Noel Phelan & Valda Andrews (Reserves: Sally O'Neill & Peter Fehon)
Set up & pack up:
John Bolton & Jon Gidney (Reserves: John Garrett & Michael Bartok)
Speakers & topic:
David Stickland - Neighbour Watch
Rotary Club Meeting 20 November 2018
Welcome
President Ranald welcomed all members and introduced our guests for the evening – Jacqui Taffel, our guest speaker and her associate Jenny Carrington, Pam Clifford, Joanne Triliva - a guest of Michael Bartok, and Clare Wilde - a guest of Chris Switzer.
Toast
Michael Bartok proposed a toast to the Rotary Club of Sydney, the oldest Club in the Sydney Metropolitan Area. The Club was chartered on 21 May, 1921 and has some 400 members. To accommodate the attendance requirements of the large number of members the Club meets four times a month but each meeting is at a different time of the day and has a different format. The Club has an impressive number of current projects which were detailed by Michael. He then formally proposed the toast which was duly honoured by all present.
Announcements
President Ranald reminded all members that they would have received a request from RI to complete an online survey as to their volunteering during the past month. He urged all members to complete the survey as soon as possible.
Rob Coote advised the members that the Club and the Benevolent Fund had donated a total of $8,720 from the money raised in the Club’s Drought Relief Appeal to the Western Queensland Drought Committee in Longreach, Queensland and this had been used by them to purchase food vouchers for distribution to families in need in the Longreach area affected by the drought. The Committee, in appreciation, had sent our Club a locally manufactured black teddy bear and Rob suggested that it should be raffled to raise some more funds for the Charities Account.
Eleanor Chevor reminded all present of the forthcoming ‘Clink for a Cause’ function and urged all those who had not as yet purchased tickets to do so forthwith.
President Ranald advised that P.E. Fay Petrou has undertaken the job of championing the cause of the Club’s attendance at the next District Conference in Newcastle in March 2019 and pointed out that the ‘early-bird’ savings on the registration fees for the Conference were due to expire in the very near future.
Jon Gidney advised that the Club’s Christmas Party is to be held on 15th December 2018 at the home of Helen Gulson.
Garth Carter advised that he had now obtained the required number of volunteers for the Mock Interviews at Willoughby Girls’ High School on Friday and thanked all those who had volunteered.
Mike Cox advised that during the course of the evening at ‘Clink for a Cause’ those present will be entertained by a recital by the opera singer Samantha Estaval.
Sergeant's Session
Michael Bartok stepped in as Acting Sergeant as a result of Fay’s absence and extracted money from the members, using quiz questions that he had used some 3 years ago when he was the official Sergeant.
P.P. Paul Sullivan auctioned a donated bottle of cognac and took a closing bid of $100.00 from Jon Gidney. The black teddy bear was then auctioned raising a final bid $76.00 from Bob Edwards.
Guest Speaker - Jacqui Taffel - Primary Ethics
P.P. Derek Matz introduced our guest speaker for the night, Jacqui Taffel. Jacqui is a features journalist and editor who has worked in radio and print and is currently Arts and Entertainment editor at the Wentworth Courier. However, she addressed the Club in her capacity of Co-ordinator of the Primary School Ethics Program at Cammeray Public School and would be assisted by her associate Jenny Carrington who is currently a teacher of Ethics at the School.
Jacqui started by detailing her time at Primary School as a child of two atheists dealing with scripture classes and attending scripture class instead of sitting in the library, not receiving any formal education. When her son started at Cammeray Primary School she investigated the ethics classes which had started as a result of an amendment of the Education Act in 2010. This had occurred after a prolonged campaign extending over 10 years and in spite of opposition from religious organisations. It was designed to promote in young children an understanding of ethical principles and reasoned discussion. She found that classes were available in 450 State schools in New South Wales and all children could attend if they so wished and that they would be taught by trained and dedicated volunteers. In Sydney the program is particularly popular in the North Shore and is expanding. An organisation called ‘Primary Ethics’ has been set up to properly train suitable volunteers as teachers of the program. As a result of her investigations she ultimately became the co-ordinator of the program at Cammeray Public School.
Jacqui also found that a couple of years ago, for political reasons, the schools were not able to notify enrolling parents of the availability of the program. However the imposition of the ban seemed to increase the public awareness of the program and so has had the opposite effect to that intended by the imposition of the ban.
The program and a prescribed syllabus are approved by the Department of Education and there is usually a teacher of the school in attendance during the weekly half-hour session. At Cammeray there are now 19 classes meeting each week covering all years from kindergarten to Year 6 with a total enrolment of about 400. The school does not have any child who is not attending scripture or the ethics course each week.
At this stage Jenny Carrington joined Jacqui and as a teacher in the program spoke of her involvement and the reception that she has received over the years of her teaching ethics. She was employed in the Public Service and took up this activity following her retirement. Her comments were all positive.
After questions Jacqui and Jenny were formally thanked by President Ranald. Jacqui drew the raffle and P.P. John Bolton held the lucky ticket.
The Rotary Club of Northbridge held its second successful Bridge Day on 30 August 2018. Eighty-four guests played a full day of Bridge and enjoyed a delicious morning tea and lunch with a glass of wine at Northbridge Golf Club.
Mayor Gail Giles-Gidney opened the event and spoke to the Bridge-players about Willoughby Council initiatives, including the upcoming Spring Fair. She then introduced speakers from the two worthy causes that benefit from this event. Firstly, Rotarian Barry Anderson described the Rotary Water Reticulation Project in East Timor and how an entire community will have access to clean, running water. Then Steve Jones spoke about Kids Like Brett, a local charity that donates life-saving medical equipment to children’s hospitals.
The Club raised $3,500.00 from ticket sales and a raffle with fabulous prizes including a beautiful quilt made by Elva Alma, family passes to the Maritime Museum, hair products and a voucher from Glamourpuss Salon and dinner vouchers for the Harbourside Restaurant.
Many of the guests attended for the second year in a row and are already looking forward to next year’s event for a delightful day of Bridge while raising funds for worthwhile local and international causes.
It hasn’t rained in many months ... worst drought since 1902! the crops are gone … the ground is parched, The sheep are gaunt - too weak to walk … a bale of hay … might do!
Farmers in many parts of New South Wales have reached desperation point!
They need YOUR help!
The Rotary Club of Northbridge
is raising much needed funds to assist our farmers stay on the land!
.PNG)
