A special project of the Rotary Club of the Hills-Kellyville is an annual writing competition for year 6 students in schools across the Hills area and surrounding districts.
This year’s writing competition culminated in an awards night held on September 9th at The Lyceum in the Castle Hill RSL Club well attended by 165 people. The evening was well attended with school pupils, their teachers and parents as well as special guests and Rotary Club members.
Special guests included Mark Taylor MP (State Member for Winston Hills), The Hon Mark Hodges (State Member for Kellyville), Mitchell Blue (Deputy Mayor – Hills Shire Council), Dr Michelle Byrne (Emeritus Mayor – Hills Shire Council), Frank De Masi (Councillor – Hills Shire Council) and Greg Keighran (Youth Chair Rotary District 9685).
This year marks 19 years of the Rotary Writing Competition which has gone from strength to strength with up to 20 schools participating. The Rotary Club of The Hills-Kellyville is proud to recognise the effort and achievements of the students who participated in this popular annual competition that primary schools are eager to participate in.
“The purpose of the competition is to promote Literacy among Year 6 Students in the Hills district. The title of this year’s narrative was ‘the value of volunteering in our community’. There were so many incredible entries from students across 12 schools who participated that it was a challenge for the judges to select top entrants.
The Rotary Writing Competition continues to be a highlight of our Rotary Year because it promotes literacy as an important part of our Rotary Youth encouragement program” said John van den Burg, President of the Rotary Club of the Hills-Kellyville
Schools represented in this year’s competition included Public Schools (Bella Vista, Crestwood, Ironbark Ridge, Jasper Road, Kellyville & Matthew Pearce) as well as Independent Schools (Our Lady of The Angels, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of The Rosary, Rouse Hill Anglican College, St Angela’s & St Michael’s).
The top placed students and their schools were:
- 1st place: Aurora Lui from St Michael’s Primary School for “Our Library”.
- 2nd place: Risha Suman from Ironbark Ridge Public School for “Sometimes it all pays off”.
- 3rd place: Darsh Shah from Bella Vista Primary School for “An Elderly Encounter”.
- Highly Commended: Arzoo Kajani from Jasper Road Public School for “James”.
- Highly Commended: Isabella Logarta-Scott from St Angela’s Catholic Primary School for “Homeless”.
The winning schools were:
- 1st place: St Michael’s Primary School, Baulkham Hills
- 2nd place: Jasper Road Public School, Baulkham Hills
- 3rd place: Bella Vista Public School, Bella Vista
The top placed students and schools received awards, trophies and monetary prizes thanks to our patrons of the awards and Five Senses Education. We are also grateful to Club Grants NSW via Castle Hill RSL in supporting The Hills-Kellyville Rotary Club to host this event, as through their generosity, a large number of school representatives, parents, and students were able to participate in the Presentation Night.
The Rotary Club of the Hills-Kellyville has had a long association with youth programs in The Hills, further afield in Australia as well as overseas. These include a breakfast program at Bourke Public School, Rotary Youth Exchange programs, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, The Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment and the Model United Nations Assembly but to name a few.
Other works of the Club include local community events and fund raising for numerous programs far and wide, from the Hills area to outback Australia to overseas communities with specific needs. To be part of an inspired group that is making a difference, contact the club though our website or Facebook page.
