Regular reviews of relevant education, training and personal and professional development events, publications and the like will be featured here.
Educational Toys for Christmas
Bright Sparks Toys in Cotton Tree have a great variety of quality products for your child to play, grow and learn. Inspirational ideas for Christmas include:
Junior Engineer - Magic Gears contains a variety of large, durable pieces for your child's first construction set (age 1 and above).
Sticky Mosaics Mermaids & Fairies - follow the numbers and place the colourful sticky foam squares onto patterns and create your own magnificent mosaic artwork (age 6 and above).
Mini Platform Lifter - build your own hydraulic mini platform lifter - great for lifting and moving small things.
Magnetic Travel Tangoes - great for long journeys - use the seven tiles to solve all creative challenges (5 years and above).
Sewing Kit - everything you need to start sewing right away! Comes with cool pre-cut patterns for quick and easy projects - it's so easy (7 years and above).
You can find Bright Sparks Toys at Shop 10 Rovera Plaza, 23 Cotton Tree Parade, Cotton Tree - trading 7 days a week; 'phone (07) 5451 1105; www.brightsparkstoys.com.au/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 Grab a copy of their latest catalogue for a chance to win a $50 gift voucher.
Summer Reading Guide
Be inspired by the latest books available at local independent bookstore, Books of Buderim, such as:
Wisdom by Andrew Zuckerman - this world-renowned photogapher has captured the words and wisdom of fifty of the world's most prominent and inspiring people, all over 65, including Australians Bryce Courtenay ad Malcolm Fraser. The book and sixty minute DVD provide an extraordinary legacy for the generations that follow and a book to treasure for many years.
The Daring Book for Girls - Australian Edition by Andrea Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz - after the great success of Daring Book for Boys comes this edition. It gives girls lots of ideas and practical hints for interesting and fun stuff: how to surf, to throw a boomerang, the best sleepover games, fairy wings and how to make them; plus features on home grown heroines, local flora and fauna, historical facts ad fascinating titbits.
A Really Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson - a well written, informative, easy to read book about the how's, why's and who's of the Universe. From the beginning to now, this book answers the big questions in a way that everyone will understand and remember.
Wow! the visual encyclopedia of everything by DK - a book with creativity and visual appeal. It is dividied into sections such s space, nature, people and places, presenting information in a striking manner that makes it the perfect reference for younger readers aged eight years and above.
Speaking Our Language by Bruce Moore - arranged chronologically from the English of the first explorers and settlers and the influence of the Indigenous languages, to the developments in the modern Australian accent, this is the full account of Australian English. Illustrated throughout with historical and contemporary images, the book is a fascinating overview of the Australian language and culture.
The Best of 2008 Pack - bringing together the best in Australian writing - essays, stories and poems, this is a great gift for Christmas for the lover of quality Australian writing. Selections by Editors, Peter Ross, Delia Falconer and David Marr include David Malouf, Tim Flannery, Robert Drewe, Clive James and many others.
Reading the OED by Ammon Shea - a delightful book, perfect for all word and English language lovers, it recounts the author's year of reading the Oxford English Dictionary from start to finish! Here you will find a compendium of the most intresting and unusual words in our vocabulary.
You can visit Books on Buderim at 82 Burnett Street, Buderim; 'phone (07) 5445 165. Pick up their catalogue and fill in the enclosed coupon for a chance to win a collection of 100 books valued at over $4000.
The Productive Ageing Forum was held at the Innovation Centre at the University of the Sunshine Coast on 2 September. The theme ‘Learning for Living – The Health and Wellbeing Benefits from Learning’ emphasized the point that learning is good for us. The ‘use it or lose it’ notion is true for our mental capacity and as we engage in doing and learning interesting things, we increase our social networks and get inspiration from like-minded people.
When it comes to learning in later life, judging from keynote speaker, Professor Brian Findsen’s account of what’s happening in other parts of the world such as Glasgow and New Zealand, we in the 'land down-under' are a bit behind when it comes to facilitating lifelong learning. However, by all accounts, guest speaker and our new Ambassador for Ageing, Noeline Brown, is doing her best to raise the profile of productive ageing and the benefits of continuing to use our grey matter. One of the conclusions of the group discussions was that we need to develop a way to share information by developing a knowledge base, to encourage participation in lifelong learning. This is one of the main aims of the Learn2Live website and Resource Centre and to that end we endeavour to be one such vehicle for the Sunshine Coast community.
Focusing on local learning opportunities, many representatives from the University of the Third Age (U3A) and U3A Online attended the forum. U3A offers many opportunities for learning on the Sunshine Coast. Subjects range from Antarctica and Belly Dancing to Writers' Workshops - for more information click here and here.
If the internet and other technical gadgets, such as digital cameras, are still proving a challenge, you can ‘get with the program’ with the help of the Sunshine Coast Computer Club Inc. The Club offers help at a variety of venues – Beerwah, Caloundra, Buderim, Yandina and Noosa and online. For more info call (07) 5492 1005 or visit www.sccc.org.au or email sccc@internode.on.net
For those who believe in a healthy body and a healthy mind, The Noosa Leisure Centre and Noosa Aquatic Centre/Tewantin School Pool offer great ways for Seniors to stay fit with Pilates, Life Fitness, Yoga, Tai Chi and Fit-ball classes. Aquatic fitness is available daily for all fitness levels. Contact (07) 5447 1177 for more info or visit www.noosa.qld.gov/leisure.
University of the Sunshine Coast Open Day
The University of the Sunshine Coast held its successful Open Day on 17 August 2008, with a record number of people attending. A range of information seminars were held and tours of the campus made. Staff were on hand to answer the many questions of future students and their families. Apart from the programs on offer, attendees were also interested in knowing about other things, such as:
- the Headstart Program - designed to create a seamless transition from school to university allowing Year 11 and 12 students to complete accredited undergraduate university courses while still at school; click here for more info
- how to become an international student - click here for more info
- the Tertiary Preparation Pathway (TPP) - a program developed by the University to provide prospective students with an alternative entry pathway to tertiary study for those who are not able to gain admission via the Queensland Tertiary Admission Centre process - click here for more info.
Sunshine Coast Daily Career Expo
The Kings Champion Centre at Tanawha was buzzing with activity on 17 July 2008. Over 100 exhibitors shared their information about the exciting learning and career opportunities available to us all. School students were bussed in during the early sessions and in the evening, many parents and their children were quizzing the various representatives.
One of the exciting new programs for 2009 that stood out was the Bachelor of Business (International Hotel and Resort Management) offered by the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management Schools. Completing the program will gain you a degree quality endorsed by The University of Queensland and a Diplome Suisse from a leading Swiss hotel school. Of note is how comprehensive the education is - studies include business, finance, marketing, organisation and operations, together with professional development, daily skills training in all hotel departments of the on-campus 'simulated' hotel; paid industry placements in Australia and abroad and a graduate recruitment program linking high-achieving students with leading hotel companies and management traineeships. There is also the option of a fast-track, intensive delivery in two and a half years because of industry demand.
Several times a year Career Focus Days are held at the Leura campus, providing you with an introduction to hospitality and tourism management as a guest in the on-campus hotel for a reasonable cost which includes meals, accommodation and activities and return transport from Sydney to the school. The next Career Focus Days are 7-10 October and 25-28 November 2008.
For more info contact 1800 257 360, email enquiry@hotelschool.com.au or check our www.hotelschool.com.au
University of the Sunshine Coast Careers Fair 2008
The USC Careers Fair was held recently, giving students the opportunity to make contact with local and national employers to discuss their career and employment issues. Prospective employers ranged from the defence forces to nursing recruitment agencies. USC staff were also on hand to help with job-search, resume and interview skills tips. The courtyard was a hive of activity for about four hours and no doubt the event benefited both students and exhibitors. For more information on the range of career development and employment services offered by the Uni's careerconnection team, click here www.usc.edu.au/careerconnection.htm
One of the exhibitors, unigrad, provided attendees with a very comprehensive jobs guide for final year Uni students seeking employment. The guide includes over 150 profiles of companies looking for thousands of students and is indexed via degree and location. Opening and closing dates for applications are also provided. If you would like a copy of the guide, call 1300 134 121 or email info@unimail.com.au. In addition to the guide, unigrad has a job search website specific to graduate positions in all disciplines - check out www.unigrad.com.au