Do the Duke

Students of St. Joseph-Scollard Hall (SJSH) celebrated personal milestones Tuesday as they were awarded with certificates of achievement from the Duke of Edinburgh.

This is the 3rd year for the awards at SJSH and Mayor Victor Fedeli and Anna Marie Bitonti, Director of Education were on hand to present the certificates to the 18 respectful recipients who earned their Bronze status and four students who achieved their Silver status. Although Prince Philip was unable to attend the event, he did send a personal note of thanks offering congratulations to the students.

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, established the awards in 1956 in order to help young people develop a sense of responsibility to themselves and to their communities.

The Award is a four-Section programme with three levels:

• Bronze (for those aged 14 and over)
• Silver (for those aged 15 and over) and
• Gold (for those aged 16 and over).

The Sections involve:

• Service (helping people in the community)
• Skills (covering almost any hobby, skill or interest)
• Physical Recreation (sport, dance and fitness)
• Expeditions (training for, planning and completing a journey on foot or horseback, by boat or cycle)
• Residential Project (Gold Award only) (a purposeful enterprise with people not previously known to the participant)

On average a participant will complete the bronze section between 6-12 months, and the silver is usually achieved anywhere from 12-18 months. The gold section which a number of students are now working towards can take a participant 18-24 months to complete and all awards must be completed by the participant's 25th birthday.

As part of the Residential Project (a purposeful enterprise with people not previously known to the participant) the SJSH students are now embarking on a lofty fundraising venture to raise $20,000 to build an orphanage in Costa Rica.