Tough call at Urban Quest semi finals

Eleven acts are through to the Urban Quest Finals Concert on Saturday night after the judges struggled to choose just ten.

Former Australian Idol judge Mark Holden delivered three touch downs through the 20 performances including opening rock duo Jack and Sam Weaver.

More than 1000 people turned out to support the young performers, aged between 11 and 18, at Casuarina Square.

The youngest finalist Kaiyah Chadwick, who’s in Year 6 at Marrara Christian College, wowed the audience with her rendition of Halleluja without backing music, while beatboxer Kane Bishop reverberated through the crowd.

Mark Holden will now work with the young singers in mentoring workshops to polish their performances ahead of the big night.

“It’s fantastic being up here,” Mark Holden said.

“But what I really looking forward to is working with each of the finalists and improving their performance.”

Urban Quest, organised by Mission Australia, hopes to raise awareness of youth homelessness in the Top End and expand homeless accommodation services.

In the Territory, up to 5000 people are homeless and more than one quarter are young people aged between 12 and 18 years.

The Urban Quest Finals Concert, which includes a performance by Deni Hines, starts at 7pm at the Darwin Entertainment Centre this Saturday, 2 April.

Tickets cost $17.50 per person or $50 per family of four, with all proceeds supporting Mission Australia to develop homeless services for young Territorians.  

The 11 Urban Quest Finalists are:

 

Kaiyah Chadwich, 11, Leanyer                   

Peter Rautoke, 17, Palmerston

Casey Glennon, 16, Malak                           

Shaine Hawke, 13, Stuart Park

Gabrielle Wright, 16, Palmerston             

Jianynne Anastacio, 16, Katherine

Tevita Moala, 16, Darwin                             

Kane Bishop, 15, Darwin

Leighton Kay-Mick, 13, Karama                 

John Micairan, 18 Palmerston & Flyod McDonald, 18, Karama

Sam & Jack Weaver, 17 & 14, Wagaman

 

For more on each of the performers visit facebook.com/MissionAust. To purchase tickets to the Urban Quest Finals Concert visit www.darwinentertainment.com.au.

 

Teens to battle for a Mark Holden 'touch down'

Twenty teens as young as eleven will battle for a top ten finish at the Urban Quest semi final at Casuarina Square next week.

The singers hope to impress guest judge Mark Holden and local celebrity radio host Amanda Pernechele for a spot in the Urban Quest Finals Concert on 2 April.

The acts include a brother duo from Wagaman, Palmerston hip hop pair and four singers from Katherine.

The event, sponsored by Mission Australia, hopes to raise awareness of youth homelessness in the Top End.

The Urban Quest semi final gets underway at 3:30pm at Casuarina Square on Tuesday, 29 March. The public are encouraged to attend.

The semi finalists are:

Kaiyah Chadwich, 11, Leanyer 

Peter Rautoke, 17, Palmerston

Casey Glennon, 16, Malak                           

Shaine Hawke, 13, Stuart Park

Taylor Fishlock, 18, Katherine                    

Rebekah Ainslie, 16, Darwin

Kimberly Harding, 16 Darwin                      

Jason Woodward, 15, Palmerston

Gabrielle Wright, 16, Palmerston             

Jianynne Anastacio, 16, Katherine

Tevita Moala, 16, Darwin                             

Kane Bishop, 15, Darwin

Veronica Maxwell, 17, Palmerston          

Jessica Pickworth, 18, Litchfield Park

Leighton Kay-Mick, 13, Karama                 

Katheryn Pickworth, 18, Stuart Park
Holly Mannion, Katherine
Jehrome Reyes, Katherine

John Micairan, 18 Palmerston & Flyod McDonald, 18, Karama

Sam & Jack Weaver, 17 & 14, Wagaman

For more on each of the performers visit facebook.com/MissionAust.

Singers will battle to help the homeless

Mark Holden and Deni Hines will touch down in the Top End in a bid to get a roof over homeless young people’s heads in Darwin and Palmerston.

The Australian pop idols will be in town to guest judge Mission Australia’s Urban Quest, a fundraising talent competition that aims to increase awareness about local youth homelessness. 

Holden and Hines will team up with local celebrity radio host Amanda Pernechele to judge the finals concert on 2 April at the Darwin Entertainment Centre.  

Mission Australia Operations Manager Brad McIver said the event will address an emerging problem in Darwin and Palmerston.

“The majority of young homeless people are fending for themselves and sleep out in improvised dwellings or shack in with friends, acquaintances and really anywhere they can,” Mr McIver said.

“Urban Quest will help generate funds to support the development of accommodation for them through event participation, public donation and finals concert tickets.”

In the Territory, up to 5000 people are homeless and more than one quarter are young people aged between 12 and 18 years.

Urban Quest is open to solo acts and groups aged between 10 and 19 years across vocal, street, rap and beatboxing categories. 

Heats will be held at schools in Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine and the Tiwi Islands with Mark Holden to judge the semi finals at Casuarina Square on 29 March.

Ten acts will go through to the finals concert and experience a workshop with Holden ahead of the big night at the Darwin Entertainment Centre on 2 April. 

The concert opens National Youth Week in Darwin and includes a guest performance by Deni Hines.

Competition details:

·         Entry closes 1 March

·         Heats at Tiwi Island College on 9 March

Maningrida Community 11 March

Darwin High School, Sanderson Middle School, Palmerston Library and Katherine High School on 9 March at 3:30pm

Malak Theatre, Palmerston Library and Browns Mart Theatre on 19 March at 2pm

·         Semi finals at Casuarina Square on 29 March  at 3:30pm

·         Urban Quest finals concert at Darwin Entertainment Centre on 2 April at 7pm

For more information, entry forms and to donate visit www.missionaustralia.com.au or facebook.com/missionaust.

 

Students on track to finish house construction in three days

After one day on the job young construction trainees at Marrara Christian College are on track to build a house in just three days.

Students from the College’s Fabrication and Construction Trade Training Centre – which includes 65 per cent Indigenous students – have installed the walls, floors and roof trusses on the revolutionary wooden flat-pack house.

Marrara Christian College Trade Training Centre Manager Richard Hart said the shell of the house will be complete at the end of day two.

“Today the students will concentrate on completing the ceiling and start on installing some windows,” Mr Hart said.

“The wiring and plumbing is underway and will also be finished before the day is out.”

The quick build home uses a unique panelised building system by Carter Holt Harvey which allows a home to be constructed on site by trainee construction workers under supervision and is perfect for remote communities where labour and accommodation costs can be high.

“With this new panelised building system, we can build a house from the ground to lock-up in just three to five days using construction trainees under the supervision of qualified tradesmen,” Mr Hart said.

Members of the public are invited to watch the house under construction.

The home is under construction at the training centre at the school in Amy Johnson Avenue. Visitors should follow the signs to the centre from the school entrance.

Trainees to build house in just three days

Territorians have the opportunity to watch a house being built from the ground to lock-up in just three days next week.


Students from the Marrara Christian College’s Fabrication and Construction Trade Training Centre will build the revolutionary flat-pack wooden house over three days at the training centre at the school.

The quick build home uses a unique panelised building system by Carter Holt Harvey which allows a home to be constructed on site by trainee construction workers under supervision and is perfect for remote communities where labour and accommodation costs can be high.

Marrara Christian College Trade Training Centre Manager Richard Hart said the new building system enhanced the training centre’s capacity to offer real jobs to young construction trainees.

“The time and skills required to construct residential homes using conventional building systems is one of the most important challenges facing the housing market today, particularly in remote communities,” Mr Hart said.

“Traditional on-site construction methods are constrained by the availability of trades, coordination of the delivery of products and services to the house site and weather related delays.

“With this new wood panelised building system, we can build a house from the ground to lock-up in just three to five days using construction trainees under the supervision of qualified tradesmen.”

The Marrara Christian College Fabrication and Construction Trade Training Centre trains students still attending school to receive a vocational certificate in construction, building and metal fabrication industry, while earning money at the same time.

The business opened a new training centre in Darwin in June this year to provide training for up to 50 students each week in the metal building and fabrication industry. There are 32 trainees and three apprentices completing their competency training with up to 20 qualified tradesmen and trade assistants.

The trainees are Year 11 and 12 students drawn from all senior schools in Darwin, along with others from as far as Arnhem Land and the Kimberley region in Western Australia. Around 65 per cent of students are Indigenous.

Mr Hart said the new panelised building system would enhance the ability of the centre to offer building solutions across northern Australia while at the same time training young Territorians for a career in the construction industry.

Members of the public are invited to watch the house under construction from Tuesday to Thursday (October 5-7) next week.

The home will be constructed at the training centre at the school in Amy Johnson Avenue. Visitors should follow the signs to the centre from the school entrance.

Alice Springs' solar reputation goes all the way to China

13 September 2010

Alice Springs’ reputation as a world leader in the use of solar technology will be shared with a global audience this week when Alice Solar City’s Brian Elmer attends the World Solar Cities Congress in Dezhou, China.

Speakers from solar energy communities around the world will share their thoughts and experiences at the September 16-19 congress with a view to learning from each other.

“I will be proudly sharing Alice Springs’ experience of being a Solar City and what we have learnt in the last two and a half years, with other delegates, scientists and politicians from around the world”, says Alice Solar City General Manager Brian Elmer.

“For example, I will share some of the innovative ways we have engaged with the community and our roll out of large and small solar power installations.”

“With over 500 delegates attending the congress, I am also looking forward to hearing from other cities around the world, and bringing back to Alice any ideas or concepts that would help the town become even more sustainable in its energy use.”

"China is a world leader in the development of solar-power technologies and I will be visiting some of their innovative solar projects, so I expect the congress to be highly informative”.

“Representatives from some of the other Australian Solar Cities will also be in attendance and together we will be showcasing the application of renewable energy in Australia and how the Solar Cities Program is helping to work towards a sustainable future.”

For more information visit http://www.chinasolarcity.cn/index.html

 

Ends…

 

For media enquiries please contact Laurelle Halford from Creative Territory on 0417 222 211 or (08) 8952 9412 or laurelle@creativeterritory.com

 

About Alice Solar City

The Alice Springs Solar City Consortium is led by the Alice Springs Town Council and includes broad community support from the Northern Territory Government, Power and Water Corporation, Tangentyere Council, the Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce, the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre and the Arid Lands Environment Centre. Funding sources include the Australian Government, the Northern Territory Government, Power and Water Corporation, and Alice Springs Town Council.

 

Our kids worry about death, drugs and bullies

Drugs, suicide and bullying are the biggest fears of young Territorians, a national survey has found*.

How to beat these fears and build resilient and stable kids will be the focus of next week’s NT Council of Government School Organisations Conference for parents and teachers.

Clinical psychologist and author of Beating Bullies, Dr Andew Fuller will look at the skills kids need to live happy and rich lives.

“It focuses on resilience and the importance of compassion, empathy, imagination and being fun,” Dr Fuller said. 

“We look at the brain systems and how they can be optimised for learning and how it’s important to teach children at a young age so they avoid some the pitfalls in life.

“A lot of my programs work with kids because they’re interactive, game-based and fun.”

Dr Fuller will be joined by UK Values Education Founder Dr Neil Hawkes, who’ll look at the positive impacts of education led by social values such as responsibility, respect and tolerance.

“It’s not so much of a program, but a philosophy that has had transformational results on the school learning of children,” Dr Hawkes said.

“I hope to encourage the importance of these values in education so that children’s learning can be enhanced and they have a solid platform from which to build their lives.”

The forward-thinking system was adopted by UNICEF through the collaboration of Living Values and underpinned the Australian Government’s introduction of Values Education in schools.

Dr Hawkes’ presentation is one of four keynote addresses at the two-day COGSO Conference from 16 to 17 September at SKYCITY Casino Darwin.

Dr Andrew Fuller is available for interviews now, prior to the conference.

Media are welcome to attend all events at the conference, which gets underway at 9am on Thursday, 16 September.

For more information on the conference and workshops visit www.ntcogso.org.au.

 

*Source: Youth Survey 2009 – NT, Mission Australia.

http://www.missionaustralia.com.au/downloads/national-survey-of-young-australians/2009/158-youth-survey-2009-nt