Premier Daniel Andrews and Member for Yan Yean Lauren Kathage visited Hazel Glen College in Doreen on Wednesday to promote the Premiers’ Reading Challenge.
Grade four students were read a book by Ms Kathage and discussed their progress on the reading challenge with Mr Andrews.
About 100 Hazel Glen College students have completed the challenge, reading more than 6000 books with ‘Pig the Pug’ by Aaron Blabey the most popular, having been read by 240 students.
Mr Andrews said books gave children the opportunity to delve into new topics.
“Books are all about going different places, different worlds experiencing the sort of wonderment across every topic really,” he said.
“It’s great to see those grade four students, and all students across the state, engaged in the Premier’s Reading Challenge, Book Week or some of that ‘I Discovery’ work the students shared today.
“It’s fantastic to really delve into a topic and learn about lots of different things.
“I visit lots of schools and ask what’s the best thing about grade four [or another grade] … and there’s always a smart kid who says the teacher but beyond that, the best in there today was learning about things. That sense of discovery and wonder is terrific.”
Ms Kathage said her daughter participated in Book Week, dressed up as the title character from ‘The Princess in Black’ by Shannon and Dean Hale.
“Book Week is a great opportunity for the whole community to really celebrate learning and to celebrate how students are growing and developing in their schools,” she said.
“It’s also an opportunity to thank the teachers and staff who give so much for our students.”
Mr Andrews said more parents across the state were choosing state schools such as Hazel Glen College.
“There’s no accident more and more parents are choosing state education within the education state,” he said.
“This is a relatively new school with very strong enrolments, fantastic teachers and staff, and a very great engaged parent community.
“I visit a lot of schools and this one has got a great feel about it. It’s a great centre of learning and parents are deeply, deeply involved.”
Ms Kathage said her favourite book to read with her daughter was ‘Magic Beach’ by Alison Lester.
Although his children are too old to have their father read to them, Mr Andrews said his family were big readers growing up.
“We were always encouraged to read a lot, and it’s funny when you have that early on, you carry it with you your whole life,” he said.
“We were always reading at home and my mum drove it mainly. You carry that with you, which is wonderful.”
The Premiers’ Reading Challenge closes on September 8.
BlueCross Willowmeade Kilmore’s June Hay celebrated her 100th birthday on Friday, bringing together family and other residents for a day of festivities.
Born in 1923 and living most of her married life north of Epping, Ms Hay has been a resident of BlueCross Willowmeade for four years and said her experience there had been ‘wonderful’.
While the day was a celebration of her milestone birthday, Ms Hay said she was happy to share it with everyone else at the home.
“I think it’s very exciting and I’m so happy to see everybody else so happy about it too,” she said.
“It’s not just my day, it’s other peoples’ day as well. Everybody seems to be enjoying it and it’s lovely when I’ve got my family near me too. It’s always very special.”
June Hay celebrates her 100th birthday at BlueCross Willowmeade Kilmore on Friday.
When asked if she had any tips or habits that contributed to her long life, Ms Hay refused to give up her secrets citing that ‘they wouldn’t be a secret anymore, would they?’.
“I’ll share it with the Lord. I’m sure that I couldn’t do it on my own because I’m so well, I feel so healthy,” she said.
“I wake up in the morning and I’m happy to get up and get going. I’m just enjoying my life.”
Ms Hay was appreciative of life at BlueCross Willowmeade.
“If you asked me what was wrong with it, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. It’s very good as far as I’m concerned,” she said.
“There’s enough going on to keep me interested, they run events and different things like today with people coming in and singing for us – it’s great.”
Ms Hay’s family joined her for the celebrations, including her four children – one of them travelling from Queensland to make the occasion.
WALLAN Driving School owner Daniel Lombardo and resident Michael Treacher have created a driving app that provides courses for learners and apprehensive drivers across the Mitchell Shire and surrounds.
Launched earlier this month, ‘Let’s Drive’ currently has more than 30 routes relevant to the Mitchell Shire and surrounding areas – including Wallan, Kilmore, Seymour, Sunbury – which puts drivers in real-life situations, using turn-by-turn navigation via the car stereo system.
Wallan Driving School owner Daniel Lombardo and Michael Treacher launched their new app ‘Let’s Drive’ earlier this month to help drivers across Mitchell Shire and surrounding areas develop their skills.
Mr Treacher said the app, built in partnership with professional driving instructors, complemented regular driving schools.
“There’s a lot of pressure on parents to provide opportunities for children that exposes them to a wide range of driving situations,” he said.
“[The app] can be used to support parents to achieve this so they can focus more on the driving that their children are doing, rather than both the driving and the route.
“What happens a lot of the time is it’d be like ‘alright, let’s drive to the shops and back’ … and it’s just the same things over and over again. It’s not really preparing them for a lot of the real-life kind of driving scenarios.”
The idea progressed when Mr Treacher was taking his own driving lessons four years ago with Mr Lombardo, who has been operating his driving school in the Mitchell Shire for 23 years.
“We got to talk about some of the ideas that he had, and we realised that we both kind of shared a passion for improving the quality of driving on the road in general.”
“During one of my lessons he asked what I did for living, I told him that I was a software engineer, and basically he had some ideas in mind, like some things that he thought software could help solve,” Mr Treacher said.
The teacher and learner became business partners and started a company called Better Your Driving, with a vision to promote responsible driving.
“[Daniel] found that majority of students that came to him, especially in regional areas, had tended to log their 120 hours mostly driving on country roads or highways,” Mr Treacher said.
“He found that when they got into real kinds of situations where they make judgement calls, they didn’t know how to give way at traffic lights, when there’s a right turn – all those types of things.”
“I guess this app basically gives drivers additional options to get exposure to some of the driving scenarios, like a qualified instructor would expose them to or that they may encounter on their driving test.”
While the app is available on the Apple Store, there are plans to make it accessible for Android phones.
Mr Treacher said the next step was to work with driving instructors to create more routes for different locations across Victoria.
For more information on the app, visit the Facebook page Better Your Driving, or email hello@betteryourdriving.com to suggest location ideas to cover on the app.
ACCESS to childcare is becoming more limited across Victoria, with a study revealing the lack of spaces in Mitchell Shire and surrounding childcare centres.
A report released last year from Victoria University’s Mitchell Institute found about nine million Australians live in neighbourhoods labelled as a ‘childcare desert’ – meaning a populated area where there are more than three children per childcare place, or less than 0.333 places per child aged four or under.
Mitchell Shire had several childcare deserts, with the Seymour region – that also includes Puckapunyal and Pyalong – averaging 0.2 places per child, while Seymour itself was at 0.5 places per child.
Kilmore and Wallan were 0.3 places in childcare per child, while smaller towns such as Tooborac had no childcare at all.
In Whittlesea, childcare accessibility was similar to Mitchell Shire areas, averaging at 0.3.
Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland organised a survey to show the state of childcare across the electorate, with responses sharing concerning experiences to accessing childcare.
Some issues raised, specifically in towns such as Broadford and Wallan, were the multi-year waitlists, lack of childcare options and not enough subsided hours for working parents.
Ms Cleeland said the lack of childcare facilities was restricting parents from returning to work during a cost-of-living crisis.
“From both the survey and my conversations in the community, it is clear there are so many parents wanting to get back into the workforce but can’t because they are unable to get their kids into childcare,” she said.
“This is a real handbrake for our community and places a hurdle in front of young people who want to raise their family in the country.”
The government has committed $14 billion to expand kindergarten programs across the state.
As part of the State Government’s Best Start, Best Life reform, the government has committed $14 billion to expand kindergarten programs across the state, with 50 new learning centres including a site in Seymour.
The government-owned and government-run centres, which will be located alongside schools, hospitals, TAFEs, and other major employers, will provide childcare, three and four-year-old kindergarten, and transition to include pre-prep.
While an early education centre is planned for Seymour, only four were announced to open in 2025, with the other 46 other sites to be operational by 2028.
Ms Cleeland said the 2028 deadline for Seymour demonstrated the lack of ‘genuine concern’ for the community’s needs.
“Despite our region being regarded as a ‘childcare desert’ under this government, three out of the four centres set to open by 2025 are located in Labor seats,” she said.
Ms Cleeland’s survey remains open and can be completed online at www.annabellecleeland.com.au/petitions.
KILMORE Junior Football Club, KJFC, was named 2023 Junior Club of the Year at last week’s Northern Football Netball League junior presentation night.
The award recognises the club’s efforts both on and off the field throughout the year, with the league voting on factors such as club volunteers, culture and community engagement.
KJFC president Jacqui, who is in her first year in the position and coached the under 10s girls team for 2023, said she was proud the club was nominated for its efforts this season.
“It’s something we worked really hard on from a cultural point of view at the club – we’ve got a lot of good kids and good families that play at Kilmore,” she said.
“Some of those kids seek opportunities elsewhere sometimes, so that’s something that we could hopefully build around.”
Also receiving an award was Kilmore’s Campbell White, who was named best and fairest for the Under 14 Blue category, receiving eight more votes than the second-placed player.
Jacqui said the club was also judged on its players and volunteers, particularly how they interacted with other teams and umpires and maintained a respectful atmosphere.
She said the recognition would boost the club and provide further opportunities to offer further services in addition to what was currently possible.
“Moving forward we’re hoping to put even more things in place that we’re able to involve the community in a little bit more,” she said.
“From the player development point of view, it gives us the option now to try and further develop our players and put systems and programs in place so that we can attract new players and keep our existing players involved.”
KJFC coaching coordinator Matt Chesswas praised Jacqui’s efforts in delivering a successful 2023 season for the club.
“Being a female president in a male-dominated industry, she’s done an outstanding job,” he said.
“The amount of things she’s done behind the scenes that probably goes unrecognised is the reason why the club ended up winning the award.”
Chesswas said despite the limitations faced by the club because of a lack of facilities, improvements such as filming every home match for coaching purposes and introducing specialist coaches have made a positive change.
“[Jacqui’s] assistance for me to give resources to the coaches is half the reason why we ended up where we are,” he said.
“We also had a bit of talent on the field this year as well, so it was good.”
Team Guy Sebastian on Channel 7’s The Voice has become a Whittlesea community hub after former Whittlesea and Wallan resident Jaxson Cornell earnt a spot.
A self-taught pianist and singer, Mr Cornell performed ‘I Fall Apart’ by Post Malone for his blind audition, joining Whittlesea residents Shanae Watson and Michaela Jade on Team Guy.
Sebastian said he was ‘quite shocked’ at being the only coach to turn for the audition.
“I love Post Malone. I love the rawness with the way he performs. It’s always so on the edge of desperation and I heard that in your voice,” Sebastian said.
“I really heard something incredibly honest, incredibly beautiful and your voice is a great storytelling voice.”
Mr Cornell is a familiar face throughout Whittlesea and the Mitchell Shire, having attended Whittlesea Primary School and Whittlesea Secondary College and busked throughout the region since the age of 15.
After watching someone he knew play the keyboard at age five, Mr Cornell said he began hounding his mother for a keyboard of his own.
“She eventually got it for me and I just loved it. I was in awe,” he said.
“I just played along, pressing random buttons as you do as a young kid not knowing how to actually play, and then it just grew from there really.
“The best way for me to learn a song is by listening to it and then in about five to 10 minutes I can basically figure out where the keys are for that tune and play it.”
At age seven Mr Cornell became partially deaf in his right ear after blowing his eardrum on New Year Eve.
“It was a difficult time. It was and still is very hard to hear from long distances,” he said.
“It’s been a challenge for me a lot in life because there’s times when I’m singing and I can’t actually hear if I’m pitch perfect.
“It has its days, my ear. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not good at all – you could be standing right next to me and I wouldn’t hear you.
“It’s been a challenge but I’ve just lived with it and I’ve gotten through it, finding a comfortable, happy medium.”
The biggest supporter of Mr Cornell’s music career was his mother, who died from breast cancer in 2019.
She was diagnosed when Mr Cornell was nine, and the cancer ended up spreading through the retina of her eye to her brain and into her lungs.
Mr Cornell would play the piano and sing for his mother for hours with her favourite song ‘The Late September Dogs’ by Melissa Etheridge.
“Mum, being the soldier she was, would always just carry on and never let it really bother her even though she was tired and sick. She never really let it distract her or stop her from doing what she wanted,” he said.
“My music has a big inspiration from her because without mum telling me to play this or play that, I wouldn’t have given my music more of that push through mum asking if I could just sit down and play the piano for her, something as simple as that. There were times where I couldn’t be bothered but I’m like you know what, I’ll play it.
“I’d sit there with her and play the piano for hours. She was my number-one fan basically.
“I make my own music and she’d always put her input into the songs I would make. Even when a lot of people didn’t really believe in me, my mum always said I’m going to make it and to just keep going and never give up on it because it’s my dream.
“One hundred per cent, mum is watching me up there. She said ‘when you’re up on stage I’m going to be up in heaven cheering you on’.”
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His The Voice journey continued in the callback rounds, which began Monday night after the Review went to print.
FINALS action for Riddell District Football Netball League’s A Grade netball competition kicked off with two thrillers at the weekend as Romsey and Woodend-Hesket both secured places in the semi-finals.
Romsey came up against Wallan in Sunday’s elimination final and emerged the victors – the pair two of the closest-matched sides in the A Grade competition throughout the season.
Ending with a draw at full time, the match was forced into overtime, and at the final siren, it was Romsey ending Wallan’s season with a three-goal victory.
Redbacks coach Lena Way said her team held their composure well to keep the Pies at bay.
“We had a strategy to put extra defensive pressure at their goaling end and that paid off,” she said.
“We got a couple of quick turnovers and then we were able to capitalise on those turnovers. We knew it would be a hotly-contested game, especially in the goal ring.”
Romsey fielded a mixture of both young and experienced players on Saturday, helping to build support for the younger players while also bringing energy to a team that has struggled with injuries all season.
Way named goal attack Maggie Lind, wing attack Cayley Blair, goal defence Lucia Fauonuku and centre Emily Miles as standout performers – Fauonuku and Miles among the most experienced and youngest players on the team, respectively.
“I think our girls did exceptionally well to play in those really tense circumstances, knowing that it’s an elimination final and they don’t have a second chance,” Way said.
“Given where we were early in the season, we were definitely in the lower half of the ladder and we’ve just had a very unsettling season with injury and illness but it’s all come together at the right time.”
Way also praised the consistent efforts of Emma Grech, one of the team’s most dependable goalers and the fourth-highest-scoring player in the A Grade competition with more than 350 goals.
“For a young player, only her second year in A Grade, she’s having an exceptional season,” she said.
“She’s been our main goaler every week and every time she plays, she shows up. She’s handled the pressure very well.”
With the Redbacks set to face Macedon this weekend, Way said the focus would be on adapting to their opponents and learning from previous encounters.
“It’s all about strategising, capitalising on their weaknesses. We’ll be coming up with a strategy specifically to play that team,” she said.
Meanwhile, in Saturday’s qualifying final at Romsey, Woodend-Hesket came out on top over Macedon by just one goal in a nail-biting match-up.
The victory means the Hawks will now face Riddell in the first semi-final this Saturday, while the Cats have a second chance to keep their finals campaign going and will play Romsey on Sunday.
The most recent match between the Redbacks and the Cats was played in round 16, with Macedon coming out on top by five goals that day.
However with Romsey’s revitalised team looking to capitalise on the momentum of last weekend’s win – the clash set to be a close contest for both sides.
Broadford B Grade netballers have secured a back-to-back grand final appearance after defeating Yarra Glenn in a close contest on Saturday.
All Outer East Football Netball League division two preliminary finals were played at Broadford on Saturday, attracting a large crowd to Harley Hammond Reserve.
The Kangaroos scored a two-goal victory in the B Grade preliminary final despite trailing for two quarters of the game.
Yarra Glen led at the end of the first quarter by four goals before Broadford took the lead in the second quarter, heading into halftime up by two goals.
After half-time, Yarra Glenn recaptured the lead before the Kangaroos made a final quarter surge, shooting 14 goals to Yarra Glenn’s seven to take the win 45 goals to 43.
Broadford president Bonnie Cavanagh said the ‘seesawing contest’ was a thriller.
“It was incredible to see the fight they had to put in to pare the game back. It was like they were never going to lose that game,” she said.
“They just all banded together and found another level of intensity and really backed one another to turn the result around.”
Broadford’s Toni Bootland was the leading scorer for the day with 38 goals and was named in Broadford’s best.
Broadford’s Ebony Heers in the A Grade match against Yarra Junction. Heers also led from the front in B Grade’s thrilling win earlier that day.
Captain Ebony Heers and Hayley White were also named best players for the Kangaroos.
“Ebony Heers in defence has just been an absolute soldier all season, and just her determination and passion really shone through in the game to just lift the team up,” Cavanagh said.
“Young Cassie Zolnierczyk also had a really good game. She’s only just finding her feet playing senior finals having stepped up from the under 17s and she really shone when it counted.”
Broadford will play Warburton Millgrove in the Outer East Football Netball League division two B grade grand final at Yarra Glen on Saturday.
The two sides played each other in round one of finals with Broadford losing by five goals.
The Kangaroos are hoping to bring home the flag after losing in last year’s grand final to Powelltown by eight goals.
“This time around they’re just hungry for it and it shows with how determined they were to turn the result around on the weekend,” Cavanagh said.
“One of the things I’ve said since I started at the club was when one team wins, the whole club wins.
“So even though the A Grade and Reserves didn’t [win], we’ve got our B Grade girls are there to represent us and they will go all the way, and when they do, the whole club wins.
“We’ve all got to get behind them and hopefully they can bring home that flag for us on the weekend.”
Broadford A grade netballers had a five-goal loss to Yarra Glenn in their preliminary final.
Broadford started strong, leading 20 goals to 11 at the end of the first quarter.
Yarra Glen made its comeback to bring the game to within one goal before heading into halftime.
In the third term, the scoreboard flipped and it was Yarra Glenn who led at the end of the first quarter 40 goals to 39 before continuing with its momentum to defeat Broadford, 56 goals to 51.
Best players for Broadford were captain Ally Black, Megan Berger and Renee Sari.
“They’ve had another big year and they’re coming up against some tough opposition,” Cavanagh said.
“They were leading at a point and then just couldn’t sustain it and hang on, but they did us so proud this season.
“It’s another solid foundation for us to go into next season and hopefully we’ll just build on it to get that flag.”
Yarra Glen will now play Warburton-Millgrove in the grand final on Saturday.
Football
It’s the end of the Outer East Football Netball League division two finals campaign for Broadford Reserves after being defeated by Powelltown 11.14 (80) to 5.7 (37).
The first quarter was tight with Powelltown leading by two points before extending its lead out to 28 points before the half-time break.
Broadford were outclassed in the Reserves preliminary final against Powelltown.
Broadford was unable to make any major scoreboard movements, only kicking two points in the second term, while Powelltown got on a run, kicking four goals.
The Kangaroos cemented a solid first half performance with some great defence and passages of attacking play but couldn’t carry it through the second half.
Broadford were held scoreless in the third term, as Powelltown kicked another five for a 10-goal lead.
The Kangaroos outscored Powelltown in the fourth quarter, kicking four goals to one, but it was too late as they went down by 37 points, ending their finals journey.
Broadford president Bonnie Cavanagh said the side gave it their all.
“They were right with them up until halftime. They played their hearts out and did us proud,” she said.
“To make it to a preliminary final from where they’ve been, all their hard work certainly paid off and they did us proud. It’s always a great foundation for next season now.”
Captain Matt Dunbar, Sean Duggan and Jai Heers were among Broadford’s best players.
The Broadford Reserves’ final rounded out the triple preliminary feature hosted by Broadford.
Cavanagh said it was fantastic to see so many people come and support the club’s preliminary final efforts.
“It was the best showcase of our club and just shows how hardworking and friendly we are,” she said.
“Whenever I or the club asks for help, people answer our call because they just love giving back to the community but also the club as well.
“The league commented it was one of the best run finals they’ve seen and were very complimentary. They praised our volunteers, our committee and players on the way we conducted ourselves so I could not have asked for a better turnout.
“We were really organised and we just smashed it out of the park.”
In the Reserves, Powelltown will now play Warburton-Millgrove, while the senior match will be Alexandra versus Powelltown. All division two grand finals will be at Yarra Glen on Saturday.
BROADFORD Bowling Club is hosting a 24-hour Bowlathon to raise money this weekend after players were inspired by a woman’s passion for the sport.
Katie, a woman with cerebral palsy, participated in a previous barefoot bowling competition at the club and caught the attention of club members after coming out of her shell to get involved and play.
All funds raised at this weekend’s event will be donated to the Cerebral Palsy Alliance, a charity that serves to provide expertise and support for the condition while also improving on research, technology, innovation and advocacy.
Club champion Dave Ellis said he hoped the event would draw attention to both cerebral palsy and Broadford Bowling Club.
“I wanted to put the club and the town on the map, and Katie started coming to our barefoot bowls. She was very shy and put back, she didn’t really get involved much,” he said.
“But once she started, you could see the change in her and the smile on her face and she really enjoyed it.”
Mr Ellis said people close to Katie and others at the club noticed her enthusiasm, inspiring him to support the cause.
“A lot of people said they noticed [the change], so I thought ‘why don’t I do something for her charity or for cerebral palsy?’,” he said.
Mr Ellis has committed to bowling for the full 24 hours, with the event to begin at 5pm Friday and conclude at 5pm on Saturday.
A 24-hour bowlathon at Broadford will raise funds to support people with cerebral palsy like barefoot bowls participant Katie.
The event will be sponsored by West Coast Bowls and the Shearasun Brewing Company, and feature a jumping castle, classic car show and raffles, as well as a luncheon with guest speakers such as former bowls number one Steve Glasson and AFL all-Australian Lance Whitnall.
Participants can purchase an $80 package that includes a shirt, Saturday luncheon and bowling.
Individual prices are $30 for the luncheon, $60 for a shirt and $10 per person for bowling, while entry for children is a gold coin donation.
To make a booking for the Saturday luncheon, contact Brayden on 0428 084 439.
REGISTERED nurses are now onsite in aged care homes 98 per cent of the time on average, with 86 per cent of facilities having a nurse on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The need for 24-hour registered nursing was a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety to improve aged care services and prevent unnecessary trips to hospitals.
On average, there is now a registered nurse onsite in aged care homes for 23.5 hours a day, according to the facilities that have reported their first month of data starting July 1.
Federal Member for McEwen Rob Mitchell said he was proud to be part of a government that had put nurses back into nursing homes.
“We introduced the 24/7 nursing requirement because older Australians deserve around the clock clinical care and this data reveals they are getting that now,” he said.
“We now see Australia’s older generations – our mums and dads, grandparents and loved ones who live in aged care homes – receiving the high-quality care and safety they deserve.”
A new 24-hour registered nursing dashboard, which was last week released on the Department of Health and Aged Care website, provides Australians with data on the level of 24-hour registered nursing being delivered across the residential aged care sector.
The changes reflect an improvement in aged care ratings across the Mitchell Shire, Macedon Ranges and City of Whittlesea, with overall average ratings up to 3.8 in Mitchell, 3.75 in Macedon and 3.36 in Whittlesea as of August 7.
The figures are compared to previous overall ratings of 3.2, 3.25, and 3.2 respectively from March 27.
Average ‘staff’ ratings have increased from 2.8 to 3.2 in the Mitchell Shire, however the previous overall staff rating of two remains the same for both Macedon and Whittlesea.
