supervisor at Saturday School of Community Languages. Coreena already has strong ties to the Languages and Culture team, leading our Language Teacher Network – Newcastle, and supporting mentees as a mentor with the Virtual Languages Mentoring Network. She has also relieved in the role of Language Officer, participated in consultation and writing teams for new syllabuses and has experience as an HSC marker. Coreena will be based in Newcastle, and will commence in Term 4.

Marcela Ayas
Marcela is a Spanish teacher whose substantive role is Head Teacher, Languages/EALD at Westfields Sports HS and has experience as Supervisor of Marking and Chief Examiner, as well as working for Saturday School of Community Languages. Since May she has been acting in the role of Language Officer, developing support for the Extension courses and leading 7-10 writing teams to develop resources for the website.

We're very excited to have a full team for the first time in a very long time, and look forward to working with all of you to support language programs in NSW public schools. 

The CNI Language Teacher Network will hold its Term 3 meeting on Thursday 19 September. The purpose of the meeting will be for teachers to work on developing scope and sequences and/or units of work based on the new K-10 language syllabuses. 

Date: Thursday 19 September 2019
Time: 3:30-5:30pm
Venue: Smiths Hill High School, teachers' common room
Enrol: Course code NR25534 

Please enrol via MyPL course code NR25534 and select the appropriate session: Term 3 meeting CNI Languages.

All language teachers are invited to attend.

For further information please contact Kristen Smith, Evia Kyriacou or call 9244 5573.

The Language Teacher Network – Sydney South West will hold its Term 3 meeting on Thursday 12 September. The meeting will take the form of a 2-hour meeting, and will include 1.5 hours of registered professional learning on Shifting thinking – new K-10 language syllabuses.

Date: Thursday 12 September 2019
Time: 1:30-3:30pm
Venue: Holroyd High School, in the PL lounge in A block
Enrol: Course code RG04794

Please enrol via MyPL course code RG04794 and choose the appropriate session: 2019 Term 3 Languages Network Meeting (SSW).

For further information please contact Suzanne Safi or call 9631 9410.

Thank you to all the language teachers who joined us for last week's Adobe Connect session, and especially to Renetta Wolfe from Denison College of Secondary Education for her fantastic TeachMeet on using My Storybook as an assessment of learning task. We all love when teachers share their classroom success stories with other teachers! 

Below please find a link to the recording, if you were unable to join us live:
​https://connect.schools.nsw.edu.au/pafriru5x9kn/ 

In addition to the TeachMeet, the session also includes information on the Languages and Culture team's projects for 2019.

The Language Teacher Network Sydney – CBD/East will be meeting on Thursday 12 September, 4-5:30pm.

Topic: Critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity in languages
Venue: NSW School of Languages (35 West St, Petersham)
 
Course code on MyPL: RG05426

All language teachers living or working in the area are invited to attend.

NESA has made minor amendments to the course prescriptions for French and Italian, for implementation with Year 12 from Term 4 2019. For full details, visit the NESA official notice.