Report Card 2016: Our year in review

Sarah Duggan

By Sarah Duggan
Published December 14, 2016

Ahh 2016, the year that shocked, surprised, delighted and got us tearing up (mostly) with laughter at every twist and turn. Looking back on the year that was, we recall anti-corruption investigations, Safe Schools wars, ongoing Gonski negotiations, jawdropping career achievements, Unsung Heroes thrust into the limelight, rousing classroom projects … shall we go on? So ladies and gentlemen, sit back, relax, and let us take you on a wild ride back through the Australian Teacher Magazine (ATM) archive.

In September we profiled Cecil Hills Public School deputy principal Sarah Hay, one of the world's top competitive jousters and the only woman to have won the international Grail of Chivalry prize.

FEBRUARY

Keen to seize 2016 by the scruff of the neck, so to speak, amongst our topical February News section ...

This story appeared in the December 2016 edition of Australian Teacher Magazine.

Deputy Principal - Darling Point Special School (Two Positions)

Department of Education and Training (Queensland) Brisbane

Come and join our dynamic team at Darling Point Special School and step into the exciting role of Deputy Principal - Special Education. This is your chance to be a piv...

Teaching - Secondary / Apr 23, 2026

Head of Special Education Services (H01) - Ripley Valley State School (Two Positions)

Department of Education and Training (Queensland) Ipswich

Two vacancies are available for Head of Special Education Services (HOSES) across Junior and Senior schooling. You will focus on leading inclusive education practic...

Teaching - Secondary / Apr 23, 2026

Head of Department (Curriculum) - Maryborough Special School

Department of Education and Training (Queensland)

Lead curriculum planning and delivery in a special education setting, supporting students with diverse and complex needs. The role focuses on improving teaching qu...

Teaching - Secondary / Apr 23, 2026

School news / Consumption gumption: schools’ new push to get kids eating more vegetables

Nutritional intake by children in Australia is well short of where it needs to be, with 96 per cent failing to eat enough vegetables and more than 40 per cent of their daily energy intake often coming from unhealthy “discretionary” foods, but a ma...

Community / WHAT MATTERS to young Australians in 2026? A national What Matters? Writing Competition helps young students to find their voice!

In classrooms across the country, the most powerful moments often begin quietly. A question. A pause. A student finding the words to say something that matters to them.

School news / Sweet Swahili: award-winner promoting community harmony and social cohesion

You might not know it, but you can speak a tiny bit of Swahili. Who doesn’t know the words ‘Hakuna Matata’, from Disney’s 1994 animated feature film The Lion King?

Community / Five classroom strategies to help build calm in a chaotic world

Hasn’t the world seen more than its fair share of upheaval in recent weeks?

School news / Priced out: ‘Key worker housing’ for NSW teachers could save the profession

A housing affordability crisis is derailing Australia’s efforts to tackle chronic teacher shortages and poses a significant threat to the future of the profession, with researchers warning that median house prices in Sydney are now more than 13 ti...

School news / Ex-teacher appointed as first Minister for Men and Boys, experts urge for schools focus

Tackling the harmful influence of the manosphere will the main goal of Victoria’s new Minister for Men and Boys – an Australian-first portfolio that has been broadly welcomed by experts who say a close focus on schools should be the priority.

School news / ‘A mystifying position’: AERO CEO calls out critics of explicit instruction

A cohort of ideologically-driven academics opposed to the idea that evidence should inform teachers’ practice pose a threat to the progress Australian schools have made over the last five years, AERO’s CEO has warned.

School news / Burning below the surface: Australia’s high schools far from sun smart

When it comes to sun safety and skin care Australia’s high schools are worryingly uninterested and hopelessly ill-equipped when it comes to actively teaching sun safety and skin care.

School news / Single school mental health checks may miss students in need: new research

Schools relying on one-off wellbeing surveys may be overlooking students who need mental health support, new research suggests.

Opinion / Teachers ought to be better protected from violent and abusive students

As a University Liaison, I was visiting a young student teacher on her first placement. She revealed that while she was on yard duty she had been kicked and spat upon by a boy in Prep. I was shocked on two counts!

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