February 2025 Newsletter

Welcome to the 2025 school year! Your voice matters more than ever in 2025. With a Federal election on the horizon, we have a crucial opportunity to shape the future of public education in Australia. The Australian Council of State School Organisations welcomes both our returning families and those just joining our vibrant public education community and works to support over 2.6 million students in public education. As a national voice for families with student your national voice, we're gearing up for a year of strategic advocacy and meaningful action.

Life Skills GO is an easy-to-use emotion and wellbeing data collection tool that measures student readiness to learn. Supported by a comprehensive library of curriculum-aligned, evidence-based resources, it’s everything you need to enhance whole-school and student outcomes. At Life Skills GO we are committed to surfacing actionable information about your students to support your day-to-day decisions, long term strategic planning, evaluation and most importantly to ensure you have the data to support how every individual student in your school is known, valued, and cared for.

FLASHBACK - Remember these girls? Six years ago, we featured a group of friends as they began their first year formal education at Surveyors Creek Public School https://www.facebook.com/ACSSOonFB/videos/2314007378827965 – this year they begin their last year in Primary School and pictured is Peyton and Imogen, two girls from that group; both enjoying school and extracurricular activities. Peyton is working hard and on weekends is successful at Cheer and Imogen enjoys her time at acro and dance. Public Education by choice and maintaining awesome friendships

The aim of the roundtable is to bring together canteen operators, industry professionals, and key stakeholders to identify challenges, share insights, and develop practical recommendations. These insights will shape a unified pitch to policymakers, decision-makers, and relevant agencies, driving meaningful solutions for the future of school canteens. The Roundtable will be held online (via Zoom) on Tuesday 25th February 2025, from 1:00pm to 2:30pm (ACDT)

As part of Global Money Week 2025, Talk Money with Ecstra Foundation is again offering the Talk Money Financial Literacy in Action Awards, to recognise and reward teachers who inspire the next generation of Australians to be confident in managing their money.

Encourage your child to expand their horizons and develop skills and knowledge to succeed in whatever careerpath they pursue. Myfuture’s new infographics, aligned with the DOTS Model of Career Development (Law & Watts, 1977), can help children learn more about themselves and their interests, explore opportunities and make strong career decisions. The focus for term 1 is self-awareness. Check out the infographic highlighting 6 ways for parents and carers to support children’s career exploration. https://myfuture.edu.au/assist-your-child/dots-infographics

Dedicated to all those children beginning their first year of middle school! With nothing new in the cinemas and many children back in the classroom, or slowly heading back, KBYG Weekly is dedicated to all those beginning their first year of middle school, just like the character named Greg Heffley, who attempts to become popular in his first year of middle school. If you haven't heard of him, Greg Heffley is the main protagonist of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and film series. Go grab one of the books to read, or see our reviews below to help you choose which Wimpy Kid movies are suitable to watch with your family. KBYG movie reviews go beyond a film's classification, helping you decide which films might be fun and age appropriate for your children, and which ones may not. So, visit KBYG’s database to find reviews of over 1600 films, ranging from the very latest films to some timeless 'golden oldies'.