Mount Gambier Education Leaders Fourm 2014

The 2014 Mount Gambier Education Leaders Forum was held in City Hall on Wednesday 7th of May, providing an opportunity for Educators across the lifelong learning spectrum from Early Childhood to Tertiary, to gather and inform one another what their organisations are doing to effectively engage community. 

Hosted by Cr. Jim Maher, Presiding  Member of the City’s Lifelong Learning Sub-committee, and building upon the Relational Learning workshops offered in September last year,  the forum aimed to challenge leaders to think differently when considering  the Education Models we work within.  

Featuring guest speakers Adam Box, DECD Education Director of the new Blue Lake Partnership, and Tenison Woods College Principal David Mezinec, these leaders presented on significant changes occurring across our private and public local learning landscape.  

Focusing on opportunities and challenges linked to community engagement, both speakers recognised the significant role collaboration plays in successful partnerships and the importance of this to ensuring our children thrive. 

Adam Box discussed some of the challenges under the new DECD partnerships structure, providing a Victorian case study of school’s shared resourcing and collaborations across the Corangamite Shire for consideration.

Expanding their learning focus at Tenison Woods College, David Mezinec, identified some of the local collaborations which influenced the model of education developed for their new Early Learning Centre.

With strong representation from the early learning field, through to Mount Gambier’s Tertiary sector, over 40 people gained exposure to the online platforms hosted within the new Our Mount Gambier Village online hub, which was launched earlier that morning, and were encouraged to consider how they might participate with, gain and bring value to the site.  

The forum launched the Draft Mount Gambier Charter for Children to Education Leaders for their consideration.

The Our Mount Gambier Village online hub will play a vital role in providing feedback on the nine key principles which form the Draft Charter.  

Stage One of the consultation closes at the end of May.  All Education Leaders are encouraged to review the Charter and have their say by completing a short survey. 

The City of Mount Gambier wishes to thank all of those Education Leaders who attended the Forum, and shared about what they are doing to successfully engage their communities, and we look forward to working with you as we grow into the future.