The Men’s Shed West, Kenmore Bridge Club, and e-Waste Connection will soon have help incorporating their plans into the planned redevelopment of the Kenmore Community Centre, as a plan to appoint a project manager is announced.
Initial designs for the new Kenmore Community Centre were released in August 2021, revealing a more modern facility that provided easy access for all members of these community groups.
The incoming project manager will be liaising with all three groups to come up with their final ideas for the community space. The design should be out by the end of 2023.
The Deed of Agreement between the Federal Government and Brisbane City Council has also been signed, with a committed $1.5 million funding for the upgrades of the community centre at 98 Brookfield Rd in Kenmore Hills.
Initially, only one group, which planned to use the grant to upgrade to a different location, benefitted from the funding. However, the grant has since been reallocated to include all three groups as beneficiaries, specific to the tenants of 98 Brookfield Road.
Popular Kenmore local Barbara Wintringham, who served as a volunteer guide at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens for over two decades, is now 100 years old! Did you know that this amazing lady worked as a volunteer until she was 93?
Ms Wintringham has received a certificate and special gift in honour as she officially becomes Kenmore’s newest centenarian.
Well-remembered for her loyal service at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens in Mt Coot-tha for over 25 years, Ms Wintringham has also released a booklet about the Gardens, with fellow volunteer Ray Steward.
The booklet outlines the history of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens and highlights the individuals who made significant contributions towards making the Gardens, which officially opened in 1976, into what it is today.
Photo Credit: Brisbane Botanic Treasures
The England-born Ms Wintringham came to Brisbane in the 1950s. She fell in love with the city and decided to stay to set down roots with her family.
She worked for ABC and then spent her retirement years at the Gardens until she quit volunteering in 2016, at an amazing 93 years old.
Ms Wintringham now spends her days reading books and going on walks with her friends.
Under the Department of Education, the proposed development for the new building, filed under (MID-0123-0666), includes the construction of seven GLA spaces and additional four GLA spaces for a future fit, a new STEM learning space, and amenities like lifts and associated spaces and footpaths for both the students and staff use.
The plan also includes increasing the size of the carpark along the southeastern side. The existing playground equipment will have to be relocated before the building construction starts. Building refurbishments for Kenmore South State School’s C and D Blocks will also be covered by the project.
Photo Credit: MID-0123-0666
Per the MID’s Building & Design:
“The proposed development has been carefully designed to ensure the siting of buildings adequately respond to the existing site characteristics. Specifically, it is noted:
The new building is within proximity to existing learning buildings to ensure a high level of connectivity with the remainder of the campus.
The design encompasses a mix of innovation and cost-effective solutions, which take into consideration the character of the adjacent buildings.
Built form, materials and finishes align with the palette of the existing school buildings to provide a complimentary transition from existing to new. Natural cross-ventilation and solar shading have been incorporated into the design, to provide a comfortable and efficient teaching and learning facility.
Site constraints have led to locating the new facility to sit neatly between the existing Hall and the oval minimising the number of existing trees which need removal.
A landscaped courtyard is proposed between the new building and the existing Hall to provide a green outlook for the Hall and the south facing spaces in the new building.
Location of the building has been carefully considered to enable the building to provide compliant connection of all buildings to the entire length of the campus from Kersley Road footpath down to the oval.”
Kenmore South State School, established in 1967, services from Prep to year 6. As the local area has grown, the school-aged population has also increased thus the needed additional facilities to meet the demands of enrolment.
The school’s current study body is 712 students with a Student Enrolment Capacity (SEC) of 704. If approved, the development will raise the SEC to 896.
You’re in for a special treat as a memorable afternoon filled with the greatest jazz tunes and gin-tastic libations featuring the local Imbibis gin gets underway on Saturday, April 22, 2023, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Brookfield Meander markets will also open, offering genuine locally produced items. So, come prepared with your picnic blanket and get comfortable as you browse through the stalls. Don’t forget to bring your umbrellas and apply sunscreen so you can spend a memorable afternoon with family and friends.
Kenmore State High School will be one of 32 high schools across the state to participate in the Hydrogen Gateway to Industry Schools program of Energy Skills Queensland.
The Hydrogen Gateway to Industry Schools program is an industry-led program that broadens science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) knowledge to diversify and assist in accelerating future skills and opportunities towards the hydrogen industry.
Through the program, students will be exposed to a range of learning experiences to assist them in their career choices and self-select pathways to employment.
Photo credit: Skills for Queensland/Facebook
Students from Kenmore State High School and other participating schools will become involved from production and engineering, to storage, distribution and exporting. Teachers, on the other hand, will gain professional development to ensure they’re supported with industry knowledge to give context to STEAM teachings.
The program will give more than 2,000 students hydrogen career pathway opportunities, providing them with hands-on experience to the emerging hydrogen industry.
Whilst Queensland has the potential to be a hydrogen superpower, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk believes the State needs the workforce to support the jobs bonanza so that Queensland’s future workforce is primed and ready to capitalise on it.
Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen Mick de Brenni said that by 2040, Queensland’s green hydrogen industry could support 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, unlocked by the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan.
“Our green hydrogen industry is the greatest jobs, climate, and export opportunity in a generation and this Palaszczuk Government initiative is giving Queensland kids a head start in the jobs and careers of tomorrow,” Minister de Brenni said.
David Cross, CEO of Energy Skills Queensland said they are proud to be partnering with the Queensland Government, and are looking forward to working with students from Catholic Education, independent and public schools across Queensland.
To learn more about this program, visit Queensland Government’s website.
TheBrookfield Show is back for another year and brimming with fun for kids who love a good round of exciting competitions. There literally is something in it for everyone!
Happening from 19 to 21 May 2023, the Brookfield Show will be giving children different opportunities to showcase their talent — baker, artist, LEGO builder, talented dancer, excellent horse rider, a whiz with the sewing machine, or a green thumb — there’s a competition for everyone.
Some of the competitions for kids include:
LEGO – Theme: “Magnificent Machines and Brilliant Buildings”
Art – Theme: “Farms, Ferris wheels and fun”
Talent Show – singing, dancing, instrumental or groups
Cookery – decorating and baking
Horticulture – create a fairy garden, vegetable/fruit unicorn and more
Guinea Pigs – funniest dressed, fastest eater, and other awards
Needlecraft & Patchwork – fabric toys, needlework, creative arts
Photo Credit: Supplied
At the Show, it’s all about enjoying the process of preparing the entry and the excitement when they see their creation on display at the show. There’s also the chance to win a ribbon and some prize money.
The children will also have a blast watching Mini Moshers, Larrikin Puppets and the wildly popular Bolster and Lee circus, which will have their debut at the Brookfield Show. Also presenting for the first time is Julia Baker of “The Snake Boss Show.”
Photo Credit: SuppliedPhoto Credit: Supplied
The rodeo is scheduled for Friday night, whilst live music will be amping the vibe for Friday and Saturday. On the final day, a beautiful fireworks display is guaranteed to captivate the guests.
Tickets to Brookfield Show are now on sale. Limited edition merchandise will also be available at the official site.
Our Lady of the Rosary School now has the most modern school pool in Kenmore after it officially opened its newly refurbished pool facility in March 2023.
Works by ‘Form Pools’ include new tiling, pool-heating system, resurfacing of the pool, and ladders and Olympic-standard starting blocks for the 25m pool.
The newly refurbished pool was blessed by Kenmore parish priest Fr Mark Franklin on Monday, 13 March 2023, in time for the hot weather.
Photo credit: Our Lady of the Rosary School, Kenmore/Facebook
“It was a wonderful way to start the week with the whole school gathering for the blessing. Thank you to ‘Form Pools’ for refurbishing our pool so beautifully. We are privileged to have such amazing first class facilities here at OLR,” the school wrote on a social media post.
The upgrades were badly needed, because the pool was constructed the same year the school opened. Our Lady of the Rosary School, founded in 1963, will be celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2023.
Photo credit: Our Lady of the Rosary School, Kenmore/Facebook
The pool was constructed in its founding year to help create a sense of community for the school.
Some athletes, including Commonwealth Games Swimmer Tom O’Neill and Olympic Games Swimmer Christian Sprenger grew up swimming laps at the 60-year-old pool.
Principal John Bates believes the upgrades will give students not only an opportunity to learn to swim, but would also allow them to cool off at lunchtime with their friends year-round.
Aside from the pool, some of the school’s facilities include an oval, tennis courts, covered basketball court, multi-purpose performing arts centre, engaging playgrounds and an IT rich resource centre.
A nuclear waste safety robot being developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) at the Queensland Centre for Advanced Technologies in Pullenvale could soon make it possible for autonomous robots to assist with field measurement and analysis of spent nuclear fuel, providing greater protection for human workers.
The Robotised Cherenkov Viewing Device (RCVD), the nuclear waste safety robot being developed by CSIRO has reached a significant milestone after completing a successful test in South America.
The RCVD, developed in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency, is a floating device which works by autonomously navigating a path across the pond whilst updating a real-time map with footage and data of the fuel assemblies.
CSIRO Technical Program Manager, Rosie Attwell said the test demonstrates that autonomous robots could soon assist with field measurement and analysis of spent nuclear fuel, providing greater protection for human workers.
CSIRO team members with the device (Photo credit: csiro.au)
Although nuclear power plants are known for their capability to create reliable large electricity outputs, they can generate highly radioactive waste products that should be stored safely.
“Inspectors currently operate above the pond on a suspended platform, sometimes in 40-degree Celsius heat, using a handheld device to identify hundreds of used nuclear fuel rods,” Ms Attwell said.
Ms Atwell shared the new technology will remove humans from harm’s way and ensure the rate of safety inspections matches that of nuclear material.
The successful field test conducted in an operating nuclear facility in South America shows that the device has potential to go further.
IAEA nuclear safeguard inspectors during a spent fuel training exercise (Photo credit: csiro.au)
Datastart, a robotics company based in Hungary also worked on the project by developing parts of the device’s hardware.
Peter Kopias, CEO of Datastart, said seamless integration of the hardware developed by Datastart and CSIRO’s own navigation stack is a perfect example of intercontinental engineering collaboration.
“Moving personnel out of harm’s way is the most important benefit, but the exceptional data quality and the ability to inspect previously unreachable covered areas is a game changer in nuclear inspection.” Mr Kopias said.
Language disorder affects a person’s comprehension and/or ability to express one’s thoughts and feelings. The condition is estimated to affect 1 in 10 Australian students per classroom. Currently, Fig Tree Pocket-based Mancel College is the only specialist school in Australia that caters to students with such a condition.
Mancel College traces its roots back to its founder, pioneering psychologist Mancel Ellis Robinson. Her work at the University of Queensland identified the lack of appropriate services and educational facilities for children living with “communication and learning problems”.
She continued her research work and began to develop new teaching methods and therapies so these children could be provided access to education.
Photo credit: Mancel College / mancelcollege.qld.edu.au
She established CHI.L.D Association in 1976, a voluntary organisation and registered charity that caters for children and young people with language and related disorders. In 1977, CHI.L.D. established its home at the undercroft of the Anglican Church in St Lucia, supporting 18 children aged between 5 and 8, before relocating to the former Fig Tree Pocket State School site in Cubberla Street in 1978.
The Cubberla site allowed the program to accommodate 22 children, utilising a single-room schoolhouse and a donated demountable building. The learning facility was later named the Glenleighden School.
Photo credit: Mancel College / mancelcollege.qld.edu.au
The Glenleighden School earned government approval in 1982 and then received government funding as an officially recognised non-state special school the following year. Through the help of community fundraising and state and federal grants, the school further expanded with additional classrooms and therapy spaces.
Mancel continued to run the school until her retirement in 2002. CHI.L.D was changed to Speech and Language Development (SALDA) in 2016.
The organisation took ownership of the school building at the Fig Tree Pocket site in 1984 for $1,500 but it was not until 2019 that the SALDA board decided to acquire the land it has occupied, allowing it to implement its Campus Master Plan for the school which includes the redevelopment of the premises. The first stage of its redevelopment commenced in 2021.
In 2022, The Glenleighden School was renamed Mancel College, marking the 20th anniversary of Mancel’s retirement and cementing his legacy in the field of Language Disorder for generations to come. That same year SALDA was renamed Language Disorder Australia Ltd.
Today, Mancel College continues to attract students from across the country, providing support and resources specifically targeting the needs of Prep and Year 12 students with a language disorder.
To make it possible, a team of multi-disciplinary teachers and allied health professionals collaborate to plan and deliver the lessons with each class averaging 12 students and supported by a school assistant.
After 27 years, Cafe Bliss owners have officially retired. Under new management, however, the venue will keep its name and offerings that locals have grown to love through the years.
It has been a blissful 27 years for owners Jamie and Merle Stewart which is probably good enough reason to finally retire and spend more time doing other things they love doing together like fishing and riding a bike.
The couple officially handed over the reins to its new owner, Ketan Patel, last 28 February 2023. Ms Stewart said that all the cafe staff will be retained even as the ownership changed hands.
Loved by the locals, Cafe Bliss has become an institution in the area and has survived so many challenges, including staff shortages and tough competition from newcomers and old-timers alike.
Photo credit: Facebook / Cafe Bliss Kenmore
“It was a pleasure to join Dr Christian Rowan MP and Kenmore Village Shopping Centre Manager, Lisa Jarrold, to farewell Jamie and Merle Stewart at Cafe Bliss today,” Cr Gred Adermann’s social media post reads after he presented the pair with a Moggill Electorate Community Award.
“Jamie and Merle have been institutions at this popular local cafe for the past 27 years. We wish them well in retirement and look forward to welcoming new owner, Ketan Patel, who already has an established reputation in the local hospitality scene, every success in the future.”
