General Interest Archives - Page 114 of 317

How To Become Friendly With The Environment

August 19, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

ECO STUDENTS… The year 5 group of Forbes Public School ready to learn more about waterbugs at Eco Day held at the Parkes Racecourse on Wednesday.

In celebration of Science Week almost 300 students from Forbes Shire, Parkes Shire and Eugowra took part in Eco Day activities at the Parkes Racecourse.

It was a day of learning for the Year 5 students organised by Central West Lachlan Landcare.

“It is important to give our children a deeper understanding of the environment as they are our future community and we want them to be as informed as can be,” said Landcare Co-ordinator Marg Applebee.

“We are thrilled to have the support of FishCare (DPI), CMOC NorthParkes Mine staff; Lake Cowal Foundation; Netwaste; Petaurus Education, Parkes Shire Council Environmental staff, the Biodiversity Conservation Trust, and many volunteers.”

The activities taught children about native and introduced species of fish and their habitats, water treatment processes, waterbugs and macroinvertebrates, biodiversity and habitats, mining and land management, as well as worm farms and recycling.

The students also made seed balls and stamped bags with local native species carvings for the seed balls that will be distributed at next month’s Grazing Down the Lachlan with a focus on local food, sustainability and zero waste.

At the end of the day students took part in a Waste Game Show, and they were asked to list the environmental issues they considered to be important.

“We are proud to once again host a group of fabulous young people. Our volunteers and presenters come away from days like this being inspired by the students and encouraged that they will go back to their school communities and educate others,” said Marg.

David Is July’s Winner

August 19, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Congratulations to builder David Hodder on winning the Tradie of the Month competition for July! He has won a pair of FXD WP3 Pants valued at $105 from Gunn’s Menswear, the sponsor of this popular competition. Jo Staines from Gunn’s Menswear handed David his prize.

Please keep on nominating your favourite tradie, male or female for the August competition simply by dropping into Gunn’s Menswear at 83 Rankin Street, or message the Gunn’s Menswear facebook page, or send us an email at editor@forbesphoenix.com.au.

The closing date for this month’s competition is Friday, 26th August

Inspirational And Heartfelt Concert

August 19, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Rhyse Forrestal in the Parkes M & D production of Big. He will host the All Abilities concert with Lisa Martin on 3rd September at the Little Theatre in Parkes at 2pm.

Parkes Musical & Dramatic Society are known for their inclusive culture. Whether it be subtitles for the hearing impaired or Autism friendly relaxed performances so people on the spectrum, or who experience a disability, can come along to watch a production that is adapted to ensure suitability to the audience.

The society often cast people with disability in their productions – even one of their directors, Lyn Townsend, has a hearing impairment which requires adaptation at rehearsals so she can be involved.

About 18 months ago, the society were successful in a grant application under the Department of Social Services and Community Participation Stream to support people with disabilities.

So far, the grant has been used to support a number of people who have been cast in productions, and also for patrons with disabilities (and their carers) to come and watch the shows. A specialised screen was sourced from overseas to show subtitles where appropriate. The most important event to be supported by the grant is the All Abilities concert.

Featuring a combination of individual items and group performances in song, dance, recitation and a short skit, this concert will give people with disability (and their carers/support networks) the opportunity to experience what it’s like to be a theatre star and shine on stage, in their own unique way.

There will be performers from around the district, joined by their city friends from Twinkle Star Dance Studio. They contacted the society and asked to be involved after reading about the event.

The concert will be hosted by well-known identities (with their own unique ‘ability’), Rhyse Forrestal and Lisa Martin who are sure to keep the concert ticking along with their own dash of comedy.

There will be only one concert, on 3rd September at 2pm. Make sure to get your ticket at www.parkesmandd.com.au.

Mock Crash 2022 Actors Ready For Action

August 19, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

The four lead actors for this year’s Mock Crash performance have been announced following a lot of interest in the auditions.

The four actors for the NOT A STATISTIC! Youth Driver Education Program are Kaitlyn Stevenson from Parkes, Shaylee Edwards and Amelia Barwick from Peak Hill and Zak Chatman from Parkes who returns for another round.

“We had a lot of interest in the recent auditions. Casting was very difficult as everyone was very talented,” said Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor. “Whilst there are only four roles available for the mock crash scenario, we offered the others roles in the establishing scenes.”

The program is aimed at Year 10 students and more than 5,000 from across the Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Council areas have participated in it since its inception 12 years ago.

“The program aims to show young drivers what can and does happen far too often on our local roads. It challenges them to think about their attitudes and behaviour as not only drivers but also as passengers.

“Over the last 12 years we have recorded a 27% decrease in crashes on local roads involving a young driver (17 – 25 years old),” Melanie said.

Following two years of COVID disruption, this year’s mock crash is going to be developed into a training package.

The crash scenario will be recorded and the video will replace the live mock crash demonstration for this year.

The video will become a resource so the program can be implemented in other areas and will be used as a back-up option for future years’ live demonstrations.

The video will premiere early October before being rolled out in local schools during term four.

The usual live demonstration will return in 2023.

Amazing Group Preserves Family History

August 12, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Forbes Family History Group members Kim Smith, Cheryl and Max Barton at the new sign to help people find rooms at the back of the library. (Photo: Forbes Shire Council)

The Forbes Family History Group is worth a visit where you will find a fascinating sanctuary of amazing records and gems capturing the history of Forbes. The rooms are open to the public every Wednesday from 10am to noon and Saturday from 11am to 3pm. The rooms are at the rear of the library, and are easy to find with the help of a new sign at Victoria Park, on the corner of Harold Street and Victoria Lane. The group is run by volunteers who deserve a big thank you for collecting and storing our Amazing history!

Exciting Restoration Project

August 12, 2022 by Brett Sale

Forbes Men’s Shed members Matt Little, Norm Haley, Dan Hurbet and Henry Mattiske were working on the park benches this week.

The Forbes Men’s Shed is excited to be working with Council in restoring the park benches from Victoria Park.

Five of the beautiful, historic custom-made benches will get a complete restoration over the next few months. Work has begun on replacing the wooden slats with a new wood able to withstand weather all year round and new nuts and bolts. Once the benches have been restored, it is hoped work will commence on the lamp posts, another feature of Victoria Park, which was originally the town reserve in 1874.

Forbes Men’s Shed President Norm Haley said they were so pleased to be working on this and they were looking forward to see the end result.

“We are always calling out for new members to join and some extra hands to assist with this restoration process would be a big help to us all, and to be part of a special community project,” said Norm.

By Brett Sale

Undiagnosed Vision Problems With Children

August 12, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Last week was education week, with this year’s theme being “creating futures”.

Did you know that a staggering one in five children in Australia have an undiagnosed vision problem? The widespread effect of this on education can’t be understated, since vision is the preeminent sense when it comes to how a child learns. As parents, we need to be aware that not all vision problems will present as we might expect with complaints of blurred vision, sore eyes or headaches. Rather, it can often be much more subtle such as loss of concentration or a lack of motivation to read or do schoolwork. There is more to vision than simply seeing something clearly. Focusing, tracking, eye coordination and visual perception are important vision skills that also impact reading and learning.

To catch these undiagnosed vision problems that are slipping through the cracks we must ensure that we get our children’s eyes tested by an optometrist, once before starting school and then ideally every year thereafter.

To find out more, come in and talk to one of our eyecare professionals at Hansen Eyecare Plus in Parkes. #localscaringforlocals

https://www.hansenoptom.com.au/

Education Week at Forbes Public School – Creating Bright Futures and a Love for Learning

August 12, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Both students and staff were eager to celebrate Education Week this year by promoting a love for learning and having some fun along the way.

“Inspiring students today to shine tomorrow” was the theme for primary students on Wednesday. In line with this year’s Education Week theme, Creating Brighter Futures, students had the pleasure of working with the team from Bright Future STEM Program from AREEA (Australian Resources and Energy Employer Association) in conjunction with CMOC Northparkes Mines and Howden Australia to explore the wonders of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and career opportunities. The students were inspired and their love for learning was ignited as they engaged in plenty of hands-on activities, including the use of virtual goggles and puzzle solving that encouraged plenty of critical thinking, teamwork, imagination, and FUN!

The week started with the Forbes Public School Book Fair which encouraged many of our students from the most avid readers to those who simply enjoy listening to and/or reading along with others to purchase books for their home libraries. We were excited to welcome our community along to share in our love for books. The day proved a huge success raising over $7,000. These proceeds will go back into providing resources and activities for our students to both benefit from and engage in.

We are thrilled to know that our students have added to home libraries, their imaginations and time with loved ones at home sharing a story or two having purchased books.

The highlight of Education Week is always, the Book Character parade, where book characters are brought to life by both staff and students who proudly showed off their costumes by parading to music in front of the school community on Friday. The parade is always a welcomed opportunity to connect with our families over plenty of fun and laughter. The parade was followed by a family picnic and open classrooms where teachers, students and their families were able to share in student learning experiences and opportunities that have occurred so far this year.

It was wonderful to have our wider school community on site, joining in the fun of the book fair, the parade, picnic, and classroom activities. We are grateful during these current times to be able to come together as a whole school to not only celebrate a love for learning, but also the fun and community spirit that comes with being a part of the FPS community.

National Trophy And Team Selection For Toby

August 12, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Left: Toby Collins in action in Hobart last week at the Schools Sports Nationals. Right: Toby with his gold medal and the trophy.

It was a glittering weekend for Parkes hockey with gold and silver medals for two players who shined on the national and international stage.

Sixteen-year-old Parkes High student Toby Collins came home with gold from Hobart where he was vice-captain of the NSW All Schools Team winning the national title. NSW beat Queensland 2 – 1.

Toby’s team won six from six round games and fought hard for the gold medal. Queensland went into the lead 1 – 0, but NSW equalised with a great field goal, and then took the lead with a successful penalty stroke. Toby played a brilliant game feeding the ball for attacking opportunities and some amazing defence moves, which caught the eye of the Australian selectors.

To cap off a massive week for Toby, he was selected in the U/16 Australian All Schools team with several of his teammates.

“I felt excited and proud of myself and our team that we had continued to work hard to achieve our ultimate goal of the gold medal,” said Toby, who started playing hockey when he was four years old.

He did not expect to be selected for the Australian side and said being named was a huge achievement. He has certainly taken a step closer to the honour of playing for Australia one day.

When he is not playing for the Central West Premier League Competition for Parkes United, and in the local A grade for the Crows, the Year 11 student will be preparing for the All Australian team’s European tour next year. “We will be playing in Holland, Germany and Belgium against other national teams in a four nations tournament.”

Toby said he was able to catch up with another Parkes hockey legend and ex-Olympian player Stephen Davies in Hobart last week. “He inspires me to strive to do my best.”

He was also following the Australian teams at the Commonwealth Games with the Kookaburras winning their seventh straight gold medal, and Parkes Hockeyroos star Mariah Williams claiming the silver medal with her team.

Parkes Elvis Winner Competes In Memphis

August 12, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

IT’S NOW OR NEVER…Paul Fenech won the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest at the Parkes Elvis Festival this year and qualified to compete for the ultimate crown in Memphis this week. (Photo: Glenn Nicholls)

The Parkes Elvis Tribute Artist winner competed with the world’s best artists for the most sought-after Elvis crown in Memphis, USA this week.

Sydney’s Paul Fenech, winner of popular Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest at the Parkes Elvis Festival, took part in the semi-final round on Wednesday during Elvis Week 2022. The finals take place tonight, and at the time of going to press it was not yet known if Paul was in the final.

Paul was crowned winner of the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest taking on 17 of the top Elvis tribute artists from Australia and overseas at the Parkes Elvis Festival in April this year.

The Parkes Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest is taken very seriously by semi-professional and professional artists and is a part of a worldwide search for artists who are the best representation of the legacy of Elvis Presley, officially endorsed by Elvis Presley Enterprises.

“Parkes Elvis festival is the one everyone wants to win. It is one of the largest Elvis festivals in the world and it is an honour to have won this year” said Paul, who has more than 19 years of international and domestic performances under his belt.

“We are super excited that Paul is representing Parkes Elvis Festival on the world stage at Elvis Week in Memphis,” said Festival Director Tiffany Steel.

“Paul has been performing at Parkes Elvis Festival for many years and is popular with our fans. His powerful vocals and energetic performance in this year’s contest was outstanding.”

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