1332.0.55.001 - CensusAtSchool Newsletter, Jun 2006  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 01/06/2006   
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June 2006 CensusAtSchool Newsletter - Edition No. 12

Contents
Setting the Questionnaire as a Homework Task
Homework Task Sheet
Using CensusAtSchool for Primary & Secondary
What Teachers are Saying...
A Chance to be Remembered

SETTING THE QUESTIONNAIRE AS A HOMEWORK TASK

Censusatschool for homeworkAre you having difficulty finding the time to get your students to complete the CensusAtSchool questionnaire?

Several schools decided to set the questionnaire as a homework task as one way to manage their students' participation in the project. Students could then participate without teachers having to book computer labs, or re-organise the program to ensure that all students could have access to classroom computers. For some schools this has been so successful that they were able to get their whole school population involved in the CensusAtSchool project !

The CensusAtSchool team has developed a Homework Task Sheet to better support teachers who wish to get more of the students in their school involved in the CensusAtSchool project, but are pressed for time. Teachers will simply need to provide students with their Student Access Numbers (SAN), the school postcode, and the number of students attending the school. Students can then complete the questionnaire at home. A series of step by step instructions are provided on how to complete the questionnaire, as well as space for students to record their height, foot length and belly button height results. Teachers may also choose to use the Homework Task Sheet as a way to involve more classes, or year levels, in the CensusAtSchool project quickly and with minimal preparation.

You can find out more about the Homework Task Sheet and download the document in the Teacher Forum Area of this newsletter.

Ensure that there is a rich data source from your area for your students to use. Coordinate as many students to submit a questionnaire as possible. Remember, CensusAtSchool data can only become richer as more students become involved !

Students have until the 7 July 2006 to submit the questionnaire.
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 01/05/06
ACT
53
NSW
766
NT
37
Qld.
407
SA
290
Tas.
102
Vic.
711
WA
272
Total:
2,638
Space

I
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Homework Task Sheet

Teachers may choose to have their students record their answers to several questions on the Homework Task Sheet as they are doing the questionnaire. This will result in having a class set of responses that can be used to compare their class with other students in their state or Australia!

Download the Homework Task sheet from the Project Support Materials page.



Using CensusAtSchool for Primary & Secondary

Real, raw data for your students and lots of it! CensusAtSchool is shaping up to be a gold mine of student centred data for both the social sciences and Maths. A good spread of data has been collected so far, making the CensusAtSchool a rich education resource for all students and teachers throughout all year levels.

Modern practice is asking teachers to work on real projects that use technology and are meaningful to students. CensusAtSchool will provide the data to enable students to raise their own questions for investigation and compare communities.

Ian Wong, teacher consultant with the Australian Bureau of Statistics, explores some of the potential of the CensusAtSchool data for both primary and secondary...

Read the full article..
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What Teachers are Saying...

"Our Year 6 and 7 classes have submitted their questionnaires. It was great to have the students exposed to what is becoming a very popular format for gathering information. Their need to think about their own lifestyle added to the value of the exercise. Having the class teachers move through the questionnaire has allowed some of these lifestyle questions to be integrated into the lifestyle and values discussions within the classroom."
- Graham Irvine, Regent College, IT Teacher and Principal, Perth WA

"This is a terrific site, links are clear, information is clear - it is a very good resource for teachers..."
- Jennifer Johnson, Southern Cross Primary School, Victoria, Leading Teacher

“I think the teachers enjoy the variety programs such as CensusAtSchool introduced into the standard curriculum.”
- Patricia Spannagle, St Joseph’s Principal.

"We are a small school with 8 senior students participating in the project. They have all done their questionnaire. Very easy for us as they all have a laptop. We did it as part of their reading. The project fits well with the Quality Teaching Framework for NSW schools."
- Sue Hobbs, Bungwahl Primary School Principal

" [the students] appreciated the opportunity to use real 'live' data in their studies."
- Christopher Meadows, Westside Christian College School Principal

To submit your comments, please send an email to: censusatschool@abs.gov.au

A Chance to Be Remembered
Generations and the CensusHow Australia might look in 99 years time is a matter for speculation. But the people of 2105 will certainly have an idea about how we lived in 2006.

The lives of leaders and other newsworthy figures of our day will be recorded, but they are not the only ones who have a chance to be a part of history.

In the Census, to be held on 8 August this year by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, all respondents have the option of having their Census information saved for posterity. This option is called the Census Time Capsule. If people answer yes to this option the personal information on their Census form will be microfilmed. It will be kept securely and privately for 99 years by the National Archives of Australia.

In August 2105 this information will be publicly released. It will be available to historians and genealogists for study. It will also be available to your own descendants. It will provide an valuable insight into how we lived at the beginning of the 21st Century.

This is the second Census in which Australians have had the option of saving their Census information in this way. The first was in 2001. In 2001, just over 50 per cent of people chose to have their information preserved.

Britain has long preserved personal Census information and has recently put its 19th Century Census records online. British Census records dating back to 1841 can be accessed.


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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