Soundings (4/29/08)

Spring Report from Squalicum High School Interact Club - Introduced by Dan Wilkerson:  Interact Club President Laura listed their volunteer activities as part of Interact Club which included: serving water to runners at the Bellingham Bay Marathon; Assisting with the Buddy walk for people with down syndrome; Assumption-Interfaith coat drive; Red Cross with their seasonal Newsletters; Assisting in Old Town with Thanksgiving meal preparation for homeless; Cleaning apartment for residents of Lincoln Towers; assisting in preparation of community dinners at end of March/April; assisted with the Bowl for Kids Sake for Boys and Girls Club;  Gearing up for their Mother's day baskets and requesting donations; shampoos/lotions and other toiletries.  Laura thanked Dan Wilkerson for his 8 years of mentoring to the Interact Club, and for helping them with their volunteer activities, and to Dave Myers who is the major school supporter for Interact Club.

Bucks in the Bay:
      Bill Unrine-the "Happy to be anywhere on earth" bucks for his recovery from a minor heart attack, and a warm thank you for all the well wishes from his Rotary family, and for haven completed the CFP (Certified Financial Planner) testing.
      Phil (x-tended coverage) Hageman- on continued food-bank progress (98% roof coverage with no known leakage), and the anticipated completion of the project in 6 weeks, and the significant changes the building will bring to the hood.
      Art Runestrand--$10 entry into the coffers, but acknowledges that he does not have enough $$$ to say all the things he should about family; for Tonya Myers and her stardom in the theatre production, oh and one more thing about his family.his DNA has expanded as he has great granddaughter born on 4/26, and his fine time at Wapato Point, oh and one more thing about his family.His Granddaughter Catherine got married to Chris Evans who somehow has some connection with Bryon Sprague and/or his dealership so he's hoping to get a break on a car purchase, oh and one more thing about his family...................
      Bob Jones for failing to acknowledge his successful marriage of 33 years to wife Donna.
      Denise Bosman-now recognizing her failure to acknowledge her successful marriage of 24 years, which they celebrated blissfully together in Hawaii; and for daughter Erika choosing to go to college at Whitworth after being the top tennis recruit.
      Ed Zeck-for a story about Tim Douglas who replaced an aortic valve, and the 7 year old granddaughter's preference of the valve originating from a pig and not baboons so at least his butt wouldn't turn red. 
      Ken Opplinger-a happy plug buck for Ski to Sea and the golf tournament invitation for the Chamber's tournament at the Country Club-go play!
      Bob Moles-$10 for the birth of his 10th grandchild Lily Matt Rose-for his ski weekend at Baker, and for Tonya's Little Women performance,. Also, rants about his cousin from New York -who's a fashion photographer for Vanity Fair/Vogue who apparently works his "want me to take your picture" pick-up line successfully.
      Cy Lindberg-Sad bucks for the "want me to take your picture" line being unsuccessful for him, and announcement favor for Dan Moore to remind all that the "Tour of Master Remodelers" show is this weekend.
      Tonya Myers-Happy bucks to remind Cy that he needs a camera when using that line, and wishful bucks that her husband keeps her another day past their 9th anniversary which they are celebrating on Thursday.

Sergeant at Arms: Barry Kramer
A poignant reminder that the purpose of Sergeant is to Get Money, No Funny.

Fines for: anyone who hasn't signed up for Brewers on the Bay or Grape and Gourmet; for Mimi for damaging the landscaping every time she pulls into the Northwood Hall, for John X Stewart-no wait.. that would be Phil X Hageman wearing the wrong x badge; Lesa Boxx harassment bucks, Denise for having a nice life, Todd Ramsay for leaving early without a Hall Pass and for not making sure the Mayor was in attendance today; Art Runestrand for a business card he acquired from his friend-(surprisingly Art wanted to explain the details of the relationship...oh and as he found an opportunity to near the microphone he wanted to acknowledge...one more thing about his family...his grandson Peter has been accepted in Doctoral program); Bill Geyer and Lance Calloway got fined, despite their claimed innocence, for phone calls received during meeting; John Templeton for texting during meeting, despite his claimed innocence for checking his golf availability for rotary function; Ken Oplinger for picking wrong golf course; Ed Zeck and Doug Wight for claiming their golf levels to be "poor", despite having shot a hole in one previously and for Barry having to remind them of the 4 way test; anyone who has not experienced the Group Hug phenomena experienced at attending either a District or International Conference event.

Program -Kenneth Vedra- Superintendent Bellingham Public Schools
      Video presentation -"Did You Know" By a teacher in Littleton Colorado -Information in the video included: 25% of China with the highest IQ is greater than the population of the United States; China is the #1 English Speaking country in the World: 1 of 4 workers are employed by a company for less a year; 1 of 2 workers are employed by company for less than 5 years; the top 10 "in demand" jobs of 2004 don't exist today; United States is 20th in the world in broadband internet; 1 of 8 couples married last year met on line; Average MySpace is visited 30 times per day; 2.7 billion Google searches per year; the number of text messages sent each day exceeds the population of the planet; Half of what a Freshmen in college will learn will be outdated by the time they are Juniors; in 2007, 47 million laptops were shipped worldwide; By 2049 a $1000 computer will exceed the capabilities of the human race.

      School District standards on Meeting the Needs of World Class Students- What do kids need to have available to them?: The establishment of High Expectations for student learning; A meaningful local curriculum that exceeds State, National and international standards; Professional Development programs/ Identify 21st century skills needed to make people successful; Collaborate with stakeholders on key decisions concerning education of the children; assign and align resources, continue to education the whole child; provide appropriate/meaningful assessment What are skills kids need for 21st Century: problem solving skills, decision making skills; oral/written communication skills; ability to communicate in more that one language; used application of technology for everyday situations; act independently and collaboratively; provide critical analysis of complex global issues; pre passionate about making a difference, demonstrate character (appropriate risk taking, empathy, tolerance, citizenship, hope, integrity, service learning); apply knowledge in unique and broad based situations; have inquiring minds; use trans disciplinary and interdisciplinary learning skills; understand their own and other cultures.

      How do we do this? Strategic planning/confirm direction to be taken; align resources to achieve the strategic direction; collaborate with stakeholders on appropriate strategies; implement the plans; assess progress on plan, report progress about key items; measure success; celebrate success one person at a time; review the steps of the plan upon conclusion; audit use of resources; confirm our continuation of the target objectives; follow up on success of students.

      Mission: Partner with community to provide students with knowledge, skills, and qualities to be successful in our changing world.

DID YOU KNOW???????????

And fun was had by all..
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathy Cheldelin