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How about a new career in the world of finance?
Medway Community Learning’s course, Learn Sage Payroll, will show learners how to process the payroll, process wages and calculate PAYE and NIC, produce relevant reports, create E-submissions and BACS processing using Sage software.
The eight week course starts on Thursday, 11 October from 1pm to 3pm at Eastgate, Rochester.
For more information phone 01634 338400.
Sign up to a new course and a new skill with Medway Community Learning.
Level 1 Award in British Sign Language starts on Wednesday, 9 January 2013. Interviews are taking place now for those people interested in this course.
The course is over 36 sessions and takes place every Wednesday from 7pm to 9pm at Eastgate, Rochester. Course fees starts from £180.
For more information and to enrol, phone Maureen Yates on 01634 338472 or email maureen.yates@medway.gov.uk
An event to give young people with additional needs advice on jobs, advice and activity opportunities is coming to Medway this week.
The Medway Opportunities Fair will take place next Thursday, 27 September from 9.3am to 2pm at the Corn Exchange, Rochester, designed to give 13 – 25 year olds with special educational needs of learning difficulties an insight into the range of
From job prospects to information on housing, further education, money advice and exciting sports and leisure opportunities, the event sets out to bring a range of services and information which can make that transition into the big wide world a bit easier – whether that is discovering routes to work or uncovering an inner athlete. More
Competition runner up Tea Wilson (age 6) from Hempstead Infant School meets the MAD bikes display team who judged her helmet design.
Around 350 people attended the event and were treated to amazing mountain bike stunts by the fantastic MAD mountain bike display team. Children also made the most of 25 crazy bikes, bike powered carousel and spin art run by the APE Project.
Families enjoyed the craft and museum tent where they made bird feeders and had the chance to view a range of historic bikes from the Guildhall Museum’s collection.
Four regional kite organisations also braved the elements and were able to fly more than 20 large kites until rain finally stopped play at 2pm.
This year the event included a pre-festival primary schools competition to promote cycle safety by designing a cycle helmet.
And the MAD bikes team were more than happy to judge the 170 entries on display in the craft tent.
Pupils from St Margaret’s at Troy Town School and Hempstead Infants schools won prizes to see the Christmas shows at The Brook Theatre – The Little Lost Frog – and The Central Theatre panto – Cinderella. Runners up received kites.
Event organiser Allison Young said: “We were thrilled that people made the most of the free event and came to enjoy the many attractions on offer, as well as enjoy the lovely surroundings of Capstone Park and its great cycle trails. A huge thanks to all involved.”
Picture caption: Competition runner up Tea Wilson (age 6) from Hempstead Infant School meets the MAD bikes display team who judged her helmet design.
Medway Council’s Road Safety Team is celebrating after winning a Green Apple Environment Award for the innovative ‘walking bus stops’.
The team were competing against more than 500 other nominations in the national campaign to find Britain’s greenest companies, councils and communities.
The innovative work that impressed the judges was the Walking Bus Stops. These are permanent bus stops that mark the pick up stops on the successful Walking Bus Scheme. Local organisations sponsor a stop and support the walking bus, which aims to reduce congestion on Medway’s roads, improving air quality and improving road safety skills of children travelling to and from their school or after school club.
As a result of this success the team has been invited to have their winning entry published in The Green Book, the leading international work of reference on environmental best practice, so that others around the world can follow their example and learn from their experience.
Safer Journey Officers will be presented with their Green Apple Award at a presentation ceremony in the House of Commons on 14 November.
They will also be considered to represent the country in the European Business Awards for the Environment.
This week sees a series of events to help warn people about the dangers of loan sharks throughout Medway and the Hoo Peninsula.
Medway Council’s Trading Standards Team and The England Illegal Money Lending Team will be warning local people to turn away from illegal money lenders and encouraging anyone who has fallen into a loan sharks trap to speak out.
The officers and Illegal Money Lending Team’s mascot ‘Sid’ the Shark will be out and about this week (w/c 24 Sept). More
Make sure your unwanted household furniture goes to a good home, by taking it to one of Medway’s three Household Waste Recycling Centres.
In a new scheme launched this month (September) Abacus Furniture Project (part of the registered charity West Kent Extra), now makes weekly visits to the centres to look for second hand items which can be sold at low cost to families in need, while preventing the items from going to landfill.
Any unwanted items that are too good to throw away are welcome, such as tables and chairs, chairs, sofas, beds, bedroom furniture and garden furniture.
If taken, the items will be made available to the public to purchase from the Abacus store at 67 Cuxton Road, Strood.
The furniture that is left at the Household Waste Recycling Centre will go for recycling where applicable.
The RE-use scheme is run by Medway Council in partnership with FCC, which manages the three recycling sites.
Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Frontline Services Cllr Phil Filmer said: “This is an excellent initiative to help people to be able to furnish their homes affordably while ensuring as many items as possible are recycled rather than going to landfill. So I would urge people to use Medway’s Household Waste Recycling Centres as the best way to dispose of unwanted furniture.”
FCC’s Regional Manager Neil Jones added: “This is a fantastic opportunity to put to good use, items that would normally have been discarded. The best part is that we are assisting a very good cause in Abacus Furniture Project, helping the local community and excellent causes in other areas.”
The three household waste and recycling centres in Medway are located at Ambley Road, off Hoath Way, Gillingham, Shawstead Road, Capstone, Chatham and Sundridge Hill, Cuxton.
All three sites are open between 8am and 4.30pm Monday to Saturday and from 9am to 4pm on Sundays and bank holidays.
On Mondays between April and September, the Capstone and Cuxton sites only are open until 6.30pm
The Medway Community Safety Partnership is holding a series of community engagement meetings for residents across the area from next month.
Meetings will take place on a three-monthly basis in local areas across Medway.
The first will take place on Tuesday, 9 October, between 7 and 9pm at the All Saints Church, Magpie Hall Road, Luton.
The purpose of the meeting is to allow local community safety issues to be discussed with representatives from Medway Council and Kent Police.
Medway Community Safety Partnership Chair Councillor Mike O’Brien will be there to answer questions alongside representatives from Kent Police and Medway Council.
These will include Kent Police Chief Superintendent Neil Jerome and Medway Council’s Robin Cooper, the Director of Regeneration, Community and Culture, and its Assistant Director for Frontline Services Andy McGrath.
Cllr O’Brien said “We plan to conduct a series of meetings with residents in areas across Medway to give them the opportunity to discuss community safety issues where they live.
“Similar meetings will be held elsewhere in Medway on a 3 monthly basis, and we will publicise these as they are arranged.”
“I would like to invite anyone who wishes to come along to the 9 October meeting in All Saints o please come along as all are invited.”
For further information members of the public should please call 333333.
Tara McDonald is a local musician and singer and has just signed a two album deal with a major record company, why not pop down and see what it’s all about. Just to let you know this young lady has won a number of awards including best voice awards.
‘We should use regional airports fully before considering building a huge hub airport’
A delegation opposed to an estuary airport has traveled to Birmingham to see how its airport can significantly increase capacity, lessening the need for a new south east hub airport.
Supporters of a huge hub airport in the Thames Estuary say it is needed as Heathrow is full and claim the only way to solve this is to build a costly four-runway scheme in Kent. More
Parents and carers of children heading to secondary school for the first time next September can apply online for their child’s school place from next week.
Applications for secondary school places open on Monday, 10 September at www.medway.gov.uk/onlineadmissions.
Parents have until 4pm on 31 October to name up to six secondary school preferences for 2013.
Applications for primary school places are also set to open Monday, 17 September and will close on Tuesday, 15 January 2013. Parents can name up to four primary school preferences. More
Young people can learn the art of circus skills at a circus school, which starts later this month.
The Brook Circus School with Dizzy O’Dare Presents is aimed at eight to 16 year olds and runs for 10 weeks from Friday, 28 September to Friday, 7 December from 6.30pm to 8pm (no class during half term) at the Brook Theatre, Chatham.
Young people can learn skills from professional performers using equipment such as juggling balls, hula hoops, tightwire, unicycles and diabolo. More
If you haven’t yet read or received a copy of the news letter, please click on the link below to see what amazing work the teams and supporters of Anim-Mates are doing. Maybe you could even help out in some way?
Rumours are begining to circulate about a group planning a new 4 runway airport west of London.
Please follow the link to see the full story
Peninsula Times 