Nonprofit News, Reviews & Resources   ||   Issue 94 November 2012 Dear Reader, Welcome to the November issue of Starlink - and a 'birthday' celebrat

StarlinkHead

Nonprofit News, Reviews & Resources   ||   Issue 94 November 2012

birthday

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the November issue of Starlink - and a 'birthday' celebration.

Amazing to think Starlink is 17 years old this month! :)

Since its paper beginnings in November 1995, when it was a means of connecting and sharing resources for the (then) Students at Risk Program across Victoria, Starlink has come a long way and seen several changes in its content and format.

Seventeen doesn't exactly make for a 'milestone' birthday, so we're not handing out gifts on street corners just yet, as this man did on his 65th birthday. :)

But we do want to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued interest and support. In these days when so many different forms of communication are clamouring for our attention, it's good to know email newsletters can still have a place. And that many people are still enjoying our eclectic collections of bits and pieces each month.

Cheers
Sue & Chris
BJ Seminars International

Classroom Resources

ABC Crayons

For the educators among our readers, here are a handful of websites with resources for the classroom. We've focused on non-commercial sources where there's no charge to download or use the materials.

Oxfam Australia's classroom resources are for teachers and students to explore issues surrounding poverty, justice and global active citizenship. Resources are produced in consultation with teachers and students to ensure that relevant, appealing and high quality resources are developed.

National Museum Australia has a range of resources across all year levels - with some new resources in English and History that are directly linked to the new Australian Curriculum.

Educate My World, is a home education resource, designed to bring teacher and tutors resources as well as classroom resources into your home in order to supplement your child’s current schooling. There are over 7,500 donloadable worksheets, which the site says are all linked to NAPLAN and designed to be great practise for the NAPLAN tests.

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The Australian Electoral Commission also provides a range of downloadable resources for teachers - posters, worksheets, informational articles and other facts and figures.

Fair Trade Association (Australia and New Zealand) provides detailed lesson plans and student handouts on a range of topics, in the Classroom Resources section of their website. All are linked to learning outcomes for the National Curriculum. Though a number of the lessons require a short film from a DVD which is no longer available, the Association is working towards creating an updated DVD.

The Healthy Kids Association has several resources to help teachers spread the healthy eating message. A number of them are linked to NSW school curriclum outcomes.

Hey Did You Know?

heydidyouknow

Hey, Did you know? is a Facebook page for young people. It's a project of YACVic's Youth Reference Group (YRG) and provides information about opportunities for YOUth, from the youth, non-for profit and the corporate sector. If you work with young people, you may wish to encourage them to visit this page for news and events of interest for them.

The Science of Compassion

compassion

Most of us would say we can recognise compassion and altruism in others when we see it. We usually would like to think of ourselves as compassionate and altruistic as well at times. But what do we know about the roots of these behaviours? What neural pathways are triggered? What impact do these behaviours have on our lives and on the lives of others? The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University is trying to find the answers to these questions and more.

They are striving to create a community of scholars and researchers, including neuroscientists, psychologists, educators and philosophical and contemplative thinkers around the study of compassion.
Visit their website for a wealth of articles, research papers, videos and other resources. You may like to read this article by James R Doty, the centre's Director, for an initial overview that describies the scientific underpinnings of compassion.

An Inspiring Halloween Story

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Ok, so we know Halloween can be a controversial issue. Some love the concept; others hate it. As demonstrated, for example, in this article (and its accompanying comments) in our Melbourne Age newspaper recently. :) But whatever your stance on Halloween itself, here's a story to inspire you. It may be about Halloween - but even more it's about compassion, generosity, the resilience of the human spirit - and how we can all learn wisdom from children.

Out and About on the Web

NikolaijArndt

Nikolaj Arndt, 3D Street Art

 
YPPN logo

Youth Participation Practice Network

 
beyondblueelearning

Workplace Mental Health Awareness

 
acecqa

Australian Children's Education & Care Quality Authority

The Elephant in the Well

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There is much talk these days about elephants in the room, in relation to making the undiscussable discussable. But sometimes it's a good idea to step out of the boardroom and into the wider world. :) So here's a heart-warming story instead about an elephant in a well. For the curious, this story comes from the Amboseli Trust for Elephants. The Amboseli Elephant Research Project is the longest study of wild elephants in the world. We work to understand the lives and ensure the future of 1,500 elephants in the Amboseli ecosystem fed by the waters of Kilimanjaro.

From Our Blog

Young People and the Environment

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Are you engaging and/or developing the skills of young people using the natural environment or outdoors? If so, YACVic wants to hear from you!

YACVic, Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD) and Parks Victoria are hosting a forum on Wednesday 5 of December 2012, to celebrate International Volunteer Day. The forum will explore young people’s engagement with the natural environment through volunteering. There will be a key note speaker followed by a panel discussion, examples of best practice and an interactive workshop.

YACVic, DPCD and Parks Victoria are interested in the different models of practice that involve young people with the natural environment and to showcase these. If you would like to contribute to the day email Clare Wynne cwynne@yacvic.org.au providing a short description about your program and the work you are doing.

(From YACVIc Updates Newsletter)

Dates for Your Diary

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Visit our Events Calendar to find details of conferences, workshops, training opportunities, exhibitions and special days to celebrate!

November and December are both very busy months! We've added even more conferences, workshops and other special events, to which we can't do justice in this space - so be sure to check them and discover if any are of interest to you.

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