Preparing new unit

I went up to school today for a few hours and completed a unit for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. I'll work on one for The Time Machine next week.Along with The Lost World,  they'll form the basis of a classic science fiction unit next month.

My 'work station' this morning.

Some of the great graphic novel versions of the classic we'll be reading next month.

Biloela

Cyclone Marcia has swept through Central Queensland and left a lot of damage and flooding in its wake. One of the places hit badly was Biloela. I taught in the primary school there between 1985-87. I noticed that they closed the school yesterday. I hope no serious damage was done and that all are well.

Childcare Report

Childcare experts and parents have been left scratching their heads at the Productivity Commission's long-awaited blueprint for childcare reform, arguing its proposed new funding system is too difficult to understand and that many families would be worse off under the plan. Support obviously needs to be 'mean's tested' even though the government in opposition used to reject that as 'the politics of envy' but things are always different in government.

One childcare sector representative told Fairfax Media the Abbott government would be "crazy" to implement the commission's report, which recommends that childcare funding is based on an hourly rate, benchmarked against the median price of various types of childcare. They argued this would see such a significant proportion of parents lose out. 

The report, released yesterday, also drew a lukewarm response from the peak childhood body, Early Childhood Australia. 

More information can be found in this Age article

http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/childcare-report-gets-thumbs-down-from-sector-20150220-13khad.html