The release of 13 Reasons Why on Netflix in last month attracted critical feedback. The series depicts the confronting and graphic suicide of the main character, a teenage girl portrayed by Perth actress Katherine Langford. Schools have since implemented procedures to assist parents and carers with ways to identify and address mental health issues with their children, and how to communicate the right ways to tackle it. One school, St Mary Star of the Sea College in Wollongong, holds a weekly assembly to allow students and staff to discuss important social issues. Video: Supported Accommodation and Homelessness Services Shoalhaven Illawarra…
Author: Lauren Ferri
A brutal campaign against LGBT people has been sweeping through Chechnya, a conservative Muslim republic in Russia. The Campaign Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov has ordered law enforcement and security agent officials to abduct dozens of men on the suspicion that they are gay. It is reported that some of the men have disappeared being tortured and humiliated. This information was first published by leading independent Russian paper Novaya Gazeta on 1 April, though it was initially dismissed as an ‘April Fools’ Joke’. Kadyrov’s press secretary described the report as ‘absolute lies and disinformation’ stating that there were…
Wollongong City Council is installing more public art across the city, and hopes to build on the success of last year’s Wonderwalls festival, The council has implemented a public art strategy to run from 2016 to 2021. Local and international artists have been involved in painting the city. Wollongong City Art Gallery Director John Monteleone said the art would encourage more tourism to Wollongong, and help create more jobs. “By taking art out into the community and sharing it…it actually enhances people’s lives,” he said. See a photo gallery of artwork found around Wollongong below.
The Illawarra Mercury Premier League will kick-off tonight when the Cringila Lions take on Wollongong Olympic at Crehan Park. The first round of the premier league has been delayed due to many Illawarra grounds being closed due to heavy rain. This year’s competition looks wide-open. Rule infringements in 2016 caused point deductions that affected placings at the top and bottom of the ladder, and saved the Cringila Lions from the bottom spot. Football South Coast competition manager Bobby Mazevski said the infringements were a blow to the competition. ‘We’re hoping that this year it’s been sorted by the clubs and that this year…
A report has found Australian students are slipping behind the world in science achievement. A national report card of year six students conducted by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) found their aptitude for science has not improved in a decade. The report revealed 55 per cent of students nationally were judged as proficient in science, but, for the first time, girls outperformed boys. ACARA General Manager Stanley Rabinowitz said curiosity plays a big part student performance. “If you interest girls and get them involved, they can achieve just as well as boys in a so-called ‘boys’ subject,”…
Volunteer work is improving the breeding habitat for birds around the Five Islands Nature Reserve near Wollongong. Illawarra locals banding together to sustain the native environment on the reserve. The reserve consists of five small islands clustered off Port Kembla. The work is part of a restoration project to help reverse damage caused by invasive weeds, which are affecting seabird habitat and breeding sites. The Friends of Five Islands group, along with Berrim Nuru Environmental services, has been working to improve the seabird habitat on the islands. Locals are working to sustain the island and working with the Aboriginal community.…