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Monday, 4 December 2017


Yes, we are once again running a local heat of this prestigious national competition and hope you will support us. You have to cook a healthy 3-course meal for 2 people within a budget of £15.  The first step is to submit your menu to the  judges who will select 6 people to cook on the morning of Saturday 3rd February.  The winner and possibly the runner-up will go on to the District Final in Hitchin on 24th February and hopefully to the Regional and National Finals!

The competition is sponsored at a national level by Philippo Berio and the local heat by Waitrose, Welwyn GC.  There are fabulous national prizes and those who take part in the cook-off will receive a £15 voucher for their ingredients from Waitrose and all will receive a prize and a certificate.

This is a great opportunity for you to show your skills and stretch yourself.  Great experience and an excellent addition to your CV!

Entries need to be submitted by Friday 19th January to allow time for the selection of menus to be cooked and those in the cook-off to be informed.  An entry form appears below and details of the competition are available from midhertsrotary@ymail.com 

Work out your menu over Christmas and then get organised next term and submit your entry by Friday 19th January at the latest either via your school or direct to the email address above.

2017-8 Youth Activities


Rotary offers so many opportunities for young people and our aim is to help young people discover and develop their own personal skills, grow their self-esteem and enjoy themselves in the process. This is what's on offer in Mid Herts - Welwyn, Hatfield, Brookmans Park & Potters Bar in this school year.

YOUNG CITIZEN 
Run in association with BBC News. Young people under the age of 25 who have demonstrated on-going positive citizenship and assumed vital responsibilities. Awards may be given to an individual or a group and there is a Live TV presentation to the 5 national winners.

YOUNG CHEF
This well-established competition is sponsored by Waitrose. The competition is for young people, school years 7 to 13, who would like to show their good cooking and presentational skills to produce a healthy economical meal for two people. 

YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHER
Competitors submit a portfolio of 3 photographs in colour or black and white on the theme of ‘A Different Perspective’. Each print should be submitted separately on photographic paper and, including any mount should be no larger than A4 size. The competition runs in 3 age groups, Junior (7 to 10), Intermediate (11 to 13) and Senior (14 - 17), as at 31 August 2017.

YOUNG WRITER
Young authors are asked to produce a written or typed story in prose on the theme ‘A Different Perspective’.  An A4 page or 500 hundred words is a suggested suitable submission. The competition runs in 3 age groups, as above for the Young Photographer competition.

YOUTH SPEAKS
This popular and long-established public-speaking competition has been entered by many local schools and other groups in previous years. Teams of 3 are needed, a main speaker, a chairperson and a proposer of a vote of thanks. There are 2 age groups, Intermediate (11 to 13) and Senior (14 - 17). The local competition winners can progress to district, regional and national stages of the competition. Teams may speak on any subject with the exception of those directly concerning party politics, race or religion.


 TECHNOLOGY TOURNAMENT
This competition has been running successfully for many years and most of the local schools have entered. Teams of 4 have to design, build and document a solution to a problem posed on the day. At the end of the day the various solutions are demonstrated and winners chosen. The local competitions normally held in March.

YOUNG MUSICIAN
This 4 stage national competition aims to encourage development of musical talent and offers young people;
  • experiance of performing on a public stage
  • an opportunity to showcase their musical talent
  • impartial feedback of performance by experienced adjudicators
The competition is open to amateurs in full time education, up to the age of 17. It is not open to full time students of music or performing arts, studying for a qualification above A level.

YOUNG ARTIST
This is a new competition, started in 2016. The theme, again, is ‘A Different Perspective’ and there a 3 age groups as for the Young Writer competition above. This competition aims to encourage young people to express their ideas through any artistic medium, other than photography. Entries will be judged in June 2018.

INTERACT
Why not set up a school Interact Club? These are groups of students from the age of 12 upwards, who share the Rotary aims of serving the community and promoting peace and international understanding. We will provide a Rotarian mentor to work with a member of your staff and the support you need to make the club a success. More information at http://www.ribi.org/youth/interact.

For further information and entry forms on any of the above youth competitions or opportunities please contact Rotary by email at midhertsrotary@ymail.com


Saturday, 3 December 2016


A great opportunity for all budding photographers.  This prestigious competition organised by Rotary clubs across the country starts with a local heat arranged by Mid Herts Rotary and run by Hatfield Rotary Club.

You have to produce 3 photos printed on photographic paper on the theme of "Reflection", digital copies, and a short explanation (50 words) of how they relate to the theme.  There are 3 age groups covering the 7-17 range.  Entries have to be in to the organiser by Thursday 12th January.  Full details below along with an entry form that can be copied and pasted into a word processor document.

If you have any question, please contact the organiser, Robert Addleman, at robaddleman@aol.com or on 01438 717886, or email midhertsrotary@ymail.com




RULES
1. Objectives
This competition is to encourage young people to express their interpretation of the given theme in
photographs

2. Entrants
This competition is open to young people who are entered by their Rotary club to a district competition and then to the RIBI competition.
There are three age categories, with ages taken on 31st August 2016
JUNIOR: Aged 7 – 10 years (Date of Birth 01/09/2006 – 31/08/2009)
INTERMEDIATE: Aged 11 – 13 years (Date of Birth 01/09/1998 – 31/08/2001)
SENIOR: Aged 14 – 17 years. (Date of Birth 01/09/1994 – 31/08/1998)
Consequently, at the time of the competition, in the Junior section some entries may be aged 11,
in the Intermediate 14 and in the Senior 18.

3. Competition
The theme for 2013 is “Reflections”, with entrants choosing their own topic within the theme.
Entrants will be asked to submit a portfolio of three different prints, either colour or black and white on photographic quality paper no larger than A4 size plus a digital copy on memory card or stick.
In addition each entrant must provide, in no more than 50 words, a description of the inspiration for their photographs and how they reflect the theme.

4. Format and Judging
The panel will consist of independent judges all with relevant experience. They will view the entries in each age category and consider:
• Technical merit,
• Imaginative interpretation of the theme
All decisions by the judges are final. No correspondence or discussion will be entered into following the event. Entries will not be returned unless specifically requested
5. Prizes
For our area, certificates will be awarded to all participants. A cash prize and Winner Certificate will be awarded, as well as to any entries judged to be “Commended”.
For the RIBI Final, all entrants will receive a certificate and the winners will be given appropriate awards.

6. Forms
All entries must be accompanied by an entry form combined with details of the photographs. This form is included with these rules. The winning photographs will remain the property of the photographers. The photographs may be displayed however in the ‘Rotary Today’ magazine and/or shown on the RIBI web site stating the winner’s age group.




Rotary Clubs of Hatfield, Brookmans Park, Potters Bar & Welwyn Garden City

Young Photographer Entry and Information Form

Name of entrant

Date of birth                                                     Junior / Intermediate / Senior (delete as appropriate)
School/ College/ Organisation name

Full contact home address ………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………..
Postcode ………………………………………………………………………………..

Phone number ………………………………………………………………………………..

Email address

Contact Rtn Robert Addleman E: robaddleman@aol.com Tel: 01438-717886
Please will the photographer & Parent/Guardian sign the declarations below:

I,………………………………..……declare that these three photographs are entirely my own work.

Signed………………………………………Dated…………………..

I give permission for these photographs to be reproduced in any format and for the photographer’s
likeness to be used for promotional purposes within Rotary.

Parent/Guardian’s signature ………………………….…………….. Date …………..…………….

Camera make and model ………….……………………………………………….…..….………
Auxiliary lens and filters used (if applicable)…………………………...……………
Please explain the inspiration for your photographs and any other details including how they reflect the theme “Reflection” in no more than 50 words.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Rotary bears no responsibility for any action taken by anyone against the photographer.
Photographs of people under 18 years of age must be accompanied by a written permission from the parent, guardian or carer of the person photographed.

A great opportunity for budding authors, poets and journalists!  Enter this prestigious national competition in which local competitors have done really well in recent years, a great experience and, potentially, a great addition to your CV.

This year the task is to produce a piece entitled "Reflection" in about 500 words or a page of A4.  It can be fiction or non-fiction, prose or poetry.  Entries have to be in to the organiser, Mike Thorpe, by Friday 24th February.    Further details in the Info pack below, including an entry form at the end that can be copied and pasted into a word processor document .  Any questions, please contact Mike at mike@mailord.co.uk or via midhertsrotary@ymail.com


Guidance Notes for 2016 – 2017

THEME – ‘REFLECTION’

Introduction

This National Young Writer Competition is a well established and successful competition promoted by Rotary International in Britain and Ireland (RIBI).

It is a three-stage competition designed to support and encourage development of writing skills.

Aims

This competition aims to encourage young people to:

·         Use their writing skills
·         Write with imagination and creativity

Who can take part?

The competition is open all schools and college communities including those that are home educated and any other young people’s community organisations, for example, community RotaKids, community Interact, Scout Groups, Girl Guides.

The three age groups are:

Junior                       7 to 10 years old
Intermediate         11 to 13 years old
Senior                    14 to 17 years old

on 31 August 2016.

With the age qualifying date of 31st August 2016, it should be noted that some junior entrants may be 11, intermediate entrants may be 14 and some senior entrants may be 18 at the time of some or all the stage competitions i.e. a competitor may be 17 on 31st August but turns 18 on 1st September is allowed to enter. Competitors must include their date of birth on the entry form.

For entrants with motor control difficulties, an amanuensis may be used to record the entrants work to paper.

Students should enter the competition organised by the local Rotary Club through their respective group as detailed above.

Competitors, school, colleges, and organisations can participate in a District that is outside of their boundary, but can only compete in one Club/District competition.





The Three Stages of the Competition

Local Heats       
Organised by Mid-Herts Rotary, comprising of the Rotary Clubs of Brookmans Park, Hatfield, Potters Bar and Welwyn Garden City. Age group winners of local heats are entered into a District Competition. The deadline for the local heat entries is Friday 24th February 2017. Entries to mike@mailord.co.uk or to: Mike Thorpe, 115 Park Avenue, POTTERS BAR, EN6 5EW.

District Competitions   
Organised by Rotary. Age group winners of District competitions are entered into the National Final.

National Final  
Organised by Rotary. One entry per age group per District may be submitted by Monday 8th May 2017 to the organiser, Peter DOWSE, 14 Stocksfield, Kelvedon Hatch, Brentwood, Essex, England CM15 0BU.

The dates for Local Heats and District Competition will be determined locally. Interested parties should check dates with their local Rotary Club.

Competition Guidelines

Task     
To produce a written or typed story in prose entitled, ‘Reflection’. The written entry could be fiction or non-fiction, a story or a poem, as long as the piece relates to the theme. Questions have been asked about spelling and although this is not an issue the only advice to be given are that judges of this competition have made comment upon spelling in the past.

An A4 page or up to 500 hundred words is a suggested suitable submission.

Entries should be sent to the Stage organiser by the closing date.

Entries may not be returned unless specifically requested

Judges
With appropriate skills, appointed by Rotary, will apply the judging criteria below.

Judging Criteria          
Judges will consider imagination relative to the subject; ability to engage interest and ability to be consistent in the power of argument

Only in exceptional circumstance, at the sole discretion of the competition organiser, will correspondence or discussions be entered into following a competition by the competition organiser.

Prizes  
At all stages of the competition, competitors will receive a certificate of participation.

The National winners will be given appropriate awards






How to enter

To enter a local heat, interested parties should contact their local Rotary Club. In case of difficulty interested parties should contact the National organiser, Peter Dowse e-mail- young-writer@rotarygbi.org for assistance.
                                          
Entrants need to provide the information at the end of this Information Pack and submit it, with their text to the stage organiser at the time specified by the stage organiser. This could be printed on the back of the entry submission.

Youth Competitions     

This Young Writer competition is one of seven competitions organised by Rotary International Britain and Ireland for young people. The others are: Young Chef, Young Musician, Young Photographer, Youth Speaks the Young Citizens Awards and the Technology Tournament. To find out more about these competitions and other opportunities please contact your local Rotary Club or use the following link:

RIBI Youth Competitions

Working with Children

Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland has adopted this statement of policy in working with children, the vulnerable and those with disability.
The needs and rights of the child, the elderly, the vulnerable and those with disability take priority. It is the duty of every Rotarian to safeguard to the best of their ability, the welfare of and prevent the physical, sexual or emotional abuse and neglect of all children, the elderly, persons with disability or otherwise vulnerable persons with whom they come into contact during their Rotarian duties.







ENTRY FORM 2016 - 17

Please read this Information Pack before completing clearly.

Please Note;
The parent, guardian or carer of the entrant, when signing below has given permission:
·         For the named person to take part and be identified in the competition  Yes / No

·         Any entrant over 18 at the date of the competition should sign the declaration below.

·         For photographic/video records to be taken and used for Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) publicity purposes in printed, electronic and online formats.                Yes / No

·         In signing this form the parent/guardian/carer allows permission for contact by the RIBI, District and Club Public Relations Officers for public relations purposes.                                    Yes / No

Not agreeing to c and d does not preclude the individual from entering the competition.

Declaration by competitor is below, and parental consent should be written and signed on the reverse of the entry in the following manner:

I, …………………………………of ……………………………………………school/college,

Address:………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

            ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Phone number:       …………………………  e-mail: ………………………………………………………

I declare that this entry is entirely my own work.

My age on 31 August 2016 is ………………………date of birth:-........................................

Signed:……………………………………….Dated……………………………….

My local Rotary Club is …Brookmans Park………………………    District……1260……………

Copyright remains with the writer but submission authorises Rotary to use it for promotional purposes

“I give permission for this letter to be reproduced in any format and for the author’s likeness to be used for promotional purposes within Rotary” Any entrant over 18 at the entry date of the competition should sign this declaration below

Parent Guardian Carer Entrant          Please print name………………………………..
(Please tick status)

Signature………………………………….



Date………………………….

Sunday, 27 November 2016

Rotary Youth Speaks Public Speaking Competition 2017

Information Pack for 2016 - 2017


Introduction

The Rotary Youth Speaks Competition is a well-established and successful competition organised and promoted by Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland.  It is a four stage competition which is designed to support and encourage the development of effective communication skills. Some stages may have more than one round.

Aims

                This competition aims to offer young people:

·       experience in speaking on a public platform as a member of a team
·       an incentive to formulate ideas on topical subjects
·       discipline in dealing with a topic in a limited time
·       the opportunity of learning and practising high standards of expression, presentation and appearance
·       impartial feedback and assessment of performance by experienced adjudicators

Who can take part?

The competition is open all schools and college communities including those that are home educated and any other young people’s community organisations, for example, community RotaKids, community Interact, Scout Groups, Girl Guides etc.

Each team will comprise of three students in full time education in two age groups:

Intermediate         11 to 13 years
Senior                    14 to 17 years


With the age qualifying date of 31 August 2016, it should be noted that some junior entrants may be 11, intermediate entrants 14 and senior entrants 18 at the time of some or all stages of the competitions (e.g. a competitor who is 17 on 31 August but turns 18 on 1  September is allowed to enter).

Students should enter the competition organised by the local Rotary club through their respective group, as detailed above.

Competitors, schools, colleges and other organisations can participate in a district that is outside of their boundary, but can only compete in one club or district.

The Four Stages of the Competition

Local Heats
                                               
The Mid Herts heat will be held at Dame Alice Owens School, Potters Bar on Thursday 19th Jan 2017 starting at 6pm.  If there are a large number of entries, it may be necessary to hold a second heat on the same evening at another local venue.  To enter, please complete copy and complete the entry form at the end of this post and email it to 
mike@mailord.co.uk or to midhertsrotary@ymail.com by Thursday 12th Jan 2017.

District Competitions

These are organised by Rotary between January and mid-February. There will District Semi-Finals followed by a District Final. Age group winners of the District Final are entered into a Regional Final.

Regional Finals                       

These are organised by Rotary between mid-February and March. Age group winners of regional finals are entered into the national final.

National Final
                                                               
This is organised by and held in Rotary District 1210. 

Dates for local heats, district finals and regional finals may have local variations. Interested parties should check dates with their local Rotary club.

Rotary does not fund expenses of the regional winners to attend the national final, but there may be support from a local Rotary club..

Competition Guidelines

Format
                                                               
Each team member takes on one of three roles: chairperson, speaker and vote of thanks. The team should be the same throughout the competition. In exceptional circumstances substitutions may be made, subject to the approval of the competition organiser.

Each team member is allocated a time in which to perform their role. The role of each team member is detailed in the procedure section below.

Judges                                                

Judges with appropriate skills appointed by Rotary will apply the judging criteria and provide feedback to all competitors and mentoring to winners. The judges will not discuss marks and their decision will be final.

A Rotarian will not be appointed as a judge for regional or national finals.

Judging Criteria                     

Chairperson’s management of the meeting                   25 points
Speaker’s ability to present and develop a topic
and ability to answer the question                                   50 points
                                         
Quality and courtesy of the vote of thanks                      25 points
 Team work                                                                           15 points

                                            Total      115 points

A judge’s score sheet which illustrates the points judges will be particularly looking at is provided at the end of this information pack.





The judges will deduct one point for each complete 15 seconds over the allocated time and one point for each complete 30 seconds under the allocated time. Points will not be deducted for time in answering the question.

Only in exceptional circumstances and at the sole discretion of the competition organiser, will correspondence or discussions be entered into following a competition.

Questioner
                                                               
The questioner, who shall not be one of the judges, will be appointed by the competition organiser. Speakers will be asked to respond to a question asked by the questioner

The questioner can be a Rotarian but not from a participating club.

Prizes                                                  

At all stages of the competition competitors will receive a certificate of participation.

After the judges have determined the result of the competition one or more judges will comment on their observations before announcing the result.

At the national finals, the winning intermediate and senior teams will receive the Rotary Challenge Trophy which may be held for one year. Each member of the winning, second and third teams will receive an individual award.

How to enter

To enter a local heat, interested parties should contact their local Rotary club via the club finder in the top right hand corner of the website rotarygbi.org. In case of difficulty please contact the national organiser Joyce Marston at youth-speaks@rotarygbi.org quoting the home address and the address of the school, college or other organisation.

Entrants need to complete the entry form at the end of this information pack and submit to the stage organiser at the time specified by the stage organiser.

Competition Procedure

Arrival                                  

Before each competition the competition organiser will conduct a draw to determine the order in which each team will make their presentation. The order will be notified to teams at the competition. If possible, teams will be given prior notice of the order. In unforeseen circumstances the organisers may have to adjust the order.

Arrangements

A master of ceremonies will invite each team in order of the draw, to come to the front or stage to make their presentation.

The team should be ushered into position by the chairperson who should sit down with the speaker on their right and the vote of thanks on their left. This is a team competition and each team member must conduct themselves so that they are attentive and listening to whichever of the team members is speaking. A reminder that the team MAY NOT use props or enter into a dramatic performance as this is a public speaking competition.

A system of lights or coloured cards will be used to advise team members of time. Green will indicate start, amber will warn that the allocated time is coming to an end and red will indicate the end of allocated time.


Notes may be used. However their use should not be too obvious - simply reading written content will be reflected in the marks. Notes can be written on paper, card, tablet or iPad. If electronic media is used for this purpose it must only be

used as a reminder of the content of the speech and not as a prop or as a live means of presenting or sourcing information. Cards as prompts are better than A4 notes but ideally teams should deliver the presentation without either.

Items other than dress or the furniture provided are not permitted to be used as props. The use of props will be severely reflected in the judges’ marks. This includes power point.

Where venues would benefit from amplification, static microphones will be provided for team members to use. A sound test will be arranged prior to the start of the competition. If any team member fails to use the static microphones and their words are inaudible the judges will deduct marks.

The team members will perform their roles in the following order:

Chairperson      
When the team is ready the chairperson will stand. From this point on the chairperson is in control of the team’s performance until the performance is closed after the vote of thanks. The chairperson should briefly link the team’s presentations. There is no time penalty involved in this part of the chairperson’s role.

                                The chairperson has two minutes to welcome the audience and to introduce the speaker. The introduction should include the relevance or expertise of the speaker to the subject of their speech.

                                An amber light will indicate there are thirty seconds left of the allocated two minutes.

Speaker               
The speaker has six minutes to speak on their chosen subject. The speaker may choose any subject, subject to the approval of the organisers. Considerable discretion should be used in choosing the subject. Sensitive subjects such as party politics, race or religion should be avoided. The subject may change between stages.

                                An amber light will indicate there is one minute left of the allocated six minutes

Chairperson      
When the speaker has finished the chairperson will invite the questioner to ask a question

Speaker              
Before answering the question the speaker may seek clarification of the question via the chairperson. The speaker, who is the subject expert, may not consult about the question with other team members.

The speaker then has about two minutes to answer the question.

                                An amber light will indicate two minutes are drawing to a close and after the amber light speakers should bring their response to a conclusion.

                                Speakers are advised to respond spontaneously, without prepared sections, to obtain high marks from the judges.

Chairperson
When the speaker has finished answering the question, the chairman will introduce the proposer of the vote of thanks.

Vote of Thanks
The vote of thanks has two minutes to propose the vote of thanks.

The vote of thanks should remark on both the content of the speech and the response to the question. The audience should then be invited to show its appreciation of the speaker.

An amber light will indicate there are thirty seconds left of the allocated two minutes.


The student giving the vote of thanks is advised to respond spontaneously to the response to the question, without prepared sections, to obtain high marks from the judges.

Chairperson
After the vote of thanks and applause the chairperson will close the proceedings.

Results                                
After the judges have determined the result of the competition, one or more judges will comment on their observations before announcing the result.

Youth Competitions

The Rotary Youth Speaks competition is one of several competitions organised by Rotary International in Great Britain & Ireland for young people. The others are Young Chef, Young Musician, Young Photographer, Young Writer, Youth Speaks the Young Citizens Awards and the Technology Tournament. To find out more about these competitions and other opportunities please contact your local Rotary club, which can be found at rotarygbi.org. 

Working with Children   

Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland has adopted this statement of policy for working with children, the vulnerable and those with disability.

The needs and rights of the child, the elderly, the vulnerable and those with disability take priority. It is the duty of every Rotarian to safeguard to the best of their ability, the welfare of and prevent the physical, sexual or emotional abuse and neglect of all children, the elderly, persons with disability or otherwise vulnerable persons with whom they come into contact during their Rotarian duties.

Entry Form Details

Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) reserve the right to retain contact details within the terms of the Data Protection Act to enable RIBI to contact and keep in touch with them as part of the Alumni of Rotary and as future potential members.


The entry form below can be copied and pasted into a word processor document, completed and attached to your email.


Mid Herts Rotary Youth Speaks Entry Form 2016/17
Please read the information pack before completing this form clearly.  By signing this form you confirm you have read, understood and agreed to the contents of the information pack.  Please return this form to mike@mailord.co.uk or to midhertsrotary@ymail.com by Thursday 12th Jan 2017.

School/college/other organisation
Contact person
Email
Tel No
Chairperson’ Name
Age on 31 Aug 2016
Signature
Speaker’s Name
Age on 31 Aug 2016
Signature
Vote of Thanks’ Name
Age on 31 Aug 2016
Signature
Age category                                                                            (Intermediate/ Senior)
Title of topic
Sponsored by Rotary Club of
District
Contact Person
Email
Tel No

The parent(s), guardian(s), or carer(s) have given permission where necessary:
  a. for the named person to take part in and be identified in the competition (Yes/No)
  b. any entrant over 18 at the date of this competition should sign this entry form
  c. for photographic/video records to be taken and used for Rotary International in Great
      Britain and Ireland (RIBI) publicity purposes in printed, electronic and on-line formats
     (Yes/No)
  d. In signing this form the parent/guardian/carer gives permission for contact by RIBI,
      District and Club Public Relations Officers for public relations purposes (Yes/No)                                

School/College/Organisation Contact
Signature
Date

Not agreeing to c and d above does not preclude the individual from entering the competition