New Principal For Parkes Christian School

The Board of Parkes Christian School (PCS) announced the appointment of Parkes local Glen Westcott as the school’s sixth principal. Glen, who was deputy principal of PCS, was one of a considerable field of applicants for the position. The School Board outsourced the recruitment program to Resolve Consulting, who has a long and successful record in the recruitment of senior executives for many large Christian schools.

“We thank our outgoing Principal Graham Hope who has set the school up well for a seamless transition,” the board said in a statement. It was the board’s initial plan for the incoming principal to start at the beginning of the 2018 school year, “however with the success of Glen’s application the position will now take effect immediately.”

Middleton Celebrations
Middleton Public School in Parkes will celebrate Education Week on Tuesday, 1st August. The day’s program include open classrooms from 10:45 to 11:30am when parents and caregivers are welcome to visit classrooms. From 11:30am to 12:20pm they can enjoy a picnic lunch with their children. The program ends with a concert from 12:30pm featuring all classes. The library will also be open during the day where book donations will be welcome.

I Learn, We Learn
Education Week is a state-wide, annual event to celebrate public education in NSW. This year it will be held from 31st July to 4th August and the theme is I Learn, We Learn. For the first time, Education Week will be launched via a simulcast from both Sydney (Glenmore Park High School) and Tamworth (Tamworth High School) on Monday, 31st July from 10 to 11am. The two sites will be integrated virtually and livestreamed to schools right around the state, demonstrating how learning communities across NSW are overcoming distance through the use of technology.

About 20 volunteers, clinicians, pastoral care staff and supporters of palliative care met in Parkes last Friday to talk about existential suffering and care. ‘Pain is more than Pills’ was hosted by the Parkes Palliative Care Volunteer Service through Parkes’ Neighbourhood Central.

Attendees travelled from Orange, Dubbo and Sydney to hear speakers on total pain, spirituality and care of the spirit, caring for the ‘whole’, personal experiences of caring, end of life planning and the importance of connecting.

Attendees also reflected on and shared about their practice of care.

Holly Bradford is an award-winning photographer who loves being part of her client’s special day as there are so many beautiful moments for her to capture! Be it the proud look on a father’s face, the nervous but excited anticipation of the groom, the cheeky flower girl or of course the joy of a couple who are deeply in love.

These are the important moments that tell the story of a wedding day and you want to have full trust in your photographer that they will capture the memories for you. Holly is all about giving her clients confidence to relax, have fun and enjoy every minute!

Throughout the day she aims to be as unobtrusive as possible during the important moments like the ceremony and speeches as there is nothing worse than a photographer who steals the focus. She also likes to have a bit of fun with her bridal parties and often asks lots of silly questions, as the best images are often captured when you’re having a good old laugh!

Although based in the country town of Young in NSW, Holly regularly travels for weddings and has even gone as far as the Kimberley, Fiji and Ireland! Holly takes a great deal of pride and care in her work and after the wedding spends on average 40 plus hours editing behind the scenes to ensure her clients receive the highest level of quality in their final images.

Once the wedding is complete the bride and groom are invited to come into her lovely studio in Young and view all the images on the big screen while enjoying some bubbly and sweet treats. She also has a range of professional products and clients have the option to turn their images into either gorgeous canvases, beautiful prints for the wall or stunning custom designed wedding albums. Contact Holly on 0407 409 277, email holly@hollybradford.com or see her work on facebook and Instagram.

“Each morning I have to hobble to the toilet because of a sharp pain in my heel. It settles after a while and feels like I am walking on a bruise.” Is this you? Plantar Fasciitis is the most common cause of heel pain.

According to research, 80% of all cases show spontaneous improvement within 12 months. If you want to be a little more proactive there are a few things you can do. The plantar fascia is a thick fibrous band of tissue that fans from the heel to the base of each toe. It helps to support the arch of the foot. Plantar Fasciitis strikes when degenerative changes occur in the fascia where it attaches to the heel. It is sometimes associated with bony heel spurs however the
spurs themselves do not cause pain.

The cause of Plantar Fasciitis is often multifactorial and may include any combination of stiff ankle joints, low arches, high arches, weak foot muscles, poor footwear or increased load due to weight gain or prolonged periods of standing.

Self-treatment for this problem should involve massage to the foot arch and gentle calf stretches before rising each morning, strengthening exercises for the intrinsic muscles in the foot, a temporary decrease in training and a gradual return to sport when it is no longer painful to walk. In addition any biomechanical issues present in the lower limbs should be addressed to prevent recurrence.

“For the fitness of you”
Linda Reilly

Skill, imagination, vision, and patience; these are essential qualities for an astrophotographer – especially patience. The photographic subgenre combines scientific precision with an artist’s eye, capturing the wonder of the universe in images that are dazzlingly beautiful and deceptively complex. Each year the Central West Astronomical Society hosts the David Malin Awards for Astrophotography in conjunction with the annual AstroFest. The prestigious competition attracts the best astrophotographers from around Australia. There were eight categories this year, each with their own challenges and stunning aesthetics. Solar System and Deep Space invited us onto the surface of the sun, or into distant nebulas, whereas Airglow and Nightscapes produced images that were simultaneously familiar and other worldly; auroras glowed along a horizon, or the sky was illuminated with the twinkling curve of the Milky Way.

Seventeen year-old Baillie Farley was the winner of the Junior category. It took a lot of work to achieve the stunning landscape featuring the emu constellation. “You have to plan the shot – it’s not just the location and accessibility,” he said. “You have to watch the weather, the moon phases, and the position of the Milky Way. You’ll never get a good photo instantly.”

Phil Hart’s Witch’s Head Nebula was the winner of both Deep Sky and the overall winner. The photograph is a result of more than 40 hours of exposure and three months of imaging. Phil said he’s always trying to create something that’s unique in some aspect. “It’s not just recording what you can see, but what the eye can’t see,” Phil said. “You have to anticipate what’s going to be there. That’s where the fascination comes from.”

Along with the very generous prizes from Cannon, the overall winner is presented with a specially crafted statute; a bust of Galileo looking up into the heavens.

By Raen Fraser

Central West Lachlan Landcare (CWLL), Parkes Shire Council, Planet Ark and Toyota are inviting Parkes residents to take part in a local National Tree Day event on Sunday 30 July. National Tree Day is Australia’s largest
tree-planting and nature care event. Each year over 300,000 people take part in National Tree Day events at 3,000 sites. Since Planet Ark launched National Tree Day in 1996, more than three million participants have planted 21 million native trees, shrubs and grasses.

“National Tree Day is a timely opportunity to connect with the community, reflect on what’s been achieved through previous plantings and continue to care for our local environment,” said CWLL Chairperson, Margot Jolly.

Landcare Co-ordinator, Marg Applebee explained “previous National Tree Day projects are flourishing and we look forward to continuing the fantastic work that has already been achieved through these community planting days. We encourage people who are planning to attend to register at the Planet Ark website.”

Findings of independent research commissioned by Planet Ark over the last five years has found that contact with nature provides a range of happiness, health and wellbeing benefits, but our outdoor time is being eroded by increased screen time, longer working hours and shrinking backyards. “Our research shows that you can grow
happier by getting outside and connecting with nature,” says National Tree Day Manager Debbie Agnew. “Nature has the ability to influence happiness because it has direct and positive effects on the brain, so National Tree Day is a free and easy way to boost these feelings.”

The National Tree Day event will be held at the northern end of Danilenko Street in Parkes. Activities start from 11am and will conclude with a sausage sizzle at 1pm. To register for National Tree Day, please visit treeday.planetark.org