Rothesay Park’s Positive Learning Environment student award is the Order of the Maple Leaf. It is loosely based on the Order of Canada which is accessible to every Canadian citizen and has progressive ‘levels’, the Order of the Maple Leaf is accessible to every student at Rothesay Park and it, too, has progressive levels.  Unlike the Order of Canada, which is only awarded to select few prominent Canadian citizens, the Order of the Maple Leaf is awarded to every student who meets the necessary criteria and is deserving of the award. 
 
Since the Order of Canada is awarded by the Governor-General, to make our award truly special and unique we wrote to the Governor-General Romeo LeBlanc to request that he be our patron or recognize the award in some way.  His Excellency liked the concept and issued a congratulatory letter which is to be presented to each student when inducted into the Order. Each Governor General since Romeo LeBlanc has sent a congratulatory letter.  We also designed and cast a special Maple Leaf Medallion on a neck ribbon which we present to each recipient.  The awards are presented by a prominent Canadian citizen at an evening ceremony which parents and friends attend, along with invited school officials and elected representatives of local, provincial and federal governments.  A reception in the school cafeteria follows. 
 
A school community is made up of many individuals who come from very diverse socio-economic backgrounds and who exhibit a wide range of behaviors, attitudes, and experiences.  Most students in any school are responsible, polite, well-behaved young ladies and gentlemen, who are a pleasure to work with day in and day out.  Most of these students go unrecognized in terms of tangible awards.  The Order of the Maple Leaf is a way to ensure that no deserving students go unrecognized at Rothesay Park School. 
 
To be eligible to receive the Award, students must be outstanding citizens of the school community and they must complete a required number of hours of community service. This means they are to do their homework when and as assigned; to work diligently in class; to be co-operative with their teachers and their classmates; participate in school life; to be polite and courteous; and to have a deportment one might wish for and expect from a student in school. Students at the Grade six level must complete 2 hours of community service per term; Grade seven 3 hours per term, and Grade eight 4 hours per term. Community service must be completed for an agency or people outside of their own family or our school building. Regardless of intellectual ability, every student can meet the above criteria and therefore this award is within the grasp of every student who enters Rothesay Park School.  In addition to community service, students are expected to participate in school life.  This means that every month except for one per term, each student must participate in at least one activity period to be eligible to receive the Order of the Maple Leaf.