Welcome to the Term 3 edition of the Seriously Social newsletter for 2025. We hope your term has started well.

In this issue, you will discover ways to get involved in this year’s Social Sciences Week and connect your students with important and relevant social sciences topics. You’ll also find updates on new school resources and the Great Student Debate competition, taking place in Canberra this September as part of Social Sciences Week 2025.

We look forward to staying in touch throughout the term via our social media channels and will return with the Term 4 newsletter, when we will bring you more resources and news.

Events and Opportunities

Social Sciences Week 2025

Social Sciences Week (SSW) will take place 8-14 September 2025. There are a range of options for schools to get involved in SSW and we invite you and your school community to connect with us to promote events that you may wish to lead.

Download the free poster and other resources at the Social Sciences Week website.

The Great Student Debate Competition

This year, as part of the Social Sciences Week Great Debate, an exciting national Great Student Debate competition will be hosted at the National Library of Australia in Canberra this September.

We congratulate students from Calliope State High School, Queensland and Carmel Adventist College, Western Australia who have been selected to engage in spirited debate, developing essential skills while exploring key issues in Australian history. This year's debate will address the statement: "That Australian history unites us."

Great Student Debate participants receive:

·      a debate coaching workshop led by experts ahead of the competition,

·      a contribution to travel costs to attend the debate workshop and competition in Canberra,

·      the chance to showcase skills at a live debate at the National Library of Australia.

We expect to publish all relevant information for the 2026 Great Student Debate competition in the Seriously Social Term 4 newsletter. Be sure to be subscribed to the Seriously Social newsletter and social media channels to be the first to hear about this exciting opportunity!

What's New?

Debating Kits

Debate Guide for Classroom Teachers

Over the past year, Seriously Social debate resources have been accessed more than 6,000 times. Communication from teachers lets us know that these resources are valued as they help teach social sciences topics in an objective, engaging way.

Seriously Social debate guide for classroom teachers is available here.

We also have a series of debate kits available on the Seriously Social website. The following new debate kits provide current topics for the social sciences that lend themselves to a range of HASS curriculum areas and year groups that we hope benefit your classroom

Connect

Feedback and further inquiries are welcome via email: info@socialsciences.org.au.  

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Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, 3/95 Northbourne Ave , Turner ACT 2612, Australia