The superintendent and her executive cabinet are pleased to recognize the following individuals for their outstanding work and contributions to our district and community.

Business Partner of the Month: Salem Vineyard Church

Pictured from left: Principal Susan Adams, Myers Elementary; Jori Xavier and Associate Pastor Don Amon, Salem Vineyard Church; and Salem-Keizer School Board Chairperson Rick Kimball.

Our November Community Partner of the Month is Salem Vineyard Church. 

Salem Vineyard Church was nominated by April Edwards, counselor at Myers and Harritt. The church has been partnering with Myers Elementary for approximately four years.

They help the students with school supplies and back packs. The church members work as mentors and volunteer in classrooms, and help with the annual field day.

The church has extended their help to the Myers school community by providing families with resources to help pay bills and getting groceries. During the November and December holidays, the church provides meals for all of Myer’s needy families. Church members help the school’s counselor with the giving tree. They help buy gifts, and then take the time to deliver the gifts and the meals to the families’ homes.

Every year on October 31st, they put on an October fall festival that is free for Myers’ families and community. The whole church membership volunteers for the evening to provide candy and snacks for the kids and their families.

And it’s not just the students and their families that they help out. The church maintains the front of Myers school with flowers, laying bark and weeding. Many times throughout the school year, they will provide staff with breakfast and coffee, or may feed all staff at lunch time.

Myers school staff feels very grateful for the generosity of Salem Vineyard Church.

Thank you for your continuing support of our students and schools.

Congratulations!

Super Volunteer Kellan Sawyer

Pictured from left: Volunteer Kellan Sawyer with Chairperson Kimball.

The Volunteer of the Month award goes to Kellan Sawyer. She was nominated by Jennie Wuest, office manager at Sprague High School.

Kellan has been a long-time volunteer at Sprague and has been the driving force behind Beyond Sprague for the last five years. For those who may not know, Beyond Sprague is a parent-led group that coordinates college and career guidance activities for Sprague students and their parents. Kellan has trained the Beyond Sprague volunteers each year. She has developed, and had posted on Sprague’s website, very useful materials to work with senior students on steps to follow for their post high school planning. She has actively worked with the counseling department to ensure that seniors and juniors have the chance to meet with volunteers to learn about college and career planning.

She has organized and presented the Parent Information Nights each fall. This is a college information night for parent. It helps parents know what they need to be doing now to help their child submit the necessary paperwork for scholarships, transcripts, letters of recommendation and so forth. This year about 240 parents attended the event.

The average volunteer at Sprague logs 250 hours or more each year. Sprague staff feels that they are so lucky to have such great volunteers and an enthusiastic worker like Kellan in their school.

Congratulations!

Oregon Science Teachers Association Outstanding Teacher Award 2011

Pictured from left: Leslie Middle School science teacher Kent Walcott; Parrish MIddle Assistant Principal Gina Ayers; Parrish Middle science teacher Larry Philbrick; Parrish Principal Rob Schoepper; Waldo science teacher Ben Light; with Chairperson Kimball.

Middle school science teachers Kent Walcott, Larry Philbrick and Ben Light were awarded the Oregon Science Teachers Association’s Outstanding Classroom Teacher Award for 2011 at OSTA’s annual fall conference on October 14 in Coos Bay.

These teachers were nominated by peers. Nominators were instructed to take a look at the colleagues in their school, their district or region. Which ones did they see as the hardest working, the most passionate, and the most skilled at exciting students about science and the process of scientific discovery? Those are the individuals that should be nominated. The process was simple but meaningful.

This award recognizes and honors the dedication and work of Kent, Larry and Ben as truly outstanding classroom teachers.

Thank you for your dedication to science, and to the Salem-Keizer students you work with every school day.

Congratulations!