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The Duke OfEdinburgh's Award<br />
Young CIJnIJdiIJn~' ChlJl/sngs<br />
There are 22 students at Jarvi s who are currently enrolled in the Duke of Edinburgh's<br />
Award program. At the Bronze level are: Nada Gatalo. Kal e Gorsline and Leesa<br />
Kwon g. At the Silver level are: Erika Allen. Radu BUlan. David Seepersad. Amy<br />
Sedgwick Karen Sionim and Anna Strauss. Taking on Gold are: Nitai Desselle. Maggie<br />
Gilmour. Chris Lawley. Marth a McDonald. Jessica Price. Julie Ralhan. Rishma Somji,<br />
Simon Strau ss. Omar Tan and Pieter Van Dijk .<br />
Each level of the award consists of four sections: physical fitness. skills. community<br />
serv ice. and expedition. The Gold and Sil ver levels also requi re a residential project.<br />
At the hardest level. the physical fitness section requires 50 hours of any physical activity<br />
(sorry. gym class doesn 't count!) over a period of at least 25 weeks. This includes any<br />
team sports or hobbies such as cycling, swimming or even rock climbin g.<br />
For the skills section of the Gold Award. over a period of a year and a half, partici <br />
pants are expected to learn and pracuce a skill. Some exa mples that have been done in the past are learning sign language.<br />
taking up an instrument. keyboarding and singing.<br />
The co mmunity service section requ ires 90 hours of volunteer work in a minimum of a year and a half. Of cou rse<br />
this includes worki ng for chari ties and hospitals. but other activities such as tutoring. wor king on the yearbook or<br />
newspaper and being on Student Cou ncil also count. Essentially. any lime spent working for the co mmunity without pay<br />
can be used for this sectio n.<br />
The most exci ting pan of the program is the expedition. For the Gold Award. there are a minimum of three<br />
practice trips to be comp leted. and then an expedition lasting for at least four days and three nights must be undertake n.<br />
Depending on the mode of transportation (i.e. mountain biking. canoeing. rock climbing etc..) there are different lengths<br />
that have to be travelled.<br />
Obviously, completing the D.E.A. is no easy task. It requires a long-term commitment and perseverance (not to<br />
mention a lot of paperwork'). Once completed. it is one of the most rewarding experiences possible. The beauty of the<br />
Award is that it's cumulative. meaning that the hours you put forth towards co mpleting the Bronze Award go towa rd the<br />
Silver. and finally the Gold.<br />
It is not surprisi ng that with such a challenging progra m. many <strong>Jarvis</strong>ites exce l in it and attain Gold. The key is to<br />
start early. For those of you partici pating in clubs or teams here at <strong>Jarvis</strong>. you've probably done quite a bit towards your<br />
award already. it's just a mailer of signing up. Information can be obtained through Mrs.Schindler in Room 4 10.<br />
So the next time you see the ad in the Daily <strong>Magnet</strong>. go. sign up. and challenge yoursel f. You won't regret it!<br />
- Simon Strauss<br />
Above: British and Can adian Gold teams take on<br />
Algonqui n. Summer 1995.<br />
Above: Rishma Somji (to p row, third from left). Sim on<br />
Strauss (middle row. second from left) and the rest of the<br />
Canadian team modeli ng their personal floatation devices.
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