An article from Bryan Goodwin, Rotary Club of Altona CityA new District 9800 template for “Excellence in Education Awards” can now be downloaded from the District 9800 website from the Vocational page. This is based on recent awards events run by Rotary Clubs of Altona City and Richmond.
Front Page of Excellence in Education Awards
PDG Michael Lapiña with recipients of the
Encourage Awards for Early Career Stage Teachers
Encourage Awards for Early Career Stage Teachers
The Rotary Clubs of Altona City, Richmond and Wyndham recently held successful “Excellence in Education Awards” events. Richmond Rotary's event has been reported on previously, and photos below of Altona City Rotary's event illustrate the growth over the past 8 years since PDG Julie Mason, a school principal (retired), originally proposed the concept.
In 2025, four high schools in Hobsons Bay nominated 8 early career teachers for Rotary Vocational Service Encouragement Awards, 3 more experienced teachers for Achievement Awards, and 4 Teams covering Administration, International Students, Year 7 Coordination, and an Attendance Team. Rotarian Rebecca Fry, founder of RYLA Oceania (from NSW) was an outstanding keynote speaker, and Melissa Horne, MP for Williamstown and a Victorian Cabinet Minister, presented 25 Rotary Vocational Service Award Certificates to the awardees. The Regional Council’s Service Projects and Programs (RC SPP)Team has been recently restructured as shown in a diagram below.
Capacity Building offers support to Clubs to increase their impact without increasing the demand on their resources through programs such as School Engagement (and others).
The District 9800 template has also been provided to the (restructured) Regional Council’s Service Projects and Programs Team as an asset for “Capacity Building- School Engagement.”Clubs in District 9800 are invited to review the new template and contact Clubs running Excellence in Education Awards Programs if they are interested in initiating programs in 2026.
Restructured RC SPP Team