Education & training

New research is exploring the vital role that bushfire maps play in informing how people respond to fire threats, with input from residents of southern Canberra, the southern ACT and the Snowy Monaro region of New South Wales impacted by any bushfire over the last four years needed ... The study by Natural Hazards Research Australia and RMIT University will help improve the design of maps used by fire agencies including the ACT Rural Fire Service and the NSW Rural Fire Service, that show a bushfire’s location and potential spread.

Toowoomba Catholic Schools (TCS) has released the plans for its new school, St Francis Catholic College at Westbrook, and there’s an opportunity for locals to have a say on the project ... Covering nearly 10 hectares of land, TCS plans for the college to include educational, cultural and sporting facilities and to become a hub for community use outside of school hours.

Alyssa Walker. Last Thursday night ... the 2023 Lions’ Youth of the Year saw a single, brave young Year 12 student facing one of the greatest fears known to humankind: public speaking ... Erika Bickett started with a call for change, stepping up to challenge the ATAR system currently in place within all Australian schools.

From plant structure and correct terminology to learning about the features of leaves, bark, fruit and flowers; a three-day plant identification course hosted by Cape York NRM provided new insights into the flora on Cape York Peninsula ... The main tool used was the Australian Tropical Rainforests Plants key (8th ed),  developed at the Australian Tropical Herbarium by CSIRO.

There is more to a career in the visual arts than meets the eye! The National Summer Art Scholarship is an immersive and comprehensive arts program for young people interested in a career in visual arts ... one of the 16 recipients from around Australia is Meg Miles.

Shane’s lucky break came as a result of his carer Samantha De Jersey’s encouragement for Shane to apply for a stable hand position with Clear Mountain Fairview Thoroughbred Horse Stud at Greenmount ... Mick liked the boy’s enthusiasm, respectful nature and willingness to learn and he soon became an important team member.

Prof Mitloehner's presentation covers a range of issues relating to methane and carbon dioxide in terms of global warming, climate neutrality, GWP100, GWP*, implications for the livestock sector and action to reduce global methane emissions.

It’s an unusual book in that the target audience is almost exclusively people who attended those schools (and perhaps local historians) – and it has sold mostly by word of mouth. It is punctuated by historic photos, news clippings and documents.

Rod Moss. Bernadine Johnson, Ricky Ryder, Aureole Perkins, Therese Johnson and Arthur Webb are wandering in search of the purple-flowered plant  awele awele, the bush tomato. Looking for bush tucker was a weekend pursuit. How gratifying to see these activities continuing apace in the formal structure provided by Children’s Ground/  Ampe-kenhe Ahelh.

Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) will this week see an additional 55 newly graduated Registered Nurses commence their careers across 17 sites, including Narrandera, Coolamon and Leeton. In 2023 the District will welcome a total of 134 graduates, who will begin the graduate program throughout the year with intakes in February, May, and August.

Nadia Mills came to teach at Central School last year, and this year she accepted the position of Principal ... Nadia has been teaching Aboriginal kids all her life ... her first teaching position was in an Aboriginal community called Alekarenge, 400 km north of Alice Springs. 'I love teaching bush Aboriginal kids. They're so resilient, creative and engaged.'

Miss Melissa has joined the teaching staff at St. Therese’s, where she is teaching Kurrika class ... Since coming out here Melissa has also indulged in one of her passions, photography ... She said they could not believe the colour and beauty of the local natural environment, especially the river.

A doctor or nurse practitioner who lives and works in rural and remote Australia will have their HELP debt wiped ... The HELP debt reduction for a doctor or a nurse practitioner will depend on the length of their course of study, and the amount of outstanding HELP debt when they commence providing eligible services in an eligible location.

The Kwoorabup Nature School has for the past 10 years explored options to expand and believes the best is to use the neighbouring Denmark Lions Club lease area. The school is WA’s first Nature School and has experienced a 70 per cent growth in 18 months.

Central Regional TAFE has welcomed the first group of international students to Geraldton following their success in the inaugural round of the McGowan Government's regional bursaries for TAFE international students ... Interest in the program has been strong with a total of 22 international students already receiving bursaries to study at TAFE campuses in Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Bunbury and Broome in Semester 1, 2023.

Teachers and students headed back to school on Tuesday after the six-week break to start the new school year. Plenty of nerves and excitement as students look forward to seeing friends and getting to know new teachers ... One big change this year that has been welcomed by staff and parents, is the introduction of the mobile phone ban.

This year Maldon PS has welcomed 16 preps to our school. This is the highest number of prep enrolments we have had for many years. We have also had some new enrolments across the school, bringing our enrolment number to 84 students.

Students in Rochester will return to their schools this week after being affected by the devastating flooding across Victoria last year. It’s the first time the students at Rochester Primary School and Rochester Secondary School will be able to walk back through the school gates since the flooding left both schools inundated with water.

Hundreds of students returned to school this week after the long summer break, along with many Prep students, who started their schooling lives. One local seat of learning, Cambooya State School welcomed 18 new Prep students to the school this week.

A group of Denmark Senior High School students took a long walk from Greens Pool back to the school as part of Duke of Edinburgh International awards camp ... Along the way of their walk, the group collected rubbish littering the trails ... Lightning weed was the target species over the morning in what had felt like a gym work out.

Serena Kirby. A school holiday program involving Indigenous games of mock warfare and dispute settling was hosted at the Denmark Recreation Centre. Jayden Caldwell, a Noongar man from Perth, organised the Institute of Indigenous Wellbeing and Sport-run games.