Rotary Stars Awards 2023

This year, seven schools participated in the scheme - Scoill Phurt le Moirrey, Victoria Road School (Castletown), Manor Park (Douglas) Anagh Coar (Douglas), Arbory School, Ballasalla School      and Ashley Hill School (Onchan). 

Not everyone can come top of the class, or be a great sportsman like Mark Cavendish, but we can all work to help make our community a better place.  This is something the Rotary Clubs on the Island all strive to do, reflecting the Rotary motto “Service Above Self”. Clubs work to help both the local community and those in need internationally, such as earthquake and war victims.

To encourage young people to recognise the importance of doing what they can to help our community, the Island Rotary Clubs have introduced an award scheme called “Rotary Stars” for children in the island’s primary schools. The award goes to children in each age group selected by their teachers for contributing towards helping others.  This may take many forms, such as raising funds for a charity, standing up for fellow classmates or perhaps helping poorly friends or relatives. Each winner receives a certificate, a badge and a book or gift token.

Recognising pupils that have “gone the extra mile” to help others encourages everyone to think how they, too, can do more, and demonstrates that you don’t have to be super-clever or good at sports to be considered a valued member of the group. The Awards are presented at a special school assembly; many recipients receive warm applause from their peers, confirming that they, too, recognise their efforts.

The awards are very well received by participating schools, who see them reinforcing their own core values.

 The reasons for making the award are varied, but here are just a few examples:

1.      She is a thoughtful and reliable young lady who helps organise the classroom and our learning environment. She is always willing to help others and supports her friends with empathy and kindness.

2.     She is a super kind and considerate ray of sunshine. She greets us every morning with a beaming smile and a happy “good morning”. She worked very hard litter picking around Castletown and the school after our conservation talk from Manx Birdlife Trust. 

3.      He is a very active member of the school participating in both pupil council and eco-council.  He represents all four of our values.  He is always kind to others and encourages others to grow and thrive, he is always curious about the world around him and how he can make it a better place, he treats everything with care and respect, both with what he says and how he acts, and he is incredibly honest.  He lights up our school and helps to make it shine.

4.     She has gone above and beyond to help her local community.  She has been helping her elderly neighbours with their gardening and doing jobs that they are finding a bit tricky. 

5.      For a general enthusiasm for school life, regularly making positive decisions that demonstrate he is a wonderful role model to those around him.  He can often be a ‘peacekeeper’ in feuds, and this helps everyone in school.

6.     For his incredible fundraising efforts.  He took on the Three Peaks challenge in the UK and, in doing so, raised £2170 which he is donating to the Friends of Ashley Hill School charity.  He wanted to ‘give something back’ to the school after 7 years here – an incredibly kind and generous effort from a caring and considerate young man!

Rotary President Mike Johnson said, “It is important to recognise young people who contribute to their community and family, and we believe Rotary Stars encourages everyone – teachers and parents as well as the children – to appreciate how important such actions can be.”