Philipsburg – The Rotary E-Club of the Caribbean, District 7020 announced their winners, with much appreciation to our local young authors. The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset received a total of twenty stories, with three being submitted to the Rotary E-Club for consideration to be published in this year’s Butterfly Storybook. The club congratulated Amir Baharani for emerging as the overall winner.
Amir Baharani from The St. Maarten Montessori School wrote a story titled “The New Kid”; Valente Cathalina from the St. Dominic Primary School wrote a story titled “The Boy and the Beautiful Blue Butterfly”; and Angelis Polanco from the Helmich Snijders Hillside Christian School wrote a story titled “Save the Dogs”. These participants were selected as the three best stories from the twenty stories that were submitted to the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset and sent to the Rotary E-Club of the Caribbean.
This year, the participating schools and students included Lisnette Maduro; Taishema Gumbs; Jasmine Adams; Romaire Johnson; Aaron Peters; Suheidi Alejandra; Shamal Thomas; Lemar Prince Carter; and Kianny Fidanque van Hengen from the Helmich Snijders Hillside Christian School. From the St. Maarten Montessori School, the particpants were Talika Alwani; Cecil Cone III; Giselina Greaux-Domatilia; Andrea Hubert; Ava Reinhard-Boyd; Amani van der Camp; Kjeld van der Meer; and Jolin Xue.
The Butterfly Story Book writing contest challenges creative young writers aged 7-11 to tell their stories. The students were asked to write a story reflecting acts of kindness, friendship, leadership and/or respect. This could involve friends, family and/or pets and specifically illustrate the Caribbean culture, consisting of 300-750 words. The contest was open to students residing in the Caribbean as an opportunity to become published young authors.
All participants were invited to the Emilio Wilson Park for a time of celebration. All participating schools and students received certificates for their contribution. The winner, Amir Baharani, received a cash price of $50.00 from the Rotary E-Club of Caribbean and a $100.00 gift card from Amazon compliments of the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset. The winner will also have his story published in the 2023 Butterfly Story Book alongside winners from other Caribbean countries. The general public is encouraged to purchase a book sold on Amazon by searching: The Butterfly Storybook 10th Anniversary Edition (2023): 100 Caribbean Tales by Emerging Young Authors.
President Kimberley Duzong of the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset thanked all participants for submitting exceptional stories and encouraged them to continue writing. She also thanked the principals, teachers, and parents for supporting this endeavor and encouraging participation of their students.
The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset meets on the second and fourth Monday of the month at Carl N Sons Unique Inn and Conference Facilities in Colebay at 7:30 pm. The club can be contacted via email at rotarysxmsunset@gmail.com or via the official Facebook page at facebook.com/rotarysxmsunset.
