Translate

November Newsletter 2022

Registrar's Welcome

Hello Everyone

I hope you are all enjoying the lighter evenings and the bursts of sunshine and warmth we have had so far; summer is officially here. The year is quickly drawing to a close and I am sure we are all looking forward to enjoying a restful break with our families.

Firstly, I would like to welcome our two new council members of THEAC, Christine Buist and Martin Hamilton. I am looking forward to working with you both!

In the south of the State, we have been very busy with our move to a new premises, and after a short period of adjustment things are really starting to take shape. I would like to thank my staff for their commitment, effort, and organisation with the move, I know it can be a particularly stressful and frustrating time.

A big thank you to everyone who participated in the Christmas Card Design Competition - all entries were absolutely delightful! Winners will be announced in the first week of December and every entry will be acknowledged with a certificate of participation.

We will release a Christmas newsletter to the home education community at a later date in December.

Warm regards

Katharine

OER Hobart - New location

THEAC - New Council Members

We have two new recently appointed members to THEAC, Christine Buist and Martin Hamiton. Welcome Christine and Martin! They have each written a short biography (see below) as an introduction for you all to get to know them a little better.

Christine Buist

It is an honour to be appointed to THEAC. I have home schooled for eight years and consider the experience to be a significant highlight of my life. Our home schooling journey began with a grade 7 boy; grade 5 boy; grade 1 girl and a toddler. My husband and I chose home schooling as the best option for our family after circumstances beyond our control brought our values and priorities into focus and gave us a chance to recalibrate.
The three older children have now moved into mainstream schooling. The oldest has completed his second year of university, the second year 12, and the third returned this past year as a grade 8 student.

I am passionate about providing a rich programme for my youngest girl and instilling in all children a life-long love of learning. Many, many years ago, I studied Fine Arts at UTAS. When time allows I need to be creative and like to read, sew, stitch, draw, knit, immerse myself in nature, observe birds (and lately echidnas), bush walk, cook for my family and others, and give art lessons. I advocate for all kinds of families and children, especially those who have found home education the best fit out of difficult and challenging circumstances.

Martin Hamilton

My wife and I have been home educating here in Northern Tasmania for the past 10 years. Our 4 children have all been home educated in this time, although our two youngest have now chosen to enter mainstream school. Our family owns and runs an ice cream café in Launceston, where education takes on some very interesting twists and turns, where science, maths, literature and art all combine into some tasty learning experiences! My main interests are reading voraciously, music of all kinds, history and cooking.

I have worked in many varied fields in my life, including a DJ, martial arts instructor, call centre operator, accounts manager to a freight company, technical support for air conditioners, petrol station attendant, and have worked in the food industry, everything from being a sous chef, pâtissier, all the way through to McDonalds drive-thru. I am a strong evangelist for home education, am particularly passionate in advocating for those with diverse learning needs, and I am excited to be able to return to THEAC for a second time.

Home Education Registration Age in Tasmania

At what age do I need to register my child for home education in Tasmania?

There has been some confusion in the past as to the age which you need to register your children for home education.

In Tasmania, Kindergarten is not a compulsory year of schooling, which means you don’t need to register your child to home educate for their kinder equivalent year.

If your child is 5 on January 1 of a year (turning 6 during the year) you need to register for that year.

So, if your child was born in 2017 and you are planning to home educate, you will need to register to home educate next year.

If you would like to discuss any registration concerns for your child, please contact our Office on 61656135 or send us an email at registrar@oer.tas.gov.au

Youth Survey - Have your say!

The Tasmanian Government are seeking young people aged between 16-25 years to share their thoughts about your local council. The objective of the survey aims to better understand how young people engage with their local councils.

Your responses will be used to identify opportunities for how councils can better take into account the views of young people in their communities.

The survey will take around 10 minutes to complete and by participating you will be automatically entered in a draw to win a new iPad!

Follow the link below to get started.

Survey for Tasmanians aged 16 - 25 (surveymonkey.com)

Congratulations Esther!

Congratulations to OER Registration Officer Esther Ottaway, whose book of poetry, Intimate, low-voiced, delicate things, is one of only four books which have been shortlisted for the Tim Thorne Prize for Poetry in Tasmania’s highest literary honours, the Tasmanian Literary Awards. Out of a field of about forty, the prize recognises the best Tasmanian poetry books over the last four years.

A state shortlisting is a wonderful achievement and recognition, and we look forward to the announcement of the winner in mid-December.

Home Education Networks

The Home Education Nerworks resource offers a guide to jam-packed fun and learning for home educating families and their children around the state.

Click on the flyer below to find out what's happening near you!

Home_Education_Networks_2022.pdf

The Association for Children with Disability

The Association for Children with Disability (Tas) is a peer-led not-for-profit organisation providing information, advocacy, consultation and training, case coordination and peer support.

The Peer Network Hub is a free family assistance program that is run state-wide.

The Hub is a central place for Tasmanian families to gain and share needed information, resources and skills and link with others to achieve a shared vision.

ACD aims to connect family peers and empower people to improve outcomes for young people and children with disability.

Connect today with the Peer Network Hub on 1800 244 742.

The Premier's Youth Advisory Council - Positions Available

The Premier’s Youth Advisory Council (PYAC) provides an opportunity for young people to meet with the Premier and the Minster for Children and Youth to discuss their ideas on how we can make Tasmania a better place.

If you are a young person aged 12 to 24, living in Tasmania and passionate about Tasmania’s future, you are invited to apply for membership of the Premier’s Youth Advisory Council. There are currently 13 positions available.

Expressions of interest will be open between 19 November 2022 and 11:59 pm on 11 December 2022.

The Council provides an opportunity for young people to meet with the Premier and the Minister for Children and Youth to discuss their ideas on how we can make Tasmania a better place. Meetings are held three times per year on Saturdays.

Click here to apply for the Premier’s Youth Advisory Council (PYAC)

For further information on how to apply please follow the link - Department of Premier and Cabinet (dpac.tas.gov.au)

Facebook - Home Education (Tasmania)

For those of you who may not know, we now have a Facebook group - Home Education (Tasmania). Our member base continues to grow and we now have a total of 425 members! We really appreciate all our member contributions and presence within the group. Thank you!

The purpose of this group is to best support the regulation of the home education community in Tasmania. We also share initiatives and content that is applicable to home education, as well as OER run competitions and important Office updates (see below).

If you think this is something that may be of interest to you, you can find us here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/HomeEducationTas/