Thursday, 6 August, 2026
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Enchanted light forest Casey Fields Primary School transformed into an Enchanted Forest for two nights, displaying a semester’s worth of artwork by students from Prep to Year 6. Art teachers Nelly Simpson and Casey Howard created the immersive exhibition, which featured colourful installations inspired by nature and fantasy. Hundreds of families attended, celebrating students’ creativity and confidence. Full story page 10
Preps are looking at the artwork they have prepared for the immersive installation. L-R: Oshi, Aayat, Victor and Kavish. (Gary Sissons: 568344)
A survivor’s story By Violet Li Family violence has cast a shadow over the South East. Star News spoke to a family violence survivor Mia (*not her real name) about the abuse she endured and the struggle to find safety, housing and financial support after leaving. After years of police reports, intervention or-
ders, Child Protection involvement and specialist family violence support, Mia said she and her young daughter still have no permanent home they can safely return to. She had been told the wait for public housing could take years. According to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH), the expected waiting time for a priority allocation due to family violence in 2025-26 was 18.1 months. Waiting times
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depend on property availability and demand in the areas an applicant chooses. Meanwhile, her estranged husband, who allegedly strangled her with a hammer and poured petrol on himself and her home earlier this year, was released from custody after receiving a 90day prison sentence that had already been served. Mia’s ordeal comes as the South East continues to confront the devastating consequences of
family violence. Not that far away in Clyde North, mother-of-two Brooke Stephens was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and later died, with her partner later charged with murder and remanded in custody. Hundreds gathered at a vigil on Sunday 2 August to remember Ms Stephens, where friends declared that no woman should ever feel unsafe in her own home. Full story pages 12-13
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