EDUCATION

Burdekin Potters lead school holiday workshops

Marina Trajkovich

A GROUP of young students were busy with their pottery tools on Thursday, July 8th, creating ceramic fairy houses with Carolyn Moriarty from the Burdekin Potters.

Carolyn, the president of the pottery club says she regularly hosts children’s classes in the school holidays, seeking out creative ways to entertain kids and families.

“I’ve been doing kids classes for years and we always try to do something different,” she said.

Carolyn created the base of what would become a fairy toadstool house, with the young girls in attendance carefully carving out shapes and designs before painting their creations with glaze.

“It has been really busy, actually the classes have been popular.”

Bonnie Smith and Kalina Wieczorek

Carolyn Moriarty and Rahni Cursio Amaya Richardson Parker Ricketts

Matilda Barnes

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Students learn to make informed choices

Daniel Shirkie

A ROAD safety workshop aimed at curtailing the risk of fatalities on the road is set to return to Ayr on Friday.

The RYDA program, the fruit of a partnership between the Rotary Club of Ayr and Road Safety Education Limited, will host around 120 students from the Burdekin region in an attempt to inform them about the best possible choices to make.

Rotary coordinator Tony Goddard says the five-hour course would pave the way for a continued reduction in on-road fatalities among the 17-to-25 age group.

“They’ll be in six groups and they’ll get to experience a rotating presentation; each one goes for about thirty minutes and deals with all aspects of road safety,” Mr Goddard said.

“It’s an opportunity, basically, for them to make an informed choice, whether they’re the driver or the passenger, it’s all about letting them know that there are a number of good choices to make.”

In addition to a presentation by a victim of a road accident on the perils vehicular collisions pose,

Frank Nucifora sets up for the RYDA program

students from across year 11 will also get the chance to test practically applying their brakes at various speeds.

Both police and crash site investigators will be on-hand throughout the day to deliver information and other useful resources.

“One of the great things about RYDA is that with the support of local Rotary Clubs, it can be run in all communities, by local road safety and education professionals, including the police,” Mr Goddard said.

“Youth Road Trauma is a community problem that needs a whole community response.

“Our local rotary club and RSE are in a unique position to bring together all the essential elements to provide an effective and highly successful road safety education program for young people.”

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The RYDA program is set to run on Friday, July 16, with sessions beginning for the involved students at 9.30 am and running through to 2.30pm. It will be held at the Burdekin’s TAFE campus.

Early Childhood community event to be held at Burdekin Library

Marina Trajkovich

THE Burdekin Early Childhood Network is launching its Ready, Set, Go event, providing a day of activities and educational programs to help families access early childhood support options.

The event will be held in the Burdekin Theatre Forecourt on Thursday, July 22, featuring services and stakeholders dedicated to early childhood learning, along with fun activities like art and crafts, storytime, a dance workshop, a visit from the local Fire Brigade and more.

Children’s librarian and Burdekin Early Childhood Network member Brittany Guiney says the event is a great opportunity for families to learn about the many services out there in the community for their young ones.

“We’ll have small schools, a bunch of the other schools, kindies, daycares. Uniting care who are an NDIS partner coming along and one of the doctors from the medical centre,” said Brittany.

“Basically, all of us get together and have stalls. The kids will be able to do activities at the different stalls while the parents can talk to that provider.

“It’s a great chance for us to tell families what we can offer them, and it’s a chance for the community to see what they can actually access in the Burdekin, and there is a lot out there.”

She says that activities and services are tailored to those aged up to five years old to get children ready for primary school.

“We do want to get those literacy and language skills developed before they go to Prep, and that’s basically the essence of this. It’s a really big community morning.”

Local industry professionals visit BCHS for Careers Week

Marina Trajkovich

BURDEKIN Catholic High School’s Year 10 Careers Week is underway, with students given the opportunity to talk to visiting professionals from various local industries on Wednesday, July 14.

Representatives from Wilmar Sugar, Ergon energy, Connolly and Suthers Lawyers, Ayr Hospital, Queensland Ambulance Service, and Talk HQ speech pathology visited the school, speaking to students about their professions in small groups.

Careers Teacher Antonetta Dalle Cort says that students have been exploring different professions and their own skillsets throughout the year to help them choose their subjects for senior study.

She says that by speaking with local industry professionals, many of which are past students, the Year 10s can gain insight into that line of work.

“They have the opportunity to talk to those people. Today’s focus for the interviews with industry is not only to find out about that specific industry but also to ask that expert about 21st-century skills in that workplace,” said Ms Dalle Cort.

“They’re discussing things like Information and Communications Technology, communication skills, innovation and personal and social skills and how important these are to that job.”

Throughout the year, the students have also been undertaking skills and personality tests aimed at helping them explore career options.

“It’s part of the career education short course which enables students to seek out what skills and abilities they have and then use those results to research different careers and find out what they’re aligned with,” said Ms Dalle Cort.

‘It does give them a guide to what careers they could be interested in. Some kids know what they want to do, and some have no idea, so those tests are a starting point.”

On Friday, July 14, the students will visit James Cook University in Townsville as well as the Townsville Career expo in August to further help them consider career options and tertiary courses of study for the future.

“We also investigate different pathways, uni, but also school-based training and apprenticeships,” said Ms Dalle Cort.

“We do look at the big picture, and it is a year-long process for kids to start thinking about their careers.

“We’re giving them as many tools as possible to investigate. They’re making informed decisions early on.”

Danny Burke from Connolly Suthers Lawyers

Dr Ben Lawry from Ayr Hospital Students wtih Shane James from Wilmar Sugar

Julie Sexton from Talk HQ Speech Pathology Mario Tinning from QAS Steve Mottin, Ergon Lines Officer

Students get front row seats to mining experience

Daniel Shirkie

AYR and Home Hill State High School students have been given an up close, firsthand taste of what a career in mining could look at.

Thanks to the school’s partnership with Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy, students explored the practices employed by mining outfits in the northern resources corridor.

The workshop follows similar workshops by the QMEA aimed at showing students practical, on the job skills utilised in a variety of trades.

Ayr State High School principal Craig Whittred said the students are ‘very motivated’ to explore the options available to them through the programs.

“It gives the kids a really great first-hand understanding of all the different areas within the mining and energy sector for possible career pathways and how they work,” Mr Whittred said.

“All of our programs are always linked with Ayr and Home Hill High, we connect through those projects and it’s a great opportunity for all of those students to gain a better insight into those sectors.”

Mr Whittred said enthusiasm for trade-work and mining employment were high among the High School students in year 10, who are starting to make decisions that could influence their future employment.

“Obviously, between Wilmar and Ergon, those are both big options that a lot of them look at, but this really opens up their eyes to other opportunities, Evolution mining is really just down the road,” Mr Whittred said.

“They’ve even brought back past students that are now apprentices or workers at their mines to speak with the students here.”

Resources Minister Scott Stewart was also on deck to spruik the benefits of a career in the resources sector, returning to where he first began his prior career as a principal 15-years-ago.

“Career wise, these students are at a very pivotal point, they’re going into year 11 and 12 and they’re thinking about their career, selecting subjects, thinking about university,” Mr Stewart said.

“They need to know what options are available to them and presenting them with this information in a really fun, light way, it helps lift the visors for them about what might be available in their own backyard.”

Students were organised into teams and given a breakdown on how the mining sector searches for, and mines, gold deposits, before being given a practical, team-based activity that simulated some of the experiences by sifting through rocks.