communityandfamilystudies

In this episode of The Learning Network's Community & Family Studies Podcast, I unpack the power of community!

I have connected with so many amazing educators over the last 18 and a half years, both while I taught CAFS & since I began supporting CAFS teachers. I've been around for a while and many of the teachers I have met, learnt from, supported or developed friendships with have made a bigger impact on me than they will ever realise! This episode is dedicated to them!

This episode will empower you and remind you about the importance of connection, the importance of us working together rather than in silo and the importance of us connecting, learning and growing together.

If you are listening to this live, the CAFS conference is coming up on the 14th and 15th October, 2022, and will be held in the most amazing magical place, Killcare on the Central Coast. I am so excited to be able to host this conference in person, connecting CAFS teachers from across NSW and enabling that sense of community and connection that has been missed over the last couple of years! This conference is designed to help you build confidence and really understand the content you’re teaching with strategic sessions and guest speakers! 

Visit thelearnnet.com/conference to learn more about the 2022 CAFS Conference!

Grab the episode show notes at thelearnnet.com/34!

In this week's episode, I am joined by a very special guest, Sharna Dawson. Sharna has a very extensive 20-year career in education, working as a PDHPE teacher for 8 years before retraining. Sharna found her passion in working with students to discover their careers, so she completed a graduate certificate in career development.

Today, Sharna will unpack what you can do to get the right kids into the CAFS course and keep them there. She's also going to dive into some common myths around CAFS and what you can do to capture the students you want and build that sense of community & passion in your course!

We also chat about the IRP, a very small part of our CAFS course which often adds a lot of unnecessary stress & creates so much extra marking. It doesn't have to be like that & I can show you how in my Strategic Approaches to the IRP course, which has helped over 250 CAFS teachers across NSW facilitate the IRP successfully without sacrificing their time and wellbeing in the process.

Visit thelearnnet.com/33 to grab the episode show notes and visit thelearnnet.com/irp to learn more about the Strategic Approaches to the IRP course!

In this episode of The Learning Network's Community & Family Studies Podcast I dive into the reasons why students shouldn't be writing notes!!

Re-writing notes on the course content is a waste of valuable revision time & energy. Revision is a time to apply knowledge & skills by completing past exam questions & other strategic revision activities!

Listen along as I share with you some strategies that you can use to help your students succeed in both Community and Family Studies and PDHPE!

In the episode, I also chat about my Year 12 MasterClass Sessions, which allow me to work with you & your kids in a session tailored to their specific needs. These sessions enable me to give your kids direct feedback, personalised strategies & a fresh perspective from a CAFS coach who has had years of experience teaching & marking the course. You will also get access to a booklet for the students to use throughout the session & beyond, with templates, scaffolds, brand new HSC style questions, tips & tricks & more!

Visit thelearnnet.com/masterclass to check out my MasterClasses!

Visit thelearnnet.com/32 for the episode show notes!

In this episode of The Learning Network's Community & Family Studies Podcast I am joined by Jess George-Loulach to chat about some of the misconceptions surrounding CAFS, especially the idea that it is a subject just for girls!

Community and Family Studies has so many real world lessons embedded within the course & can set students up for personal & professional success, no matter their gender.

Listen along & grab the shownotes at thelearnnet.com/31

In this episode of The Learning Network's Community & Family Studies Podcast, I chat about about the methods to my madness. If you've worked with me before you'll know that there's always a reason or a purpose behind what I do and I want to unpack that with you today!

I explain what you guys can do to work more purposefully and make sure you're maximising everything that you have available in your CAFS realm as well as the importance of making purposeful connections across the syllabus and creating lessons with the endgame in mind so your students have the best chance of success when the HSC come around!

I also chat about my free webinar on Thursday February the 17th at 8pm. Head over to thelearnnet.com/results to sign up and I'll share with you my three top tips to improve student results, fast track success, and get you the results that your school wants.

I hope you enjoy this episode!

Grab the show notes: thelearnnet.com/15

This week's episode of The Learning Network's Community & Family Studies Podcast is all about what you can do to really bring your CAFS classroom to life!

From cooperative learning groups and connecting with your students to creating a positive physical space, this episode has so many teaching gems you can implement in the new year!

This week's episode is all about what you can do to really bring your CAFS classroom to life!

From cooperative learning groups and connecting with your students to creating a positive physical space, this episode has so many teaching gems you can implement in the new year!

In this episode of The Learning Network's Community & Family Studies Podcast I reflect on 2021 and talk about some of my goals for 2022! I also chat about a few things I'll be doing differently in 2022 including new projects, offers and affirmation/organisational tools! 

In this podcast episode, I chat with our daughters Cass & Lex! This is a funny episode where we chat about the changes they have seen since I left the classroom, what they think I actually do for work and what they love about school. One you wont want to miss!
Grab the show notes: thelearnnet.com/12

To celebrate my 40th birthday on December 15, 2021 I share with you my top forty lessons that I have learnt in my 40 years on earth in life, relationships, family, friendships and teaching. Many of these lessons can be applied to CAFS too! This is a little insight into my life and my journey so far. 
Grab the show notes: thelearnnet.com/11

In this episode of The Learning Network's Community & Family Studies Podcast, we chat about what you can do to get your time and wellbeing back before the holidays. By prioritising in certain areas and getting those programmes, registers and classrooms ready so you can enjoy your well deserved holidays.

I also chat about the steps you can take before next year to ensure your students get the results they should, including STRIVE, my online course which helps CAFS teachers develop a skills based approach to teaching the course which enables students to confidently and successfully tackle the HSC.

Grab the show notes: thelearnnet.com/10

In this episode of The Learning Network's Community & Family Studies Podcast we unpack what success looks like in CAFS and what you can do to up your game in this course that we all love. I share the 4 biggest challenges I believe CAFS teachers are having right now in their CAFS classroom and what you can do to achieve the goals and dreams you have set for yourself in this course. This episode will help you work more strategically in CAFS, build your students up for success, grow & flourish as a CAFS teacher and action what success looks like.
Grab the show notes here: thelearnnet.com/7

This episode is a special one as I am joined by my beautiful teacher and friend Jennie O'Donoghue (and CAFS legend).
If you have met Jen before on your CAFS journey you would know that she always lights up the CAFS space with her big heart and cheekiness. Jen shares with us her lessons from the classroom from the last 45 years in teaching and what she has done over the last 30 + years to develop relationships and results in her CAFS classroom for HSC success. 
Grab the show notes here: thelearnnet.com/9

In this episode, I celebrate what it looks like to cheer you on from the sideline and who has had the most influence on me as an educator. 

If you have worked with me before in CAFS, you would know that what you see is what you get and I am all giving- to be able to bring all of my gifts and expertise from my 16 years in the CAFS classroom for you to go BIG with your CAFS Crew. 

thelearnet.com/8

In today's episode of The Learning Network's Community & Family Studies Podcast I chat with my special guest and friend Dan Jackson about how teachers can work less and teach more! 

Dan is an educational consultant who has a wealth of experience in education and leadership. We chat about the importance of getting back to our core business which is actually teaching.

As CAFS teachers we know how important it is to prevent teacher burnout, but Dan gives us practical tips that we can implement in the classroom straight away to protect our time and wellbeing. 

We are lucky to have a sneak peek into Dan's new book (which has already landed in Amazon's Best Seller's list) Work Less, Teach More. 

Grab the show notes: thelearnnet.com/6

In this episode I am joined by Katrine Barnes. Katrine shares how to successfully apply teaching strategies and connect with your students to improve their CAFS journey. Katrine explains when to change up your methods and how to realise when what you're doing is working!
Grab the show notes: thelearnnet.com/5

This episode unpacks what you can do to bring your CAFS classroom to life! From making connections with your students,
to including them in examples and transforming your classroom-
I share with you strategies and practices that I have adopted over the last 16 years to bring my CAFS classroom to life and have my students wanting to come back lesson after lesson. 
Grab the show notes: thelearnnet.com/4

Honestly, you are going to LOVE this episode of The Learning Network's Community & Family Studies Podcast. This conversation is real, it is raw. Gab promised me she would be my first guest on my podcast over 10 months ago... Gabbie is the best selling author of two books about the ups and downs, twists and turns of a teacher, 'Teacher' and 'Dear Parents'. If you have been looking for ways to protect yourself and your wellbeing, Gabbie shares with us what she has learnt about protecting yourself as a teacher, and what we can do to continue to advocate for ourselves as educators. This is one thought provoking episode that will get you thinking.
Grab the show notes: thelearnnet.com/3

In this episode of The Learning Network's Community & Family Studies Podcast, I get to share with you my foundations for building success in Community and Family Studies using all of my knowledge and experience and expertise in this course. I share my 5 strategies for success and what you can do to set your CAFS students up for success, right from the very beginning!
Grab the show notes: thelearnnet.com/2

Welcome to Episode # 1 of The Learning Network's Community & Family Studies Podcast. In this first episode, I chat about why I created this Podcast and share a little bit about myself. I have spent most of my career in secondary education, dabbled in tertiary education for a short three month stint and have spent the last ten years supporting the professional learning of teachers across NSW and Australia. The majority of my teaching journey has been as a secondary high school teacher in both Catholic and public schools sharing my love of health, physical education and wellbeing in all courses in Years 7-12 under the Personal Development, Health and Physical Education Key Learning Area with a special passion for a Year 11 and 12 course called Community and Family Studies (CAFS). My hope for The Learning Network is to support teachers in education by connecting, learning and growing together to be the best educators we can be and to make a difference with the students and learners with whom we work. Show notes: thelearnnet.com/1