A Charles Sturt University (CSU) television production student realised a dream when she spent time backstage at Canada's acclaimed 2008 Montreal Comedy Festival in July. Ms Stephanie Coombes has returned from a two week trip to Canada where she assisted with filming the well known Australian current affairs comedy show, Good News Week. Ms Coombes, from Sydney, gained the international experience while only six months into her three year Bachelor of Arts (Television Production) degree on CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus. “There is little substitute for practical learning, and getting out amongst the people who make television was a fabulous experience,” she said. “The appeal of the CSU course is that it teaches television in a practical way, so when I’m looking for a job I know I’ll have the knowledge to get a position such as a floor manager or vision mixer.” She hopes to pursue a television career like her father who is a television director for Good News Week. Television production course coordinator Mr Pat Sproule said Ms Coombes’ trip demonstrates the importance the University places on practical experience its courses.

A new academic at Charles Sturt University (CSU), Mrs Kelly Spuur, is passionate about mammography and is close to completing a PhD which aims to improve the quality of clinical breast images. A mammographer is a radiographer trained in breast imaging. Mrs Spuur believes her field is gaining popularity as an occupation, with mammographers in high demand around the world. After 16 years at Riverina Medical Imaging and BreastScreen in Wagga Wagga, she moved to CSU earlier this year. Mrs Spuur convenes a biennial mammographers conference in Wagga Wagga which this year attracted 130 specialists from across Australia. Her PhD examines the quality and evaluation of breast images in a clinical setting with the goal of developing a computer program to enhance the digital images. “This program will improve image quality and the ability of mammographers to screen using established quantitative imaging criteria,” she said. Mrs Spuur also teaches undergraduate students at the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences in subjects about radiological equipment and x-ray production.

The deep aversion some people feel towards mathematics will be among the topics to be discussed at a public forum in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 29 October. The final Edversations Professional Forum for 2009 will pose the question, do kids hate maths? A panel from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Education in Wagga Wagga, local schools and support agencies will participate in the forum. The current ideas about maths and controversies in mathematics education will also be on the agenda. The Edversations Professional Forum series is an initiative of CSU and Wagga Wagga City Council. CSU wine and cheese will be served after the forum.

Dietitians working in Wagga Wagga and the surrounding district, as well as final year Charles Sturt University (CSU) nutrition and dietetic students, will gather at CSU on Tuesday 28 October to hear from Ms Barbara Eden, dietitian with the Heart Foundation in NSW. Ms Eden will address local dietitians working in the public and private sectors about the Heart Foundation’s new catering recommendations as well as the health impact of other Heart Foundation initiatives. Based at the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences in Wagga Wagga, CSU’s Bachelor of Health Science (Nutrition and Dietetics) is the first of its kind offered outside a metropolitan area in Australia.

Education lectures form a small part of a full program of events for supporters of rural and metropolitan pharmacy on the weekend of Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 October in Orange NSW. The Charles Sturt University (CSU) Pharmacy Foundation has organised a packed itinerary for its 70 guests to Orange, with attendees coming from Sydney and regional NSW. The weekend program includes golf, cricket and the annual CSU Pharmacy Foundation Dinner. Lecture topics focus on health and sport, including podiatry, ergogenic aids in sport, medicines in sport, and the penalties of over indulgence. To continue the theme, former Wallaby rugby union player and celebrated Bathurst physiotherapist Mr Marty Roebuck will speak at the Pharmacy Dinner on Saturday night. “We encourage anyone interested in regional pharmacy to join us,” said CSU Pharmacy Foundation chairman Mr Dick Marris. For more information contact Ms Belinda Boshier on 6338 4680.

The Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Teacher Education will stage a conference about environmental sustainability at the Bathurst Campus on Friday 24 October. Ms Jan Page, lecturer at the School of Teacher Education, said the conference, Education for Sustainability: Connecting Classrooms and Communities, will provide practical ideas for teachers and community members to adapt and adopt. “The focus is on ways that education for environmental sustainability can be used as an integrating tool for both the school curriculum and for connecting classrooms and communities. The conference is particularly timely given the attention that environmental issues are receiving, and aims to raise the importance of environmental education in schools,” Ms Page said. The conference will include a panel discussion with teachers who have experience of implementing environmental initiatives in schools.

A new play that examines the impact of war, politics, economic growth and the vision of three significant Australian writers on three generations of a Bathurst family will premiere in Bathurst on Thursday 23 October. ‘Asparagus’ is written by Mr Ray Harding, a theatre/media lecturer at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Communication, with assistance from another CSU lecturer, historian Dr Robin McLachlan, from the School of Social Sciences and Liberal Studies. The play’s author said, “Coming to Bathurst has been an object lesson for me in what the play’s director, Bill Blaikie, a former CSU theatre/media lecturer, calls 'looking for the poetry beneath our own feet'. There is a wealth of fascinating stories laden with dramatic possibilities here which we have only just begun to mine." The Bathurst Theatre Company production of ‘Asparagus’ will be performed at the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre from Thursday 23 to Saturday 25 October, starting at 8pm.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will stage a range of activities sponsored by its Bathurst Campus Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Committee to mark Safe Work Australia Week (19-25 October). CSU OH&S Committee spokesperson, Ms Carissa Michel, said that work-related injury, illness and death can be prevented through the adoption of safer work practices. “Safety is everybody’s business, and as part of the national workplace safety awareness week we encourage all Charles Sturt University staff and students to concentrate on safety to reduce workplace death, injury and disease. The focus of activities on the Bathurst Campus will be a free sausage sizzle on the library lawn from 12 noon until 2pm on Wednesday 22 October, with various safety activities, giveaways and work safety information available. We also urge all staff to complete their OH&S Workplace Inspection or Safety Management Plan, to meet with their Campus OH&S Committee members, and for all staff and students to report any hazards they identify,” Ms Michel said.

Promoting a positive transition for children into school is the goal of teachers from New Zealand (NZ) who will visit Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the Border region next week. CSU’s Murray School of Education will host the visit by preschool and early school teachers from Taumarunui to schools around Albury-Wodonga. Supported by the New Zealand Ministry of Education, the visit is part of a larger project that involves five primary schools, one secondary school and three early childhood centres. The project seeks to improve the experiences and achievements of Maori students. The changes already achieved by the project members will be shared with Australian teachers at a Transition Forum involving Wodonga schools on Wednesday 22 October. On Thursday 23 October, the NZ teachers will visit schools and early childhood settings in Wodonga and Albury to hear about transition programs and practices. The visit is coordinated by Professor Sue Dockett, who is also collaborating with NZ’s University of Waikato on the project.