ACHPER Advocate - February 2021

February 2021

President's Report

Dr Sue Whatman

ACHPER is pleased to be coming back out to you for the first edition of ACHPER Advocate in 2021. 2020 was a roller coaster for the entire world and we, like many organisations, have had to make some pivots to prioritize and re-organise our resources in a sustainable way. The National Office continues to work closely with each State Branch and we have drawn upon each other’s strengths more than ever before to navigate our way through difficult times.

Tennis Australia signs major partner agreement with ACHPER for 2021

ACHPER National President Dr Sue Whatman has signed a new agreement with Tennis Australia which continues an enduring relationship between the two organisations despite a tough, COVID-19 working environment. Working closely with Professional Learning Officer, Rick Baldock, and National Clubs and Schools Manager from Tennis Australia, Bec McDonald, the agreement covers events and professional learning activities at Branch and National level across Australia.

Meet our 2020-2021 National Board

Elastoplast helping kids stay safe

Now in its second year, the Elastoplast Kids First Aid Program has helped more than 18,000 young Aussies develop practical first aid knowledge and skills.

Developed in collaboration with ACHPER, the Elastoplast Kids First Aid Program provides schools across the country with free, curriculum-aligned resources focusing on the key first aid knowledge areas – recognising and responding to unsafe situations, treating minor injuries and sending for help.

Each school that registers will receive free lesson plans, classroom activity sheets, Elastoplast first aid product samples and even a pack of 1^st First Aid Certificates to hand out to students when they have completed the program.

More than 160 schools have received the free resources since the program launched last year, and over 90% of teachers would recommend the program to a colleague[1].

[1] Elastoplast Kids First Aid Program, 2020: Participant Survey

Welcome to new ACHPER Tasmania President Kira Patterson and thank you to Past-President, Dr Vaughan Cruikshank

ACHPER Inc would like to thank Dr Vaughan Cruikshank for his years of service as ACHPER Tasmania President. Vaughan, who is also a HPE Program Director at the University of Tasmania, has Chaired numerous events and authored a number of important research and professional contributions to our field during his time as President

We would like to welcome incoming ACHPER Tasmania President Kira Patterson, a lecturer in Health Pedagogy in the Faculty of Education at the University of Tasmania. Kira’s area of expertise is health literacy, specifically investigating how individual, social and environmental factors influence behavioural risk factors for chronic disease in urban-rural populations and in populations experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage with the Menzies Institute for Medical Research. We look forward to working with Kira over the coming years and seeing great things happening in the Apple Isle!

Global HPE Community: The AIESEP Position Statement on Physical Education Assessment

Developing from the 2018 “‘Future Directions in PE Assessment’ held at Fontys University of Applied Sciences in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, AIESEP recently launched a position statement for international consideration on Assessment. The 2018 seminar aimed to bring together leading scholars in the field to present and discuss ‘evidence-informed’ views on various topics around physical education assessment. It brought together 71 experts from 20 countries to share research on physical education assessment via keynote lectures and research presentations and to discuss assessment-related issues in interactive sessions.