Pesan Presiden - Februari 2026

Where has February gone? Bukan main panasnya, ya? On top of all the things that go with starting the year, members of komite VILTA have been sibuk dengan hal-hal terkait dengan VILTA. 

Two sub-committees were formed after the February meeting: one to work on the planning for the Annual Conference, coming up on 8th May. JANGAN LUPA - put this in your calendars! We are making sure there is something for everyone. 

The other sub-committee is reviewing and refreshing Sayembara Lisan. This group is working hard to make SL accessible to everyone. They are developing an information booklet, revised rubrics and discussing adjustments to the format in recognition of the increasing challenges we face taking students out of school. All input welcome. If you have thoughts, please share. 

We would love to hear from you! Our goal this year is to strengthen our community connections, and a ‘Sekitar Sekolah’ segment in berita-e is the perfect place to start. Please send us your photos and a short blurb about any special events but also the everyday things happening in your classrooms. We are often on our own or in a small team, and this is a great way to stay connected and feel part of a wider community that truly understands the unique rewards and challenges of teaching Indonesian. 

I am also personally keen to visit our schools and meet our members! If you have a cultural event coming up, let me know. I’d love to drop by, take the photos, and write the blurb for you to save you some time - if that would help!

Jangan lupa: If you are planning a cultural day, incursion, or excursion, don’t hesitate to reach out with the details and costs. We may be able to provide financial support to help make these events possible.

NGUMPUL GURU: If anyone was hesitant to join up with our chat evening held last week because you weren’t sure how your language skills would hold up, jangan ragu-ragu next time.

Bu Liz Formby did an amazing job providing scaffolding materials and encouraging us to ‘have a go’ in Bahasa Indonesia as much as possible. It was non-threatening and demonstrated an excellent way to study Indonesian films. There was differentiation; there was everything. Terima kasih banyak, Bu Liz. Can’t wait for the next one!

VCE

We have heard rumours that there are a few VILTA members teaching VCE for the first time. We have two online sessions to talk about the oral exam planned for Term 2, and similar PD for the written exam to take place in Term 3. It is still in development, but some of you might be wanting to network earlier than that. Please let us know and we will do our best to run an online session with some experienced VCE teachers to help and guide. 

SCHOOL VISIT REQUESTS:

We have received requests from three different sources from schools / educational institutions in Indonesia who would like to bring a group of students to Australia and spend time in a school in Victoria.

If you are interested in following this up, please email us at president@vilta.org.au

LTV: I enjoyed attending the first LTV meeting of the year, gaining a whole new appreciation for everything they do. If you’re not a member, joining is a fantastic idea. https://ltv.au/

If you are a beginning teacher, LTV has mentors waiting in the wings ready to assist: https://ltv.au/mentoring-network/

Their learning opportunities and publications are luar biasa. In recognition of this, we will do our best to subsidise costs of their PD. Just email us the details. https://ltv.au/learn/#!event-list

Salam Hangat,

Jill Kube

VILTA President, 2026