Victoria Branch Messages

What a year! 2024 was another year of global challenges. Schools, universities and communities all found themselves endeavouring to navigate appropriate paths through a roiling sea of emotions and passions. Education - its purpose, execution and assessment - are matters laden with expectation and hope. It is both an honour and a huge challenge to try and reflect the educational needs of young people (and adults) through involvement in a professional association like ACEL. This year the Vic Branch hosted events relating to middle level leadership, principalship, teacher sustainability and multiple awards events. I would like to ...

Over the term break, a number of us attended the Australian Council of Educational Leaders conference where the focus was on the future of education, the future of the profession, and the future of the world under the banner of Reimagining Education . There were many outstanding presentations, and I have no doubt further reflections and copies of presentations will be shared. Professor Alan Finkel (AC)’s provocation, bringing together the impacts of global warming, AI, wavering definitions of ‘truth’ and managing dissonance in a world of different backgrounds, incentives and belief systems, was timely, given current global developments. I am reminded of the ...

The voice of the profession. If I had a dollar for every person that wanted ‘a seat at the table’, I would be a very rich person. I believe there are few that genuinely deserve a seat – those that demonstrate deep cognitive knowledge, deep relationship/structural knowledge, have an effective empathetic and just view of the past and a constructive, energised view to the future. Folk that are brave and passionate but take the time to become informed and deeply reflective. I witnessed through my involvement with the disability sector. Competing voices that trumpet dissent, result in no movement at all. A concrete example of this was the push for the ...

Highlights from the 2023 ACEL VIC Awards Ceremony The Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) VIC Branch recently hosted its annual awards ceremony, recognizing outstanding individuals whose contributions have significantly impacted the field of education in Victoria. Among the esteemed recipients were Deborah Harman, Jane Wilkinson, Murrundindi, Coralee Pratt, and a cohort of exemplary educators honored with ACEL VIC Fellowships. The awards ceremony brought together educators from government, independent, and catholic schools across metropolitan Melbourne and rural and regional Victoria. Thank you to the ACEL VIC Branch Awards Committee ...

Summer breaks are, I believe, for relaxing, reflecting and regrouping. As someone working in school leadership, I find current times challenging in terms of providing hope and optimism for students and staff in a world where environmental pressures and human aggressions spin a web of despair into which it is hard not to get stuck. As educators, we must, however, assist our communities to flourish as best we can, given the circumstances. Wellbeing and happiness, though nebulous, are the subjects of much consideration. A *Harvard Study of Adult Development that commenced in 1938, has established a strong correlation between deep relationships and well-being. ...

Global Citizenship 2023 was a year of global challenges. In schools, we considered the wellbeing of far-flung communities battered by wars and violence, as well as those closer to home. Members of our own communities, through connections with Ukraine or Russia, the Middle East or Indigenous tensions demand our care, attention and love. Outside COVID and the troubles in Afghanistan in 2022, I have never felt so challenged as a leader whose role, I believe, is to engender hope. Dominic Moisi writes in ‘The Geopolitics of Emotion’ that cultures are shaped by emotions. Fear and humiliation feed hatred in some parts of the world. In other parts of the world, ...

2024 Vic Committee: Cameron Paterson, Melissa Riley, Prof David Gurr, Hayley Dureau, Dr Ashley Pratt, Lauren Sayer, Kara Baxter , Dr Annette Rome, Dr Steven Kolber (Absent: Charlotte Forwood, Fiona Hutton , Fiona Longmuir) Welcome to the VIC Branch of ACEL. As the Victorian Branch President, I am pleased to welcome you. It is an exciting time for education in Australasia and I look forward to stimulating, thoughtful and meaningful times ahead. The Australian Council of Educational Leaders (ACEL) was formed in 1973, and is the peak educational leadership organisation in Australasia. It plays a significant role in shaping practice and professional ...

A highlight of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders Victoria Branch is the annual celebration and presentation of awards. ACEL VIC honours those educational leaders who in the view of their peers have made a significant contribution to the understanding and practice of educational leadership. To assist in this process, we urge all ACEL VIC members to consider nominating worthy candidates for recognition of their leadership and service to education. The award nomination process is confidential until completed, and nominations have been approved. The ACEL VIC Awards committee will evaluate nominations with respect to the essential criteria. The ...