The six debutants and their partners on the big night in August.

Twelve determined young people who raised $900 for Forbes Boys to the Bush enjoyed an evening of tradition and style in August with about 100 family members, friends and guests at the Forbes Inn.

Master of Ceremonies and event coordinator Anita Morrison made sure the evening ran smoothly for the debutantes as flower girl Kenzy Johansson escorted the pairs to Timothy West and Cassandra Tyack, who represented Boys to the Bush.

The debutantes and their partners were Le’Keisha-lee Bowden and Angus Turner, Pippa Reid and Kye McDaniel, Bonnie Hession and Jack Jeffry, Cherylee Byrne and Jake Smith, Jessica Williams and Joe Morrison and Shiara Johansson-Howarth and Josh Barnard.

The presentation dance was a fresh, modern partner dance choreographed by Eliza Woods to ‘Walk With Me’ by GoldFord. The group gave a polished performance to the delight of everyone present.

The group donated the money raised to Boys to the Bush for its work on preventative and early intervention strategies for ‘disengaged’ young males. The organisation strives to engage with and improve outcomes for the communities’ most vulnerable youth by providing an environment free from the distractions in their lives, allowing boys the opportunity to be surrounded by positive influences and giving them opportunities to succeed. The organisation encourages mate ship, resilience and a sense of belonging.

The winner of the raffle prize, a Weber bbq dontated by Acheson’s Mitre 10, was Christopher Kelly of Farnell Street.

CWA Evening Branch Publicity Officer Sue Cunningham (middle) with the Forbes High students who helped to prep lunches for judges and stewards at the Forbes Show. They are (L-R) Isabella Brown, Ebonnie Colvin-Hopley, Paula Terrado and Holly Young.

The judges and stewards at the recent Forbes Show were well fed thanks to a joint effort by Forbes High School students and the Forbes CWA Evening Branch.

Four Year 10 students completed two days of work experience helping to serve slices made by Red Bend Catholic College for morning and afternoon tea over the two days of the show, while the main task was to plate up and serve lunches for about thirty-eight people each day.

“It was wonderful to see so many young people interested and helping out,” said the President of the Show Society Janine Coles, also referring to the many other students involved with show preparations including Boys to the Bush who did a lot of heavy lifting. The judges and stewards were very complimentary and appreciative of the students’ efforts.

President of the Forbes Evening Branch Robyn Miller said: “The girls were amazing, jumping in and doing what had to be done without hesitation.”

The students also experienced the cake judging and watched the judging of the handicraft section.

Forbes Public School Captain Ruth Whittey thanked Kathryn Currey from Evolution Mining for funding the shade cloth for the yarning circle at the Community Conservation Corner.

Forbes Public School has established a Community Conservation Corner (CCC) with an outdoor classroom to make better use of the school’s close proximity to the beauty of Lake Forbes.

The CCC has Wiradjuri murals, a shade structure in First Nation colours over a yarning circle, while aluminium bench tops, stools, microscopes and storage space will be added for free community workshops and school lessons. “The goal is to develop our students’ and community member’s knowledge, skills and values to sustain our planet,” said teacher Katie Stitt.

“We would like to encourage the community to feel welcome in this space.”

The murals were funded by Arts OutWest and the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) and painted by Wiradjuri artist Scott Sauce Towney, who also designed the animal totems in 2019: Safe (platypus), Respectful (magpie) and Responsible (Kangaroo).

The shade sail was funded by Cowal Evolution Mining, and the bench tops, microscopes and yarning circle cushions by a second FRRR grant.

This will allow for hands-on activities to take place in the CCC to support the eco-system, sustain biodiversity and foster lifelong sustainability practices. The school’s raised veggie beds will be moved to the CCC and thanks to a donation from Central West Lachlan Landcare they will be filled with soil and edible plants and bush tucker. Teachers will teach a Kindergarten – Year 6 sustainability program linked to the NSW Curriculum.

The school already has strong connections with a variety of community organisations and groups including Central West Local Land Services, Central West Lachlan Landcare, Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre, Boys to the Bush, Wiradjuri Cultural and Environmental Rangers Group, Wiradjuri LandCare Group and others.

The yarning circle will be used by different classes every Tuesday and Thursday morning when Elders and storytellers will enter via the lake gate and tell a story during roll call.

Wiradjuri artist Scott Sauce Towney designed and painted animal totems for Forbes Public School. Here is with the Kangaroo, totem animal for the school value Responsible. He painted the totem animals on a water tank at the Community Conservation Corner.

The seven debutants and their partners at the September event.

Months of planning, fundraising and dance lessons for seven young women and their partners culminated in a night when they impressed and delighted their invited guests.

The seven debutants and their partners were Melissa Read and Elijah Reid, Jaide Robinson and Michael Casey, Brianna Horner-Skinner and Ethan Graham, Nerida-lee Hayne and CJ Herron, Haylee Sullivan and Aiden Miller, Jess Tudgey and Ethan Smith and Tiarna Clothier and Conor Howarth.

They were presented to Peita Coote, Forbes High School Year 11 advisor and head teacher. The nervous duos performed their feature dance to “Parallel Lines” by Keith Urban, choreographed by Eliza Woods.

Their tireless efforts cooking barbeques, selling raffle tickets and more resulted in $1,800 being raised for the benefit of Forbes CanAssist to help local cancer patients and their families with travel, accommodation, medicines, treatment as well as household expenses due to loss of regular income.

The raffle winners were: Abbey Bryant – $300 gift voucher donated by Outback Soils; Keith Clarke – garden parcel donated by Bunnings Warehouse; Leisel White – Flint Street Butchery meat tray; Ron Stace – Forbes Central Butchery gift voucher; Lauren Brown – SupaCheap Auto gift card.