Dear Members,
As always, I hope this newsletter finds you well.
This is my last newsletter for ACEL ACT, and as they say, it has been an honour and privilege to be the President. In keeping my farewell short and on point, what follows are several thanks yous and a snapshot of 2020-2023.
Thank you to the team at the ACEL Head Office and the national board. The last few years has been a difficult time for educational leadership, and being part of a team responsible for the stewardship of a member based not-for-profit organisation has not been without its challenges. Working with you at both a national and local level will be sorely missed.
As far as challenges go, faced with the changing education landscape both during and post COVID, ACEL ACT has been exploring the tenuous balance between the traditional and the contemporary. The local branch executive has experimented with novel approaches to our events and strived year on year to improve our offerings to the ACT educational leadership community.
So, thank you, Kerrie Blain, Tony Bracken, Sandra Darley, Lachlan Ellis, Stacey Griffiths, Tabatha Kellett, Tom Kobal, Michele McLoughlin, Anna Owen / Julie Jorristma, Melissa Planten, and Peter Usher. Your cross-sector collegiality and collaboration has been inspiring and a testament to ACEL as a peak leadership body.
Thanks to Ross Fox (Catholic Education, Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn), Andrew Wrigley (ACT Association of Independent Schools) and Katy Haire (ACT Education Directorate), you have been steadfast supporters of ACEL ACT – participating in and attending a majority of our events.
And lastly, thank you to ACEL members and friends. It has been an honour to get to know you and your perspectives, and to support the vital work that you do as leaders in your schools and sectors.
As I often say, ACEL keeps us abreast of the most current educational research and contemporary discourses, yet most of all creates the opportunity for us to connect, think, and reflect more deeply on how we learn and lead. I know the incoming executive will continue to just this, especially in a time in which educational leaders need it most.
Learning from the Past, Leading the Future
The national conference is fast approaching.
If you haven’t already considered the conference coupled with a get-away to Brisbane, registration is still open at https://acel.org.au/nc23. It promises to be an amazing event welcoming in 50 years of ACEL.
National Conference – Pre Conference networking
To all ACEL members attending the national conference, there will be pre-conference networking drinks on Tuesday 26 September from 5pm. Details are below:
Day/Date: Tuesday 26 September 2023
Time: From 5pm
Venue: Southbank Beer Garden – a 7 minute walk from the Brisbane Convention Centre
River Room, Shop 30BA, Stanley Street Plaza, South Brisbane QLD 4101
Light snacks will be provided.
ACT Leadership Awards
An ongoing theme in our local events this year has been a discussion around the profile of the teaching profession. Namely, shifting the narrative around the status of teaching and educational leadership in the public eye.
This shift starts from within the profession itself... and what better way to acknowledge the remarkable people that make up our profession than nominating a colleague for an ACEL ACT Award?!
Awards are presented across four categories:
- ACEL ACT Growing in Leadership Award
- ACEL ACT Excellence in Educational Leadership Award
- ACT Trish Wilks Award for Collaborative Practice
- ACT Fellowship Award
I hope you can find the time to nominate and recognise and empower those leaders in your school and/or community.
LEARN MORE AND NOMINATE NOW
The 2023 Currie Lecture
Unfortunately, the Currie Lecture with Professor Jenny Gore scheduled for August had to be cancelled. The team is looking to revisit holding the lecture at a more suitable time next year.
Our thanks to Professor Gore for offering to be the Currie Lecturer and to exec members Stacey Griffiths and Peter Usher who did the groundwork for the event.
We look forward to the return of the Currie Lecture in 2024.
All the best.
Kirk Zwangobani
ACEL ACT Branch President