| Towards an Understanding of All Faiths We have many bookings for these seminars in Australia but only a few in Auckland and Wellington. Can N.Z. DAN members please promote these seminars in in their own schools and with your collegues in other schools. - Melbourne - Wednesday June 14th - Melbourne Grammar School - Auckland - Thursday June15th - St Peters School. - Wellington - Friday June16th - Samuel Marsden College - Perth - Tuesday August 15th - MLC - Adelaide- Thursday August 17th - Seymour College - Hobart - Friday August 18th Guilford Young College - Sydney - Monday September 11th – St Catherines School - Brisbane - Wednesday September 13th - Lourdes Hill Catholic College - Canberra - Friday 15th September Canberra Grammar Click here to register. |
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| Dialogue Australasian Network May 2006 Newsletter |
In this Edition: -Auckland Conference Report -Oxford Fellowships -Journal Update -Teaching World Religions Seminars Update -New DAN Members -Free Teaching Philosophy CD -Dialogue Educational Vidoes -The Nature of God Seminars -Spirited Art Competition |
| Auckland Conference 2006 "Perhaps the real trick in life is not to be in the Know, but to be in the mystery" Dr David Whitehead, (21 April 2006) This one quote encapsulates a central thread of the 2006 Beyond the Curriculum: Developing the Whole Person conference. Opening with education as a humanising activity, delegates were encouraged to consider how our stories intersect both Biblically and with each other; how we may use silence and can be silenced, be inspired and inspirited; the masks we wear and how we equip our students to chose between what is right and what is easy. Raising the awareness for international delegates to the power of indigenous ritual, the conference began with a moving Powhiri - a welcoming ceremony with traditional Maori protocol. With plenary sessions that were both about deep thinking and required deep thinking, the conference proved to be a vibrant forum for networking and support. This was ably assisted by the "nothing is too much trouble" attitude and service of the Kings Institute staff, the exceptional facilities of the boarding accommodation and the great food in the dinning hall and common rooms. |
| Dialogue Australasia Journal DAN Members and subscribers should have received their copies of the Issue 15 of the journal by now. Please let us know if you did not receive yours. It may be that your subs are overdue. Issue 16, due for publication and distribution in the first week of October 2006, will be themed on Forgiveness. A timely and topical theme due to world issues, this theme also allows for branching into discussion of reconciliation. We are sure that you will be able to think of article topics that may be included under this theme. Some examples that we have thought of include: - Forgiveness and Reconciliation: are they synonymous? - Reconciliation in indigenous context: Australia and New Zealand. - Need for forgiveness and the teaching of forgiveness. - Teaching reconciliation via films or novels - The language of forgiveness: remorse, reconciliation, repentance, redemption, absolution, scapegoat (sins on the scapegoat and then kill it.) - Stillness, Silence and Forgiveness - the parable of the unforgiving servant. - Forgiveness is good for your health. - Different ways of looking at forgiveness. Is forgiveness just or unjust? - Forgiveness from Islamic viewpoint. - Forgiveness from a Jewish perspective. - Derrida and forgiveness. - The Gospel of Judas Given the focus of the 2007 DAN conference and the Vardy professional development scheduled for late 2006 (Nature of God) and 2007 (Ethics of Science), issue 17 (April 2007) will be themed on Religion: including the possible topics of Virtue and Practice of Religion; Religious Apologetics; Religious condemnation of superstition/idolatry; Religious liberty/toleration; Psycho genesis of religion; conflict of science and religion. We warmly invite you to submit a contribution (academic article or teaching unit) to either of these journals. Articles are generally between 1500 to 3000 words in length, although the Have Your Say contributions are between 300 to 450 words. Deadlines for submission of articles are Forgiveness: Friday August 25th 2006 and Religion: Friday February 23rd 2007. Submissions may be made directly to the dialogueaustralasia.org website or to Deborah.stevens@xtra.co.nz or phillip.tolliday@flinders.edu.au |
| STOP PRESS: Sarah Arthur (nee Morris) had her baby on April 24th. A baby
girl, Mila Joy Arthur, 8lb 10z. |
| Oxford Fellowships for 2007 Application forms are now available for 2007. These Fellowships are offered to teachers of Religious Education to take time out of school to undertake research into a topic which will be of help to them in the teaching of RE. The Fellowships are for a period of one term (see dates below) at Harris Manchester College, in the University of Oxford; the Farmington Trust would cover the cost of University fees, accommodation in College, agreed out of pocket expenses, and the cost of a return fare to/from England. The Farmington Institute aims to encourage and improve Religious Education in schools and colleges; it is financed by the Farmington Trust. Fellowships are awarded to teachers of Religious Education and discussion papers are published regularly. Research done by previous Fellows, can be found at www.farmington.ac.uk. The website of Harris Manchester College is at www.hmc.ox.ac.uk. All successful applicants will be expected to produce a report of their work and give a seminar to a group of interested people in the UK and in Australia towards the end of their term of study. Dialogue Australasia and the Institute will put the final report on their website so that the benefits of the research can be distributed to teachers of RE throughout the world. Click on this link for a copy of the application form. Closing date: 1 January 2007 |
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| NEW D.A.N. MEMBER SCHOOLS The following 45 schools have joined the Network in the past few months. We now have over 360 member schools. The Rockhampon Diocese of the Catholic Education Office recently joined up all 10 secondary schools in the Diocese. The Dialogue Network has continued to grow phenominally over recent months. Please note that these are new members only, not renewing members. Gippsland Grammar VIC Helena College WA Mowbray College VIC Sisters of Mercy QLD Corpus Christi Catholic HS NSW Dominic College TAS Emmaus College QLD Newman College WA Oxley College NSW St Columbas College (VIC) St Clares HS NSW St Pauls VIC Holy Spirit College QLD Trinty College South Campus SA Mercy College QLD Marist College QLD CEO Hobart TAS Chevalier College NSW Freeman Catholic College NSW Frensham NSW Good Shepherd Cath College QLD Mt Maria College QLD Sacred Heart WA St Annes Special School SA St Josephs Grammar School NSW St Lukes WA St Michael's College SA Geelong Grammar Corio VIC Emmaus College QLD The Cathedral College QLD St Brendan’s College QLD St Patrick’s College QLD Mater Dei WA Shalom College QLD Chanel College QLD St Ursulas College QLD Mercedes WA Scotch Oakburn TAS St Andrews Ang College QLD Sunshine Coast Grammar QLD The Armidale School NSW The Knox School VIC The Southport School QLD Aitken College VIC Braemar College VIC For a complete list of members schools and application forms click here |
| Free Teaching Philosophy CD Some schools have indicated the need for a different type of membership in the future. While there are many senior secondary independent schools that are members of DAN some schools have separate Prep and Middle schools and some have multiple campuses, all of which make it difficult for schools to communicate DAN related information and initiatives. Therefore we have introduced a new level of membership. As an incentive to take up this option we have put together a new resource which is only available to schools that take up this option. If your school would like to take out a dual membership for multiple campuses or for a separate Prep school/ or Middle school you might want to look at this option or pass it on the relevant people. By adding $79.20 (GST Inc) to your current membership fee we will add a separate membership registration for your school. This can be multiplied more than once if you have a separate Middle school and Prep school or more than two campuses. It means that these other areas in your school will receive separate copies of the journal, separate correspondence, reduction in PD costs, free entry in the Art Competition, opportunities to study overseas and they will be part of the Network in the future. This will be particularly attractive to schools where the Senior Campus receives the journal etc but the Primary, or Middle school, currently do not. If you are interested then please click on the attached link for a membership form |
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| THE NATURE OF GOD SEMINARS What is meant by "God"? Religious communities have radically different answers to this question and one persons concept of "God" may be totally unrecognisable and foreign to another. This basic question of what is meant by 'God' is fundamental for understanding religious belief, and the conflict that arises both within and between world religions. Religious Education, and in particular the teaching of some philosophical issues related to questions of God, is often hampered by conflicting assumptions of what is meant by the word 'GOD' and how Gods nature is to be understood. Many students under-perform because not only are they not aware that religious people can mean fundamentally different things when they talk of 'God' but they are also unable to evaluate the impact of such major differences on questions of ethics, philosophy of religion, belief and practise. This conference will deal with some of the more widely held beliefs about the nature of God and provide resources for classroom use to help students understand quite how significant the perception one adopts is. The implications of different models of God for ethics, for understanding scripture and for approaches to topics in Philosophy of Religion will be dealt with.This important, intensive, one day conference is run by leading experts who will not only show how the objectives above can be achieved in the classroom but will also provide a valuable DVD teaching resource which can be used in the classroom and placed on a schools Intranet to enable students to explore different ways of speaking about God and their consequences. Contact one of the schools below for details; July 19 - Ballarat Grammar School, Ballarat VIC July 20 - Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School, Melbourne VIC July 28 - Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta NSW August 1 - Catholic Education Office, Rockampton QLD August 2 - Redeemer Lutheran College, Rochedale, Brisbane QLD August 4 - Newcastle Grammar School, Newcastle NSW August 7 - Catholic Education Office, Townsville QLD August 25 - Mater Dei College, Perth WA August 28 - St. Anthony's School, Launceston TAS August 30 - St. Ignatius' College, Adelaide SA September 1 - Kristin School, Auckland NZ September 5 - Marian College, Christchurch NZ September 8 - Sacred Heart College Lower Hutt, Wellington NZ |
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DIALOGUE EDUCATION VIDEOS We have just received some extra boxes of videos "Arguments for the Existance of God" If you would like find out more about this resource or if you want to order a set then click on the this link. |
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| Contact Details;journal@dialogueaustralasia.org Address: c/o Westminster School Phone no: Aust 08 82760342 Alison Ave Marion Fax no: Aust 08 82760277 Adelaide SA 5043 |
| SPIRITED ART COMPETITION THE ZIMMERMAN PRIZE FOR ART For pupils aged 6-16years, including special schools A project to link creativity with Religious Education for Australasian schools Over 200 entries were submitted in 2005 from every Australian State for the first ever Zimmerman Art Competition. This gallery displays all the winning entries. Spirited Art is run by the Dialogue Australasian Network in honour the work of Dr Beverly Zimmerman who was a driving force in the setting up of the Dialogue Australasian Network. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS |
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