For the Reporter
The Auburn School Board recently presented the quarterly Gold Star Volunteer Award to Hugh Hoover and Steve Ray for their work in the classroom.
Bringing 80 years of computer programming experience with them, Hoover and Ray volunteer from 7:30 to 9 a.m. every day at Auburn High School in Scott McLaughlin’s Advanced Placement computer science course.
Brought in through Microsoft’s Technology Education and Literacy in Schools (TEALS) program, Hoover and Ray agreed to a two-year stint to prepare McLaughlin to teach computer programming.
“When we started last year, Scott couldn’t spell programming,” Ray joked.
During the 2014-15 school year, Hoover and Ray taught the students and McLaughlin observed. During this school year, McLaughlin has taken over teaching while Hoover and Ray augment and help as needed. It’s a big time commitment that both men believe strongly in.
The goal is to familiarize students with computer programming and provide the knowledge so McLaughlin can successfully teach without their support next year.
Last year, the five students who took the AP computer science exam scored high enough to get college credits.
Ray, who has a degree in computer programming, retired in March after 40 years at The Boeing Co. He began volunteering in the program before he retired.
Hoover retired two years ago, also, after a 40-year programming career, working for multiple companies and retiring from Microsoft.
Ray has four children, all Auburn School District grads, and two grandchildren. His wife, Kathy, retired from Auburn High last year. In addition to volunteering at AHS, he volunteers weekly at Lea Hill, where his daughter, Liz, is a second-grade teacher.
Hoover has three children, one an Auburn High graduate, the others a sophomore and senior at the school. This year has been especially rewarding for him because his son is enrolled in the AP computer science course.
Elsewhere
The Auburn School District Board of Directors also recognized Billy Daniels, day custodian at Mt. Baker Middle School, for his outstanding service.
Daniels is more than “just a custodian” according to Mt. Baker principal Greg Brown. He is friendly, personable and truly gets to know the students. Known as Mr. Billy to staff and students, there is a long waiting list of students who want to be a teacher assistant for him.
Daniels received his plaque for 15 years of service to the ASD last spring. He has been at Mt. Baker for eight years. Prior to his time at Mt. Baker, he worked at Dick Scobee and at Boeing. He loves the people, staff and students at Mt. Baker. He likes to connect with kids. He remembers kids’ birthdays, asks them about their athletic events, gives them high-fives and just talks to them.
“We are so lucky to have him at Mt. Baker,” Brown said. …
Rainier Middle School took second place in the America Recycles Day Challenge for Washington schools. The annual clothing recycling competition encourages students to collect clothing for recycling and re-use. USAgain places and services collection bins at each participating school, which all receive revenue based on total pounds collected.
Bremerton High School won the competition.
The competition began Oct. 15 and culminated Nov. 15.
“This friendly challenge encourages students to learn more about recycling and its impacts on the planet,” said USAgain CEO Mattias Wallander.” “It’s a great way for schools to engage with students and their communities about the importance of keeping textiles out of landfills, while raising money and reducing carbon footprints at the same time.”
USAgain commends all 20 schools in Washington that participated in the recycling challenge this year. Together, 6,000 pounds of clothes were collected, which helped prevent 90,000 pounds of carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere. The three top collectors will receive additional cash prizes of $250, $100 and $50, respectively. ….
Chevron USA. Inc.’s Fuel Your School program recently generated $600,000 to help fund 736 classroom projects, including 306 focused on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The program will help connect real world experiences to classroom learning for 83,104 students at 226 King County public schools.
Among the Auburn school project fund recipients: elementaries, Alpac, Arthur Jacobsen, Chinook, Dick Scobee, Evergreen Heights, Gildo Rey, Hazelwood, Ilalko, Lake View, Lakeland Hills, Lea Hill, Pioneer, Terminal Park and Washington; middle schools, Mt. Baker and Cascade; and high schools, Auburn, Auburn Mountainview and West Auburn. …
Through the Fuel Your School program, Chevron contributed $1 when consumers purchased eight or more gallons of fuel at participating Chevron and Texaco stations in King County during the month of October, generating $600,000 to help fund eligible classroom projects at local public schools.
The Fuel Your School program is part of Chevron’s total commitment to education. Chevron has invested nearly $250 million since 2013, supporting programs that focus on STEM education initiatives designed to arm students and teachers with the critical skills and resources needed to succeed in jobs of the future. …
Auburn’s Isaac Drewes, a performance and church music major at St. Olaf College (Northfield, Minn.), recently performed in the St. Olaf Christmas Festival, one of the oldest musical celebrations of Christmas in the U.S.. Started in 1912 by F. Melius Christiansen, founder of the St. Olaf College Music Department, the festival features more than 500 student musicians who are members of five choirs and the St. Olaf Orchestra. Drewes is the son of Timothy and Cheryl Drewes and a graduate of Auburn High School. …
Auburn’s Robert Burdick (senior, natural resources, straight-A average) and Adrianna Parent (freshman, biochemistry and biophysics, 3.5 or better) made the fall term honor roll at Oregon State University. … Kamron Hamedi, a freshman premed/predent major of Auburn, was among approximately 480 Bob Jones University students named to the fall president’s list, which recognizes students who earn a 3.75 or higher GPA. Located in Greenville, S.C., Bob Jones University is a biblically faithful, Christian liberal arts university. … Auburn’s Silas Gilliam was named to the 2015 fall semester dean’s list at St. Norbert College (De Pere, Wisc). A minimum 3.5 grade point average is required for academic eligibility. … Auburn’s Emily Reeves made the dean’s list for fall term at Eastern Oregon University’s.
