Education & training

Brace yourselves for the triumphant return of the Indigenous Australian Datathon (IAD) as it gears up for its third consecutive year in Cairns, from the 3rd to the 5th of November 2023. Spearheaded by KJR in collaboration with James Cook University (JCU), tech pioneers and communities, IAD is set to create waves of innovation uniting Traditional Owners, technologists, data professionals, start-ups, and students in an extraordinary quest to revolutionise the future of Australian communities.

Construction of the new Legana Primary School is well underway, with steel and timber framing for the general learning area buildings largely completed and preparation of the slab for the administration building now in progress ... “The new school is expected to open its doors in 2025 to students from the Legana and Grindelwald areas": Minister for Education, Children and Youth, Roger Jaensch.

Barkly Region Sport Education has a very famous mascot, Bernie, who travels the region with Pam Dillon, the Barkly Region Sport Education Coordinator. Students in all the Barkly schools know Bernie and are keen to have their photo taken with him when he visits their school.

The Cook Government announced the appointment of 10 Aboriginal people to the State's first system-level Aboriginal Advisory Body to advise on the Department's progress towards reconciliation and creating a culturally responsive education system. The Aboriginal Advisory Body will provide independent advice to the Minister for Education and Director General…

Sally Higgins (daughter of Sue and Phil Higgins) has been awarded a Nuffield Scholarship for 2024, supported by Agrifutures ... From now until December 2024, Sally will travel across the world, exploring the most effective government, industry and farm business models for prioritizing land uses that meet multiple objectives.

Agriculture Victoria’s Horsham SmartFarm recently provided local students hands-on experience of climate action research, with a focus on preserving important grains and plants for the future. The visit was by a group of students who are currently studying Agricultural and Horticultural Science at Goroke P-12 College.

Storytelling will always provide a window to the culture of any team or community. Storytelling is the most powerful weapon any leader has to engage, inspire and influence others ... Storytelling reveals how a leader walked their talk. Whilst storytelling is the mechanism to pass on history and wisdom, it is also the mechanism for a leader to build trust, belief, and credibility. No story, no impact!

Dre Jackson from Elliott and Duqarn Foster from Tennant Creek were chosen to represent the NT at Australian School Sport Australian Football Championships held in NSW. The cold conditions had all the players making sure their beanies and scarfs were in great use off the field.

The Unit Two Agriculture and Horticulture students as well as the Years Nine and Ten Geography class attended the Agsmart expo in Bendigo ... The expo highlighted the newer technologies available and currently being developed in the Agricultural and Horticultural space.

The North Central LLEN, in partnership with YouThrive Victoria and Northern District Community Health, is looking for passionate young people to co-design a new Rural Youth Network (RYN) for the shires of Buloke, Loddon, Gannawarra and the town of St Arnaud (BLGs) ... to build a sense of community and connection for young rural and regional Victorians to expand social networks and provide access to useful resources and opportunities.

Erica Paynter. Australians are famous for stepping up when there is a need and our local district again has not disappointed. Some time ago we sent out a request in On Our Selection News asking for people to make cotton drawstring dignity bags that could be used by one of our hospitals to supply basic toiletries to patients ...

Cambooya State School celebrated a huge achievement in August, winning the Queensland P&C Award for Fundraising Impact and taking home a $2000 cheque for the school ... Despite its small size, Cambooya State School has wonderful volunteers who are always keen to help and do their utmost to support their students and school.

Well, here’s something that may interest you. Over the past four or five years former Elphinstone State School students have discussed holding a reunion of some sort … Looking back at the School’s history...

Allora P-10 Student Ellie Pidgeon was named the most outstanding Girl Athlete at the Darling Downs Track and Field Championship held in Toowoomba for both junior and secondary aged students. Ellie came first in three events...

Wooli Public School welcomed more than 170 kindergarten to Year 2 students from several Clarence Valley schools when they hosted the 2023 K-2 Traditional Indigenous Games at Wooli Sports Oval on September 6 … participants took part in a number of modified activities and games which were based on the skills and learning resources taught to First Nations children hundreds of years ago.

This week I am going to explore what demotivates volunteers, and hence increases the likelihood they will stop being involved. Volunteer participation is the responsibility of leaders, and I provide a checklist to help ensure leaders are doing everything in their control to maximise the likelihood of volunteer attraction and retention ... Volunteer motivation is a key factor in their continued commitment and contribution to any community organisation or charity.

Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is seeking grassfed beef producers to take part in the piloting of an online platform that is under development in the Environmental Credentials of Australian grassfed beef project ... The platform covers five environmental themes: tree cover, ground cover, carbon balance, biodiversity stewardship, and drought resilience.

The sun and the sea – both abundant and free – are being harnessed in a unique project to create vertical sea farms floating on the ocean that can produce fresh water for drinking and agriculture. In what is believed to be a world first, UniSA researchers have designed a self-sustaining solar-driven system that evaporates seawater and recycles it into freshwater, growing crops without any human involvement.

Rural Road Safety Month urges all road users to fix the alarming issue of rural road crashes. September is Rural Road Safety Month and with over 90 per cent of camping trips regional, this is an important message.

National Child Protection Week is a week-long event that takes place from 3-9 September every year ... Along with educational activities, children also got the chance to explore a fire truck, use the hose to water the oval and interact with service providers.