The Prix du Civisme competition, open for the first time to any school in which French is taught in both Years 5/ 6 and Years 9/10, aims to reward and encourage individuals or groups for their civic, community and public interest contributions. In the past the award was only open to bilingual schools but this year it has been widened to all schools in which French is taught.
The actions for the award may be those of personal courage, outstanding humane interventions on behalf of others, establishment and/or pursuit of projects for the benefit of others and the wider community. Examples include individual actions or collective projects with practical environmental, multigenerational, solidarity, or egalitarian, objectives.
The first prize for Years 5/6 was awarded to Leyla Mackenzie in year 5 at Aranda Primary School in Canberra. Leyla regularly volunteers at a soup kitchen run by Helping ACT to support the homeless and those less fortunate. This is something she decided to do of her own initiative as she wished to provide support for those less privileged. The committee was very impressed with her work, her dedication and drive.
Leyla is also very involved in the school’s other activities including helping younger students and is part of the school’s G-Force which aims to foster environmental responsibility not only at the school, but in the wider community. She attended the event along with her father Jason Mackenzie and teacher Myriam Davies.
The committee awarded a second prize in the same category to Taren Point Public School in NSW for the work of their years 5/6 class. This class is to be commended for their exemplary intergenerational activities including visiting pre-schools to talk to future students as well as visiting a neighbouring nursing home. The residents at the home are always thrilled to see the students who participate in chats, performances and other activities with them.
Aiden Qerba and Zara Routh ( School Captains) and AriTokoragi and Joelle Milne (School Vice-Captains) were present to receive the award along with parents and teachers.
The prize for Years 9/10 was awarded to Anita Kumar from Canberra Grammar School. Anita is an outstanding example of volunteering and providing support to those in our community who may be invisible. She has worked tirelessly at the Red Cross retail outlet on both the retail and administration front, she has been tutoring overseas students in ESL using some of the materials that she has developed herself and has been actively involved in sending correspondence to the elderly including in French-speaking Canada.
Anita attended the event along with her parents and teacher Sophie Lerat.
The awards ceremony took place at a cocktail hosted by the Consul-General, Martin Juillard, with over 50 guests in attendance including ANMONM members, teachers, students and parents.
We would like to thank the Consulate of France for their support, in particular the Consul-General Martin Juillard, Kanokwan Towton, Yannick Gacoin from DPPP – Design, Print and Pre-Press our long standing sponsor and Philippe Mady from Dynamic Wines for the wine. We would also to pay tribute to the members of our panel Dominique Barbeau, Sabine Duffy-Gilbert and Brian Hillman who generously provided many hours of their time to support this project.
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