Category: Youth

Meet our exchange student for 2016-17

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• In case you missed this posting back in April, here it is again because it’s very timely now.

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Rafaella

Now that we are reviving our Rotary Youth Exchange initiative, it’s time to introduce the student who will be visiting Maple Hill High School for the 2016-17 school year.

Meet Rafaella Leal Câncio. She is a 16-year-old high school junior who lives in Ubá, a city of about 100,000 residents in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil about 75 miles north of Rio de Janiero.

Rafaella lives at home with her parents, Francisco and Marcella, and two younger siblings, Filipe, 11, and Heloisa, 7. Her father is a businessman, her mother a teacher.

She has studied English for five years, and grades herself as “good” in speaking and reading the language, but “poor” in writing it. This year, she is studying math, history, geography, physics, chemistry, sociology, philosophy, art, physical education and, of course English and her native Portugese. She also is a member of the student council, and has a strong interest in drama and movies and is considering studying drama in college.

So, what does Rafaella hope to gain from her year in the U.S.? As she said in her written application, she wants to “get more mature, open my mind, grow up as a person, and learn a new culture.”

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Rafaella with her family

Staffing set for special Y breakfast

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Screen shot 2016-07-08 at 12.34.44 PMWe quickly came up with enough Rotarian volunteers to shop for and serve a special breakfast for kids in the “Circle of Champs” program at the Greenbush YMCA next Thursday. Go here for details on the event.

Here are the people who have signed up to assist Shannon Romanowski:

Matt Smith
Murray Forth
Becky Raymond
Terry Brewer
Jim Leyhane
Andy Leyhane

We will provide the following for 20–25 people: bagels, cream cheese, orange juice, oatmeal assorted mini-muffins, assorted fruit and fruit juices.

Thanks to the club volunteers, and to Shannon for arranging the event for the kids.

 

Tuesday RSVP deadline for very special Thursday dinner

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Screen shot 2016-06-13 at 12.57.33 PMWhat do Matt McHugh of Columbia High School, Jolene Bell of Rensseler High School, and Micheala Mueller of Maple Hill High School have in common?

Each will receive a $1,000 “Student Citizenship Award” from the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club at our 6:15 p.m. Thursday meeting this week at Quigley’s. And, each will be bringing along some guests, so we’re expecting a full house. As always, the more the merrier.

In addition, our program will feature Jim Butterworth, Kendle Butterworth, and Jennifer Horn speaking on the student leadership programs developed by CASDA (Capital Area School Development Association) where Jim is the executive director.

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Our main menu item.

Your RSVPs for dinner are requested no later than this Tuesday to Debbie Brown via email (mdbrown@nycap.rr.com).

The menu calls for Quigley’s popular spiral-sliced ham, vegetables, salad, bread, dessert, and beverages. As always, the cash bar is available for pre-meeting conviviality. Please remember the meal price now is $18 per person, and it would be appreciated if you’d bring singles to help Treasurer Murray Forth make change.

Here’s who is signed up so far:

1. Ron Annis
2. Geoff Brewer
3. Terry Brewer
4. Jim Butterworth
5. April Dowd
6. Bill Dowd
7. Charlie Foote
8. Murray Forth
9. Julius Frankel
10. Ray Hannan
11. Jim Leyhane
12. Roberto Martinez
13. Becky Raymond
14. Debbie Rodriguez
15. John Sawchuk
16. Rommel Tolentino
17. Kendle Butterworth (CASDA guest)
18. Jennifer Horn (CASDA guest)
19. Matt McHugh (student guest)
20. Jolene Bell (student guest)
21. Michaela Mueller (student guest)

Plus a number of parents and school officials.

Our ‘We the People’ team wins again

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We

The New Visions: Law & Government team from Capital Region BOCES won the Northeast Regional Award at the recent “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution” civics competition in Washington, DC.

The team, which the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club again helped financially underwrite, included Kyle Hurysz of Maple Hill High School (shown at front in the photo.)

The 11-student group that earlier won the New York State championship emerged atop a field of 137 finalists in the Northeast, demonstrating “outstanding expertise in all six units of knowledge and critical thinking covered.”

The team also included students from Troy, Mohanasen, Sharon Springs, Ichabod Crane, Cobleskill-Richmond, and Scotia-Glenville high schools. The instructor was Rich Bader.

Last year, the team we helped financially support also won the New York State and Northeast Regional titles. It included three Rensselaer County students, representing Columbia, Averill Park, and Troy high schools.

Each academic year, the New Visions program offers students real-life experience in such areas as law and government, communications, medicine, scientific research and world health, visual and performing arts, and other categories. Students juggle their regular studies and classwork at their home schools with internships in their fields of interest.