17 members “zoomed in.”
Apologies from Faye Weeks and Ian Ballantine.
Apologies from Faye Weeks and Ian Ballantine.
President Geoff spoke on the club’s Bronze recognition from DG Alma for our substantial contribution towards Rotary Foundation over the years. Geoff said that support from members and clubs worldwide is the reason Rotary has been in existence for so long. This is indicative that Rotary is in a position of strength. Geoff is also in the process of applying for a sausage sizzle day at Bunnings but has not received any response to date.
Helen, President-elect, advised members that the club will be distributing “Christmas Treat Bags” to Family Life, Bayside Community Service, Holland Foundation and Glen Eira Community Support and Information Service. The club is also donating 6 cartons of Christmas cakes to Salvation Army in Bentleigh which is within Glen Eira City.
Congratulations to Margaret Lucas, Peter O’Brien and Kevin Davidson for completing the Infection Control Course run by Holmesglen TAFE.
There will be a ‘Lockdown Release’ get together on Sunday 13 December 2020 at Coatesville Bowling Club from 1.30pm to 5pm. An afternoon tea ’grazing box’ will be available to all attendees. Drinks are available at bar prices and if members wish to play bowls, the cost is $5.00 per person.
Peter Nolan then introduced our guest speaker, Helen Morgan who joined us from Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah in East Malaysia. Helen is a retired teacher who has lived in Sabah for 10 years. She is very happy there and plans to live there ‘forever.’ Helen has taught English in many countries primarily to adults who require the language for work.
Helen has never married and has no family but ( in her words) masses of friends. When she went to live in Sabah, she found that she was paying attention to other people’s children. In her interaction with those children, she noticed that a number of them had difficulty learning the multiplication table. It appeared to her that they might have missed something in the understanding of mathematics at school. She then devised a card game called ‘Happy Maths’ and introduced it to the children. 
The game is intended to be fun while teaching the children the concept and understanding of multiplication and division. She related an incident where she had to spend time with a little girl while her mother attended an Inner Wheel meeting. In that short time, she taught the girl the Happy Maths cards game with a very positive outcome. Helen was thanked by members for sharing her experiences in introducing Happy Maths to the children in Kota Kinabalu.
The game is intended to be fun while teaching the children the concept and understanding of multiplication and division. She related an incident where she had to spend time with a little girl while her mother attended an Inner Wheel meeting. In that short time, she taught the girl the Happy Maths cards game with a very positive outcome. Helen was thanked by members for sharing her experiences in introducing Happy Maths to the children in Kota Kinabalu.Ron Brownlees advised members that all available Market stalls have been sold out till Christmas. He also reminded members to stick to the COVID plan as required by DHS and Victorian Government. He also reminded members to dry the coins, from the money spinner, before putting them into the coin counter. Peter O’Brien was thanked for securing a trolley for the market. This is available for use by market patrons but a ‘deposit’ in the form of a drivers’s license or a credit card is required.
Tim Lynch then conducted a Sargent’s session, after which President Geoff closed the meeting.