August 2008 Newsletter
Hi Everyone
Spring is fast approaching!! Hope you are enjoying the warm sunshine!
Year 12 Extension Workshop and AGM
A lot of members have already sent their application form and cheque to JTAN for the Extension Workshop and the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 11th October. It is going to be an informative workshop, especially on dealing with the HSC exam. Remember this workshop is the in-service that will deal with exam style questions. Hurry if you have not sent your application. The application closes on 5th September. Please send your application to P O Box 419, Belrose 2085. A copy of the application form is also attached to this email for your convenience. In order to encourage more members' active participation, the JTAN Committee has decided to make the workshop materials available to participants ONLY.
The Extension Workshop will be followed by the AGM. Even if you do not teach the Extension course, you are welcome to attend the AGM. Come along to find out what JTAN has done last year and find out what JTAN will do with you and for you next year. Members who stay for the AGM will be invited to a FREE dinner after the AGM. It is a good chance for networking and catching up with colleagues. The workshop and the AGM venue is North Sydney Boys High School. The dinner venue will be announced closer to the day when we know the number of participants. Besides, country teachers who come to the workshop and the AGM will be reimbursed for the accommodation expenses of up to $150. Country teachers will also be reimbursed for their train or airfares from the regional area to Sydney.
Year 12 Trial HSC Extension Speaking Paper Compromised
This has been sent to your email recently...
- JTAN sells its Exam Kits to the SCHOOLS of teachers who are members of JTAN and NOT individual teachers, and as such, should be used within the purchasing institutions ONLY. The Exam Kits are NOT THE PROPERTY of individual teachers to be used by them for either personal gain, nor are JTAN's Exam Kits to be given to coaching colleges for their financial gain.
- JTAN is in the process of gathering as much information about this breach in order to take further action against those responsible for providing the coaching college with the exam questions.
- JTAN will be seeking legal advice about what remedies are available to us in order to make a claim against those who are responsible for this breach, both now and in the future.
- JTAN requests any teachers who believe there may be students at their school who may have benefitted from prior knowledge of the exam content to contact JTAN with the names of any coaching colleges that may have access to our exams. An indicator of this may be students who have received higher marks than they normally would.
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Dear Members The JTAN committee would like to inform its members that it has come to our attention that a Japanese coaching college has gained access to the TRIAL HSC EXTENSION SPEAKING EXAM QUESTIONS. The JTAN committee would like to ensure the integrity of their Exam Kits for all purchasing institutions so we would like to highlight to its members the following important points:
JTAN is a non-profit organisation created by teachers of Japanese for the benefit of the teaching of Japanese within primary and secondary schools within NSW. The JTAN committee would like to express their absolute disgust at this situation and will continue to strive to maintain the integrity of this year's and all future Exam Kits by vigilantly monitoring the way our exams are used by all purchasing institutions. If anybody has any information about a coaching college using any JTAN Exams in a similar way, please contact a member of the committee with your concerns. Kind regards |
Year 10 Day
Thanks to the University of Sydney, JTAN was able to have the inaugural Year 10 Day at the Carslaw Building and the Wallace Theatre on campus. The event attracted almost 200 students from 12 schools. The day started with the inspiring, yet entertaining talk by Dr Matthew Stavros from the Department of Japanese Studies of the university. The talk was well received by students. Some students even wished the talk could be longer while other students were inspired to continue with their Japanese studies.
After the opening, students from different schools were mixed together to form new groups. They tackled the reading, writing and speaking activities with a team spirit. In the writing session, students wrote about tourist attractions to promote Sydney. In the speaking session, students were given an opportunity to demonstrate their awesome acting skills as well as working along with fellow Japanese learners. The reading session was called the "Brain Teasers" and the participants were asked to use their logical thinking to work out an answer after reading cues in Japanese. All sessions required the students to take challenges and work through with others.
After the hard but fun work in the morning, the performance of the TaikOz drums gave students a taste of the Japanese traditional culture. Students enjoyed learning about the Japanese music and culture. All students reported that the best part of the day was interacting with students from other schools. They thought it was a good idea to combine different schools together to do this interactive day. They would love to do this event every year. The feedbacks from participating teachers were equally positive and encouraging.
Well Done Mami and the Year 10 Day Sub-Committee for organizing this successful event. They have collated the participants' feedbacks together to work on an even better day for next year. In fact, this year has been such a success, 1st July 2009 has been booked with the University of Sydney for another Year 10 Day again. Look out for more information early next year.
Workshop Suggestion
The JTAN Committee is in the process of planning for workshops and activities for next year. It is vital that the activities meet your needs. If you have any suggestion, please email the Workshop Co-ordinator, Mami Izuishi mizuishi@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au
Enjoy the blooming flowers!
Regards
Angela Lam
JTAN Communications Officer
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