Welcome to Issue 16 of the weekly bulletin for the Rotary Club of Bendigo Sandhurst. Find out about our upcoming events, who our guest speakers are, what we covered during the last weekly meeting and more!
Sat 15 Oct BBQ Beach Party Race Day Bendigo Racecourse
Weds 26 Oct 9 - 4 BBQ Bendigo Cup. Bendigo Racecourse. No morning meeting. Contact Kev if you can help.
November
Weds Nov 9 9am Club visit to Huntly CFA. No morning meeting
Fri Nov 11- Sun Nov 13 Catering Swap Meet Weekend
Wed 23 Nov 6pm RCoBS AGM at Bendigo Club, 22 Park St, Strathdale followed by:
6.30 for 7pm Foundation dinner. No morning meeting
Wed 30 Joint industry visit with RC Bendigo South to Engineering and Technology Centre,
LaTrobe University
December
Thu Dec 1: RYLA Rotary Club Dinner Night Camp Getaway.
Fri Dec 2: 9am BBQ Food Share Golf Day Belvoir Park Golf Course
Sat Dec 3: RYLA Final day catering BBQ lunch Camp Getaway
Fri Dec 9 evening. Time TBC. Catering Anglicare Christmas party for volunteer foster carers
Sun Dec 11 BBQ Christmas Party Race Day
Weds 14 Dec Details TBA Club Christmas function - evening event. No morning meeting
2023
February
Sat Feb 4 DG Event. Details TBC
March/April
Barham weekend Friday 31st March - Sunday 2nd April. Some onsite cabins available. Need to book early.
Contact Barham Caravan Park 5453 2553
Week
19-Oct
26-Oct
2-Nov
9-Nov
Speaker
Bill Reid
Alma Doepel Restoration
NO MEETING
Kristen Wilson
Golden Square netballer
Industry visit
Meeting Location
Bendigo Tennis Centre
Bendigo Cup
BBQ
Bendigo Tennis Centre
Huntly CFA 9am
Chair
Neville Sharpe
Barb Mitchell
Set-Up 6.45am
Stewart Annan
Philip Britton
Welcome
Maurice Woodburn
John Cannon
Raffle
Karen Borserio
Toni Carrington
A FRIENDLY REMINDER FROM PETER ELLIOTT:
Could members please pay any moneys owing to the account directly and include your name and details of what the payment is for in the transfer note/reference area.
RCBS banking details:
BSB 633000
Account Number 101145373
Cheers
Peter Elliott on behalf of Nick
President's report
Hello again, attempting to get the newsletter to you all a little earlier this week.
Wonderful to have Jo and Amy as our guest speakers, updating us on the school's activities at Lightning Reef Primary School. They are extremely thankful for our hands-on work in the garden, mentoring and financial support with their projects.
On Saturday, a sunny, sunny day (can you remember what they are?) the Railway celebrated 160yrs of rail in Bendigo. Such a fun filled, free, festive, community family event. Children’s activities, sample bags, coffees, cold drinks, BBQ snags and burgers, a miniature train station and party tattoos for the little and big kids! Very much enjoyed by all who attended. And a very big thank you to our committed BBQ team, a great effort.
Bendigo South had the James Morrison and the Bendigo Brass Band Concert at Ulumbarra Theatre. An extremely talented musician and brilliant entertainer. The club sponsored him to run two workshops with senior students on the Sunday. Good numbers attended and a very enjoyable afternoon.
Monday a meeting with Bendigo President Peter re the Foundation Dinner on 23rd November. Our club is combining with theirs for the organization of this event. The invitations will not be out until next week now after some final detailing.
Tuesday night was a return to the Eaglehawk Ys Menette's meeting to report back on the NSW flood situation and inform the club how the distribution of their donation was spent.
Chris delivered many of the long-awaited uniforms today, they look terrific, so fresh. Money to be paid directly into our account with your item and name please. No invoices are necessary. I think Ned volunteered to parade his apron at our next meeting!!!
Finally, Rochester is a major concern with flooding. Residents were evacuated this week, amid sandbagging to homes. And The Court House where the Rotary Club holds many functions and has devoted numerous hours to the community gardens, has also been affected. Please keep them in your thoughts and all the people in possible flood areas.
To those who are unwell, we are thinking of you and your families. Please contact us if you need any assistance. And to our travellers, again, please be safe on the roads.
“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with CHOCOLATE!”
A great day at Bendigo Railway Station celebrating 160 years of rail in Bendigo.
Service with a smile!
The brilliant James Morrison in action. The concert was followed by two special workshops, thanks to Bendigo South RC.
Guest speakers
The guest speakers this week were Jo Ryan, Principal, Lightning Reef Primary School and Amy Gillett, Leading Teacher, Wellbeing Co-ordinator.
Jo began by sketching the school demographic, including the various ethnicities and circumstances of both parents and children. The school is acknowledged to be the most disadvantaged school in Bendigo and Jo pointed to generational unemployment, low education and language difficulties amongst parents, as well as a significant percentage of children in out of home care, by way of explanation. Only 14 of the 160 student families are NOT on Health Cards.
Lightning Reef has one third of its students from the Karen community whose parents have never been to school. It is a source of great pride (and emotion) to her that these children are now the leaders in the school hierarchy, and that other students look to them for leadership.
She described how the children have very limited access to, and experience of, what others take for granted. Taking them on excursions around Bendigo and elsewhere, they express amazement and wonder as they rarely travel out of home. They also have very limited opportunities to mix with others, don’t play sport (other than the Karen) and rarely mix with other adults, especially other adult role models. Our Monday gardening team is appreciated for this.
Amy then spoke of the Passions and Pathways program. This is a Years 5 & 6 10-week study program of in-class workshops, workplace visits, talking to employers and working people to gain insights into what jobs are available. They also tour TAFE and University campuses to experience tertiary learning. These are all aimed at building self-confidence, aspiration, and communication skills.
Both Jo and Amy were thrilled to say that they have students at university for the first time who have come through this program …as they should be!
They were very grateful and full of praise for our support of their school. There is no doubt that we can and should continue to make a difference.
We were privileged to have Ashraf Qorbani along with his sisters Masoom and Liloma as guests. Ashraf was born with cerebral palsy in Pakistan. Ashraf’s father escaped the Taliban to Australia when his family were small and spent the next 5 years attempting to bring his family here. Fortunately, this became possible some years ago.
Ashraf now attends Bendigo’s wonderful Special Developmental School. Our guest speaker was his principal, Kirshy McAinch. We were also fortunate to also have Vern and Bec Hardie present, who both spoke enthusiastically of the association between Connected Circus and the Special Developmental School.
From the Bendigo Times:
BENDIGO Special Developmental School has teamed up with the Connected Circus to enter two films in the Focus on Ability Short Film Festival. The festival, run by disability service NOVA Employment, calls on entries from organisations, individuals and schools that tell the stories of people living with disabilities.
The Connected Circus has been working with 17 and 18-year-old students at BSDS for several years, and their film Living and Learning, focusing on their movement and digital technology program.
The other film Ashraf – A Lesson in Determination tells the story of refugee student, Ashraf Qorbani, and his participation in the program. Vern Hardie, who co-coordinates Connected Circus, said he was blown away by Qorbani’s willingness and confidence. “The determination we’ve seen in him, it goes right to the heart of what the film festival is all about, finding the ability in the disability,” he said.
“He has cerebral palsy and doesn’t speak much English. He gives everything a go. “We Gaffer Taped a gimbal to his wheelchair, and he just went around filming content… Ashraf’s always a pleasure to work with, it doesn’t matter what it is.”
Vern said the circus’ program at the school gives students a chance to work with props and technology, while learning collaboration skills, resilience, and persistence. “It makes us so happy for these kids to realise they have the opportunity and the ability to try anything, there’s nothing beyond them,” he said.
“Some of the students we work with are non-verbal, but we can still get them learning, putting tripods up, setting up cameras, filming each other and using greenscreens.
“It allows them to work together, they build resilience and the art of persistence, that if you keep on trying you will get better at something.” To view the films, visit you tube /J5DPETXeX6E and youtu.be /_uJ9LJN8frE. (Plagiarised from the Bendigo Times September 3, 2022, by Jonathon Magrath)
As you would be aware, the Rotary Club of Eaglehawk has supported the local arm of the Stroke Association of Victoria for some years now by providing them with facilities at our clubrooms for their operations.
The fantastic service provided by SAV has now expanded and this week moved into alternative facilities.
Past DG Grant Hocking, a member of the Board of Stroke Association of Victoria, has asked me to invite your club to attend the official opening of the new facilities. So please find attached a copy of the invitation to the opening of the Bendigo Stroke Support Centre.
