This week at Rotary we welcomed the Phoenix School as the students gave a presentation on their recent trip to the Everglades. Prior to leaving, students completed research on what to expect when they arrived in Florida, specifically the plants and animals they might encounter. Upon arriving in the Everglades, the students were amazed at how many alligators they saw, along with the amount of wading birds, especially little blue herons. The presentation included drawings, photos, sketches, and excerpts from journals that the students kept while on the trip.
The highlights of the trip included a solo walk at night when they first arrived. The focus of this walk was to use their ears instead of their eyes, and they certainly heard a lot of sounds in the darkness. This was followed by walking the Anhinga Trail the next day where the students saw many alligators, mangroves, and water lilies. Another highlight of the trip was the Slough Slog where the students got right in the waters with alligators and cypress trees nearby. They came out of the water soggy but happy! Students also went canoeing down a canal, which they loved. They did have to pay attention and got very wet, especially Charlie who fell in the water. They saw lots of wildlife while on the canoes, notably crocodiles and many birds. The trip wrapped up with a 15 mile bike ride where the students had the chance to climb a tour. A final highlight was a trip to "Robert Was Here", a fruit stand that makes delicious smoothies that has been around for 63 years.
The Phoenix School students stayed at a hostel in Florida where they got work done, journaled, ate, and had fun. It even had a huge treehouse. When the trip was wrapping up, students reviewed their journal and compared notes. It was clearly a trip of lifetime where students learned a lot about the natural world. Gerrit was certainly jealous of the amount of birds the students saw.
A reminder to download the ClubRunner App on your mobile device. Use the link below!
President-Elect Claire is collecting some feedback from our Club in preparation for her leadership year. Please use the link below to take a survey so Claire can make sure that we all have a fun and productive year:
The Phoenix School students presented this week. Mario Souza, the CTE director at Salem High School, was also in attendance. Evelyn Wilson was in attendance to see Kyle Wilson present. Not to be forgotten, AV wiz kid Jack Kiernan was also there to keep us connected to our Zoom friends!
YOURS IN SERVICE
Lifebridge Dinner
Wednesday, July 13
Volunteers are needed for the next dinner for Lifebridge. Please contact Jane Stirgwolt if you would like to volunteer!
A note of gratitude was received from the Salem Council on Aging thanking the Salem Rotary for the volunteers who gave their time at the Cinco de Mayo event. These volunteers showed a true sense of community at this terrific event.
The Stirgwolts, Joanne Scott, and Gerrit Bradley attended the Boys and Girls Club of Salem's field day event. It was a huge success Jane encouraged all softball players to practice for next year's event and to join Gerrit in the field.
Rotary International has a goal for all clubs to have 100% of members donate. If you have not already done so, email Rinus or donate using the link below:
Matt Ingram spent the week winning, adding a golf tournament contest victory to his raffle win at Rotary.
Joanne Scott collected trash and generally had a blast giving back to the community at the Boys and Girls event.
Jason Consalvo was relieved to share that the boys won their baseball playoff game, meaning that the following game would be on Wednesday instead of Tuesday so he could attend the Board of Directors event a the Hawthorne. Thankfully the boys got their athleticism from Kerri.
Upcoming events
Rotary Auction and Installation
June 16, 2022 at 6 pm
Hawthorne Hotel
Two great events in one! Please join us for this amazing evening of fun, fellowship, and all things Rotary. We will celebrate the incoming president for next year, Claire Kallelis, while also raising funds for our many great causes! Attendance forms will be passed around on Tuesday.
Use the Zoom link below to attend Salem Rotary from any computer or mobile device.
At Rotary, we understand that cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture is essential to realizing our vision of a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change.
We value diversity and celebrate the contributions of people of all backgrounds, across age, ethnicity, race, color, disability, learning style, religion, faith, socioeconomic status, culture, marital status, languages spoken, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity as well as differences in ideas, thoughts, values, and beliefs.
Recognizing that individuals from certain groups have historically experienced barriers to membership, participation, and leadership, we commit to advancing equity in all aspects of Rotary, including in our community partnerships, so that each person has the necessary access to resources, opportunities, networks, and support to thrive.
We believe that all people hold visible and invisible qualities that inherently make them unique, and we strive to create an inclusive culture where each person knows they are valued and belong.
In line with our value of integrity, we are committed to being honest and transparent about where we are in our DEI journey as an organization, and to continuing to learn and do better.