Guests: Hon David Pisoni MP, Deputy Mayor Dr Jack Gaffey, Rowena Barbosa, Greg Abel, Donna Cavallaro, Sarah Sullivan, Genese Mullins, Sonny Sing, plus Rob's assistants Eukumbeth and Joanne
Teachers et al - Tom Humphries and partner, Amy Reid, Dale O'Connor, Lucy Barret, Daniella Marcucci, Juliana Nelson, Bonnie Crofts and partner, Jodie Higgins, Matina Ravelo, Stavroula Kazouli-Karavasili, Dimi Hnoudis, Jarrad Strain, Allisan Strain, Janet Rainey, Brian Rainey, Mark Goreham, Elizabeth Heuzenroeder, Tom Jennings, Alice Jennings, Todd George, Brenton Borchardt, Ryan Tripney, David Price.
Attendance: A roomful
Welcome
President Rhonda welcomed local MP David Pisoni, Deputy Mayor Jack Gaffey and the wonderful educators who joined us tonight. Award winners hail from Unley Primary School, Scotch College, St Josephs Kingswood, St Spyridon College and Urrbrae Agricultural High.
Teacher of the Year Awards
Chris Davis, the Vocational Services Director, announced that this was the second year of these local teacher awards and expressed appreciation for the way in which school principals had supported them. He would be calling on Dr Jack Gaffey (standing in for Unley Mayor Michael Hewitson) and local MP David Pisoni to present the awards. The awards focus on excellence in teaching, and on student and school support. There are 3 categories:
Teamwork Award
Encouragement Award
Achievement Award
15 individuals nominations were received. Certificates will also be issued to the non-award recipients.
On behalf of the Mayor, Jack Gaffey thanked our club for initiating this celebration. He emphasised the role played by teachers and schools in shaping the future of our youngsters by helping them to flourish. Oustanding teachers 'go the extra mile' in their commitment to top quality education, including student well-being. Their impact in lifting of skill and the value of learning is profound. He congratulated the awardees, those who had been nominated but were not successful, and the nominators.
Teamwork Award
The Careers Team at Scotch College has initiated a Festival of Futures for their students. It is aimed at expanding their horizons and aspirations to achieve to the best of their abilities. Teams of old scholars, employers, career guidance and other personnel are used in this endeavour with student seminars across the school. Of note is the excellence of the program design and its execution. It has enhanced the curriculum and student well-being.
On behalf of the team, Mark Goreham (Deputy to the Principal) and Janet Rainey accepted the award, shown below with Jack Gaffey and Chris..
Chris Davis then provided a summary of the reasons why each awardee had been chosen. In a nutshell each is a good communicator, has exceptional teaching skills, is dedicated, encourages and inspires, is collaborative and innovative, demonstrates care and compassion, works long hours, pays special attention to kids with learning difficulties, and is often seen at extra curricular activities (like sport) organising and cheering. The awardees below have such attributes.
Encouragement Awards
This year 3 were chosen.
Tom Humphries from Unley Primary School is a teacher of 2 years duration. In addition to the above, he has a special talent of making lessons fun and meaningful. He is into redesigning lessons in a collaborative fashion, has been a volunteer teacher in Tanzania, is an effective student fund raiser and is into student sporting engagements on the weekend.
Tom Jennings from Urrbrae Agricultural High is also into his second year. His additional talents include organisation of camps, business knowledge, exploring futures including AI, professional development, the importance of the environment, and sports support.
Bonnie Crofts from St Josephs Primary School teaches years 1-2. She has thrown herself into the role of staff training, is an organiser of School Science Week and is into teacher development.
Below we have Tom Humphries, Tom Jennings, and Bonnie Crofts.......Tom could well rise to the top of the baby naming charts if they teach enough kids!
Achievement Awards
This year 2 were chosen
Jarrad Strain from Scotch College is Head of Maths. He is an educational leader who has provided direction and clarity to the delivery of maths across the college.He believes in the evidence based approach to aid understanding and solutions. Collaboration with students is core to decision making and effective learning. His membership of the Mathematical Association of SA enables advancement of his profession, and he enjoys great support among staff and students.
Matina Ravelo of St Spyridon College is a Year 2 teacher. Her nomination included support from 2 students. She is inclusive in her interaction with staff and students, adopts a whole of school approach to initiatives, aids cultural understanding, students blossom through her approach, is very knowledgeable and considerate.
Jarrad and Matina below with David Pisoni and Chris
Local MP David Pisoni praised those who take up the noble profession of teaching, vital to the future of our young people. He reflected on the range of duties teachers must now perform, professional learning, mentoring for disadvantaged students, extracurricular requirements, report writing and much more. Compassion and leadership are essential in this environment. Tonight we recognise examples of the very best, namely those that deliver above and beyond the call of duty. They are role models. Unley Rotary is to be commended for the awards.
Chris Davis thanked David Pisoni for his strong support of Unley Rotary and the Unley community during his time in office.....he is due to retire next March.
Applause prevailed for all the awards and speeches.
Spots
John Kikkert provided a summary of the club's Peace Pole project. It originated after the bombing of Hiroshima. The poles carry the message 'May peace prevail on earth' in 4 languages chosen by each school. 300,000 poles have been erected around the world. Previously our club had placed peace poles at Concordia College and Unley Primary School, while this year there are three more.....Mitcham Primary, St Raphaels at Parkside and Urrbrae (11 November).
President Rhonda advertised the following:
The marvellous car trial through the Adelaide Hills next Sunday. Flag to be dropped at 8.30am in front of Coles at the Unley Shopping Centre.....cost $30 per vehicle with proceeds to buy mosquito nets for PNG
Walk for Mental Health on 9 November for 5km around the SE parklands. Register on-line. We need more walkers and 5 marshalls.
A joint Unley - Hyde Park Rotary stand at Unley Shopping Centre this Friday 24 October to mark End Polio Day, advertising our projects and collecting old phones (which can be revamped), toiletries, supermarket non-perishables and glasses for Nepal. There is a competition running to guess the number of snakes and jelly babies in 2 separate jars for a gold coin donation. The editor is likely to have already nailed the snakes.
Last week week our club visited the Salvos emergency services depot managed by Reno at Pooraka. They need more stand-by volunteers. Other club activities like Mitre10 BBQ and Mosaic got a mention.
Finale
Ross Burton won the big bucks and Patty Ascough the more valuable wine.
President Rhonda closed the fullsome educationally uplifting meeting at 8.17pm
Editor's note.....with all this talent available we should have been picking their brains on how to sort out our children and grand-children
Rogues Gallery
Our team of Virginia, Deb, Rhonda and Vivienne at the walk to Say No To Domestic Violence 2 weeks ago
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Talk Hope launches a conversation about mental health
By Md. Saddam Hossain Roni, Rotaract Club of Dhaka Orchid, Bangladesh
When our Rotaract family lost one of its own, we turned heartbreak into a mission of hope. Talk Hope, Bangladesh’s first 24/7 emotional support line, led by youth from our club and community, has brought understanding and compassion as we address the vital issue of mental health. It was an awakening for us of the silence that can mask emotional pain, and the opportunity to help by creating a place for people to talk, get help, and find hope. It has sparked a national conversation about mental health.
On 27 February 2024, I received a call that no Rotaract leader ever wants to hear. One of our members from the Rotaract Club of Dhaka Orchid had taken his own life.
He wasn’t just any member, he was one of the brightest, most passionate souls in our club. He played a vital role in organizing Bangladesh’s first-ever rock concert by a Rotaract Club, held in June 2023, which drew over 12,000 youth and was lauded as an innovative approach to youth engagement.
His loss shook us to the core. The joy we had created for others suddenly felt incomplete. For the first time, I realized how silent the battle with mental health can be, even among those who seem the happiest.
Silence became our call to action
In the weeks that followed, our club members struggled to make sense of what happened. We talked about how often people hide their pain behind smiles, how we had missed the signs, and how so many others must be silently suffering.
That’s when the idea of Talk Hope was born. As Rotaractors, we’ve been taught to serve with compassion. This time, service began with listening. We wanted to create a space where people could talk about their pain safely, without judgment. A space where a conversation could save a life.
A need to be heard
We collaborated with SHADOW (Society for Humanity And Development Over the World) and its parent organization, the Dr. Muhammad Fakhrul Islam Foundation, to launch Talk Hope exactly two days after the date of our friend’s passing. To our knowledge, it is Bangladesh’s first and only fully free, 24/7 suicide prevention and mental health awareness platform. We started with an awareness platform. But within a year, we had added a call center, a virtual support center, and two in-person counseling centers staffed with professional psychologists. All of our services are completely free.
Within just a few months, thousands of young people reached out through calls, texts, and social media. Some were struggling with depression. Others were facing pressure from studies or relationships. But they all shared one thing, a need to be heard.
Though I am an engineer, I have started to study psychology and have even published a few journals. In collaboration with the Bangladesh Psychological Association, our Rotaractors received training from professional psychologists on how to become “listeners.” We learned that empathy doesn’t always mean solving someone’s problem. Sometimes, it simply means sitting beside their pain without judgment.
The power of youth leadership
One of the most inspiring leaders to emerge from this work is Interactor Suhana Rahman Shukonna. At 16, she threw herself into school outreach, peer counseling, and child-focused awareness programs. Her energy helped us bring emotional literacy sessions into classrooms, where students learned to speak about feelings instead of hiding them.
Shukonna was nominated for the KidsRights International Children’s Peace Prize in 2024. She didn’t win but has been nominated again this year. This commitment to mental health demonstrates how youth leadership can make an impact both locally and globally. When I see her lead workshops or speak with students, I’m reminded of how Rotary’s youth programs are shaping the next generation of changemakers.
Beyond a helpline: a movement
Talk Hope has now evolved beyond just a helpline. It’s become a national youth movement for mental wellness. We organize community dialogues, awareness campaigns, and online education programs about emotional health.
In alignment with Rotary’s current global priorities, especially a focus on mental health, our initiative reflects how Rotary youth programs transform compassion into action. The Rotaract Club of Dhaka Orchid continues to pioneer unique projects in Bangladesh that exemplify Rotary ethics, innovation, and service to humanity.
Every time someone tells us, “Your team helped me hold on,” we silently dedicate that moment to the friend we lost, because he is the reason this mission exists.
Looking ahead
We dream of expanding Talk Hope into a nationwide support ecosystem. Our goal is to make the helpline toll-free and to open youth-friendly wellness centers in universities, with the help of Rotary partners and psychologists.
What began with grief has become something that drives us. We learned that mental health is central to human dignity. When service meets empathy, miracles happen.
If our story inspires you, share it with someone, start a conversation around mental health, or simple check in on someone today. Sometimes, a small act of kindness can save a life.
Coffee Chat at Impressa, Unley Shopping Centre
10.30 am on the first Friday of the month is good for a chat with Rotary friends and a caffeine fix - Next one is Friday 7 November 2025
Upcoming Meetings
Sunday 26 October The fabulous car trialFirst car departing 8.30am sharp from in front of Coles at Unley Shopping Centre.
Tuesday 28 October 6 for 6.30pm Living Choice
Guest Speakers: Presentation by Club Services with Stephen Baker et alPLUS Behind the Badge with Bronwyn Kenny
Welcoming team: Leonie Kewen and John Kikkert
Tuesday 4 November 2025 6 for 6.30pm Living Choice
Guest Speaker: Roxanne Freak plus RYPEN presentation by Athok Deng
Welcoming team: Leonie Kewen and John Kikkert
Friday 21 November 6pm TAFE SA dinner at 137 Days Rd, Regency Park in lieu of meeeting on Tuesday 18 November.
Apologies and Meeting Enquiries to: Secretary Greg McLeod on 0417 811 838 or email to secretary@unleyrotary.org.au
Venue Set-up Enquiries to: Bulletin Editor Stephen Baker on 0403 687 015
Saturday Thrift Shop Roster
Early Shift: 10.00am to 1.00pm Late Shift: 1.00pm to 4.00pm
Early: David Middleton & Nathan White | Late: Vera Holt & Rhonda Hoare
Week 4: 25 October 2025
Early: Stephen Baker & Judi Corcoran | Late: Jason Booth & Vera-Ann Stacy
Week 5:
Early: Bob Mullins & Wendy Andrews | Late: Virginia Cossid & Paul Duke
Rotarians, who are unable to attend as rostered, please arrange a swap or as a very last resort contact: Vivienne Wood 0408 819 630; e-mail: vwood@ozemail.com.au
Mitre 10 and Bunnings Barbeques
The Mitre 10 BBQs are the first and third Saturdays of each month. Morning shift 8.30am - 12 noon; afternoon shift 12.00 - 3.30pm, then clean-up.....next scheduled is Saturday 1 November 2025
ALL the Bunnings Mile End Barbeque shifts are from 8am to 5pm
