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National Science Week 12-20 August This year marks National Science Week’s 20th birthday. Running from 12-20 August, the theme is Future Earth. Future Earth launched in 2015 and is a major 10-year international initiative to advance global sustainability science.

World record breaking coding event Students across Australia can participate in Moonhack by taking part in computer coding exercises on the night of August 15. This year, Moonhack will be part of the 20th anniversary of National Science Week.

New schools in VIC The Victorian Government is building 56 new schools and has more than 1,000 school upgrades planned. Updates on the projects are available through the Victorian School Building Authority.

2017 NGS Super Scholarship Awards open Applications are now open for the 2017 NGS Super Scholarship Awards. Six scholarships valued at $5,000 each will be awarded to NGS Fund members to help them undertake a professional development course, project, or study tour of their choice.

NAPLAN 2017 preliminary results flatline The 2017 preliminary NAPLAN results point to an increase in reading scores of 0.72 per cent since last year, a decrease in writing scores of -0.55 per cent and an increase in numeracy of 0.81 per cent across all year levels.

Matific scores two wins at SIIA CODiE Awards Matific, the popular online maths resource for primary school students, has won two awards at the International SIIA CODiE Awards in San Francisco, for Best Mathematics Instructional Solution and Best Game-Based Curriculum Solution.

Make your move to a healthier school It's Your Move! started in 2012 as a pilot with three local high schools. Those schools achieved strong results through innovative changes which made it easier for students and teachers to be healthier.

New resource website for NSW HSC students Students sitting the NSW HSC in 2017 will benefit from a new resource website created by academics at CSU. The new website fills the gap left by the closing of an earlier HSC study website.

600 positions advertised in SA public education Recruitment has started for more than 400 ongoing teaching and 200 leadership positions in public schools and preschools in SA for 2018, with roles being advertised this week.

Virtual reality program will aid Auslan learning Auslan is soon to be part of the Australian Curriculum to bring signing into the classroom. SignVR is an interactive Virtual Reality education platform for learning Auslan through a fun and embodied learning experience.

Start for NAPLAN online trials During August and September, schools around the country will be able to assess their readiness to move to NAPLAN Online in 2018. ACARA aims to ensure each school is prepared and has sufficient bandwidth and wireless connectivity.

Is technology our servant? I like watching ‘cold case’ crime stories on television, and I stand in awe at the way these modern crime fighters are able to solve homicides that baffled their predecessors 10 or 20 years earlier. I particularly enjoy those episodes where the original crimes were actually investigated by some of the people who are now on the cold case team – seeing them uncover additional clues that were previously not obtainable.