Gifts for Castelo do Sonhos
Stewart & Linda of Rotary Clube de Silves hands over a gift of toys, baby clothes & toiletries to Dave Mossman of Castelo do Sonhos.
These were collected & donated by Stewart’s friends in Rotary Club Burnham Beeches in UK.
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600 Celebrate the 2016 Oscares
Last week the Oscars came to Pêra and six hundred guests gathered at the Cultural Centre in Pêra to celebrate the films and artwork of the pupils of Agrupamento de Escolas de SilvesSul an initiative started by the Rotary Club of Silves. It was a night of glamour and celebration as the nominees walked the red carpet and wondered whether it was to be their night.
The glamour did not end with the red carpet as the students and their guests dressed up for the occasion. The nominees, their parents and friends were joined by Peter Abbott, the Deputy British Ambassador to Portugal, Rosa Palma, Mayor of Silves, Clive Jewel, British Vice Consul, representatives from the Freguesias around the area and educationists from across the Algarve. Rotarians from various clubs across the Algarve were also present to celebrate the students’ achievements and support this educational project.
The Deputy Ambassador was full of praise for the event describing the Oscars as a fantastic event and that everyone involved should be incredibly proud. He was in admiration of the talents and skills of the young people who took part in the Oscars. He also thanked the staff and students from Wildern School for their contribution. He pledged continued Embassy support for the project.
Escolas de SilvesSul and Wildern School from the UK have worked in partnership to develop this event which is modelled on a similar ceremony at Wildern School. Six pupils from Wildern School and two teachers joined the pupils of Escolas de SilvesSul on the red carpet. Forty films and many pieces of artwork and photographs were submitted for the Oscars. Fifty were nominated across eleven categories from Best Short Film, Best International Film, Best Primary School Film through to Best Artwork and Photography.
To whoops of delight from the pupils of SilvesSul, the winners were drawn from the gold envelopes. The judges presented the Oscars and prizes to the winners who gave a short thank you speech which was accompanied by huge smiles of delight.
Alan Winn, Past President of RC Silves thanked the staff of Escolas de Silves Sul whose efforts made this event happen particularly Carla Mourinho, Daniel Carvalo, Cidalia Azinhiero and Director Carlos Silva. The Pupils from the Algarve and the UK have formed strong friendships and are look forward to meeting again in July when six students from Escolas SilvesSul travel to the UK for the Wildern Oscars.
Cookery Competition Gala Dinner
Competition finalists, together with Parents, Teachers and Rotarians were guests at a special gala dinner at the Conrad last wednesday for the presentation of the winners cup of the Rotary Algarve Schools Cookery competition. This was the third year of the competition that was once again organised by the Rotary Clubs of Almancil and Silves. The winning team was Escola EB2,3 Dr. António de Sousa Agostinho in Almancil.
Altogether 12 teams entered from Agrupamento de Escolas de Silves Sul, Escola Secundária Dra. Laura Ayres in Quarteira and Escola EB2,3 Dr. António de Sousa Agostinho in Almancil.
Ten judges headed by Peter Hinze and Alan Winn of the Rotary clubs tasted 18 three-course lunches before choosing the final two teams; one from the school in Almancil and the other from the school in Quarteira.
As well as the food, the judges also took into account the performance of the students acting as waiting staff.
“All the students taking part showed great promise and gave us some superb food,” said Alan Winn. “Deciding on the two teams to go through to the final was extremely difficult.”
The finals were held at the Conrad Hotel on March 9. The teams were each presented with a ‘mystery box’ of ingredients from which they had to produ.ce a three-course lunch.
Students were able to experience a kitchen at a five star hotel and get a little advice from three top class chefs: Executive Chef Osvalde Silva, Sous Chef Vitor Viegas and Pastry Chef Roberto Horta.
Peter Hinze said: “After much discussion we awarded first prize to the team from Escola EB2,3 Dr. António de Sousa Agostinho who gave us a starter of chicken roulade with salad, followed by baked salmon on a bed of potato and spinach, and ending with crème caramel.
Giving thanks to the Conrad for its support, Peter said he hoped the experience would encourage some of the students to follow a career in catering.
The meal for the evening was provided by the Conrad chefs who prepared the winning meal giving it their own own twist.
The Almancil school was presented with the winners’ cup with members from each team being awarded a certificate and a personalised apron. In addition to the cup for the winning team, this year a prize was awarded for the best dish of the competition to Miguel Reis of Escola Secundária Dra. Laura Ayres for his fish in tempura batter with savoury rice, said to be “perfect” by guest judge Didier Cazes, formerly of Restaurante Couleur France in Almancil.
Cookery Semi Finalists Chosen
The semi finals start on the 23 February with teams of 5 made up of 3 chefs and 2 servers. The final two teams will cook in the Conrad Hotel kitchen in March. The prizes will be awarded at a celebration dinner in the Conrad Hotel. The Semi Finalists are:-
Team 3 Almancil with a winning menu of
Pumpkin Soup
Codfish with Cream
Passionfruit Bavaroise
Team 1 Quarteira
Pea and Mint Soup
Venison with Madeira Sauce
Brownie with Yogurt and Lime Foam
Team 2 Algoz
Avacado Cocktail
Poached Salmon with Orange Salad
Asian Dessert
Team 1 Armação de Pêra
Pumpkin Crème with Toast
Pork Fillet with Green Salad
Fruit Basket with Ice Cream
Cookery Competition 2015/16
Students from schools in Almancil, Quarteira, Algoz and Armacão de Pêra have been preparing their menus and putting on their aprons for the cookery competition supported by IRC Almancil and RC Silves. The schools have to choose their best teams to go forward to semi finals. The judges have been helping in their selection with advice and support and of course sampling the menus. Dispite their obvious nerves, they all coped well and provided a very good level of service. The judges provide valuable feedback for the teams during these practice sessions. Each school will identify a team of 5 made up of 3 chefs and 2 servers for the semi final next month. The final two teams will cook in the Conrad Hotel kitchen in March. The prizes will be awarded at a celebration dinner in the Conrad Hotel.
See pictures of all the menus so far..…… More to Come
UK Toilet Bags Distributed in Silves
As part of RC Silves Community Service, Stewart & Linda handed over 2 large boxes to Dave Mossman for Castelo do Sonhos.
The boxes contained 180 small white towels and 40 toilet bags each containing soap / towellette / shaving kit / toothbrush.
These were obtained via a Rotary colleague of Stewart’s in the UK. Thank you goes to Algarve removals who shipped the boxes free of charge to Portugal.
Dave reported that CAFAP / Castelo do Sonhos were delighted and quickly identified needy recipients.
Two Encores Needed
Another enthralling concert at the Casa da Cultura, Silves: Eighty people enjoyed drinks and canapés in the garden of the Casa de Cultura as they gathered to hear a superb programme of music by Sonora Saxaphone Quartet. Their interesting programme included music by Dvorak, J.B Singelé, Bach, Piazzolla and Gershwin. The audience were enthralled especially by their performance of the Rhapsody in Blue and called for two encores. The benefit event raised 1000€ for Banco Alimentar. Thanks go to the RC Silves event team, Casa Cultura staff, Silves Camara and the pupils of Escola Silves Sul for their help serving the drinks and canapés.
Baby Clothes for Castelo dos Sonhos
This charity is always close to our heart at RC Silves. They struggle each year to support the local community especially those newly born. Stewart Smith and his partner Linda have coordinated a collection this year of baby clothes, cots and high chairs both here and in the UK with the support of RC ? The equipment was delivered to Lilliana Rodriques at the charity’s headquarters in Silves. Much to the delight of the Castelo de Sonhos team.
And in preperation for Christmas Paulo the Penguin is delivered…
Fundraising Dinner
Silves Rotary Club started its fundraising year with an enjoyable evening of food, wine and friendship at the home of past president Alan Winn in Salir.
The event raised 420€ for the digital media project and school exchange. Guests were treated to a four course meal with a choice of main and dessert. Thanks must go to also to those who could not attend but gave a donation. We have some way to go yet to hit the funding target but we are on the way. The date for the Agrupomento Escolas Silves Sul Oscars has been confirmed for March 14 2016 and students from the UK will be joining us at the event.
3 October, Sonora Saxophone Quartet Concert:
This will be our fourth concert at this delightful venue. The Casa da Cultura in Silves is an intimate venue with a Moorish garden ideal for enjoying an evening of music.
The evening will start with drinks and canapés before guests are treated to an uplifting programme of music by the Sonora Saxophone Quartet. The programme is similar to our sell out saxophone concert in 2013 where the artists performed a mixture of classical and contemporary music.
Programme
J.S. Bach – Concerto Italien
J.B Singelé – Premier Quatuor pour Saxophones
George Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue
Intermission (20 minutes)
Piazzolla – Historie du Tango
Dvorak – Amerikanisches Quartett
Tickets will be available shortly for a minimum donation of €15. For those of you who have supported and enjoyed these events before, this is a date for the diary for you and your friends. This is definitely one not to miss! Contact info.rotarysilves@gmail.com to reserve a ticket.
Rotary Clube de Silves 