The news that our school captain, Oliver Carlisle had tragically passed away on Saturday morning came with great sadness to the Forbes High school community.

Olly was well-known and well-liked by students, staff and parents. He was a charismatic character who had a great sense of humour and always enjoyed a chat, a laugh, a joke and a game of chess. Olly will be remembered for his contribution as a respected leader of our school both as captain this year
and as an active member of the Student Representative Council throughout his school years. His commitment will be remembered as will his input into a variety of projects at our school.

Olly was a great role model and always supportive of younger students. His active involvement in sports not only focussed on his strengths of long distance running and athletics, but spread to other team sports in which he was always happy to contribute to help Forbes High put on the best possible showing in knockout competitions.

In his final months preparing for the Higher School Certificate, Olly had a particular passion and skills in Design and Technology and was completing a multi-functional entertainment table as his major assessment project.

The entire Forbes High community joins us in extending our deepest sympathy and love to Olly’s family.

Five students of the Forbes High School Support Unit will have a fantastic experience later this year when they become part of the cast for the 2016 Schools Spectacular. Following the success of previous students, Support Unit teacher Lauren Jordan submitted an audition video. She was delighted when they were notified of the success, but not nearly as excited as the five aspiring dancers.

The dancers will now attend rehearsals in preparation for a week long excursion to Sydney where they will rehearse with their specific dance ensemble prior to two matinee and two evening performances at the Qudos Bank Arena at Sydney Olympic Park on Friday, 25th and Saturday, 26th November.

The Schools Spectacular is an outstanding showcase of talent in NSW public schools. The show is unparalleled in the world with a 2,700 strong choir, 2,300 diverse dancers, an 80-piece symphony orchestra, a world-class stage band and a huge number of outstanding solo performers.

This iconic cultural event engages and showcases students of varying ages,
cultures, skills and socioeconomic backgrounds from metropolitan, rural and remote regions of NSW. The Forbes and District Lions Club has shown their support for the Support Unit’s success with a donation of $1, 000 to assist with the costs of accommodation, travel, food and costumes.

Head Teacher, Debra Slack-Smith, recently attended the Lions Club dinner to accept this generous donation on behalf of the class.

White Ribbon ‘Boys Night In’
Forbes High School is a White Ribbon School and is continually advocating and raising awareness for the development of positive relationships and breaking the devastating cycle of domestic violence.

The second annual ‘Boys Night In’ takes place tonight. Male students and another significant males in their lives are invited to participate in activities at the school from 3.30 to 6.30pm with the aim to build capacity to support being a positive male role model. Forbes High is also in partnership with Forbes Domestic Violence and other organisations showcasing ‘Iceberg’, Kirrily
Dear’s documentary of her ultra-marathon run to raise awareness of domestic violence.

The screening will be at Town Hall from 7.00pm tonight.

“At the Forbes Preschool we celebrate Education Week every day.” According to Amy Shine, Director of the Preschool, “everything we do is play to learn”. The move to the Preschool’s new $1.3 million premises has gone well, and after a term in the beautiful, spacious and light rooms “Everyone is really settled and happy.

Best of all, the kids are really happy here.” With the addition of another room recently, around 150 children come and go over a week. As well as working with a speech therapist, an occupational therapist has also started working with staff and children recently.

An added bonus of the new premises is the community room that is used regularly by many community groups. “It is lovely to see the Preschool support the wider community with lots of different people coming here,” said Amy.

Orange resident, Daniel McGregor is turning the financial planning industry model upside down with a revolutionary idea of giving people the ability to create their own financial plan. Daniel, who will be writing a regular column called Wealth Train in The Forbes Phoenix, said he wanted to be a catalyst for change after spending 15 years in an industry plagued by bias.

“Australians pay around $20 billion in fees and expenses on their superannuation and they pay another $5 billion in fees to financial planners,” he explained. “The more of these fees people can keep in their own pockets and the more they have their money appropriately invested, the better off they will be in the long term.

Daniel said he wanted to show people the simple changes they can make that can have a profound impact on their ability to generate wealth. Visit www.wealthtrain.com.au and start your journey to financial freedom.

The McLachlan Group bull breeding business will be holding its annual bull sale at the North Logan property on North Logan Road in Cowra on 10th August at 1pm.

The sale will be the business’ fifth annual sale, and McLachlan Group’s Warren Miller expected it to be a popular sale. The sale will have 35 Angus bulls, 20 Charolais bulls and two Polhereford bulls. Angus bulls are the most popular for beef, and Warren said these should sell fast.

All the bulls are grass fed, meaning they live longer, and produce better quality beef. According to Warren, the McLachlan Group’s bulls are very valuable. “Our bulls are of the highest quality, which means our buyers get the best grass fed beef they can.” The past four annual sales have been hugely popular with bulls selling for about $4, 000 each.

Grass has grown very lush after good rains and has lead to very good cattle sales across the region.

Riverina Nationals’ MP Michael McCormack, who is the MP for Forbes as well, feels honoured by his appointment as Minister for Small Business. “Having owned and operated my own small business in Wagga Wagga for more than eight years, I understand first hand the vital role small business plays in many local communities,” Michael said.

“Since coming to Parliament, I have seen how the Coalition’s small business policies, including the instant asset write-offs and a lowering in the company tax rate, have seen an increase in confidence, investment and jobs in the Riverina electorate’s small businesses.

“With the Coalition’s focus on ensuring Australia’s small businesses have a champion and voice in the Ministry, I follow in the steps of two outstanding Small Business Ministers in Bruce Billson and Kelly O’Dwyer. Michael said he would remain focused on his role as the Member for Riverina and being the voice for the Riverina and Central West in Federal Parliament.

Michael, who is the first Small Business Minister who is a member of The Nationals, was sworn in on Wednesday.

This is the long awaited sequel to Finding Nemo, created 13 years after the original. It is set one year after Marlin and Dory found Nemo in Sydney, Australia. They are facing their biggest challenge yet, searching for Dory’s long lost family.

Dory was torn away from her parents when she was young and before she knew it, or could remember, she was lost. Although Dory suffered short-term memory loss, a trigger word set off a long forgotten memory of Dory’s parents and a place – the Jewel of Morro Bay in California.

Along the way Dory meets a Grumpy Octopus named Hank, and they become partners in crime. Dory shows that through persistence and determination you can achieve anything you put your mind to, which is a great lesson for the younger generation to learn. I really enjoyed this movie and would watch it again.

This film is suitable for all ages. It is a great movie to watch for the whole family. I give it five stars.
By Brayden Dukes-Rankmore

Jim, Mandy and Tim Dukes opened their new business, JD’s Glass and Glazing, in January this year. Jim, a well-known local has been in the game for 27 years as a glazier and builder, having lived in Forbes all of his life.

Jim saw an opportunity and always wanted to own a business with Mandy. Located at 1 Union Street, Forbes, their son, Tim also works with them. With just over seven months of trading behind them, Jim said: “I am really thrilled with the way the business has taken off and the support shown by the locals.

Sometimes we are really overwhelmed by the level of enquiry, however we will always strive to provide great customer service to our clients.”

JD’s Glass and Glazing offers a full glazing service, supply and fit new windows, doors, security screens, shower screens and wardrobes, as well as an after hours service.

Call Jim or Mandy to discuss your needs on 02 6851 1402.