This section includes archived copies of articles and regular features previously posted on the website relating to education, training, personal and professional development:
Scholarships
Educational institutions such as schools and universities often offer scholarships to students who have excelled in academic and non-academic pursuits. Scholarships can significantly decrease the cost of education and also provide opportunities that students might not otherwise have access to, such as travelling overseas.
Parents and students might like to consider the range of scholarships on offer. Learn2Live provides information and links to websites for local and non-local options to assist you in this process:
University of the Sunshine Coast
For more info on scholarships, bursaries and prizes, go to
www.usc.edu.au/Students/Future/FinancialAssistance/ScholarshipsBursariesPrizes
Sunshine Coast Schools
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Good Shepherd Lutheran College - Contact (07) 5455 8600; www.gslc.qld.edu.auImmanuel Lutheran College - academic and special talents (music and sport) scholarships providing 100% subsidy. Academic (for entry in years 7,8 and 11); music (Years 8-11); sport (years 9-12). Contact (07) 5477 3448; http://www.immanuel.qld.edu.au/Matthew Flinders Anglican College - academic, music, general excellence and co-curicular scholarships for secondary school students. Apply via website at http://www.mfac.edu.au/Nambour Christian College - Selection is on the basis of prior academic record and achievement in at least one area of music, performing arts, visual arts, public speaking and sport. See the website for details http://www.ncc.qld.edu.au/St Andrew's Anglican College - music and general excellence (years 7-12). Apply online at http://www.saac.qld.edu.au/Sunshine Coast Grammar School - academic, music and general excellence scholarships. Visit the website at http://www.scgs.qld.edu.au/For more information on a range of other scholarships, click here to navigate to Learn2Live's easy links.
Act Smart - Be Safe
Act Smart - Be Safe is a new website (within the Education Queensland website), which provides tips and information for students on handling situations involving violence, drugs or alcohol. It also provides resources for teachers and parents on keeping young people safe including topics such as safely monitoring the use of technology, and safely hosting a party for teens. To access the site click here.
Resourceful Schools Guide
Published by the Queensland Department of Education, Training and the Arts, the Resourceful Schools Guide provides a comprehensive collection of information, links and guides which cover areas such as Arts and Cultural Development, Family Assistance, Environment, General Grants, Health and Wellbeing, Safety, Transport and many more. This is a fantastic resource for all parents and school communities! To view this document click here.
New Licences to Replace Paper Tickets
The Sunshine Coast has a booming building and construction sector, so the following topic may be of relevance to a number of its employers and employees.
Queensland and all states and territories are introducing improvements which will create a better occupational licensing system. If you operate or perform high risk work and have old style paper tickets that were issued before March 1992, you need to contact Workplace Health and Safety Queensland. They need your details by 30 June 2008, so that they can update your information and notify you about the new licences. If you do not notify Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, you will not be able to work with your current pre-1992 tickets after 30 June 2008. If you are a plant operator, hoist driver, crane operator, scaffolder, dogger/rigger, boiler/machine operator, engine/engineer driver or have an engineer certificate and you fit the above criteria, please go to www.deir.qld.gov.au or call the Licensing Hotline on 1300 655 986.
Preparing for School
With the new school year approaching, below are some resources to help smooth the way for a great year:
A helpful book for families with little ones heading to school for the first time, check out Our Family is Starting School: A Handbook for Parents and Carers by Sue Dockett, professor of early-childhood education at Charles Sturt University and Bob Perry, Pademelon Press, 2006
Early Childhood Australia's website contains a range of school readiness resources - check out www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/learning_about_children_3_to_9_years/preschoolers/school_readiness.html
The Parenting and Child Health website is a great resource for parents and caregivers on everything related to health and development of children - there is a great section on starting school, go to www.cyh.com
Similarly, the Raising Children Network, Australia's parenting website also contains tips for parents - visit http://raisingchildren.net.au
Also helpful are Kathy Walker and Associates' fact sheets on school preparation and a variety of other issues - visit http://www.kathywalker.com.au/
Need to label everything - check http://www.stuckonyou.biz/ and http://www.thatsmine.com.au/ for a wide range of labels for uniforms, shoes and socks, pens and pencils, lunch boxes, back packs and books. 2008 - The Year of Physical Activity
This year Queensland state primary and secondary school students will celebrate the Year of Physical Activity in schools - a year when young people are encouraged to make physical exercise a routine part of daily life. This initiative supports the Smart Moves school program which aims to ensure children get active for at least thirty minutes a day during school time. Promoting the long-term benefits of being healthy and active in this way will help young people and their families enhance their personal development.
There will be a range of events and activities for students, parents and teachers. Ask your school how you can get involved and check out the website for competitions and monthly prizes at http://www.education.qld.gov.au/schools/healthy/physicalactivity
If you are interested in fund-raising events, there are two programs taking place in May which promote healthy lifestyles. fit4fun month is run by the Royal Children's Hospital Foundation and is designed for primary schools, families and other groups, including Outside School Hours Care Centres. The idea is for children to set themselves healthy eating and activity goals and then ask family members and friends to sponsor them to achieve these goals - check out http://www.workingwonders.com.au/go/learn-more/events/fit4fun/ for more info. Jump Rope for Heart is the Heart Foundation's program for schools to promote health and fun while raising valuable funds, for more info see http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/
On the Sunshine Coast, we are lucky to have a climate and environment conducive to physical activity and people dedicated to helping us achieve it.
A very useful resource for families on the Sunshine Coast is "A Parents Guide to Keeping Kids Active" by Karen Shelley and Wendy Gilmour. This Guide is packed full of information about the many possibilities for families to keep active and entertained. Whether you have lived on the Coast for years or just visiting, you will discover that there is plenty to do here. For more information on this excellent initiative, contact Karen on 0438 785 154 or Wendy on 0400 324 448 or visit http://www.keepingkidsactive.com.au/
Also supporting the Sunshine Coast is the group, Healthy School Pathways. Healthy School Pathways Inc.is funded by the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs to directly support schools in their efforts to create healthy school communities through creative health programs. The aim of the group is to create positive health cultures in schools, to assist with networking and liaison and to provide support for existing school health programs. You can read more about this great initiative and the next "Come and Try Day" at www.healthyschools.org.au
Source: Education Queensland
Source: Department of Employment and Industrial Relations