Nowhere in the world is there a Catholic School system similar to Australia’s with over 20% of all children in the nation attending Catholic Schools. There are over 1,700 Catholic Schools across Australia offering holistic education based on the values of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Red Bend Catholic College Forbes
Red Bend Catholic College is a co-educational day and boarding school in Forbes. Red Bend has a proud heritage. Prior to 1977, the Catholic education of students in this region was provided by three secondary schools: Our Lady of Mercy College, Forbes; Our Lady of Mercy High School, Parkes; and Marist Brothers’ College, Forbes.

In February 1977, the three schools combined to form one co-educational high school, called Red Bend Catholic College, at the site of the former Marist Brothers’ College on the banks of the Lachlan River. This merger, as symbolised on the College crest, brought together the great teaching traditions of the Mercy Sisters and the Marist Brothers.

Since that time, the College has expanded in numbers, in teaching areas, and in facilities. The boarding residences, the swimming pool, the multi-purpose hall and performing arts centre, and the design and technology centre have complemented the strong characteristic features of the main College building.

These days the College educates 740 students and offers 150 boarding places. Red Bend Catholic College will hold their annual Open Day on Sunday, 11th March from 11am to 2pm. Guided tours will be running on the day and prospective families will have the chance to meet the principal and staff. For more information call the College on 6852 2000.

Holy Family Primary School Parkes
Holy Family is one of five primary schools in Parkes and has a student population of 303, and a teaching staff of 20 with 11 support staff.

During Catholic Schools Week the school will run a book fair from Wednesday, 7th March to Friday, 9th March. On Friday, 9th March the week is concluded with several activities including a whole school mass at 9:45am, shared recess with family and friends from 11 to 11:30am, open classrooms from 11:30am to 12:30pm and assembly at 2:45pm. For more information call the school on 6862 1610.

They say a small gesture can go a long way and that’s exactly what happened at a recent Currajong Carers Support Group (CCSG) meeting.

The Currajong Sewing Group and CCSG donated a hand-made quilt to the Cedar Cafe at Greenparkes Garden Centre for their continued support and generosity. Cedar Cafe has kindly hosted CCSG meetings for a while and it is a partnership that has stood the test of time. “Cedar Cafe has been an incredible supporter of CCSG,” said Deitre Jackson.

“It is these types of valuable community contributions and outstanding efforts that allow organisations like the CCSG to thrive,” said Marketing and Communications Co-ordinator Dane Millerd. “Cedar Cafe has long been a part of the Currajong family and we are extremely grateful for all they do.”

“From everyone at CDS and CCSG and the Currajong Sewing Group – thank you!” said Dane.

The annual Tullamore Irish Music Festival over Easter celebrates all things Irish, namely the Irish, the near-Irish, the stereotypically Irish and the not-really Irish.

Tullamore residents were not content to see their community lose members, services and to a certain extent, heart. They decided that by working together to produce a festival, would not only give them focus but would attract people to their town.

This year’s festival celebrates the best of two cultures. John Williamson will be flying the Australian flag on Saturday afternoon, the Barley Shakes and Blackwater Irish Band will add some Irish flavour. Maria Forde, who has the voice of an angel, will do a show in the Tullamore Catholic Church on Good Friday.

Apart from great music, the festival also offers Irish Food, Irish dancing, and a shearing demonstration. The main day is Saturday, 31st March with constant entertainment from 10am to 8pm starting with a street parade. Other activities include an art exhibition, farm tours, the Good Friday concert, self-guided car tours, an ecumenical service and a Hooley on Easter Sunday.

Tickets are $60 for the entire weekend; free for kids under 18 for a weekend of family fun with a big dose of Irish.

Member of Parliament for Parkes, Michael McCormack replaced Barnaby Joyce as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia on Monday. Michael, who first went to Parliament in 2010, became leader of the National Party
following Barnaby’s resignation, and also took up the position of Deputy Prime Minister.

Michael is from Wagga Wagga in the Riverina region, where he still lives with his wife and three children. McCormack began working life as a cadet journalist with the Daily Advertiser in Wagga, and shot through the editorial ranks to become editor at just 27.

As the MP for Riverina, Michael regularly attends events in the Central West.

The completion of the second stage of works to Middle Trundle Road was announced this week. As an important distributor road in the Parkes Shire Council area, Parliamentary Secretary for Western NSW Rick Colless said the upgrade would generate significant economic and productivity benefits for the region.

“It will provide a quicker, more direct route for heavy vehicles and local commuters travelling to and from the Newell Highway.” This project involved widening, reshaping and sealing a 4.5km stretch of Middle Trundle Road, which has tragically recorded a number of road injuries and fatalities.

The second stage of upgrade works received $300,000 from the NSW Government’s Restart NSW Fixing Country Roads program, $300,000 from the Australian Government’s Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program and $300,000 from Parkes Shire Council. A further 6km of upgrades were completed in mid-2017.

“These upgrade works will cut travel time by roughly 10 minutes in each direction, said Rick. “Freight is worth $60 billion to the NSW economy, and we are proud to be supporting this industry through targeted investments into key road upgrade projects.”

Parkes Shire Mayor, Cr Ken Keith OAM said: “Middle Trundle Road plays a significant role in the accessibility and productivity of our region and these upgrades will deliver the carriageway required to facilitate road train access throughout our Shire ahead of the planned expansion of the Parkes National Logistics Hub.”

“Additionally, the upgrades have allowed better local linkages between the townships located in the western division of Shire being Trundle and Tullamore to the Parkes urban centre.”

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries in children and adolescents were previously thought to be uncommon but as imaging and clinical awareness has improved, the number of ACL injuries diagnosed in 5 to 14 year olds has also increased. Whilst improved methods of diagnosis may in part explain this increase, a recent Australian study published in The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health indicates that the number of ACL injuries in the 5 to 14 year old population is also increasing.

This study looked at the number of paediatric (5-14 year olds) ACL injuries presenting to Victorian emergency departments between 2005 and 2015. They found a 147% increase in ACL injuries for this age group over the 10-year period with 96% of total ACL injuries occurring in 10-14 year olds.

The authors of the study suggest this worrying trend may be due to greater demands being placed on young athletes through increased training, younger sports specialisation and an emphasis on year-round competitive play. Whilst ACL injury causes significant initial discomfort and disability long-term, it can lead to decreased levels of activity and contribute to obesity and increased risk of osteoarthritis.

Injury prevention programmes such as FIFA 11+, AFL Footy First and Netball KNEE don’t eliminate ACL injury risk completely, however they can reduce the risk by at least 50% when performed regularly.

Another advantage of these programmes is that they also improve speed agility and power. Fewer injuries and increased performance … maybe it’s time to get the kids onto these exercises too.

For the fitness of you,
Linda Reilly