February Edition

2013 February edition – Widening Participation

Manager’s welcome

Welcome to the first edition of the Widening Participation team’s first e-newsletter – Engaged in Education. I have recently taken over from Stacey Wallace as Program Manager while she is temporarily managing the Student Support Centre. I have worked with many of you in my capacity as Indigenous Widening Participation Officer over the past 2 years. I’d like to extend my sympathies to those of you who have been affected by the recent floods. A number of communities and schools where our programs are delivered have been affected, and we were moved by the devastation you experienced and inspired by the strength of your communities.

This newsletter is the first of our quarterly updates. Our intention is to keep in contact with our participants and supporters between our numerous programs throughout the school year. You are an important element of raising the aspirations of school students throughout Central Queensland towards higher education.

This edition highlights some of the programs the Widening Participation team delivered throughout Term 4, 2012 plus a ‘who’s who’ of our team going forward in 2013. Enjoy!

Melinda Mann-Yasso

Widening Participation team update

The Widening Participation team have returned refreshed from their holiday break, eager to work with an ever-growing number of students and stakeholders in 2013.

We thought it may be helpful to put some faces to the names and let our stakeholders know of staff movements that may affect your best contact here at CQUniversity. There are various changes that affect the Rockhampton campus staff, in particular.

Rockhampton Staff
	Stacey Wallace – Stacey is the Program Manager of the Widening Participation team and is currently Acting Manager of the Student Support Centre.
	Melinda Mann-Yasso – Melinda is acting in the role of Program Manager for Widening Participation while Stacey Wallace is on secondment. Melinda will also continue to manage the Indigenous Youth Sports Program (IYSP).
	Sarah Law – Sarah is facilitating programs for our schools primarily in the North Burnett and Central Queensland areas. Sarah is also taking on responsibilities for the Start Uni Now (SUN) program for 2013.
	Stacey Hixon – Stacey will be taking over our Central West schools, with Robyn Kleinhans on maternity leave for the first half of 2013. Stacey is looking forward to running up some kilometres and visiting our far west schools.
	Chris Atanasov-Elliott – Chris will facilitate the MET program in 2013, having stepped in to fill the large shoes of Ross Munro who retired at the end of 2012.
	Sherry-Kaye Savage – Sherry also continues her role in the delivery of our Indigenous programs across Queensland.
	Robyn Kleinhans – Robyn will return to the Widening Participation team in June 2013 from maternity leave. Robyn will be facilitating programs in the Rockhampton region, including most of the schools previously managed by Kate Beresford.
Bundaberg Staff
	Annette Thompson - Annette continues to manage a variety of high school programs in the Bundaberg region and is also responsible for the Communications and Engagement activities of the Widening Participation team.
	Melissa Nunn - Mel is responsible for delivering programs to a numbers of schools in the Bundaberg and surrounding districts. She is also undertaking a Master’s research project into the motivations of low SES students transitioning to Higher Education.
Mackay Staff
	Laura Rowley - Although she is just one person, Laura covers a great deal of ground managing all our Mackay and surrounding region school programs.

Artists in Residence Program

Circus Skills tour ends with a flourish

circus skills

School kids and residents in the regional Queensland towns of Woorabinda, Baralaba, Eidsvold and Mount Morgan recently had the chance to learn circus skills, with the help of two professional trainers from Brisbane's Flipside Circus, as part of the Artists in Residence program. Read full article...

The Great Race Program

School seniors off to a flying start

great race

Forty-two senior high school students from as far north as Mackay and as far south as Gayndah converged on CQUniversity Rockhampton in the last week of October for a 'great race' across campus. Read full article...

Indigenous Youth Sports Program (IYSP)

Indigenous students encouraged to ‘be a champion’

indigenous students

CQUniversity hosted its second successful Indigenous Youth Sports Program (IYSP) for 2012, with the theme of 'Be A Champion'. Read full article...

Mobile Education Trailer (MET) Program

Mobile Education Trailer officially launched in September

mobile education trailer

For once the trailer is better than a movie! Primary students who enter the new Mobile Education Trailer (MET) operated by CQUniversity will experience interactive games, including 'a day in the life of a uni student', and take a virtual campus tour to familiarise themselves with university life and terminology. Read full article...