News archive: 2020

2020 EBE NSW Trial HSC Examinations order form available  

The order form for the 2020 EBE NSW Trial HSC Business Studies, Economics and Legal Studies examination papers is now available. Relevant past papers are also available for purchase. The examination papers have been designed by EBE NSW Directors and include marking guidelines. Special discount prices apply to members of EBE NSW.

>> Order form for 2020 EBE NSW Trial HSC examination papers

2020 Business Educators Australasia Plan Your Own Enterprise (PYOE) Competition

The Business Educators Australasia Plan Your Own Enterprise Competition (PYOE) encourages secondary school students to apply their business education to a real life scenario. Working individually or in small groups, participants are asked to devise a creative enterprise idea and submit a business plan, explaining how their great idea could become a profitable business.

For teachers, the competition is a valuable tool to enhance the business education curriculum and support them as they develop the next generation of business leaders. For students, it helps to build valuable work and life skills. The competition requires business insight, practical financial skills and a creative flair for problem solving.

Economics and Business Educators NSW runs the competition in NSW. To enter, students need to devise a creative enterprise idea and submit a 3000 word business plan, explaining how their great idea could become a profitable business. The competition has two divisions with fantastic prizes up for grabs:

  • Division one – Open to individual student entries, submitted by students of any age, attending a registered secondary school.
  • Division two – Group entries (maximum of six students), submitted by students of any age, attending a registered secondary school.

NSW entries are due by Friday 4 September 2020. These will be marked, and finalists in both divisions will be invited to the NSW Awards Ceremony. At this awards ceremony, the winner in each division will be announced. The NSW Division One winner will receive an iPad mini 4 Wi-Fi 128GB (valued at $579). Certificates and other prizes will also be awarded.

National judging will occur after the winners in each state and territory have been determined. Winners will be advised by the end of 2020.

This competition can be incorporated into assessment tasks for both Commerce and Business Studies. Click here for a sample assessment task. Email EBE NSW if you would like a Microsoft Word version of the sample assessment task.

Amanda Ritter has developed a unit of work based on the PYOE Competition which can be accessed here. The PYOE Competition could form the content for a Commerce “school – developed option” (see pages 48 and 49 in the NSW Education Standards Authority Commerce Year 7 – 10 Syllabus).

All students who enter the competition will receive a Certificate of Participation for their job portfolios.

>> Full details are available in the 2020 PYOE competition brochure.

See the article available to EBE NSW members –  “Student2Student: How to Overcome the Pitfalls of Business Planning” by Sarah Matthias (Division 1 Winner of CPA Australia Plan Your Own Enterprise Competition 2016) in “The EBE Journal – Journal of the Economics and Business Educators NSW” – Issue 2, 2016.

There is no cost to enter the competition.

Notice of Economics and Business Educators NSW 2020
Annual General Meeting

The 2020 EBE NSW Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Monday 14th December 2020 at 5.30pm at Croydon Park Club (55 Seymour Street, Croydon Park, NSW). All members of EBE NSW are welcome and eligible to attend.

Please click below for the documents relating to the 2020 EBE AGM.

Letter Notice of EBE NSW Annual General Meeting, 14 Dec 2020 5.30pm

Agenda – 2020 EBE NSW AGM

Election of Office Bearers and other Directors – 2020 EBE NSW AGM

Nomination Form and Form for Voting by Proxy at 2020 EBE NSW AGM

2020 HSC Examinations Countdown Clock

A countdown clock re the 2020 HSC NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) external examinations can be found here:

>> https://www.hsccountdown.com.au/

Nominations for the Professional Teachers’ Council NSW Media Award close soon

The Professional Teachers’ Council NSW Media Award is presented to a person or persons working in the media industry for the positive portrayal of the work of teachers and schools and their recognition of the value to the community of teaching as a profession.

Nominations can be made by:

  • a member association of the Professional Teachers’ Council NSW
  • a school/ school community or parent organisation
  • an individual
  • self nomination
  • media organisations
  • other education organisations

The nomination form can be found here:

https://www.ptc.nsw.edu.au/2020-ptc-nsw-media-award/

Closing date for nominations extended to Friday 23 October 2020.

Competition – 2020 Suncorp Financial Basics Foundation ESSI Money Challenge

The Suncorp Financial Basics Foundation ESSI Money Challenge game goes live at 9.00am (AEST) on Monday, 17 August 2020. Students can commence play at any time after this but must complete the game along with the end-of-game quiz and survey questions and submit their score by 5.00pm (AEST) on Friday, 28 August 2020.

Students compete in one of two age brackets: 12-15 or 16-18. The three highest scores in each age category win a prize!

The top 10 scores from each age category are displayed on the Suncorp ESSI Money Challenge News and Letterhead page throughout the competition.

First prize is $1500 cash deposit into a personal Suncorp Bank Kids Savings Account and a bonus cash deposit of $1500 for the winning student’s school.

Second prize is $1000 cash deposit into a personal Suncorp Bank Kids Savings Account and third prize is $500 cash deposit into a personal Suncorp Bank Kids Savings Account.

Plus , every student that submits a valid entry goes into the draw for one of 16 X $250 EFTPOS Gift Vouchers.

>> Further details

Competition – ASX Schools Sharemarket Game – Game 2, 2020

While you teach your students about investing and the sharemarket, they can put into practice what they are learning by playing the ASX Schools Sharemarket Game. Students receive a virtual $50,000 they can invest over a 10 week period, in 220 companies listed on the ASX. The prices students buy and sell at are the same prices as they would get in the live market so this is as close to real life share trading as you can get.

As a result of playing the Game your students will:

  • Develop their knowledge of the sharemarket
  • Learn how to research companies
  • Discover the importance of wise investment decisions
  • Gain a greater knowledge of economic and world events
  • Begin to learn more about investing which is beneficial for their future

The Game can be part of a school subject or an extra-curricular activity offered to students. It is free to play and as a bonus students can win great cash prizes:

Syndicate major prize:

1st – $600
2nd – $500
3rd – $400

Syndicate state prize:

1st – $400

Students can:

  • Choose from 200+ stocks
  • Create their own watchlist
  • View company charts and the latest prices
  • Get the top 5 and bottom 5 stocks for the day
  • Play as a team or individually

Registrations are now open. Game 2, 2020 begins on 27 August 2020.

>> Further details

The Australian Business Economists Schools Conference – COVID: Impacts on the economy and the labour market, monetary policy responses
An event for high school students in years 10, 11 and 12 and their teachers

Date: Tuesday 27 October 2020
Time: 1.30pm – 3pm AEDT
Venue: Online via Zoom
Cost: Free

The Australian Business Economists Schools Conference – “COVID: Impacts on the economy and the labour market, monetary policy responses” will begin with a highly relevant presentation from a senior Reserve Bank official. It will follow with a panel session featuring four young and successful economists who will talk about their education journey, career and economics in the real world.

This panel session will include a focus on how the study of economics has been critical to their career success. The conference will conclude with an open discussion in which teachers and students will have the opportunity to ask questions.

Please register your interest to attend here

Program

– Welcome and introduction
Stephen Walters, ABE Chair and Chief Economist, NSW Treasury

– COVID and the economy: Local and global
Natasha Cassidy, A/g Deputy Head, Economic Analysis, Reserve Bank of Australia

– Panel: Economics in an emergency

  • Besa Deda, Chief Economist, St.George Banking Group (Moderator)
  • Elysse Morgan, Business & Finance Journalist, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  • Alex Joiner, Chief Economist, IFM Investors
  • Emily Blythe, Associate – Global Funding Group, Group Treasury, Westpac
  • Megan Paybody, Manager – Economics, Regulation & Policy Group, Ernst & Young

– Panel discussion with audience

– Concluding remarks and close

Australian Business Economists (ABE) aims to encourage greater understanding of economic issues by fostering debate in the financial markets, business and commercial sectors and across the community in general. Website: abe.org.au

Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Student Webinar – Monetary Policy and Current Economic Conditions

The RBA student webinar, “Monetary Policy and Current Economic Conditions”, is primarily aimed at Economics students in Years 11 and 12. Senior Economist, David Lancaster, will provide a summary of current economic conditions, and students will also receive inspiration from senior RBA officials. Students will have the opportunity to submit questions during the webinar.

Date: Monday 12 October 2020
Time: 4.00 pm AEDT – 5.00 pm AEDT
Cost: Free

>> Registration details

2018 EBE NSW Plan Your Own Enterprise Competition NSW Awards Ceremony – 11 October 2018

Economic and Business Educators NSW recognised the NSW Plan Your Own Enterprise (PYOE) winners at the annual NSW awards ceremony on 11 October 2018   at Commonwealth Bank Place South (11 Harbour Street, Sydney). At the ceremony, prizes and certificates were awarded to the NSW student winners and their schools. Parents were in attendance to celebrate the success of their child, as well as teachers. Congratulations to the following winners and their teachers from NSW:

  • Division 1 (Individual entry) 
    Julian Annison – Inaburra School for his business plan: AspergerAssist
    Teacher: Mr Low
  • Division 2 (Group entry)
    Georgia Graham and Alicia Amann – Abbotsleigh for their business plan: Tempo
    Teacher: Ms Laing Peach

Thank you to all the students who entered the competition this year and the teachers who inspired and encouraged their students to enter this prestigious competition. Each student who participated received a Certificate of Participation signed by Mr Tony Kuc, President Business Educators Australasia.

Thank you to the students, their families and teachers for attending the NSW Awards Ceremony.
Thank you to EBE NSW Director, Nicholas Ward, for taking on the role of PYOE NSW Coordinator in 2018 and for all his time and effort in ensuring the competition in NSW was a success.

2018 PYOE NSW Competition Finalists

Division One

AspergerAssist – Julian Annison
Inaburra School
Teacher: Mr Low

What the Shell! – Jade Hunter
Merewether High School
Teacher: Mrs Clark

Freestyle – Chelsea Hoang
Fort Street High School
Teacher:  Ms Jerrems

Anywhere Aqua – Water Where You Are – Julie Kelland
Abbotsleigh School
Teacher: Ms Laing Peach

GAIA – Mackenzie Matthews
Merewether High School
Teacher: Mr Harrell

Marauderz – Rithwik Kumar
Normanhurst Boys High School
Teacher: Ms Rahman

Pherfume – Chelsea Liu
Northern Beaches Secondary College – Manly Campus
Teacher: Ms Foy

ScrapCo – Prathik Subbanna
Sydney Boys High School
Teacher: Mr Jackson

The Mush Room – Serene Khalaf
Unity Grammar
Teacher: Ms Khair

The Newly Collective – William Lucas
Merewether High School
Teacher: Mrs Clark

The prizes for the Division 1 NSW finalists (1st, 2nd and 3rd) were:

1st place – iPad Mini and $200 Dymocks voucher for the school
2nd place – $200 cash for the student
3rd place – $150 cash for the student

Division Two

ARBuy
Owen Chen, Alex Lai, Varun Sharma & Oliver Yang
Sydney Boys High School
Teacher: Mr Dolan

Cakes, Cookies and Confessions
Rachael Fratzia & Shania Lewis
William Clarke College
Teacher: Mrs Grenfell

Roseabelle
Jessica Hocker, Olivia Jagger & Annabelle Shaw
Abbotsleigh School 
Teacher: Ms Sophie Laing-Peach​

Sole Switch
Isabella Fang, Paris Koic, Tiffany Linggoputro & Alicia Molesworth
Meriden School
Teacher: Ms Kondichetty

Tempo
Alicia Amann & Georgia Graham
Abbotsleigh School
Teacher: Ms Laing Peach

The prizes for the Division 2 NSW finalists (1st, 2nd and 3rd) were:

1st place – iPad Mini for the student and $200 Dymocks voucher for the school
2nd Place – $100 cash per student
3rd Place – $50 cash per student

 

 

Congratulations to all the winners. Be sure to incorporate the PYOE competition into your Commerce and/or Business Studies teaching and learning program in 2019.

NSW Division 1 Winner successful at the 2018 Business Educators Australasia Plan Your Own Enterprise Competition National Awards Ceremony – 11 October 2018

The Plan Your Own Enterprise Competition NSW Division 1 winner, Julian Annison from Inaburra School, represented NSW at  the Business Educators Australasia National PYOE Awards Ceremony in Sydney at Commonwealth Bank Place South (11 Harbour Street, Sydney)  on 11 October 2018, following the NSW Awards Ceremony.  Julian joined the division one finalists from the other states and territories of Australia. Julian  was successful in being the national Division 1 winner for his business plan, AspergerAssist. Well done to Julian on this significant achievement at a national level.

The national Division 2 winner was Eloise Webster, Olivia Pietralla and Rubi Brady from Camberwall Girls Grammar School in Victoria for their business plan, Weasley’s Wash n’ Walk.

EBE NSW congratulates the 2018 PYOE national winners.


From left to right: Nicole McCormack, Commonwealth Bank Deputy General Manager Small Business Sales and Services, Julian Annison (NSW and National Division 1 PYOE Competition Winner) and Tony Kuc (President – Business Educators Australasia)

Reserve Bank of Australia “Explore Economics” Webinar

During the “Explore Economics” webinar, economists at the Reserve Bank of Australia will share insights on why they chose to study Economics, their career path and their role. This event supports careers education and is primarily aimed at high school students, undergraduate students, teachers and careers advisors.

Date: Friday, 31 July 2020
Time: 4.00 pm – 5.00 pm AEST
Cost: Free

>> Further details

UTS HSC Economics workshop for HSC Economics students with Warren Hogan (Online via Zoom)

Date: Tuesday 7 July 2020 
Time: 2pm – 3pm
Cost: Free 
Where: Online via Zoom 

Join UTS Business School’s Industry Professor Warren Hogan as he helps make sense of key economic trends and data.

Professor Hogan will cover off a range of topics including:

  • The global economy, and the impact of Covid-19 on global economic growth and on trade wars between Australia, US and China.
  • Labour market policies – economic and wage growth – and how official unemployment rates might underrepresent the real un and under employment rate.
  • Distribution of income and wealth in Australia.
  • Macro policy and inflation – how effective is macro policy in controlling inflation and challenges of a low-inflation environment in the new economy.

With plenty of time for Q&A, this is a good opportunity for HSC Economics students to get their trickiest economics questions answered by one of Australia’s leading economists.

More information and registration details:

>> https://www.uts.edu.au/about/uts-business-school/what-we-do/upcoming-events-and-info-sessions/undergraduate/hsc-economics-workshop-warren-hogan

Australian Professional Teachers Association (APTA) National Virtual Forum on the Impact of COVID -19

The Australian Professional Teachers Association (APTA) National Virtual Forum on the Impact of COVID -19 will discuss the specific lessons and consequences of rapid and flexible home and online learning and teaching as a result of COVID-19. There will be a particular focus on teaching and teacher associations. Insights gained from this National Virtual Forum will be used by APTA in developing its submission to the Inquiry into Education in Remote and Complex Environments.

Date: Thursday 4th June 2020
Time: 6pm – 7pm
Cost: Free online event via Zoom

>> Visit the APTA website for more information and to register

Reserve Bank of Australia economist talks for students

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s education program is designed to support the teaching and studying of economics. As part of the program, RBA economists travel to high schools to present to students in Years 11 and 12.

Talks are free of charge and cover “Monetary Policy and Current Economic Conditions”. The presentation lasts for one hour including time for Q&A at the end.

Economists will be giving talks in the Sydney area during the weeks of 11 – 22 May 2020.

If you are interested in a talk for your students, please email the RBA at: education@rba.gov.au with the following information by Friday, 6 March 2020:

  • Teacher name:
  • Teacher email:
  • School name:
  • School postcode:
  • Number of students I wish to bring to the talk:
  • Year group of students:
  • My school would be able to host additional students: Yes/No
  • If yes to the above, how many students – not including your own – could you accommodate at your venue?
  • Preferred days of the week: M/T/W/Th/F (Please note, the RBA will do its best to accommodate your preference, however economists will be covering different areas of Sydney on different days and this may not always be possible.)

2019 Business Educators Australasia Plan Your Own Enterprise (PYOE) Competition

The Business Educators Australasia  Plan Your Own Enterprise Competition (PYOE) encourages secondary school students to apply their business education to a real life scenario. Working individually or in small groups, participants are asked to devise a creative enterprise idea and submit a business plan, explaining how their great idea could become a profitable business.

For teachers, the competition is a valuable tool to enhance the business education curriculum and support them as they develop the next generation of business leaders For students, it helps to build valuable work and life skills. The competition requires business insight, practical financial skills and a creative flair for problem solving.

Economics and Business Educators NSW runs the competition in NSW.  To enter, students need to devise a creative enterprise idea and submit a 3000 word business plan, explaining how their great idea could become a profitable business.  The competition has two divisions with fantastic prizes up for grabs:

  • Division one – Open to individual student entries, submitted by students of any age, attending a registered secondary school.
  • Division two – Group entries (maximum of six students), submitted by students of any age, attending a registered secondary school.

NSW entries are due by Thursday 30 August 2019 (Term 3, Week 6) by 5pm. These will be marked, and finalists in both divisions will be invited to the NSW Awards Ceremony. At this awards ceremony, the winner in each division will be announced. The NSW Division One winner will receive an iPad mini 4 Wi-Fi 128GB (valued at $579). Certificates and other prizes will also be awarded.

National  judging will be based on the paper entry and will be conducted in October, 2019. Winners will be advised by end of October 2019.

This competition can be incorporated into assessment tasks for both Commerce (Option 11: Running a Business) and Year 11 Business Studies (Topic: Business planning). Click here for a sample assessment task. Email EBE NSW if you would like a Microsoft Word version of the sample assessment task.

Amanda Ritter has developed a unit of work based on the PYOE Competition which can be accessed here. The PYOE Competition could form the content for a Commerce “school – developed option” (see pages 48 and 49 in the NSW Education Standards Authority Commerce Year 7 – 10 Syllabus).

All students who enter the competition will receive a Certificate of Participation for their job portfolios.

>> Full details are available in the 2019 PYOE competition brochure.

See the article available to EBE NSW members –  “Student2Student: How to Overcome the Pitfalls of Business Planning” by Sarah Matthias (Division 1 Winner of CPA Australia Plan Your Own Enterprise Competition 2016) in “The EBE Journal – Journal of the Economics and Business Educators NSW” – Issue 2, 2016.

Reserve Bank of Australia Educators Advisory Panel – Two vacancies for secondary school Economics teachers of best practice

The Educators Advisory Panel (EAP) was established by the Reserve Bank in 2017. The role of the EAP is to provide expert guidance to the Bank on matters of education so as to inform the Bank’s educational initiatives.

Membership of the EAP comprises the RBA Head of Information Department and external experts. The President of Economics and Business Educators NSW, Joe Alvaro, currently represents EBE NSW members on the panel as the NSW Economics professional teachers association representative . Information about the current EAP can be found here:

RBA Educators Advisory Panel

There are currently two vacancies for secondary school teachers of best practice.

At the last RBA EAP meeting in December 2019, members agreed to an approach for recruiting two secondary school teachers of best practice for the Panel. It was decided that representatives of state-based Economics teachers’ associations would announce the opportunity to their members and assist in the selection process by submitting up to three candidates to the Bank whom they endorse.

Applicants should provide answers to the following questions. The response to each question should be no more than 250 words:

  1. What is your background in teaching Economics?
  2. How will your professional experiences in teaching Economics contribute to the Educators Advisory Panel?
  3. In terms of your own professional development, what do you hope to gain if offered a seat on the Panel?
  4. How much time, over the year, would you expect to contribute to the work of the Panel?
  5. How do you plan to use the professional development you gain from the Panel to enhance the knowledge and skills of other Economics teachers?

Applicants should also ensure that the following information is provided with their applications:

  • Full name
  • EBE NSW Membership Number
  • Name and address of current school
  • List of subject(s) and year(s) that are taught by the applicant at their current school
  • Contact phone number and email
  • Copy of curriculum vitae

Applications need to be sent to Economics and Business Educators NSW (admin@ebe.nsw.edu.au) by Friday 28 February 2020.

Economics, Business Studies and Legal Studies: A teacher professional learning tour of East Coast USA

Dates: 8th – 18th January, 2020 

Academy Travel, in conjunction with Economics and Business Educators NSW, is delighted to present an outstanding professional development opportunity for teachers of Economics, Business Studies, Legal Studies and Commerce. 

The itinerary begins in Washington DC, where teachers will tour key government organisations and significant landmarks. Continuing to New York City, participants will explore the Financial District, international law and order, and the world of commerce.

In addition, the itinerary includes a series of guided tours and site visits with experts. There is also time at leisure for sightseeing, shopping and exploring.

>> Further details, including a detailed itinerary