We had a stream of entries for our Taronga Wester Plains Zoo Dubbo Giveaway to win a family pass. Congratulations to Sharon Woods, our lucky winner! She was very excited as her daughter had been asking to go to the zoo for a while. Hopefully they will get to have an animal encounter getting up close to meerkats, giraffes and hippos. If you’ve not yet used your Dine & Discover vouchers, you can redeem your $25 voucher at the zoo when purchasing your tickets online. Thank you to everyone else who entered. We hope to bring another competition soon.

Some of the Parkes Christian School students at the Australian War Memorial.

The Canberra excursion is a highlight for many students in their school career as 45 students from Parkes Christian School (PCS) experienced at the end of term 2.

The Year 5 and 6 students enjoyed three days of carefully planned educational and fun experiences to help foster a genuine interest in the history and culture of Australia.

From visiting the National Museum of Australia, the Royal Australian Mint, various embassies to exploring the old and new Parliament Houses, the students collected many stories to retell at home.

They were fortunate to complete their tour of the House of Representatives during a spirited debate over a bill and witnessed a call to vote. Local Member of Parliament for the Riverina Michael McCormack took time to meet the students and commented on the ‘really interesting questions from a great group of youngsters’.

The PCS students also visited the Telstra Tower, Australian War Memorial, Questa-con for some hands-on science and technology activities and participated in fun activities at night including ten-pin bowling and laser tag.

The teachers who accompanied the group were Matthew Denmead and Jackie Berry, who organised the excursion, while Shannon McCutcheon and Glen Westcott joined in and entertained everyone!

The $4.2 million multipurpose centre constructed in Cooke Park was recently completed and will be known as the Cooke Park Pavilion.

The imposing pavilion, which will be the central focal point of the Parkes Elvis Festival, is set to be officially opened once COVID regulations are lifted. The new facility includes an events stage, multipurpose room (80 seat capacity) behind the stage with kitchen facilities, flexiroom, store room, and male, female and accessible toilets.

The project is proudly co-funded by the Australian Government through the Building Better Regions Fund and Parkes Shire Council.

Sean James Cassidy (left) at Sydney Props Company in Marrickville with Kate Richards from Western Sydney Univer-sity and Miguel Valenzuela of the University of Technology.

Local artist Sean James Cassidy’s skills have recently been in high demand and he contributed to a variety of art projects.

Late last year Sean was invited to assist on an exciting collaboration between the National Trust and the University of Western Sydney. The concept was to create a video exploring the comparison of indigenous and western views of the stars and their use in navigation.

Images of historical tools, a transit telescope, chronometer and a sideral-time regulator clock were used, incorporating a 3D expanding view to enable all components to be seen.

Intertwined was the creative input by the Jannawi Dance Clan, with choreographer Peta Strahan developing an original work, Kurrobori. This work interprets elements of the Dharug creation story of Kurrobori, who comes from the “Spirit Land which exists in the Morning Star” (Venus).

Sean was involved in the filming of the dance group at Sydney Props Specialists warehouse and photographing the navigation tools at the Powerhouse Museum. This exhibition is showing at Old Government House, Parramatta Park until October.

Sean at the southern tip of South Bruny Island, Tasmania.

Tasmania was Sean’s next destination where he was invited by the Donelly Family Trust. Sean and Charlie Donelly had become friends when both were at the University of The Philippines. Sean’s brief in Tasmania was to study and research Bruny Island in order to paint a landscape of the family’s property there. As Bruny Island continues to be developed, particularly by the food and wine industries, the Donelly family wanted to capture the relatively untouched qualities that Bruny Island still possesses.

Sean found beaches scattered with driftwood, worn and sculptured by their journeys and the amazing sight of living trees with exposed roots calcified white, glowing in a muted light. Sean’s plan is to produce a series of paintings based on his Tasmanian experience.

“Flourish” was the title of the recent exhibition created by students of the Diploma of Graphic Design at Hornsby TAFE. The TAFE holds regular showcases of students work to encourage interaction with the wider design and creative industries. Jennifer Young is the course teacher and invited Sean to sit on the exhibition panel which provides direct feedback and career advice to students. Sean was selected as an industry guest due to his background in both design and creative arts as well as his strong focus on community arts projects.

Jennifer Young said the TAFE system provided an opportunity for students to progress from Certificate Ill in Design Fundamentals, to Certificate IV and on to diplomas and advanced diplomas of Graphic Design, which could in turn lead to further study through universities.

Sean has many plans for the future including community projects, solo and group exhibitions and the exploration of audio-visual and interactive projects.

By Kerrie Peden