Issue 18. 17 November 2008 - UWA Staff - The University of Western ...

Shenton thanks UWA
If you think the students are
getting younger, it’s not just
because you’re getting older.
High school students, mainly from
Shenton College, are spending more
time at UWA and involved with UWA
staff and projects than ever before.
More than 100 staff have devoted time
over the past two years to Shenton
College students, as part of the
Learning Links program.
Shenton College thanked them all at a
function in the Sunken Gardens earlier
this month.
The students had been included in
more than 50 collaborative projects
over 2007 and 2008.
Professor Andrew Lynch, Professor
Denis Haskell and Dr Keiran Dolan from
the School of English and Cultural
Studies were thanked for the ongoing
help they had given year 12 English
Literature students.
Staff across several areas were thanked
for ASPIRE, a day organised by
Student Services’ Filomina D’Cruz,
designed to inspire high school
students to come to UWA to study.
Dr Judy Skene, Megan Henderson,
Gary Cass, Dr Dave Webb, Jay Jay
Jegathesan, Dr Chris Thorne and Tsu
Yen Wong were all presented with
certificates.
The Shenton College aquatics
program, run through the School of
Exercise Science, Sport and Health,
resulted in Shenton winning the 2008
A-grade schools carnival, thanks to
Uniswim manager Will Schaeffer, senior
student Sam Alexeef and lecturer
Canon Richard Pengelly.
The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant
Energy Biology continued its high
profile program with the students,
helping them to design and implement
their own plant molecular biology
research projects. Yvonne van der
Ploeg was complimented for her work.
Professor Robson presents certificates of appreciation
to UWA staff involved with Learning Links
The Virtual Universe Project benefitted
from the help of photography students
from Shenton College as they learnt
how to use software to create threedimensional
images from their pictures.
Professor Jane Long, Filomina D’Cruz,
Megan Henderson, Jay Jay
Jegathesan, Dr Chris Thorne and Tsu
Yen Wong were once again thanked for
their involvement.
The Shenton College Learning Links
thank you ceremony is held every two
years. UWA also has Learning Links
with Belmont City College and Perth
Modern School.
Treats to promote research
Rani Varathan (in white tee-shirt)
surrounded by her pink elephant stall team
Tiny cupcakes, most of them pink, home-made pink
marshmallows, strawberry cordial and a fabulous palepink
iced cake made by the fruit cake champion at the
Perth Royal Show were just some of the tempting
delights on offer at the sixth annual pink elephant stall
in the Guild Village.
All have been organised by Rani Varathan, a research
administration assistant in the Business School, who this year,
with a special fund-raising home-page as well as the stall, raised
$2,502.60 for research into breast cancer – a disease that claims
the lives of more than 2,600 women and 95 men every year.
Supported by her Business School colleagues, Rani collected a
selection of second-hand books, DVDs and Breast Cancer
Foundation and other donated merchandise to sell, along with
tea, coffee and mineral water supplied free by Broadway IGA.
She also organised a forum with four speakers to share their
breast cancer experiences. Rani thanks members of the PINK
team who helped to prepare and run the fund-raising events, and
the Guild for its support.
The special fruit cake, made by Cheryl Weerasekera, a friend of
one of the stall organisers, was raffled.
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UWA NEWS 17 November 2008 The University of Western Australia