Youth Night 2021 and 2 new members

Youth Night.

Students and parents attended our club meeting held on Tuesday 4^th may at TOTEM club in Balgowlah. Four Mackellar students who were supported by our club talked about their experiences and impressions of the RYPEN 2021 program/journey and gave very interesting and impressive speeches.

The four students (and parents) were:

·      Ella Hudson-McEwan (accompanied by parents Jennifer Hudson and Angus McEwan)

·      Olive Anderson (with Cristina Anderson)

·      Cora Campbell (with Emma Campbell)

·      Siena Rowland (with Jan Rowland)

They were accompanied by two teachers from Mackellar; Antwanet Karadonis and Jenny Maconachie.

Olive, Ella, Cora, Siena with President Lindy Myers

 

Youth Director, Ian Grayburn explained that RYPEN is the Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment and uses theory and practice along with experimental learning, reflection and goal setting to maximise their application and attendees leave with a tool kit of resilience, mindfulness, gratitude and social innovation methods that we know will help them navigate adolescence and beyond.

 

RYPEN is normally held at Narrabeen at the Sydney Academy of Sports and Recreation facility over a weekend, however was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid and was held in 2021 via ZOOM with a specially devised program.

 

The ZOOM based RYPEN program for 2021 was developed and managed by dedicated Rotary Team of youth facilitators who put a huge amount of hard work and volunteer hours and incorporated new and interactive activities along a 5-day journey for almost 40 students. Real time monitoring and evaluation allowed the program to be adapted to suit various needs and requests; for example, a chat room was added for organic conversations, a silent room for quite time, and extra break time for resting of one’s eye and stretching the legs.

Olive, Ella and Ian Grayburn

Each student spoke about how they had very positive experiences and valuable lessons; became more confident, better equipped to undertake a leadership role, goal setting, have undergone self-reflection and more able to deal with stress and adversity. These skills and attributes will go well beyond school and prove exceptionally valuable in later life.

 

From results of the survey of all RYPEN 2021 participants:

·      100% strongly agreed that they feel like they developed their leadership skills

·      97% -development of teamwork skills

·      97% - development of ability to work with new people

·      91% - development of confidence

·      91% - development desire to take on leadership role

·      88% -development of self-reflection

·      71% - developed their ability to handle stress/adversity

 

left to right: Ian Grayburn, Ella Hudson-McEwan, Olive Anderson, Lindy Myers, Cora Campbell, Siena Rowland

Everyone was most impressed by the students and their professionalism in outlining their experiences and congratulated them on their successful completion of the program. Special thanks to Ashleigh Griffin, Head Teacher Secondary Studies at Mackellar for coordinating the students' attendance.

 

New Club Members:

Thanks to the efforts of our Membership team, two new members joined the club:

 

Michael (Mike) Molins is a recently retired patent attorney and engineer, living in Seaforth with his wife, Carla. He had previously been a member of Manly Sunrise Rotary where he was Membership Director. However, the early morning meetings did not fit well with his recent retirement. Mike is committed to service in our community, with a strong preference for "hands-on" involvement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WELCOME MIKE!

 

Rhonda Scotter came to us as a result of our voucher program with other Northern Beaches Clubs, where volunteers in front-line services during the Covid pandemic were given vouchers to be used in local businesses. As a Lifeline Telephone Counsellor, Rhonda and her colleagues have faced a significantly increased demand over this period, and she became one of a number of Lifeline voucher recipients. This encouraged Rhonda to contact us to learn more of what we do. She is especially keen to contribute to our work in the local community.

 

 

 

 

 

WELCOME RHONDA

 

 

 

 

 Other happenings:

Condobolin trip is being planned (possibly early June) - more information at next meeting.

Northern Beaches Police Awards. The club will support is program since Forestville can no longer undertake it.

StreetWork: Mike Mollins introduced a guest, Margaret Murden, who outlined StreetWork, a program that assists and mentors young people aged 13 to 18 years who have experienced trouble with courts or police or a criminal record, homelessness and dysfunctional family situations. The one-to-one mentoring that is provided equips these young people to re-enter the community and should be evaluated for support by our club, especially members who prefer to give their time and experience to kids in trouble. This support of 'at risk' young people helps turn their lives around.

Next meeting: Northern Beaches Tunnel presentation at Balgowlah RSL: Please ring TONY to book if attending in person.