Category Archives: Talk News

Teacher charged with sex offences – SCC Child Abuse Squad

A teacher has been charged and will face court next month following investigations into alleged sex offences with a student in Port Stephens last year.

Detectives from Newcastle Child Abuse Squad have arrested and charged a 49-year-old teacher with child sex offences.

The man was arrested at his home in Corlette around 8.30pm yesterday (Thursday 11 February 2016), before being taken to Raymond Terrace Police Station where he was charged with sexual intercourse with person under special care (x2).

He was granted strict conditional bail to appear at Raymond Terrace Local Court on Tuesday 8 March 2016.

In court, detectives will allege that in September and October 2015, the man had sexual intercourse with a female student from a high school in Port Stephens, while he was a teacher at the same school.

Detectives are working closely with the principal of the high school and the Department of Education.

The Child Abuse Squad is comprised of detectives who are specially trained to investigate crimes against children, including sexual assault, physical abuse and serious cases of neglect. The squad works in partnership with the Department of Family and Community Services and NSW Health, with specialised tri-agency teams based at metropolitan and regional locations throughout NSW.

New App Launched for All ABM Stations

Welcome to the new app for your favourite station!

ABM has released a mega app for both Android and Apple (iPhone, iPad) devices which contains all your favourite stations. Upgrade to the new app now and enjoy simple and reliable access to this station on your mobile device.

To get the free app go to http://www.abm1.com.au/app in the browser on your device.

 

 

STUDENT EDGE NAMES 2014 TEACHER OF THE YEAR

MR. THOMAS ELLEY FROM SEFTON HIGH SCHOOL IN SYDNEY’S SOUTH WEST TAKES OUT TOP HONOURS

To commemorate “World Teacher’s Day” celebrated in Australia on Friday 31st October 2014, STUDENT EDGE, launched their inaugural TEACHER OF THE YEAR competition last month inviting its 650,000+ members to write in and explain why their favourite teacher should be declared the country’s most outstanding educator.

From over 100 entries, it was Year 9 student, Steven Phung from Sefton High School, located in Sydney’s south western suburbs, whose heartfelt letter highlighting the dedication of his History teacher, Mr. Thomas Elley, that stood out and really struck a chord with the STUDENT EDGE team.

Having worked at Sefton High School since 2011, Mr. Elley teaches over 200 students at the school each week and like many educator’s nationally, has become a respected mentor to so many of the young minds he teaches.

Part of student Steven’s submission said, “Mr. Elley dedicates his time, puts effortin teaching and respects everyone regardless, whether the student is a troublemaker or a perfectly good student, they get treated equally. My teacher has achieved many things. Unlike many typical achievements like awards Mr. Elley’s achievements are different. Mr. Elley has and still is assisting students, encouraging students and preparing for the years to come. Students are in debt for Mr. Elley’s doing. In my eyes, this is an achievement that out-values those of certificates or trophies”.

With no doubt they had selected a worthy winner the team from STUDENT EDGE last week paid a surprise visit, complete with camera crew, to Sefton High School surprising both Mr. Elley and Steven, who was unaware his submission had won the competition. Mr. Elley was lost for words when it was revealed Steven had nominated him and that he was officially the STUDENT EDGE TEACHER OF THE YEAR. And the surprises kept on coming with Mr. Elley thrilled to learn that along with the prestigious title he also received a 3 day, 2 night holiday to Bali, thanks to ACCOR. And to top it all off, LENOVO also came along to the party rewarding not only Mr. Elley but Steven and the entire class of 30 students with their very own LENOVO ThinkPads.

Once the initial shock wore off, Mr. Elley went on to say “Receiving this award is extremely humbling. I’m fortunate and lucky enough to be able to do a job that is so rewarding and enriching, and to be recognised as Student Edge’s Teacher of the Year for doing what I do is something I never anticipated. Being a teacher, watching students learn and grow – there’s reward in that every day. Receiving this award as well, though, is something that I will remember for a long, long time. I’m glad that I have been able to perform to such a standard that not only Student Edge recognised, but that my own students valued, found helpful, and appreciate. After all, at the end of the day, everything we’re doing is for the students.”

Four worthy runners up from around Australia have also been selected with each being rewarded an overnight stay at an ACCOR Group Hotel within their home city.

Choon Tan, General Manager, Members & Marketing of STUDENT EDGE said, “Student Edge Teacher of the Year was created to highlight Teacher’s Day and the amazing contribution made by teachers in shaping young lives.Student Edge has a long history of providing deals and services to over 650,000 students across Australia, and we’re especially excited to have our members nominate their favourite teacher for the title of Student Edge Teacher of the Year. It’s our way of letting students acknowledge outstanding educators, and we are grateful to our sponsors Lenovo and Accor Hotels in joining us to reward our winners. We congratulate our National winner, Mr Thomas Elley of Sefton High School in NSW as well as our 4 runner-ups, and look forward to making Student Edge Teacher of the Year an annual event”.

The full list of recognised teachers selected as part of the STUDENT EDGE TEACHER OF THE YEAR is:

TEACHER OF THE YEAR 2014

NATIONAL WINNER:

Thomas Elley

Sefton High School, NSW

Nominated by: Steven Phung (Yr. 9)

RUNNERS UP:

QLD Winner

Brea Osmond

Rosewood High School, QLD

Nominated by: Kori Besgrove (Yr. 10)

VIC/ TAS Winner

Peter Seymour

Eltham High School, VIC

Nominated by: Jack Bridge (Yr. 8)

SA/ NT Winner

Carol Fine-Clementi

Mark Oliphant College, SA

Nominated by: Jodie Jebb (Yr. 10)

WA Winner

Darryl Deacon

Duncraig Senior High School, WA

Nominated by: Christian Bien (Yr. 10)

NETBALL NSW ANNOUNCES 2014 STATE CAPTAINS

Netball NSW is pleased to announce four players to lead the underage State Teams in 2014.

Amy Sommerville (21/U), Tanisha Stanton (19/U) and Amy Parmenter (17/U) will Captain NSW for the upcoming 2014 National Netball Championships, while Braeden Quince has been selected to lead the 17/U Development Squad.

Netball NSW General Manager – High Performance Tracey Fear said the athletes selected epitomise the persona and hard work ethic of a NSW netballer.

“Our 2014 Captains are fantastic leadership choices for the teams.  They possess the sort of work ethic, dedication and respect that we expect from our athletes, and will do a great job leading their respective teams,” Fear said.

“NSW has a reputation for producing some of the best netball talent in the country, as seen with 18 NSW juniors currently contesting the ANZ Championship, as well as five in the Australian Diamonds squad.

“Kim Green, one of our most successful leaders will help mentor our State Team Captains on the road to Nationals.  Kim has also come through the NSW junior ranks and it is great that she is able to share her experiences with our future leaders.”

“Our 21/U, 19/U and 17/U sides are all preparing well, and we would like to take this opportunity to wish them all the best at the 2014 National Netball Championships,” Fear concluded.

Netball NSW’s Nationals campaign starts next week when the 21/U State Team head to Adelaide to compete against some of Australia’s best up and coming netballers at Netball SA Stadium from Tuesday 11 to Sunday 16 March.

The 2014 competition will be Amy Sommerville’s seventh and final appearance at the National tournament, having risen through the ranks of 17/U, 19/U and 21/U Championships in previous years.

Sommerville will be supported by midcourter Taylah Davies and defender Sophie Halpin who will make up the leadership group, with the 2014 side looking to improve on their third place finish at last year’s tournament.

18-year-old Tanisha Stanton brings plenty of experience to the 19/U State Team, having been selected for both Australian 17/U and 19/U squads, as well as having two Australian Netball League seasons under her belt with the Netball NSW Blues.

The midcourter will be supported by Vice Captain and defender Toni Anderson, who has made the step up in age divisions after running out for the NSW 17/U side in 2013.

In her debut Nationals appearance, Amy Parmenter leads the 17/U Team with Claire O’Brien and 2013 NSW representative Cassandra Radford named co-Vice-Captains.

Introduced by Netball NSW this year, the 17/U Development Squad have an identical training schedule as their 17/U counterparts, which will culminate in a two game fixture against one of the top secondary school teams in New Zealand, St Margaret’s High School, on Thursday 17 April at the Anne Clark Centre.

2013 NSW 17/U representatives Braeden Quince and Madeleine McCathie will lead the side as Captain and Vice-Captain respectively, lending their experience to this Development Squad.

The 2014 19/U and 17/U National Netball Championships will be contested simultaneously from Monday 7 to Saturday 12 April at Melbourne’s Waverley Netball Centre.

View interviews with NSW 19/U, 17/U and 17/U Development Coaches and Captains via NetballNSWTV;
NetballNSWTV: 2014 NSW 19/U Captain Announced
NetballNSWTV: 2014 NSW 17/U Captains Announced
2014 NSW 21/U Team
Kristina Brice – Baulkham Hills
Lauren Cantwell – Manly-Warringah
Taylah Davies (co-vc) – Sutherland Shire
Sophie Halpin (co-vc) – Eastwood Ryde
Maddie Hay – Sutherland Shire
Karli Ireland – Newcastle
Kristiana Manu’a – Liverpool City
Tiesha Ojeda – Sutherland Shire
Claudia Russell – Manly-Warringah
Phoebe Seamer – Newcastle
Amy Sommerville (c) – Eastwood Ryde
Donnay Van Taak – Sutherland Shire
Head Coach: Megan Simpson
Assistant Coach: Dianne Brown
Manager: Donna Harrison
Click here for 2014 21/U National Netball Championships Fixture


2014 NSW 19/U Team
Toni Anderson (vc) – Sutherland Shire
Alisha Cairns – Blacktown City
Olivia Doyle – Baulkham Hills
Natalie Eldridge – St George
Zoe Gilbert – Manly-Warringah
Billie Gurr – Manly-Warringah
Charlotte Jasprizza – Orange
Sarah Kitcher – Grafton
Courtney Richmond – Blacktown City
Tanisha Stanton (c) – Eastwood Ryde
Madeline Woods – Sutherland Shire
Lauren Yager – Sutherland Shire
Head Coach: Briony Akle
Assistant Coach: Colleen Mitchell
Manager: Narelle Stokes
Click here for 2014 19/U National Netball Championships Fixture


2014 NSW 17/U Team

Kiera Austin – Eastwood Ryde
Chelsea Bolton     – Illawarra
Prudence Ellis – Ku-ring-gai
Brooke Fennings – Charlestown
Leanne Grevenitz – Wyong
Kirra Jones – Illawarra
Kristin Kessler – Wyong
Lauren Moore – Wyong
Claire O’Brien (co-vc) – St George
Amy Parmenter (c) – Randwick
Cassandra Radford (co-vc) – Sutherland Shire
Loren Singleton – Baulkham Hills
Head Coach: Moira Gaha
Assistant Coach: Amber Cross
Manager: Deborah Kassing
Click here for 2014 17/U National Netball Championships Fixture


2014 NSW 17/U Development Squad

Madeline Anderson – Baulkham Hills
Amelia Basheer – Manly-Warringah
Chloe Chapman – Randwick
Meg Collins – AFL Riverina
Olivia Duffy – Wyong
Laura Henderson – Sutherland Shire
Sally Hunter – Hume
Madeleine McCathie (vc) – Randwick
Braedan Quince (c) – Sutherland Shire
Natasha Robards – Ku-ring-gai
Olivia Rowntree – Liverpool City
Kelly Singleton – Manly-Warringah
Mikayla Upton – Muswellbrook
Georgina Woods – Northern Suburbs
Head Coach: Leonie Stewart-Weeks
Assistant Coaches: Pate Cooper and Jaqua Heddle
Manager: Charlene Sommerville

NSW SWIFTS START 2014 ON WINNING NOTE

Rob Wright and the NSW Swifts got the job done in their opening game of the 2014 ANZ Championship, overcoming a defiant West Coast Fever, 54-51, in front of a vocal home crowd at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre on Sunday.

After trailing by three goals at half-time, the Swifts surged in the third quarter to get back on even terms before a monster effort in the opening minutes of the final quarter – led from the back by Goal Keeper Sharni Layton (six intercepts for the match) – gave the home team the advantage they needed to seal victory, ensuring Head Coach Wright started his tenure as Head Coach on a winning track.

“It’s always good to get that first win out of the way, and against a really tough team… [It’s the] perfect start in terms of that we got the two points.  I guess the beauty of today was that there [are] certainly lots of things that we were far from perfect in; we’ll certainly go away and have to work really hard,” Wright said.

“I thought we stuck to what we were meant to be doing and grew into the game which was really pleasing.”

Debuting six new faces to the Swifts 2014 roster, Wright was pleased with the new combinations on court that built across the match.

“I feel like we saw [Susan] Pratley evolve today; that creativity, that movement combined with [Caitlin] Thwaites, who is obviously just a great shooting target in the circle. And those defensive combinations … grew across the game.”

2014 recruit Thwaites opened the scoring for the Swifts, slotting her first goal for the franchise.  The defenders were up on their toes with GK Layton and GD Sonia Mkoloma switching between Fever and Australian Diamonds shooting partners Natalie Medhurst (GA) and Caitlin Bassett (GS).

 

However it was the Fever who gained the early upper-hand with defenders Josie Janz (GD) and Eboni Beckford-Chambers (GK) forcing turnovers in the Swifts frontend to lead by three goals at halftime, 15-12.

The visitors got away by as many as six goals early in the second quarter as the Swifts new attack end took some time to settle.  Thanks to terrific backup support in the defensive end, plus intercepts from Kimberlee Green and Layton, the home side were able to inch back to within three goals at halftime, 30-27.

Fever hit the scoreboard first for the third quarter however pressure on the high ball won back possession for the Swifts and soon they were back within one goal.  West Coast weren’t to be deterred, and upped the ante again with some slick transition play to find towering shooter Bassett under the post, who quickly pushed the Fever back out to a four-goal lead.

 

The Swifts held tough and with some inspirational play between Green and Susan Pratley, the home side hit the lead for the first time since the opening minutes of the game.  A late goal to Fever captain Medhurst levelled the scores at the final break, 43-43.

It was a focused and confident Swifts side that hit the court in the final quarter, outscoring the Fever six goals to one in the first few minutes.  Tensions were high as unforced errors crept into the match from both sides, and it was the team that could keep their heads that would prevail.

 

With a performance that earned herself Game MVP honours, Pratley was steady going to the post and drained 10 goals from as many attempts to reward her defenders’ hard work and help the team start their season on a winning note.

The NSW Swifts now hit the road to take on the Mainland Tactix (Round 2) and Adelaide Thunderbirds (Round 3), before returning to their home court at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre to host the Queensland Firebirds on Sunday 23 March – tickets available from www.swiftstickets.com.au.

 

ENDS

Quarter-by-Quarter scores:
SWIFTS – Q1: 12 – Q2: 27 (15) – Q3: 43 (16) – Q4: 54 (11)
FEVER – Q1: 15 – Q2: 30 (15) – Q3: 43 (13) – Q4: 51 (8)

Shooting Statistics
SWIFTS: 54/63 @ 86%
Caitlin Thwaites: 25/30 @ 83%
Susan Pratley: 29/33 @ 88%

FEVER: 51/60 @ 85%
Caitlin Bassett: 42/47 @ 89%
Natalie Medhurst: 9/13 @ 69%

Starting Line-ups:
SWIFTS – GS Caitlin Thwaites, GA Susan Pratley, WA Paige Hadley, C Kimberlee Green (c), WD Abbey McCulloch, GD Sonia Mkoloma, GK Sharni Layton

FEVER – GS Caitlin Bassett, GA Natalie Medhurst (c), WA Chelsea Pitman, C Khao Watts, WD Ashleigh Brazill, GD Josie Janz, GK Eboni Beckford-Chambers

Positional Changes:
SWIFTS – Q2: WA Green, C Hadley.
FEVER – Q3 Timeout: C Shae Bolton, GD Chanel Gomes.