Education & training

Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson is continuing his push for greater local control and decision making in TAFE campuses across the New England Northwest. Mr Anderson said the community and local teachers had raised concerns with the lack of local control and the local decision-making process in our region, with local businesses expressing frustration with the disconnect between class offerings and the needs of the business community.

On 14th of February 2023, 20 students aged 8 to 11 years old from Lord Howe Island became marine scientists for the day. In doing so, they joined UNESCO’s global environmental DNA research initiative that is being rolled out across 25 marine World Heritage sites to better understand ocean biodiversity and the impacts of climate change.

Patrick Goldsmith. Rex Minerals and the state government will work to deliver a long-term plan assisting students from across Yorke Peninsula to enter the resource sector. The resources pathway program will be hosted by Ardrossan Area School from next year, with students invited to attend a career awareness day in June to learn more.

This is the ninth consecutive year of the FightMND movement, and for this year, for teacher Kim Griffiths and the Year 12 Donald High School girls, it’s personal. Tony Goode was a vital part of the heart of the school. For this year, as it was last year, the funds raised from the FightMND beanies and socks will be in honour of him. 

From the historic streets of Bathurst to the outback city of Broken Hill, people across regional NSW will be empowered with knowledge about how to keep their identity secure as ID Support NSW visits eight regional communities from 30 May until 28 June. Following a successful roadshow along the Northern NSW coast last year which saw more than 400 people attend, ID Support NSW is engaging more communities to help improve their identity, privacy, and cyber security awareness.

A Charles Sturt University researcher has developed a mobile phone app that provides information about NSW river levels in a 50-kilometre radius from the user. The ‘RiversNearMe’ app was developed by Dr Darren Yates, a postdoctoral research scientist in the Charles Sturt School of Computing, Mathematics and Engineering and in the Charles Sturt Gulbali Institute of Agriculture, Water and Environment.

There is no more excuse for split ends in Tennant Creek any more, with the new opening of the Deadly Hair Dude's new salon in town. Hairdresser Gary Strachan has been working hard with RN Employment to open the salon for two weeks each month both as a training opportunity for locals and a service to the community with the aim it will eventually become a sustainable local business.

With existing measures seemingly having minimal effect on perpetrators of youth crime, a 24/7 youth co-responder team was introduced to Toowoomba last weekend in an effort make a positive difference. In Toowoomba to launch the team last Saturday, new Youth Justice Minister Di Farmer said it was one of five new co-responder teams being established across Queensland, alongside Mount Isa, Hervey Bay, South Brisbane and Ipswich.

Over the past month, eleven planes from ‘Flight Training Adelaide’ have flown into Nhill. The pilots are all trainees from Hong Kong, sponsored by Cathay Pacific Airlines. Flying Austrian-built Diamond Star aircraft, with their 180 hp Lycoming engines, the pilots have been doing flying navigation exercises, learning to use maps rather than GPS technology.

Wyreema State School students last Wednesday had a treat as former Brisbane Broncos and Queensland Maroons rugby league player Andrew McCullough visited the school. Andrew, who retired only last year after a 309 game career, ran a league skill session with a selection of students.

From kindergarten to high school, Sunshine Coast students are turtle-y in love with turtles ... “Hatchlings are the most popular topic with the kids wanting to know if they can breathe under the sand, how they get out of the nest, what happens if they get left behind and if a mother turtle can find the hatchlings if the nest is relocated": Leisa Baldwin.

Friday 12 May is Do It For Dolly Day, a national day dedicated to bringing the community together, spreading kindness and uniting in taking a stand against bullying. One in four Australian school students between years 4 and 9 are being bullied. One in seven of them won’t tell anyone. That’s over 340,000 young people staying silent.

Dr Shaun Kanowski has announced his intention to retire at the end of the School Term. We put some questions to him ... "Since arriving in Allora, I have noticed significant changes in the last 22 years ... Something that has never changed in my time at Allora, is the strong sense of community that is instantly apparent when you come to the best little town on the downs."

Lockyer Valley Libraries will participate in National Simultaneous Storytime later this month. The event, to be held at the Gatton Library on Wednesday 24 May, is an annual campaign by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) that encourages young children to read and enjoy books. 

Charles Sturt University academics are collaborating on an international project to investigate how racehorses express positive emotions in their interaction with humans. Researchers from Charles Sturt, EITITe Pūkenga in New Zealand and Hartpury University in the United Kingdom have secured funding from the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) Equine Welfare Foundation for the three-year study.

On Monday Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist Taylor McKeown told her story to students at Allora P-10 State School. No holds barred Taylor relived the good and bad memories of her determined effort to swim at the Olympics.

An attractive, coloured brochure has recently been released by the Yellow Creek-Dairy Creek Landcare Group, Victoria ... Cindy McLeish MP, State Member for Eildon, attended the launch of the brochure CARING FOR THE LAND – Sustainable Agriculture, and spoke of its relevance to the beauty of our country which we must endeavour to maintain.

Ulladulla local David Doyle returned to study at TAFE NSW after almost 30 years to improve his literacy skills and switch his career from property development to mental health counselling. Last year’s Adult Literacy Inquiry finding almost half of Australians are living with literacy, numeracy, and digital literacy gaps which limit their life choices.

Bringing a new life into the world is always a special moment, and for Michael Dickson the opportunity to foal down a mare for the first time is a favourite memory. “It all went so well. That life came into the world and I was the only one assisting – I really enjoyed that”: Michael Dickson.