Gotham High Staff Room

Social Fridays

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We know that sometimes you are just to busy to meet all the wonderful people that work at our school.
So come, and have a nice chat with your co-workers in a fun, informal environment. In short, 'Social Fridays' was created with the sole purpose of having a good time. So come and join us!

Audience: Invitation open to all teachers 

Dates: Every Friday, 3:30 to 5:00

Venue: Teacher's staff room

If you are interested please register with your Head of Department. The school will provide drinks and nibbles, but you are more than welcome to bring anything you want to share! See you there.

For teachers

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The following videos are perfect if you are looking for inspiration, or if you are looking to challenge yourself and your beliefs about education and teaching. Enjoy.


Do schools kill creativity?




Education is Broken




Let's use video to reinvent education




Bring on the learning revolution!





New experiments in self-teaching




Math class needs a makeover




Changing education paradigms




Goodbye textbooks; hello open source learning




How to learn? From mistakes.














For students

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The following it's a fragment of the article "25 Best TED talks for the classroom", published by Edudemic on March 21, 2012. These great videos are perfect for the classroom, with inspiring tales of courage and imagination. Enjoy.

Benjamin Zander on music and passion: If you want your kids to fall in love with music, Ben Zander is your best friend. In this video, the very funny and energetic speaker and conductor of the Boston Philharmonic discusses classical music and why everyone should love it as much as he does.

Jamie Oliver’s TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food: In this clip, “the naked chef” exhorts for change to the standard American diet and speaks about his fight against obesity. Don’t worry, he’s clothed the entire time.

Arthur Benjamin does “Mathemagic”: Arthur Benjamin is a human computing machine. In this talk, Benjamin displays his amazing ability to calculate figures in his head, then he tells you how he does it. This is about as entertaining as math gets.

William Kamkwamba on building a windmill: William Kamkwamba’s book The Boy Who Harnessed the Windwas his story of building his family a windmill from spare parts to generate electricity when he was just 14 years old. In this video, he is interviewed about the feat that is an inspiring example for kids about what you can do when you put your mind to it.

Amy Purdy: Living beyond limits: In this just under 10-minute video, Ms. Purdy talks about her journey to becoming a pro snowboarder despite losing both her legs. Hers is an inspiring message for kids and adults that urges us to push ourselves past our limits.

Anna Deavere Smith: Four American characters: Calling this a talk is a misnomer; this is a performance. Talented actress Anna Deavere Smith moves from one intricate character to the next, while broaching topics like race relations. This is a fantastic way to show your kids real acting, as well as introduce them to some important social issues.

Bono’s call to action for Africa: This talk is now five years old, but it’s still a good video for your kids to see. U2′s Bono accepts the award for the 2005 TED prize and raises the call for more aid to poverty-stricken Africa.

Caleb Chung plays with Pleo: The inventor of the Furby talks about toy design and introduces you and your kids to Pleo the robot dinosaur, his latest project. Chung, who did not go to college, demonstrates the power of creative and original thinking and the success it can bring.

Chris Abani muses on humanity: Counterbalance some of the violence your kids see on TV with TED talks like this one by writer and poet Chris Abani. He shares terrific stories about the compassion humans are capable of showing each other.

J.J. Abrams’ mystery box: If your kids liked Lost, Fringe, Alias… basically anything good on TV recently, then they are J.J. Abrams fans. In this talk the acclaimed writer and producer talks about the simple things that inspired him to become one of the biggest players in Hollywood today.

Julia Bacha: Pay attention to nonviolence: For another vid from the social awareness category, show the kids this talk by documentary filmmaker Julia Bacha. She discusses the importance of peaceful protests in the Palestinian conflict and how it is up to us to give them the attention they deserve.

Jane Goodall on what separates us from the apes: Your kids will know how to greet people in “ape” after watching this talk by the famed ape expert Jane Goodall. But her overall message of using our words to change the world is an important one.

Adora Svitak: What adults can learn from kids: This is a short video featuring Adora Svitak, a 12-year-old writer, blogger, and now speaker. Svitak says the world needs to think more like kids. This is a great one to use to prove to your kids that their voices will be heard if they truly have something to say

Joel Burns tells gay teens “it gets better”: This video is part of TED‘s “Best of the Web” series where deserving speeches from around the Internet are shared. In this moving clip, openly gay Texas councilman Joel Burns assures kids who are bullied for being gay that life will not always be this way.




Edudemic. (2012). 25 TED Talks perfect for classrooms  Retrieved March 22, 2012, 2012, from http://edudemic.com/2012/03/25-ted-talks-perfect-for-classrooms/










Allocation procedure

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Students from stage 4-5 will NOT be able to borrow books for themselves from the book room. If a student from stages 4-5 needs to borrow a book then they must go through their teacher who will then take over responsibility for the borrowed book. It's your responsibility to make sure the student returns the book in good condition.

Students from stage 6 are allowed and encouraged to borrow books from the book room. Some items will need the signature from the teacher.

Students from stage 6 are able to borrow a book for a whole term and during holidays.

Responsibilities

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The responsibility for the book room will be split according to stage.

Stages 4-5 section: Mrs Lee, Mr Aiken and Mr Simpson will have responsibility for the .

Stage 6 section: Mr Watson and Miss Shelley.

Online book: Roaster to be created

Responsibility for the online book room will lie with a different teacher every semester with this role being open to teachers of any class. The general manager will create a roster at the beginning of each term to determine who has responsibility for the online book room.

Each of these sections should only be accessed by the teachers who have responsibility for that stage.
If it is an exceptional reason in which you must borrow a book from another section then talk to the book room general manager who will provide you with the right paper work.

Each semester a teacher will be assigned the role of Book Room General Manager. He or she will be allocated to look over the book room. He or she will make sure books are returned to their proper section, and that they are returned in good conditions.

Stage 6

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Books and resources

  • Topographic Mapping Skills for Secondary Students 2nd Ed. Author : Kleeman Grant. Subject : Geography. Edition  11/05/2005. Publisher  Cambridge University. ISBN : 9780521600064
  • Earth and Environmental Science the HSC Course. Author: Hubble, Tom. Edition 15/11/2002.
  • National Geographic Magazine (ongoing subscription)
  • Australian Geographic Magazine (ongoing subscription)
  • New Internationalist Magazine (ongoing subscription)
  • The Economist Magazine (ongoing subscription)
  • The Sydney Morning Herald (ongoing subscription)
  • Online Book Room:
  • ABC iview website - http://www.abc.net.au/iview/
  • Geography Teachers Association of New South Wales website - http://www.gtansw.org.au/
  • Free Documentaries Online – www.topdocumentaryfilms.com
  • Google Maps Street View of UNESCO World Heritage Sites - http://maps.google.com/intl/en/help/maps/streetview/gallery.html#unesco-world-heritage
  • New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council - http://www.alc.org.au/
  • National Geographic Education -http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/?ar_a=1
  • BBC Homepage – bbc.co.uk

Stage 4-5

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Books and resources


  • Practical Exercises On Contour Maps & Weather 2nd Edition. Author: Kucks & Drury. Year: 7-10. Edition 1/01/1994. Publisher: Jacaranda.
  • Skills in Australian Geography 2nd Edition. Author: Kleeman/Peters. Year: 9 & 10. Edition 6/07/2007. ISBN : 9780521692656
  •  Australian Explorations Stage 5 Complete Student Pack 2nd Ed. Author: Kleeman Grant Et Al. Year : Stage 5 NSW. Edition 10/11/2009
  •  Essential Geography Skills Middle School. Author: Harte Jeff. Edition 30/12/1899.
  • Geoactive 1 2nd Edition. Author: Bliss, Susan; Paine, John.
  • Geoactive 2 2nd Edition. Author: Bliss, Susan; Paine, John.
  • National Geographic Magazine (ongoing subscription)
  • Australian Geographic Magazine (ongoing subscription)
  • New Internationalist Magazine (ongoing subscription)
  • The Economist Magazine (ongoing subscription)
  • The Sydney Morning Herald (ongoing subscription)