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WAGGA WAGGA
Home > Regional News > Wagga Wagga
Is homework a help or hindrance?
14 Oct 2008
 Educators have recently begun to rethink the value of the tradition of homework, particularly for primary and middle school aged children. Is homework useful? Should our children do homework at all? If so, what would constitute quality homework for children? A free public lecture in Harden on Wednesday 15 October by Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer Dr Tracey Smith will use the example of mathematics to address all of these questions. It will explore perceptions about mathematics, how it is learned most effectively and how parents can help their children learn mathematics. “I will also examine how mathematics homework might be more meaningfully developed to enhance learning opportunities at home rather than create a battle zone for parents and their children,” said Dr Smith.
Media Note: The public lecture ‘Homework and Helping Children with Mathematics’ will be held in the Murrumburrah Public School Hall, Albury St, Harden from 6pm. Dr Tracey Smith from CSU is available for interview. Contact CSU Media. A former primary school teacher and mathematics consultant for the NSW Department of Education, Dr Smith lectures in mathematics education and professional experience in CSU’s School of Education at Wagga Wagga. Print this story Input into national curriculum
13 Oct 2008
 Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be well represented at a national education forum in Melbourne on Monday 13 October. The National Curriculum Board Science Forum is being held to develop a national science curriculum for Australian schools in 2011. Third year science teaching student Ms Lisa Davis from Wagga Wagga will attend the forum with Dr Colin Boylan, a senior lecturer with CSU’s School of Education, also in Wagga Wagga. They will be among the 150 delegates from across Australia. The National Curriculum Board has begun a series of consultations for input into a national curriculum in English, mathematics, the sciences and history, for school students from kindergarten to Year 12.“Participation in such a forum is a rare opportunity and to have a staff member Dr Colin Boylan and student Lisa Davis both heading for Melbourne is an acknowledgement of the University’s engagement with the wider professional and policy bodies that help to shape education in Australia,” said Head of the School of Education, Associate Professor Roslin Brennan-Kemmis.
Media Note: The National Curriculum Board Science Forum will be held from 10am to 4pm on Monday 13 October at 440 Collins St, Melbourne. Dr Colin Boylan and Ms Lisa Davis are available for interview. Contact CSU Media. Further information about the National Curriculum Board is available here. Print this story Good luck to HSC students
07 Oct 2008
.jpg) Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer in Teacher Education, Mr Bob Dengate, wishes regional NSW students well in the looming HSC exams, but suggests that there is much more involved than luck. “It’s all about preparation. HSC students have spent the past two years preparing for these exams in one way or another,” he said. “The students who will do best are those who have a balanced life, yet have done the extra work, using value-added resources such as study groups and online services.” The CSU Director of NSW HSC Online, Mr Dengate has been involved in the recent introduction of study tips on the CSU website link. “This is a great way for students to help students. There are plenty of useful tips already and we invite students to also add their favourite tips and to visit the Study & Exams part of NSW HSC Online”. Developed in collaboration with the NSW Department of Education and Training, the website link provides access to quality educational resources for rural and regional students.
Media Note: For interviews contact CSU Media. Print this story Students raise money for Wagga Wagga
07 Oct 2008
 Fundraising efforts by Charles Sturt University (CSU) students have seen several hundred dollars presented recently to two organisations in Wagga Wagga. Ms Coleen Pearce from the Health Promotion Service in the CSU Division of Student Services presented $550 to the Women’s Health Clinic in September. Ms Pearce also presented $360 on behalf of students to Ronald McDonald House in Wagga Wagga. The money was raised in 2007 during activities on the Wagga Wagga Campus including the sexual health initiative, Vaginal Awareness Week, and the mental health promotion day, ‘Chill Out’, which was held in October last year. The Health Promotion Service offers positive health promotions on campuses throughout the year to encourage a preventative approach to the health of the students. The service is organising student activities this week to mark National Mental Health Week.
Media Note: Photos available from CSU Media. Print this story Art is everywhere
07 Oct 2008
Media Note: The HR Gallop Gallery is open to the public from Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. It is located in building 21, near car park 2, Darnell Smith Drive, CSU, Wagga Wagga. Mr Kalt is employed by the CSU Division of Student Administration. Print this story War reporting 'alive and well'
30 Sep 2008
 One of the few women to research and write on the dynamics between the media and the military, Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Professor Lyn Gorman, will speak at the Chief of Army’s annual Military History Conference in Canberra on Thursday 9 October. Professor Gorman, has a special interest in the Cold War. She will present a paper entitled The Cold War: An Australian Perspective in which she argues that, contrary to the view that the Korean War was ‘the forgotten war‘, Australian media did provide coverage of this 1950s conflict, and in the case of the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s, they provided more critical and thorough coverage of the war and Australian involvement in it than has been generally believed. “My research found considerable critical and careful reporting of both wars, which goes against the common assumption that the wars were either largely ignored or that the coverage lacked independence,” Professor Gorman says. “New technologies such as video phones and YouTube, have continued to change the way that war is reported.”
Media Note: Professor Lyn Gorman will speak at The Chief of Army’s Military History Conference, themed The Military, the Media and Information Warfare in Canberra on Thursday 9 October. A revised edition of her book Media and Society into the 21st Century, co-authored with Dr David McLean, will be released at the end of 2008 by publisher Wylie-Blackwell. She has also written in War and Society, a journal published by the Australian Defence Force Academy. Print this story Investing in inland Australia
24 Sep 2008
 Plans by Charles Sturt University (CSU) to invest tens of millions of dollars in infrastructure for inland Australia in coming years will be delivered directly to the construction and building industry during briefings this month. Hosted by CSU’s Division of Facilities Management (DFM), the industry briefings will be held in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 24 September and in Bathurst on Tuesday 30 September. “The briefings allow us to talk directly with local and national building professionals, contractors and consultants that are interested in partnering with CSU to deliver the extensive infrastructure investment across our campuses,” said Mr Stephen Butt, Executive Director of DFM. “The University’s programs of Veterinary Science in Wagga Wagga and Dentistry in Orange and Wagga Wagga are well advanced but we also have plans that include major refurbishment of teaching spaces and laboratories across the campuses, construction of student amenities and facilities, office upgrades and improvements to sporting facilities,” said Mr Butt. “The University Strategy is supported by between $150 million to $175 million dollars worth of capital expenditure over the next three to five years.” A recent national call for expressions of interest for the registration on the University’s ‘Multi Vendor List’ prompted 400 companies to download documents from CSU.
Media Note: CSU’s Mr Stephen Butt is available for interview. The industry briefings will be held in the Wagga Wagga RSL Club on Wednesday 24 September from 10.30am to 12.30pm and in the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre on Tuesday 30 September from 10.30am to 12.30pm. An agenda for the industry briefings is available here.
Print this story Funding boost for sustainable farming practices
23 Sep 2008
 Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) strong tradition of working with farmers to provide solutions to agricultural challenges is continuing through collaboration on a project with Murrumbidgee Landcare to manage drought through sustainable farming systems. Funded by grocery giant Woolworths, the project was launched by the NSW Minister for Primary Industries, The Hon. Ian Macdonald, MP, at the Henty Machinery Fields Days in the Riverina on Tuesday 23 September. Researchers from the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation will work on the project with Murrumbidgee Landcare and farmers at Henty, Junee, Mirrool Creek and Harden. Centre director Professor Deirdre Lemerle says encouraging farmers to retain the stubble from cereal crops, rather than burning it, increases soil moisture and carbon content. “The funding means we can continue to work closely with farmers to manage stubble for soil health, which, in association with integrated weed management, aims to secure the long term sustainability of agriculture,” she said.
Media Note: The NSW Minister for Primary Industries, The Hon. Ian Macdonald, MP, launched the $150 000 Woolworths sponsored project ’Sustainable Farming Drought Program’ at the Henty Machinery Fields Days. The EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation is a collaborative alliance between CSU and the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Print this story Mental health workers for Indigenous Australia
23 Sep 2008
 An innovative Charles Sturt University (CSU) program to educate and train Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to work as mental health and drug and alcohol practitioners in their communities will be on show later this week. Nine final year students in the Bachelor of Health Science (Mental Health) will attend an Indigenous mental health conference on CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus on Thursday 25 September. The students from across Australia will address mental health topics involving colonisation, carers, Aboriginal women, drugs and sexual assault. Known as the Djirruwang Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health program, the course aims to build workforce capacity and improve health care in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities by equipping the graduates to work in mainstream and cultural organisations and communities. The conference is being held during the students’ final residential school at CSU. Professor Elaine Duffy, Head of the CSU School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mr Ray Eldridge, the Manager of CSU Indigenous Support Unit, and Mr Wayne Rigby, the Director of the Djirruwang program, will also address the conference.
Media Note: The conference will be held in the Convention Centre, CSU, Wagga Wagga, from 9am to 4pm. A Welcome to Country by Wiradjuri Elders will be held at 9.10am. The conference will also hear from Ms Christine Fejo-King, the Indigenous co-Chair of the Stolen Generation Alliance and the Chair of the National Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Workers, Ms Jenna Bateman, Chief Executive Officer of the Mental Health Coordinating Council, the peak body for community mental health organisations in NSW. A program for the conference is available from CSU Media. The Djirruwang program was awarded a citation in 2008 from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning and an award in 2007 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Initiative. Read more about the Djirruwang program here.
Print this story National awards for CSU olives
23 Sep 2008
 Olives from Charles Sturt University (CSU) have placed well in the 2008 Royal Canberra Extra Virgin Olive Oil Show. During a ceremony held on Saturday 20 September, the olive oil produced by ‘Long Paddock Olive Rustlers at Charles Sturt University’ received two silver medals and a bronze medal. In the show’s Class One Small Volume Bottled Category, the oils known as Suspence and After Glow received silver, and the oil Heritage Trees received bronze. “I am absolutely delighted at these results in the national competition for the industry,” said Mr Shane Cummins from Long Paddock Olive Rustlers. “The medals are a tribute to the quality of the olives picked from the Experimental Olive Grove and Heritage Olive at CSU earlier this year.” The 7th Royal Canberra Extra Virgin Olive Oil Show was conducted under the auspices of the Royal National Capital Agricultural Society to showcase the quality product now being produced by the Australian olive oil industry. Read more about the two olive groves at CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus here.
Media Note: Mr Shane Cummins from ‘Long Paddock Olive Rustlers’ is available on 0421 910 474. Print this story |
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The existence of art in our everyday lives was highlighted during the opening of an exhibition of works by Charles Sturt University (CSU) Master of Arts student Mr Jason Kalt. The 22 mixed media pieces by Mr Kalt were positively received when the exhibition, Deus Ex Machina, was opened by the Head of CSU at Wagga Wagga, Professor David Green, on Tuesday 30 September. “These works are playful and engaging,” said Professor Green. Congratulating the artist, Professor Green told the audience that “our lives are imbued with the notion of art”. The exhibition in the HR Gallop Gallery on the University’s Wagga Wagga Campus runs until Friday 17 October.