Schools + Parents Issue 2, 2006

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Message from the Premier and Minister for Education, Training and the Arts

The next three years promise to be a dynamic time in education and the Beattie Government is committed to ensuring children are getting the very best education � from Prep to Year 12 and beyond.

With the addition of the Department of Training (the TAFE sector) to the education and arts portfolio, we are ideally placed to further develop school and industry partnerships and maximise opportunities for students throughout the state. Queensland already boasts more than 40 per cent of the nation's school-based apprenticeships.

Next year will be a landmark year with more than 1,300 state and non-state schools welcoming Prep students for the first time. The Prep Year will give Queensland children a head start on their education and set them on the path to become lifelong learners.

In the senior years, two new specialist Queensland Academies will open their doors to students in Years 10 and 11, providing opportunities for our best and brightest to accelerate their learning and gain industry experience. A third Queensland Academy is also currently being planned for the Gold Coast.

Parents and carers of students in all Queensland state, Catholic and independent schools will soon be seeing new, plain English report cards based on a five-point scale. Parents will also be able to obtain information on how their child compares with others in the same grade at their school.

Information on all these reforms is provided in this edition of schools + parents. It also features articles ranging from how to tell if your child is getting enough exercise, to study survival tips and questions answered on new employment laws for students.

In addition, readers will get an insight into exciting new children's art centres that will be part of Australia's largest Gallery of Modern Art and the redeveloped State Library of Queensland at South Bank, both to be unveiled later this year.

There is also a helpful Teenspeak guide to give those of us with teenagers the down-low when pezzin' out with the crew. Not quite sure what that means? Don't worry, just turn to Page 20.

As you can see, this edition covers a range of important issues relevant to parents and carers. Please enjoy these articles.

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