Young Musician

Nomination forms for 2009 now available: 

RYLA Information and Application Form

The form for applications for Spring 09 RYLA is now available on-line in Word or PDF format.

The following information pack is available for Candidates and Parents  in Word    or PDF format

The following are notes for Rotary Clubs wishing to participate in Word  or PDF format

RYLA Report, November 2008

What has 26 heads, 52 legs, 52 arms, 52 eyes all wrapped in assortment of woolly hats and gloves ?

The answer? 26 young people from across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire (UK) who took part in the local Rotary Youth Leadership Award recently held at The Whitehall Outdoor pursuits centre at Buxton.

What is RYLA then? First of all Bakewell Rotary is part of a larger Area called District 1220 which roughly speaking is Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire – ok so far?

The Rotary Youth Leadership Award is a training programme for young people organised and run by by Rotarians from the District in conjunction with the instructors and staff from The Whitehall Activity Centre.

The young people are selected and invited to attend this an exciting adventure weekend.

The RYLA programme enables young people to improve leadership and communication skills. To develop a sense of responsibility, share experiences and increase their own self confidence whilst having fun and making friends and that’s just for starters……

The teams were split in to small groups of 8/9 for the weekend with a qualified instructor supported by a Rotarian who is there for help and support to the teams.

They do this by a series of adventurous activities which this autumn started Friday night hiking from an unknown place with the instructions to get back to base!!!-( how would you cope being dropped off in the dark – no sure where you are and asked to find your way back to the centre!!!) a lesson in who’s responsibility was it to pick up the torch was soon learned!

Saturday dawned fair(ish) and a group took on the adventure of zip and high wires which roughly translated mean zipping along at height through the trees along a wire and clambering up a high wire ladder commonly know as Jacobs Ladder. Out intrepid adventures were well harnessed and under full supervision as they tested themselves and shouted words of encouragement to their team members.

Raft building was an experience that brought lots of fun and laughter with the excitement of rowing their own built raft on a local reservoir and hoped to get back to dry land without it breaking up. Reliance on your team knowing how to tie barrels together was a lesson in faith!!

Caving on Sunday for some brought its own sense of adventure as our intrepid RYLA teams ventured underground to experience the ‘wonderment’ of crawling and scrambling through rocks and water – did I mention the water was just a wee bit cold? lots of encouragement from each other as they wriggled and giggled their way to clamber out to the outside world.

Suspended in mid air from a harness for abseiling brought more adventure and a sense of achievement from our young people who though not quite up to SAS standard still managed to give a very good impression of achievement.

The group learnt more about Rotary and what is does both locally and internationally on Saturday evening when Joyce Buxton of Bakewell Rotary gave an introduction to the Aqua box project and to the amazement of some demonstrated what is packed in to these life saving boxes and highlighted how the box and its contents were a vital aid in ravaged countries and the work of Rotarians who supported and ran the project.

Sunday tea time saw the weekend draw to a close with certificates presented, new friends made, new skills learnt and new adventures achieved. For our 26 young people life may just never be quite the same again.

A collection of photos are available in the Photo Gallery

Kim Armstrong (Sherwood Sunrisers) & Rita Hickin ( Bakewell)

Article by David Fish, December 3rd 2008
PDF version available

Youth Opportunities Newsletter

A Newsletter for Youth Opportunities Chairmen and Interested Rotarians in District 1220

District Conference 2008

For those of you who had the good fortune to attend our district conference at Scarborough, there were 2 events which showcased the Youth Opportunities programme.

On Saturday, October 4th there was a Ready, Steady, Cook slot with young Adam Jones, winner of the District Young Chef competition 2008 and Tom Souter, from District 1040, who won the national competition. Both lads were assisted and supervised by Chesterfield chef Nick Buckingham who has his own restaurant in Chesterfield, but remains a director of the Cavendish Hotel, Baslow, where he first became well known. I thought the participation of Alex Trelinski was vital to conveying everything to the audience.

On Sunday October 5th a team of 13 year olds, all girls, from Scalby School, a Scarborough secondary school, performed a Rotary Youth Speaks debate, which was warmly received by Conference delegates. Both these events showed a welcome co-operation with District 1040 and my opposite number, Tony Jordan in that district.

We shall endeavour to do something similar in Llandudno next year and again in Southport in 2010.

I feel we should endeavour to video the events next time and would welcome contact from any Rotarian who could do that or gain sponsorship enabling us to have the recording done professionally.

At District Assembly, I heard from the Rotary club of Derby a little about their work with Young Carers and of course the Derby Young Carers gained one of the Young Citizens of The Year awards nationally. I met Sally Elliott from Derby and her colleague Sonia Flint from Chesterfield who told me of their work and needs.

Of course, they sometimes need money, but also volunteers, mentors and facilitators and there is a crossover between Youth Opportunities and Community and Vocational Service and I shall be discussing the way forward with Sandra Morrey, District Community and Vocational Service chairman.

Below is a resume sent to me by Sally Elliott of Young Carers, which operates under the Action for Children charity.

Young carers are young people who provide regular and substantial help to another person, usually a parent or sibling who are affected by long term illness, disability, mental ill health or with issues associated with drug or alcohol misuse.

In Derbyshire and Derby City, support is offered to young carers through a project managed by Children’s Charity, Action for Children.

The project aims to provide 1:1 support to young carers, provide group activities, workshops and organise and provide residential breaks and holidays.

The project currently works with over 180 young people living throughout the county and city. There are project bases in Derby, Chesterfield and Whaley Bridge.

64/66 Beaufort Street, Chaddesden, Derby, DE21 6AY, Tel: 01332 370430, Fax: 01332 381616, email: youngcarers.derbyshire@actionforchildren.org.uk

32a Newbold Road, Chesterfield, S41 7PH, Tel: 01246 207752, email: yc.chesterfield@actionforchildren.org.uk

Action for Children supports and speaks out for the most vulnerable children and young people in the UK.

Sally Elliott suggested I met her husband David, based in Nottingham and we will set up a new meeting in October or November to look at helping other vulnerable youngsters, other than Young Carers.

Our first competition final will be held at Riddings on Saturday February 14th 2009.This is Rotary Youth Speaks and I hope we can have another good competition.

We now have 17 clubs involved in the Rotary Young Chef competition. There will now be two finals, the winner of each going forward to the regional competition on Saturday March 7th 2009. The first, involving Peak and Sherwood clubs/schools will be held at Heritage Specialist School, Clowne on Saturday February 21st from 10 am. The second involving Central / Derwent / Erewash / Trent will take place at Chesterfield College on Thursday February 26th 2009.

Finally, for this newsletter, a note from Hannah Pearce, who tells her Youth Exchange story of yesteryear.

I was lucky enough to enjoy a Rotary School Year exchange in San Juan, Argentina between 2000 and 2001. I was 18 when I set off half way across the world and in retrospect had no idea what I was getting myself into. When I the opportunity arose for a Rotary Exchange, I jumped at the chance as I’d been introduced to various exchange students through my brother’s experience, dad’s Rotary involvement, and we even hosted a couple. By talking to them, I realised that I wanted to take full advantage of the offer. If you’re going to do something – do it well. So with that in mind I decided that I wanted to go somewhere that I wouldn’t necessarily have the opportunity to. I also thought it would be a great chance to learn another language – yet I didn’t realise how difficult that would be, but it did bring huge benefits. So I plumped for Argentina, land of the gaucho, tango and Fray Bentos. (Youth Opps Chairman’s note: Fray Bentos is and always has been in Uruguay!)

I arrived after 18 hours of travelling to a country thousands of miles from home; a place I knew very little about and I couldn’t even speak the language. One month in and I was incredibly home sick and was struggling with communication and that made me so dependent on other people, getting a bus and school work was just impossible. So, I decided to be proactive and plough more of my time into making new friends, learning the language and seizing as many of the opportunities offered me.

From visits to the opera with one of the city’s richest families, to camping out in the dessert and meeting an eccentric hermit, I saw as much as I could of the country, the culture and the people. I learnt that the old cliché is indeed true; you get out what you put in. The next time I did a mental check I was in Brazil for a Christmas family holiday, laughing and joking with friends and family, I’d got my independence back again and I was embracing the whole experience – I even remember my first ever dream in Spanish!

It’s such a fantastic opportunity to really experience a country. The guidebooks and tourist trails just don’t get under the skin. Rotary actively encourages you to meet as many different people and visit as much of the country as possible to help you understand them and for them to understand you. And yes I was constantly asked about the Falklands war (I was born right in April 1982 incidentally) and Diego Maradonna. I learnt a lot about their perspectives, political views, struggles and way of living. And I’d like to think they learnt from me too – especially that I don’t know everyone in England, not everybody lives in London and I don’t have tea with the queen daily.

I fell in love with the people, culture and country of Argentina. My confidence soared and I returned home with an incredible sense of pride and a stronger personal identity. It often feels like it was a dream and didn’t really happen to me, but I can’t escape the fact that all of my experiences over there moulded what I’ve become and where I’m going. I ended up changing my university degree to incorporate Spanish and that opened doors for me. I did some translation work for the British equestrian junior team, have been to several conferences and exhibitions and I can now communicate with over a third of the world’s population. I made some incredible friends from all over the globe and am still in contact with them all. In San Juan there were 10 other exchange students from all over the world and we shared our own cultures too. We keep getting together when we can – my host sister came to visit on her European tour, several exchange friends have visited and even spent Christmas with my family. My Rotary exchange even affected the way I see politics and the world as a whole.

I can say without doubt that my year in Argentina was the best and worst time of my life and had a profound affect on me. And I would do it again tomorrow if I could.

Hannah Pearce

I am still looking for a club contribution to this newsletter. Has anybody got stories to tell, experiences to relate? Please let’s hear some feedback and any queries you have.

I got one query this week: the date of the Rotary District 1220 Young Musicians Concert at the Assembly Rooms, Derby. It is definitely Sunday May 10th 2009 so the date in the district directory is incorrect!

Note from the Webmaster: The date was changed by the committee after the directory went to print. For this and other directory errata please visit the following APAC page: apac.rotary1220.org/directory-errata.asp

David Fish, December 3rd 2008
 

Rotary Young Citizen Awards 2009

The achievements of young people are being celebrated with the Rotary Young Citizen Awards.

Rotary Young Citizen is a project conceived by Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) in association with BBC News to celebrate the positive citizenship and vital responsibilities assumed by many young people in these islands.

Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) are again looking for nominations for the Rotary Young Citizen Awards, launched in association with BBC News in 2007. The awards recognise young people (under the age of 25) who have demonstrated their commitment to citizenship through working with Rotary.

Five awards of a trophy, a cash prize of £500 and a visit to BBC News at TV Centre in London will be made to five Rotary related projects involving young people working in their communities to improve the lot of others. Especially attractive projects will be those involving young people helping young people. The awardees may be an individual or a group.

Ideas of projects that could gain awards are:

• Interactors in the inner city raising money to buy ingredients & then cook and serve breakfasts for fellow students, whose parents can’t afford to give them a proper breakfast

• Young people raising money for the Wheelchair Foundation to supply young people abroad with a wheelchair

• A young disabled person starring at sport or helping other young people

• A youth exchange student doing charitable work abroad

• Award to a school for filling a very large number of shoeboxes or similar.

We are working in conjunction with BBC News for a third year and the winning projects will form the basis for a mini-series of reports for television. In addition the awardees will be featured at the Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland Annual Conference in Edinburgh in April 2009, with a Live Awards programme on BBC News. Award recipients will need to be in Edinburgh to take part in this programme on Saturday morning, 26th April, 2009.

Nomination forms are available from the Secretariat at Alcester, or download it from this page or RIBI Youth Opportunities pages (www.rotary-ribi.org).

Nominations forms should be returned to the Secretariat as soon as possible and before 31st January, 2009; clearly marked “Rotary Young Citizen Awards”.

Fuller information, including past winners is available here.

For more information, please contact either:

Robert Morris, RIBI Youth Opportunities Chairman on 07971 830394, dalbyheights@ntlworld.com or
Eve Conway, RIBI Communications Committee on 07850 357842, eveconway@hotmail.co.uk .

Article by David Fish, September 10th 2008
PDF version available

Youth Opportunities Newsletter

A Newsletter for Youth Opportunities Chairmen and Interested Rotarians in District 1220

ROTARY YOUTH SPEAKS 2009

No sooner was the last newsletter out than the Rotary Youth Speaks rules for the 2009 competition were posted on the RIBI (Rotary in Britain and Ireland) website under Youth Opportunities.

As stated in the last newsletter, Rotarian Alan Langton of the Mapperley club can advise and assist and will be contacting all clubs during August.

Rotary Young Photographer and Rotary Young Writer have also had their rules published and guidance for club and district competitions follows.

Both competitions will use the RI President’s theme for the year, Make Dreams Real (for the world’s children). The Rotary Young Photographer competition is to encourage young people to:

• Experiment with photography

• Use either digital or traditional methods of photography

• Show interpretation of a given topic

• Express their ideas through the medium of photography.

There are three age categories, with ages taken on 31st August 2008.

JUNIOR: Aged 7 – 10 years   
INTERMEDIATE: Aged 11 – 13 years
SENIOR: Aged 14 – 17 years.

Entrants will be asked to submit a single print, either colour or black and white, no larger than A4 size. In addition each entrant may explain in no more than 50 words, what inspired them to take the photograph. All entries must be accompanied by an official entry form which will be downloadable from the District 1220 website).

A panel of judges will be appointed. They will view the entries in each age category and consider:

• Technical Merit,

• Content and Composition

• Imagination & Style

The judges will award a prize to the “best photograph” in each age category and one to “the best overall photograph”. At the judges’ discretion, Highly Commended may be awarded.

The Club Competition, to be completed by 1st April 2009 and the winner in each age category sent to the District Organiser by that date. The District Competition, to be completed by 1st May 2009 and the winner in each age category sent to the RIBI Organiser by that date.

The Rotary Young Writer

The Rotary Young Writer competition will follow similar lines.

This competition provides an opportunity for Rotary to encourage excellence in writing among children in their local community. The competition aims to provide a mechanism for young people to participate, using their writing skills, imagination and creativity. It can be targeted at schools and youth groups.

This is a free competition for young people and is set on three levels, with ages to be taken on 31st August 2008.Entries may be either prose or poetry.

1. Junior 7 – 10 year old – maximum words is 500

2. Intermediate 11 – 13 year old – maximum words is 800

3. Senior 14 – 17 year old – maximum words is 1600

The theme for 2009 is “Make Dreams Real”, with students choosing their own topic to work on. Entries should not exceed the number of words above for prose and 400 for poetry. All entries must be received by the Rotary Club “Young Writer” coordinator by the end of February accompanied by a completed entry form, which will be possible to download from the district 1220 website.

Entry forms require certification from a parent, guardian, or teacher that the entry is exclusively the entrant’s own work. Parental consent is needed if a student is under 18. Judging will be done by a panel of three, with at least one independent person; perhaps an author, teacher, journalist or similar and for the Club competition the Club President. For the RIBI Final, all judges will be independent and have relevant experience.

Entries will be judged on:-

• Use of Language

• Vocabulary

• Consistency of subject/story

• Interest

• Ability to complete work in the required number of words

At District Conference this year, there will be a cooking competition between our District 1220 winner, Adam Jones and young Thomas Sowter from District 1040 who was the National winner. This will take the form of a Ready Steady Cook competition rather than the usual Rotary Young Chef format, so as to retain the audience’s interest and attention.

Also at Conference, there will be a realistic Rotary Youth Speaks presentation from a team from District 1040. 2009 rules will be applied.

I have a school in Bolsover interested in RotaKids and I shall be developing this idea in September with the school. District 1130 have had some success with this, using recycling projects to gain the interests of their RotaKids. As ever, this appeals to both Citizenship and PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education).

Also, in my own area, Heritage Specialist School, Clowne, has run a series of events to raise money for a ShelterBox. They have also filled Aquaboxes during the last school year.

David Fish, September 10th 2008
 

Newsletter by David Fish, July 27th 2008