The 190 grade six students participating in the Rotary Junior Community Award in its 30th year are a credit to their schools, families and wider community.
The program demands significant commitment, requiring students to develop planning, time management, persistence, resilience and initiative. For many young participants, it also requires boldness as they connect with community members and navigate new situations.
The core curriculum requires careful scheduling, consisting of 10 weeks of voluntary community service (one hour weekly), 10 weeks of physical activity (two hours weekly), and 10 weeks dedicated to learning or refining a new skill (one hour weekly).
Complementing these commitments is a social experience module designed to give students a broader view of civic life. Tasks include attending a community commemoration and meeting, exploring diverse spiritual beliefs, attending an arts performance, experiencing another culture and identifying a local environmental issue to present on.
Progress and reflection for each task are documented through reports, posters and presentations in a dedicated Rotary Junior Community Award diary.
In a landmark first for the program’s 30-year history, the East Gippsland Specialist School is participating through a tailored model, enabling students of all abilities to complete tasks and engage meaningfully with the broader community.
To mark the 30th anniversary of the initiative – originally founded in Bairnsdale by the late principal and Rotarian David Hawkey — the Rotary Club of Mitchell River is supplying each participant with a commemorative cap to wear while completing community work.
Organisers also extended special acknowledgment to former secondary school principal John Butler, who has remained a mainstay of the program since its inception.
Community members interested in supporting or assisting with the program via the Rotary Club of Mitchell River can contact club secretary Michael Nelson
