Fascinating news from NSW this week with the Department of Education launching a campaign to encourage parents to help their schoolchildren enjoy the art of learning mathematics.
“We are encouraging our parents and students to embrace mathematics at school to build solid foundations for life,” the State’s Education Minister explained to the State’s parents.
“Mathematics is everywhere,” the Minister went on, “and mastering it will help our students succeed in anything they choose to do.”
How can one disagree?
PS-sssst! does!
If “Mathematics is everywhere” it follows that “English are nowhere”!
And that could make it harder than usual for mathematics students to pass English if they choose it!
Count down!
Staying in NSW where Safe Work has dubbed four research organisations to explore the future and predict what risks to health and safety are likely to raise their ugly heads in the workplaces of the years ahead.
Out of 58 possibles, Safe Work chose three prominent universities and a PhD student to take on the task which it summarised such:
“The four areas we’ve chosen are incredibly important,” it assured its readers.
“The selected research projects will be focusing on; the increased use and ethical considerations of AI in workplaces, the mental health concerns of flexible and remote working, and mitigating psychological harms for our frontline emergency service employees.”
All very excellent and worthwhile causes, PS-sssst! is sure, but isn’t there one missing?
Could the fourth and final project be one of focusing on numerical capability perhaps.
We’ll just have to wait for the future to find out!
Parking pain
And now to Victoria where just as the weather forecasters have put a cast together to forecast whether the weather is good or bad, so have Victoria’s park rangers ranged out to ensure they’re protecting their protectable parks and pathways to preserve them for their praiseworthy public patrons.
‘Parks Victoria’ is the protector of public parks and is preparing for the pain of piles of park lovers popping in with plans to play Christmas parties in the parks, imposing pressures that promise to prejudice the parks with park-breaking practices, particularly with their bicycles, motor cars and other paraphernalia.
But to its credit, Parks Victoria has responded practically, advising motorists in perfect prose where to find a proper parking spot.
“If it feels too crowded then it is too crowded,” the bush-battered Agency declared in painful desperation.
“And if a car park looks full, it is!”
If that’s not wise advice, PS-sssst! will go bush!
Gift horse
And now to Rama Gaind’s weekly giveaway for a chance to become the proud owner of the TV DVD of Agatha Christie’s thriller The Pale Horse.
To join Rama’s Army of winners, all we needed to do was name the scenarist of the program and then clamour out of the infamous PS News Barrel of Booty first when the DVD would become ours.
And that’s exactly what this week’s winner did – Scott P from Services Australia – correctly naming the scenarist as ‘Sarah Phelps’.
Congratulations Scott and thanks to everyone who joined in the excitement. The DVD will be on its way very soon.
For another chance to be a winner, simply tune in to Rama’s latest Book giveaway at this PS News link and/or her other free Book at this link.
Good luck to everyone who does.
Murphed!
And before we go, this week’s last word has been handed over to Victoria’s fastest-growing Queen of the Wise and Witty, Philomena S from the Department of Health and Human Services, who responded speedily to last week’s resurrection of her past collections of wisdom and wittiness and sent in a more contemporary collection of pandemic pushbackery, the cleverly christened ‘Maxims of Murphy’,
For her first offering in the MoM, Philomena introduces us to Mr Murphy’s laws, most of which will be familiar to readers, albeit suitable painfulness.
Law 11: Murphy’s Coffee Law:
As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last just long enough for the coffee to go cold.
Law 17: Murphy’s law of Commercial Marketing Strategy
As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it OR the store will stop selling it!
Law 10: Murphy’s law of the theatre and sporting arena
At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle always arrive last. They’re also the ones who leave their seats several times to go for food, beer or the toilet and who leave early before the end of the performance or the game. The folks in the aisle seats come early, never move once, have long gangly legs or big bellies and stay to the bitter end of the performance. They’re also very surly folk.
And finally, the law with the greatest wisdom:
Law 16. Murphy’s law Tactfulness
A closed mouth gathers no feet!
Ah! Philomena. You’ve done it again!
Till next week…..
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