Follow the links below to read the letters from the Hon Frank Sartor MP to Ian & Rickystan

Finalist in Nescafe Big Break Competition

An excerpt from

Another budding entrepreneur whose idea took time to come to the boil is Ian Cannon, 17. Cannon, a Year 12 student at Redeemer Baptist School in North Parramatta, is the classic inventor, hoping to take his ColorLuminator - a device for measuring colour and brightness - to the world market The idea sprang from research into colour-blindness Cannon did in Year 8, but building a device to help colour-blind people had to wait until he had a few more school years under his belt
“I needed to learn how circuits work and how you measure colour, which I didn’t know for a few years,” he says. The result was the ColorLuminator, a device that identifies colours, and also measures luminance contrast, which is the difference in brightness between two surfaces. It has been designed to meet the needs of vision-impaired and colour-blind people.
Developed by Cannon and a classmate, Rickystan Savaiko, the device has already taken out first prize for technical communication at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Indianapolis, and the pair have established that it is a world first.
“You can put it on a surface, press a button and it will tell you the colour of that surface,” says Canon. It uses LEDs, which shine the light on to the surface, and the photo-transistors pick up the reflected light, and by measuring the light reflected, can define the colour on that surface. People will use it when they need to see what colour is there, for example, when they’re choosing clothes or buying ripe fruit”

Possibly more important, he says, is the device’s luminance contrast capability. This is important in the building industry, where the building code specifies differences in brightness so that a vision-impaired person can find their way around a building.

But luminance contrast standards are difficult and expensive to implement, he says, which gives the simplicity of the ColorLuminator a major advantage.

“We’ve had the device tested by staff at Vision Australia and by leading building auditors, and they’ve expressed avid interest for it to be marketed in Australia. We’ve also had great interest from the standards authorities in America, Japan, Italy and Canada, so we know there’s a lot of export potential.”

Morris and Cannon are finalists in the 2006 Nescafe Big Break competition, which offers $100,000 cash awards to young people to kick-start business, artistic or sporting ideas. The competition shows that the spirit of entrepreneurship is alive and well among young Australians and New Zealanders, says Janelle Skropidis, head of Nescafe marketing
“The calibre and volume of big ideas entered in Nescafe Big Break this year demonstrates that young Australians and New Zealanders are prepared to work hard to achieve their dreams. They are actively seeking an innovative way to get their idea up and running,” says Skropidis.

“For many young people, owning their own business is their big ambition. This year’s Nescafe Big Break program reflected this trend with almost 30 per cent of the 4100 entrants submitting applications for a start-up business,” she says.

Morris certainly wants to harness “passion and a head full of recipes” to launch Soulveg restaurant, and eventually expand it into a chain.

... Cannon also has big plans, hoping to take his ColorLuminator to the world market If he wins the $100,000, Cannon says it will go to securing the intellectual property, developing the third and final marketable prototype and having it tested.

Redeemer Baptist School Honoured for
Excellence in Fundraising

The NSW Fundraising Director for the Heart Foundation—Ms Frances Cinelli—presented a plaque to the School at the  end of our Term 2 Chapel Service (22 June 2006) in appreciation for the outstanding effort or our students in raising $12,255.20 in the Jump Rope for Heart program. "Each and every one of you has done an absolutely fantastic job," Ms Cinelli said to the students, "you’ve looked after the hearts of all Australians".

Naomi Wallis, senior PDHPE student and one of the organisers of the "jump off" day, responded on behalf of the School to Ms Cinelli’s commendation: "We understand the role the Heart Foundation has taken in fighting cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in Australia ... the jump rope for heart program is a great way to encourage children to be active".

Heart health was a significant issue at the School during term 2. Early in this term, a term in which students were active gathering sponsors, the School Headmaster Dr Max Shaw was taken by ambulance to Westmead Hospital in the early hours of the morning suffering from a heart attack. Within an hour of arrival at Westmead Dr Shaw was on the operating table, with two life-saving stents being inserted into his coronary arteries. Uncannily, Dr Shaw’s return to his office as Headmaster coincided with the visit to the School of the Heart Foundation! With Dr Shaw on the podium alongside her, Ms Cinelli commented, "It’s because of the Heart Foundation’s work and research that he’s able to be here with us four weeks after it happened". It may be that Dr Shaw’s illness inspired the School community to give generously.

The citation on the plaque from the Heart Foundation, now displayed in the School’s reception, is a permanent reminder of the importance of charity and the generosity of the school community. The plaque says: "Your outstanding support of the National Heart Foundation of Australia enables us to continue our life-saving work".

NEWS

Hills Shire Times
Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Give all in business

An essay which expressed the belief there is more to business enterprise than profit has resulted in a local student receiving recognition for his work by the Prime Minister.
Redeemer Baptist School Year 11 student Wesley Tan entered the Prime Minister's Business Partnership's Corporate Social Responsibility Essay Competition in early 2005 and won the school section.
In the competition students were encouraged to express their opinions on corporate social responsibility which has been defined by the World Business Council as: "The commitment of business to contribute to sustainable economic development, working with employees, their families ... and society at large to improve their quality of life".

The West Pennant Hills student's essay explored how corporate social responsibility can become incorporated into the Australian business psyche.
He believes Australia's response to the tsunami disaster shows it is in the Australian psyche to give. "I believe most Australians feel there is more to business enterprise than the profit motive."
Tan won $2000 and the North Parramatta based school received $3000 towards a learning resource or a school community project.