Families Matter Newsletter Volume 1 No. 2: December 2004

Welcome to the second issue of the Families Matter Newsletter and the final issue for 2004.

I particularly wish to note some dates and events for 2005 for your diary. We will bring you more information on these and a range of other things in process, in our first issue for 2005, which will be published and circulated in mid February. But it is well worth making a forward note now:

“Going Well” – the National MindMatters Conference 17-19 March 2005 in Sydney

The national MindMatters Conference will be held 17-19 March at the Novotel Brighton Beach Hotel, near Sydney Airport. The Conference will explore how we can assist young people develop qualities of resilience, social and emotional well-being and sense of connectedness, self-worth and belonging.

Families Matter will be the subject of a full-day training workshop for a range of schools and other interested participants, on Thursday 17 March.

A wide range of speakers will consider the various essential aspects of health and well-being: supplemented by many Workshops and the launch of new materials in the MindMatters suite of initiatives.

You can access further details online.

“Public Education: The Real Choices” ACSSO National Conference 17-19 October 2005 Canberra

We are well advanced on planning this major education event, where a range of outstanding speakers of international reputation will be discussing and debating the important issues and challenges of education, and the priorities which will dominate the agenda through the next decade. A particular focus will be on the pressures affecting student well-being and resilience, and the risk factors which affect their learning and development – and how we can work together as families and communities to support young people.

The Conference Flyer and Application Form will be widely circulated in February and information will be published on the ACSSO Website at that time – full contact details will be published in our next issue of the Families Matter Newsletter.

Publication of Papers from ACER Research Conference on Student Well-being in October 2004

More than 500 educators, researchers, policy-makers and parents met with an outstanding team of presenters to explore the research on the factors affecting the learning and development of young people, and the ways in which schools and families can work to enhance their resilience and well-being. The papers and proceedings of that important Conference are now published on the ACER Website.

Families Matter Website

This and the previous issue of this Newsletter are also published on the new Families Matter Website. Further information and support features will continue to be added over coming weeks, and announced in our next Newsletter.

Quote of the Week

From a Principal:

“Families Matter was one of the two highlights of my year. Now we know how well it works, we are planning confidently to run it across Year in 2005”

We hope it was also a highlight in your school community – we are planning to support schools to make it a great success in 2005.

To Contact the Families Matter Project Team:-

By Phone (toll free) 1800 183 066

By Email: projects@acsso.org.au

Best wishes for the holiday season and for a great New Year in 2005.