Upcoming Student Events

Connections, by Belmore South Public School, celebrates the beautifully complex connections in the Belmore South Public School community between teachers, students, parents, carers and colleagues. Like a network of roots linking together to nourish a thriving garden, the school community relies on its own connections to thrive. A variety of works have been selected to showcase this vitally-enriching network. At the core is the connection between teacher and student. A positive connection can build a student’s confidence and self-esteem; it can promote engagement and positive learning experiences; and it can inspire happiness inside the class room and out. From this positive connection, teachers guide their students to develop and understand their own connections to the world around them. In their visual arts classes, the students of Belmore South Public School have been exploring their family histories, identity, Australian culture and multiculturalism. Through art, students explore the connections that tie them to their families, identities, culture and country.

The works chosen for this exhibition demonstrate this exploration, and reflect the positive connections the students share with their teachers in the process. Works from the Student Art Club have also been included in this exhibition. Visual art educators Ms Alexandra Dos Santos and Mrs Helen Kuzmanovska run the club weekly, giving students further opportunities to participate in competitions and community projects, and connecting them with the broader community. Finally, upholding this essential network of connections are parents and carers. Rich, meaningful connections between parents and children, and parents and teachers underlie the wellbeing of the school community. Belmore South’s fortnightly Parent Art Club is run by Ms Dos Santos and Mrs Kuzmanovska to give parents and staff the opportunity to connect over visual arts, while learning new techniques and expressing themselves. To celebrate these connections, artwork from the Club is also showcased. Through this heartfelt exhibition, Belmore South Public School invites you, too, to share a connection with them.

This project aims to give students the best possible learning experience at University. One way the Western Sydney University's Student Experience Office is doing this is by finding new ways of supporting students, such as using helpful text messages that could help you stay on track in one of your units. Students in eligible units in the School of Nursing and School of Social Science and Psychology can sign-up to participate.

'Australian Media Misrepresentation of the Concept of Jihad' Presenters: Anum Sikandar 'Kawi Rituals, the Media, and Muslim and non-Muslim Relations in Indonesia' Presenters: Bambang Hariyanto.

Australians need service providers specifically social workers and allied health providers who are sexually literate, capable of providing holistic, medically accurate, shame-free, comprehensive sexuality health care. The School of Social Sciences and Psychology and Sexualities and Genders Research (SaGR) of Western Sydney University are pleased to host international visiting scholars from the Center for Human Sexuality Studies, Widener University, USA. Our morning, framed by the World Health Organization’s definition of human sexuality, sets the stage on how human sexuality goes beyond an intercourse centric view and includes sexual justice within social work. The Circles of Sexuality, will present a generalist and holistic model of human sexuality and how it can be employed in social work and allied health practice as a useful tool to conceptualize client sexuality. A Sexological Worldview and Sexual Loss will facilitate service providers helping clients reclaim a “good enough” sex life. WSU’s Corrine Sullivan will wrap up the morning with, Sexy and Fierce: Indigenous sexuality through the looking glass. The afternoon session will convene a Sexuality Research Masterclass panel drawing on insights from their own research in order to help High Degree Research (HDR) students, allied researchers, and faculty to: Expand their understanding of sexuality research Contextualize sex research in a historical and contemporary framework Illuminate challenges with being a sexuality researcher and strategies to manage them Enhance general research to be more inclusive of gender and sexual diverse minorities Highlight methodological considerations Introduce ethical practice and specific issues in working with Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC).

This project aims to give students the best possible learning experience at University. One way the WSU Student Experience Office is doing this is by finding new ways of supporting students, such as using helpful text messages that could help you stay on track in one of your units. Students in eligible units in the School of Nursing and School of Social Science and Psychology can sign-up to participate.

The inspiration for our latest collection of artworks ‘Our Journey through Japan’ once again came from our school-wide program ‘Seven Countries in Seven Years.’ This program involves every student from Kindergarten to Year 6 undertaking study related to at least seven different Asian countries throughout their primary schooling. Students are involved in cultural studies as well as basic language programs and are given the opportunity to ‘travel’ through these countries. From language acquistion to art projects, history and geography, Asian studies are linking harmoniously into our curriculum. Choosing Japan this year was a natural progression from our previous exhibitions which included journeys through Asia, Indonesia, India and Thailand. From their initial experiences with our closest neighbour Indonesia, our students are ready to seamlessly move into the next chapter of their Asian adventure. ‘Our Journey through Japan’ celebrates the altering faces of this intriguing country through the beauty of its changing seasons. Each seasonal change is honoured for its splendour, admired for its kaleidoscope of colours and textures, and worshipped for its transience and nobleness. Spring is renowned for the gentle bloom of white and pink, soft-petalled cherry blossoms that flutter gracefully from their trees. Summer, for the hot, balmy days and the scorching sunsets that act as a backdrop for the fireworks that herald the beginning of many celebrations and festivities. Autumn, for the flush of luminous, red copper leaves that cascade across a landscape of ancient forests and drift in the wind to land at the feet of those who come to admire. Winter, for the pristine snow that dusts and blankets the peaked roofs of both ancient and modern Japan. Whatever the time of year, Japan is admired for its unique beauty. Our artworks are a snapshot of the soul of this great country that is known as the ‘Land of the Rising Sun.’

Western Sydney University cordially invites you to attend the opening of the exhibition, Our Journey through Japan, Saturday, 17 August 2019, 2pm - 4pm at Margot Hardy Gallery, Bankstown campus. All welcome. Refreshments provided. Visit http://virtualtours.westernsydney.edu.au/margothardygallery/ojtj for more information.

Do you use Virtual Reality or Augmented Reality in your research? Are you interested in this disruptive technology? The call for papers, posters, and demos for VRST 2019 is now open. For the first time, the annual international Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology will be held in Australia this year at Western Sydney University’s Parramatta City Campus 1PSQ from 12 to 15 November 2019, with a special track on applied research in the field of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). VRST 2019 has confirmed an impressive line-up of international and local VR/AR keynote speakers including Timoni West, Director of XR Research at Unity Technologies; and Mark Walsh, an animator and director who worked on many classic Pixar Animation Studio films such as Toy Story, Ratatouille, and Finding Nemo. The VRST 2019 conference is for anyone with an interest in the latest VR/AR/XR research, news and technologies – submit your research papers, demos and posters now! Paper submissions are due by 23:59pm on 19 July, 2019: https://vrst.acm.org/vrst2019/submissions/