1332.0.55.001 - CensusAtSchool Newsletter, Jul 2006  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 07/07/2006   
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July 2006 CensusAtSchool Newsletter - Edition No. 13

Contents
CensusAtSchool Questionnaire Response Data Now Available!
What Does the Data Look Like?
A Word from the CensusAtSchool Team
Census Night Only One Month Away

CensusAtSchool Questionnaire Response Data Now Available!
Data Usage Phase Commences!
  • Did girls complete the questionnaire faster than boys?
  • Do year 5 students have a quicker reaction time than Year 12 students?
  • What do students consider to be the most important environmental issue?
  • Where do students eat breakfast?

Students from across Australia can begin to answer these and many more questions as the CensusAtSchool Data Usage phase is now open!

Over 2700 schools registered to take part in CensusAtSchool with more than 110,000 students Australia wide completing the questionnaire. The resulting real raw data is now available to teachers and students to help explore a variety of concepts in the classroom. Students can also compare themselves to other students in their state/territory and throughout Australia, on a variety of different topics.

Random data samples of the Questionnaire Response Data can be accessed through the CensusAtSchool website. Classroom activities and teacher resources have also been provided to accompany the data. These materials can be found in the Teacher Area.

This free resource is available to all Australian students and teachers, regardless of whether or not students participated in the questionnaire phase of the project.

The CensusAtSchool team is eager to find out how schools are using the data, so if you have any terrific ideas or plans for this resource, don't hesitate to contact us and share your experiences with other teachers. Similarly, if you require any particular samples or tables please let us know.
Key DatesKey Dates
30 Jan 2006
Questionnaire Open
07 Jul 2006
Questionnaire Closed
11 Jul 2006
Data Usage Open
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Registered Schools
as at 11/04/2006
ACT
57
NSW
795
NT
38
Qld.
415
SA
297
Tas.
116
Vic.
732
WA
294
Total:
2,744
Space

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What Does the Data Look Like?

There are three ways you can get the data; designed to support you and the technological environment in your school.

Random sampler
Students can get their own sample. Each sample will be unique so, it will be their data.
Visit the Random Sample page

Prepared samples
If the Internet is problematic in your school these will help. There are also simplified samples that have tables constructed and graphs drawn. Great for younger students.
Visit the Prepared Samples page

Information Tables
These information and data tables mean you can use the data where your students do not have access to a computer.
Visit the Information Tables page

A Word from the CensusAtSchool Team

The Questionnaire Phase of the project has drawn to a close. Now is the time to engage students in the exciting data usage phase!

Response to the project has been very strong, as was the response to the Professional Development (PD) sessions conducted around Australia. We are following this up with the release of Professional Development materials, demonstrating how to use the Random Sampler and ways to use CensusAtSchool data in classroom activities.

The CensusAtSchool site currently features classroom activities that cover key learning areas for each state and territory, designed to compliment the questionnaire response data. The CensusAtSchool team would like to hear from teachers who have developed their own activities for the classroom using the data. Sharing activities and resources among schools will make the CensusAtSchool experience even more enriching for Australian students.

To get involved with CensusAtSchool contact the CensusAtSchool Team on 1800 623 273 or send us an email on censusatschool@abs.gov.au.
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Census Night Only One Month Away

The Census of Population and Housing will be held on 8 August - only one month away. Here are some interesting Census facts:
  • By Census night 1800 tonnes of Census forms, guides and other printed material - the equivalent weight of 1,000 family cars - will have been printed, packed and sent to all corners of the country.
  • Census guides and forms will be delivered to every dwelling in Australia. About 11 million guides will be printed and distributed. If the pages of all the guides were laid end to end they would stretch around the entire Australian coastline, a distance of 25,801 kilometres, and there would still be some to spare.
  • The printing of the Census forms is an even bigger job - with nearly 13 million to be printed.
  • In the 2001 Census the three most common languages spoken at home other than English were Chinese languages, Italian and Greek.
  • Of the 10,313 people employed as librarians at the last Census, 83.1 per cent were female.
  • According to the 2001 Census, males made up 86.7 per cent of those employed in the smash repair industry.
  • On Census day in 2001, over 78,000 Australian rode a bicycle to work.

National Census, 8 August 2006 To find out more about the 2006 National Census visit the ABS website at: https://www.abs.gov.au/census
If you have any questions or general CensusAtSchool project enquiries, please contact the ABS, National Education Service Unit, CensusAtSchool Team by email censusatschool@abs.gov.au or on free call 1800 623 273 between 9:00am and 5:00pm (AEST) Monday to Friday.Online Newsletter
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