As we begin Trimester 2, we welcome 200 new students to the Bachelor of Education program. This bigger-than-ever mid-year intake of domestic students reflects one of many shifts we have all been actively engaged in over recent months. As a result of the global pandemic and its effects, we have experienced new ways of working with our students, in our research ventures, and in our partnerships and collaborations with the wider community. In this newsletter we share some of the initiatives, conversations, and future-shaping strategies that are part of our context. A highlight is the Learning@home Work-Integrated-Learning initiative that enabled more than one hundred of our students to meet their graduation requirements, even though schools were closed. Most are now employed in schools with a set of new skills and capabilities never before imagined. We are looking to the enduring benefits of the moment as we pivot, act and refuse to snapback. We also share news of some remarkable projects new to the School and university, including the $150 000 Linkage grant exploring teachers and teaching in flexible and non-traditional schools, in collaboration with key partners; and the $5.5 million grant from the Paul Ramsay Foundation that will fund a new community-based research program with a strong education and health focus, highlighting Griffith University’s commitment to breaking the cycle of disadvantage in Logan.
Enjoy this issue of our School newsletter.