Rotary Sunrise members with Methodist Agogic Centre (MAC) pupils who participated in the Butterfly Story Book contest.
PHILIPSBURG--The Rotary E-Club of the Caribbean, District 7020 Butterfly Story-Writing contest was recently concluded and with much appreciation to young authors on the island, Rotary Sunrise congratulates Khushi Soneji and Nagely Andular Vargas for emerging as the overall winners.
“The Gift of Listening” by Khushi J. Soneji of Methodist Agogic Centre (MAC) and “The Girl with the Well-Worn Uniform” by Nagely Andujar Vargas of Ruby Labega School emerged as the two best stories from the 14 stories submitted from St. Maarten.
This year, the participating schools and pupils included MAC with participants Khushi Soneji, Jennifer Faneyte, Chrisalia Douglas, Jada Emmanuel, Rihanna Anthony, Chiyanka Thomas, Sariah Allamby, and Tyler Sargeant; Ruby Labega School with participants Nagely Andujar Vargas, Salina Gopaul and Breanna Woodstock; St. Joseph School pupil Marisha Ulla; and Hillside Christian Schools Asha Stevens Campus pupils Géanah Gumbs and Zanzi Ekpe Brook.
The Butterfly Story-Writing contest challenges creative writers ages 7-11 to tell their stories. The pupils were asked to write a story of 300-750 words reflecting acts of kindness, friendship, leadership and/or respect. This could involve friends, family and/or pets and specifically illustrate the Caribbean culture.
The contest was open to pupils residing in the Caribbean as an opportunity to become published young authors. In 2016, Sacha Tobias of the MAC Browlia Maillard Campus was selected as one of the winners of this competition and had her story published along with the other selected winners in Rotary District 7020.
Nagely and Khushi will also have their stories published in the Story Book alongside winners from other Caribbean countries.
During the presentation of the certificates and prizes to the winning schools Ruby Labega Principal Esther Jeffers-Cannegieter noted her extreme pride in her group 6 pupil Nagely for being one in the first place position. She further congratulated the other participants who worked hard as well as their teacher Gumbs for her consistent dedication to this project.
She concluded with a note of thanks on behalf of her staff and the school board to the Rotary Club for its contribution in programmes such as these for their students to get an opportunity to shine internationally.
Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunrise President Okama Ekpe Brook and project coordinator Rotarian Marcellia Henry congratulated Khushi and Nagely for being the overall winners. They thanked other participants and the principals, teachers, advisors and classroom teachers for embracing this project and encouraging participation of their pupils.
The promotion of literacy supports the love for reading and writing. Writing not only helps build strong young leaders, but also tells the Caribbean story and puts St. Maarten on the regional and global map.
Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunrise meets at Ginger Bread Café Restaurant, Belair Beach Hotel, from 7:00 to 8:00am every Tuesday. For more information on the Club, visit its website sxmsunrise.org or e-mail
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . It is also on Facebook: Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunrise.
