Dawn Meredith - Author

Man, have I been busy this year! Three school workshop days, two festivals and a convention coming up all in the space of three weeks. My writing bank balance is finally looking slightly less jaundiced. My accountant remarked with a noticeable level of incredulity last year that; "Hey, your writing is actually making money!" Cheeky sod. I'm a long way from giving up my day job, though. :-) Anyway, I have had the most LOVELY time with primary school aged kids in the last few weeks, after recovering from almost a month with pneumonia. It's a slow road back to health, but I'm getting there. As always, the kids wanted to ask lots of questions: Do you know Roald Dahl/J. K. Rowling? How old are you? How old were you when you first started writing? What's your favourite book that you've written? How many books have you written? Do you have a cat? This year I have had the the joy of seeing kids' own monsters, after they read my 12 Annoying monsters - Self ...

What is the NAPLAN? NAPLAN, (National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy) is a standardised test given to Australian students annually in years 3,5,7,9. The purpose of the NAPLAN is to ascertain how Australian kids are progressing in basic skills compared to children of the same age at their school and across the nation. Concerns Some parents and teachers have concerns about the NAPLAN and keep their child home from school that day because they fear their child will be humiliated or excessively stressed by the test. While I respect parents' fears and opinions, I am a great believer in the positive aspects of the NAPLAN. And my opinion is formed from my background as a Specialist Literacy Teacher, Secondary School English Teacher, Special Education Teacher of 25 years, published children's author and parent. I can assure you, it is not something to be feared. The problem with 'protecting your child' from the NAPLAN Statistics are only as good as the ...