Volume 69 | Issue 20 | 13th November 2024

 

The Bert Stevens Apprentice Scholarships have been awarded annually at the Box Hill Institute since 2005. These scholarships are named in honour of a much loved ,foundation member of our Club, Bert Stevens. Bert rose from leaving school at a very early age to become an apprentice butcher, later to run a very successful butcher shop in the North Balwyn village and become a leader in the Meat Industry in Victoria.

 

The presentation of all awards were carried out at a dinner in the Fountain’s Restaurant at the Box Hill campus on Wed 13^th of November. The successful candidates are chosen by the staff at the BHI and the two chosen apprentices were:

 

JOE PIGNATARO---Certificate III Carpentry, His citation read

Joe is making his mark studying a Certificate III in Carpentry, having developed a passion for woonwork at school. He is now turning his dreams into reality as he enters the workforce as a young apprentice.

Joe is to complete his apprenticeship next year when he finishes Certicate IV.

 

JESSICA WATSON—Certificate III in Floristry  Her citation read:

Jessica is a talented florist known for her attention to detail and creativity and she consistently produces work that impresses her teacher and her peers. She is a natural leader with a strong work ethic and she is set to go far in the industry.

 

I hope to be able to arrange for both our candidates to attend our Club meeting on the  4th of December so that the Club members are able to meet them and for them to thank our Club for our sponsorship.

 

Michael Blood

(Member of the Youth/Vocational Committee)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Adrian,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support of our recent event, on November 6. We were delighted to see you there, with Michael Blood.

On behalf of the Education CHANCES Foundation, I wanted to express my gratitude and provide an update to you and the members of the Rotary Club of Camberwell regarding where and how your generous donation of our organisation in late 2023 has made an impact.

 

Your donation has directly contributed to our scholarship program and directly impacted the lives of young people in Boroondara. Your generous donation of $10,000 funded nine scholarships in 2024. Each scholarship recipient nominates how their funds will be allocated alongside their school-based nominator at the time of application and, in response to their greatest needs to support their schooling and academic journey.

In 2024, the greatest need for our scholarship recipients has been laptops to complete and engage with their schooling and allow them access to their schoolwork to complete homework and assignments and prepare for assessments, particularly as they embark on senior secondary schooling. In addition to this, there has been a high demand amongst our scholarship recipients for uniforms, for school, for sporting endeavours with school and several examples of students pursuing early access to a school-based traineeship, where the right uniform is essential to pursue their pathway.

 

A powerful example of a student who has been supported through your generous donation by way of an Education CHANCES scholarship, has been a student in Year 12 at one of our partnering schools. This student completed several Year 12 subjects in 2023, whilst in Year 11, and obtained an ATAR in the high 90s.

 

The student completed additional Year 12 subjects in 2024 to better their ATAR and support them to achieve their dreams of studying Medicine at Melbourne University. This student works hard to support their family on a daily basis whilst also dedicating significant time to their studies. They are the primary carer for more than one family member and work to support the family outside of school hours. This student also believes strongly in the power of giving back and volunteers in local community outreach programs on the weekend and in the school holidays.

 

In my recent conversations with this student, they expressed an absolute gratitude for the opportunities they have been afforded through their scholarship with Education CHANCES and recognise that they wouldn’t have been able to pursue their education in the same manner without it. This young person is a shining example of the power of the work that we do in Boroondara. Providing opportunities for access and pursuing pathways which may otherwise be unattainable.

 

We are incredibly proud of the work that we do to support young people in Boroondara to continue to experience success in their schooling. The work of Education CHANCES supports our scholarship recipients with the financial demands of schooling and nurtures their emotional wellbeing by providing them a vote of confidence that their academic efforts have been recognised, encouraged and celebrated.

 

With sincere gratitude,

 

                                             

Nikko Riazi