In a break with tradition, the Royal School of Church Music is holding its annual summer school for Australia and New Zealand at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst. Mr Matthew Owens, the Organist and Master of the Choristers at Wells Cathedral in the United Kingdom, will lead the summer school, which is open to church musicians of all Christian denominations, from Tuesday 4 to Tuesday 11 January. Participants will live, learn and practise their music at CSU during the school, while the services and concerts will be held in Bathurst’s major churches.

A theatre-for-young-people production by Charles Sturt University (CSU) students has begun a week-long tour starting on Monday 4 June that will deliver nine performances to students at 10 Central West schools. The theatre/media students from the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst are touring their new production Lost and Found to schools in Bathurst, Trunkey Creek, Rockley, Cullen Bullen, Mandurama, Manildra, Mullion Creek and Dubbo. CSU lecturer and co-director of the show, Mr Daniel Aubin said, “Lost and Found uses physical theatre, story-telling, circus and music to engage, amuse and amaze. With themes surrounding memory, relationships, family, communication and health, Lost and Found has a lesson for every child. We aim to entertain, educate and strengthen the relationship between the University and Central West schools. It’s been a pleasure working with this talented cast to investigate the themes and different methods of theatre-making.”

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic says the recent wide-spread floods in Australia demonstrate the importance of home owners understanding whether their home and contents insurance covers damage caused by flooding. Senior lecturer in law at the CSU School of Accounting, Dr Bede Harris, says, “In many parts of Australia, insurers do not offer flood insurance because the risk is too great, and even where flood insurance is offered, the premiums tend to be high. The type of risks a policy-owner is covered for depends entirely on the wording of their policy, and this can differ from insurer to insurer.” Dr Harris also emphasizes that it is important to note that insurance policies distinguish between damage caused by rising waters (flood) and falling waters (for example, rain leaking through a roof). “In those cases, coverage will depend on what the immediate cause of the damage was,” Dr Harris said.

Four teams from the Kajulu Communications student advertising agency at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst today delivered pitches for a youth road safety campaign to a panel representing central west road transport stakeholders. Ms Anne Llewellynn, lecturer in advertising at the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst, said the Kajulu advertising teams were briefed by Ms Iris Dorsett, Road Safety Officer with Bathurst Regional Council, to prepare integrated marketing communication recommendations for a road safety campaign funded by Bathurst and Blayney Regional Councils for the central west region. “The primary target market is young drivers aged 25 and under, and the communications objectives for the campaign are to engage road users to accept responsibility for their own driving and modify negative driving or other impacting behaviours, such as mobile phone use,” Ms Llewellyn said. The student teams completed comprehensive research, strategy development, and detailed campaign recommendations which they presented to the panel starting at 1pm on Tuesday 25 September at Bathurst Council Chambers. Each team’s presentation took about an hour.

In the side’s first season in the Country Rugby League Centennial Coal Cup competition, the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Mungoes Rugby League Football Club won its semi-final against the Kandos Waratahs last weekend and qualified for the grand final. CSU Mungoes RLFC President, Mr Andrew Banasik, who is studying for a Master of Management at the CSU School of Management and Marketing, said this also enables the team to host the grand final game at Carrington Park in Bathurst on Saturday 8 September. “This is the first year the team has entered this competition and the Club’s achievement is outstanding ,” Mr Banasik said. “Everyone made a huge effort throughout the season, and with luck and continued hard work we hope to be the 2012 champions.” The club invites everyone to the grand final at 2.30pm on Saturday 8 September at Carrington Park, Bathurst, to cheer on the CSU Mungoes who will play the team that wins the elimination final next weekend between the Kandos Waratahs and Lithgow Bears.

The Mitchell Student Guild of Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst will host the annual Kids Day Out charity fundraiser on Sunday 2 September. 2012 Kids Day Out Director, Ms Alyce Woods, said, “After being postponed earlier in the year due to wet weather, the new date gives children of all ages a great way to celebrate Fathers Day with their dads. This year’s event promises to be a jam-packed day with appearances by Dora the Explorer and Diego, Toy Story’s Buzz and Woody, and  Tinkerbell. This year we’ll also have some great rides for the little kids and ‘big kids’ at heart. All proceeds will go to the Bathurst Base Hospital Paediatric Ward, and the local Riding for the Disabled.” The event will feature carnival rides, kids’ craft making stalls, an animal petting zoo, jumping castles, barbeque and food stalls, candy and show bags, a community stage with local musicians and performers, raffles, roving performers, face painting, an ambulance on display, and a special look at local emergency services.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Regional Development Australia (RDA) will co-host a beef industry forum in Bathurst on Thursday 30 August to provide cattle producers with the latest production and market trends and intelligence. Dr Karl Behrendt, Director of Agribusiness Research Group at the CSU Faculty of Science said, “Leading experts in beef production and marketing will speak at the Agribusiness Today Forum ‘Profitable Beef in a Challenging Future’, so local cattle producers can hear firsthand about markets and expected returns for this major rural enterprise. Speakers from Queensland will examine production systems, and one of the state’s largest beef processors, Teys, will give a processor’s view. We’ll see how Australian production fits on the international market, and gain ideas on how to improve the performance of herds here on the NSW central tablelands. Speakers involved with the Australian Lot Feeders Association will showcase the latest research about feedlots overseas, and experts from the NSW Department of Primary Industries will provide tips and tools for producing the right beef from herds. A local butcher will discuss consumer feedback about beef products, and there will also be a focus on bulls’ fertility, as well as about using genetics to gain the best results. Mr Tim McRae from Meat and Livestock Australia will present the latest intelligence from the domestic and international markets.”

The public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Wednesday 5 September by leading Australian medical expert, Emeritus Professor John Dwyer, AO, has received a boost with the release of a report last week by the Senate’s Community Affairs References Committee. The University made a written submission to the Committee, and Professor Dwyer, and the Vice-Chancellor and President of CSU, Professor Andrew Vann, made submissions in person at a public hearing in Albury on Tuesday 5 June. Professor Vann has also responded to the report. Mr Col Sharp, Head of CSU in Bathurst, said, “Professor Dwyer is a leading advocate for structural reform of Australia’s health care delivery system, and he argues that current health outcomes for rural Australians are not acceptable. His public lecture will examine the rationale for and progress with CSU’s bid to establish a new rural medical school to boost the supply of ‘doctors for the bush’, and Professor Dwyer will also reflect on the broad endorsement of the University’s proposed approach to rural medical education in the Senate Committee report.” The Dental Clinic and the new Interdisciplinary Clinical Simulation Centre for nursing and paramedic students at CSU in Bathurst will be open for inspection by the public in the hour prior to the lecture.

Inspired by the 2012 Central West RoboCup Junior Challenge at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in June, 20 senior students from St Stanislaus College in Bathurst will visit the University on Tuesday 4 September to explore how robots are developed and used in research and industry. RoboCup coordinator, Mr Allen Benter, a researcher and PhD student at the CSU Centre for Research in Complex Systems (CRiCS) in Bathurst, said, “The Stannies students were so engaged by the competition they asked whether they could return at a later date to see how we develop robots for specific purposes. It’s great that the students are so motivated to learn more about the important and rapidly developing field of robotics. We will show and demonstrate research robots, quadcopters and surface imaging technology.”