He also said he is very pleased with the engagement of scientists from our local area and with the RDAS teachers.

"George was looking at the barriers the kids have with maths and one of them is literacy so we brought up a university doctor with expertise in literacy and she showed George new strategies to try so kids can overcome their literacy barrier and get better in math.

"It is a great idea that the teachers from the Area School are getting out there and looking for different ideas of teaching," Mr Ward added.

George Mreitis is a Maths teacher for years 9 to 12 at RDAS and he was very pleased with the excellent range of age, gender and groups of professionals the students were able to talk to.

"The 'speed dating science' allows students to talk to people from a whole range of careers. Our aim is to try to break down barriers and make students aware that they can have a career path that's different and not to be intimidated to do some extra studies and go to university.

"We want to encourage students to see that there's a lot of potential for them to do different things," he said.

The different range of professionals he referred to included journalists, events organisers, BHP and Arid Recovery employees.

He also told The Monitor, "The main benefit this will bring is that the students in isolated schools never have the chance to talk to professionals about what options there are in different careers and what people had to do to get where they are.

"It's basically a chance for the students to do it in an informal environment other than to have a speaker talk to a large group. It is a one on one personal relationship. It gives the students a first chance to be an adult and have an adult conversation with people about their future," he added.

Teacher George is part of the Science innovation project from Flinders University and that was how Roxby Downs Area School got involved in the project.

"One of the schools in Adelaide tried it and I thought it was a very good idea, so I set it up here for our school. It now became an annual event," he said.

Advantage SA was running the 'Speakers in Schools' program in Roxby Downs and Woomera at the same time and since Roxby Downs Area School was having the 'science speed dating' they were happy to join in and contribute with two professionals - Millie Thomas from The Monitor and Lesley Magill from Electranet.

"We run our 'Speakers in Schools' program from Advantage SA where we ran four regional tours per year and when we contacted the schools and it happened that Roxby Downs Area School was doing this at the same time so we got involved," Jessica Bosnakis from Advantage SA said. 

 

 

ABOVE:  Professionals from various areas, including our journalist Millie Thomas pictured on the right, talked to students about their careers.

"The main reason why we developed the program was to educate students about the amount of opportunities available in South Australia.

"A lot of people think they will have to leave state to pursue their careers or leave their small towns, which is why we wanted to bring Millie here to show them that there are so many opportunities in your home town. You don't have to move anywhere to do what you want to do.

"There are so many occupations in the science industry that the students might not even have heard of, so we've got 413 volunteer speakers on the program from different industries," Ms Bosnakis explained.

The program is offered to all sorts of primary and secondary schools in all South Australia and they do over 400 presentations a year plus regional tours where they come down for two days, with a speaker from Adelaide and visit the schools.     

Our journalist Millie Thomas was very excited about being part of the program.

"I felt very honoured to be asked to be a part of the Speakers in Schools program. The future of the children in Roxby is a very important issue for me, and I admire Advantage SA's Jessica Bosnakis and Electranet's Lesley Magill for the time and effort they put into broadening children's knowledge on career opportunities, which they have not only done in our region, but all over the state," Millie said.

Millie is currently working as a journalist/photographer at The Monitor and she has big aspirations for her professional future.

"My objective is to finish a degree in Journalism, and follow on with more study in the media industry.

Eventually I would like to work as a journalist for a large publication such as The Advertiser, or even the New York Times," she said.

"I would like to impress upon the students, that as important as year 12 is, and it is, it will not be the be all and end all of your career in the future. It is important to get some kind of tertiary education, but this may not necessarily be through university.

"There aren't many people that I know that have stuck with the original profession they chose upon leaving school, you may want to be a butcher but end up being a vet! Just give it your best shot and you will be successful," she advised.

For the past four years Lesley Magill has been working for ElectraNet as a Project and Portfolio Scheduler and more recently took on a part-time secondment within ElectraNet as the Community Liaison Officer for the Adelaide Central Reinforcement project.

"I am very excited about my new role as it provides me the perfect opportunity to continue working for ElectraNet while doing what I love - relationship building, communicating with internal and external stakeholders, public relations and event management - skills that I have developed over the years from experiences such as a career in event management to completing a university degree and living and working overseas," Lesley said.

She has been a speaker with the Advantage SA 'Speakers in Schools' program for a year now and she has spoken at several schools in Adelaide but particularly enjoy the opportunity to attend regional tours.

"I was very happy to be invited to participate in the Roxby Downs/Woomera tour particularly as it was my first time to Roxby Downs.

"I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to share my career journey with the students and to hear their inspiring stories and dreams for the future. I thoroughly recommend the Speakers in Schools program to anyone interesting in participating," Lesley added.

She also had a special message for our youngsters.

"Whatever you decide to do, choose to do the very best that you can do. Sometimes opportunities come from the most unlikely sources and when you least expect them. 

Remain true to yourself and choose what feels right to you - you will excel when you love what you are doing," she concluded. 

If you would like to request a speaker for your school to talk about their career or if you would like to become one of our speakers contact Advantage SA on 8211 8111 or email speakers@advantagesa.com.au.

Speakers are encouraged to join the program from all industry sectors. For more information on how to become one of our speakers, check out the Speakers section of this website.

Advantage SA is proud to partner with the Government of South Australia and BHP Billiton and ElectraNet to deliver this program across the state.

The coffee facilities will be available from Tuesday, July 20.

Resources available at Andamooka/School Community Library include:

Reading a magazine or newspaper in a comfy lounge, sipping a hot drink, while eating a scrumptious muffin!

Currently they are reviewing the magazine collection, so pop in and record your name on the magazine you would like the library to subscribe to.

A wide selection of both fiction and non-fiction books suitable for a large age range, young children to adult.

Andamooka's Library motto is, 'if we don't have it, we can get it!', so you may like to help select books to purchase for the library by filling out a customer request form or borrowing from another library by filling out an inter-library loan request.

Large print and audio books are also available in some titles.

Free technology resources include internet access, women's information service, your tutor, and encyclopaedia Britanica.

Other services coming soon will include a seniors morning where locals will train people aged 50 + on how to use a wide variety of technologies. The first seniors' morning will be held on Tuesday August 3, at 11.00am.

Lunch will be provided and transport to the library will be available through Frontier Services.

The library will be open every day during the school holidays and a program for children aged 5 to 12 will run on Tuesday, July 6 and Thursday, July 8 from 11.00am to 12.00pm.

The library opening hours are Tuesday - 8.30am to 3.00pm, Thursday and Friday - 8.30am to 5pm.

Volunteers open the library on Monday and Wednesday from 8.30am to 12 midday most times (may be subject to change depending on availability).

If you would like to know more about any of these resources please contact Mandy Kerby on (08) 8672 7018 or send an email to mandy.kerby@andac7.sa.edu.au with any queries.

And stay tuned for the Grand Book Week Celebration in August including a book sale, cake stall, sausage sizzle and bush poetry readings. The theme for Book Week is "across the story bridge."

"We at the OD Footy club are excited to see what this new management will bring to the club."

Mr Haines previously lived in Roxby for seven years, working as a process technician for BHP Billiton. He then moved with his wife to Western Australia to explore new horizons.

"In hospitality, I spent six years cooking when I was a young fella, and two years behind the bar.

"In Western Australia I worked as a bar manager at the Premier Hotel in Collie with Chris Duplessi who used to own Roxby Coaches here (in Roxby).

"I then moved to Renmark and worked on the fruit blocks. I've only been doing it (managing OD) for two weeks, and am enjoying it very well.

"I think the committee thought they needed someone better looking than Merv!"  

"I essentially help people to move from whatever their issue is to feeling better about their lives and themselves," said Toni.

"I also have my own family here and two young children, which gives me some perspective on what its like to struggle with a work/life balance. Sometimes people just need another perspective on their situations.

"The counselling process is usually really rewarding for people. And positive changes can happen fairly quickly depending on the issues involved. You don't have to be seeing a therapist for years - as some people mistakenly believe.

"I am trained in a number of different therapies; the ones I use most commonly are cognitive behavioural therpay and acceptance and commitment therapy. These both have good results for a really wide range of issues. I regularly attend professional development to ensure people here get a high quality service.

"What I love about working in Roxby is the loyalty and friendliness of the community and other health care professionals. I work closely with the GPs and I've been really well supported by them. And the loyalty from clients, a lot of the people I see now is from word of mouth. I think in Roxby if you can show people that you're genuine, and committed to providing a professional service, then people will support you.

"If there's anyone out there who wants counselling for relationships, or might be interested in a workshop on learning what principles are involved in successful relationships, please contact me for more information," she said. 

"We at Roxby Traders are very excited to be able to offer the Roxby Downs community a service such as this. We recognise the need for this service and are confident that the people of Roxby will appreciate this opportunity," said Trish Wesley-Smith, store manager of Roxby Traders Mitre 10.

Repairs and other services are by appointment only with bookings being made at Roxby Traders Mitre 10.

Roxbytec will provide a computer tune-up service (if your computer is running slow), reformatting, virus removal, data removal, new computers and upgrades. All services are completed with efficiency and a quick turn around.

If you have a computer that needs looking at, see the staff at Roxby Traders Mitre10 to make a service booking.

According to initial response, Roxbytec will look into expanding their services to a more frequent or possibly permanent basis. 

"I have no regrets in my career. I have made mistakes, but I have learned with them," Dom said.

"Because we are under the media holophotes we need to set good examples and always watch ourselves," Dean pointed out.

Russell added that "every corner you go nowadays, there's a camera so everything you do is showcased to the world almost immediately. That's a lot of pressure for these boys."

LEFT:   RDAS students training with footy legend Russell Ebert in Roxby last week.

The Thunderbirds players had an open discussion with the girls about body image.

"We are reading magazines that have photos of women that don't reflect reality. We are the real women and we have to know that the magazines photoshop so many things," said Kate.

Because of the perfect body image that the magazines are selling in their covers, women all over the world are trying to have a body that might not exist.

"We have different body types and it is important to feel good in your own skin. Don't get too anxious about the pounds showed in the scales because they are things to be considered, such as the fact that muscles weigh more than fat you can gain weight because you are actually getting healthier," Erin explained.

The Port Adelaide Football Club is the major sponsor of South Australia's premier netball team, the Adelaide Thunderbirds. The sponsorship results in the Thunderbirds taking on the Power's colours in their uniform as well as in their new logo.

The sponsorship, however, is much more than colours. Just as the Power has invested in youth, both on and off the field, the partnership with Netball SA extends beyond the Adelaide Thunderbirds. The sponsorship will ensure Netball SA can more significantly invest in grassroots netball to the benefit of affiliated netball associations in all age groups.

The Power is already recognised as a female friendly football club, with more than half of the club's support coming from females. The alignment will further enhance this reputation particularly given netball has the highest participation rate among females of all ages and more than 110,000 netball participants in South Australia.

As well as sharing colours, the clubs will be jointly involved in promotions like this one that Roxby Downs Area School was lucky to host.