Flag Salute & Invocation by Dean Fulton
Guests: Paul Bulanov, Allen Stockbridge, guests from Whatcom Intergenerational High School
Visting Rotarians:
Announcements by President Brad
- Eddie update on the Docks project;
- Carlye said our "facilities fee" at Northwood Hall is working out fine so far this year;
- Please make sure your Email address is up to date in Clubrunner;
- Sunrise Club's annual Oysterfest fundraiser will be Sat Feb 1, with celebrity auctioneer John Curley; for tickets contact Rob Lee at oysterfest2020@gmail.com
- March 31 will be the annual joint "All Whatcom" Rotary Clubs social event - details soon;
Incoming leadership slate:
Past President Brad Cornwell
President Mike Bates
President Elect Lance Calloway
Vice President Lesa Ferguson
Treasurer Henry Lee
Secretary Tresha Dutton
Directors
Tony Freeland Year 1 of 2
Ericka Buse Year 1 of 2
Directors
Ian McCurdy Year 2 of 2
Steve Berringer Year 2 of 2
Sean Stimac Year 2 of 2
Directors which terms will have expired in June 2020: Anna Williams and Carlye Gillsepie
Business Promo by Curtis Dye
Curtis says his local company, Interconnect Systems, is now 41 years old in the office telephone systems business, had a great 2019 Q4, so business is good!
Bucks in the Bay
- John Templeton next week will be Sergeant at Arms, so beware!
- Tonja Myers’ daughter at Squalicum HS placed as alternate for the State choir event, and a reminder to get a flu shot and wash your hands!
- Bob Moles sympathy for all those suffering from chronic pain - he just had back surgery and now feels great!
- Martin Meade daughter at Montana State doing (terrifying) competitive skiing; son works at Sage (Bainbridge Is) and helped at a big fundraiser there;
- Jason Kulhanek;
- Stowe Talbot for son getting in to U of Denver next year;
- Brad thanks Erica and Lesa for stepping up to board positions!
Sergeant at Arms by Tony Freeland
Fines and trivia for misc local history.
Program
Lance Calloway introduced Cindy Reuther, CEO of the newly created Whatcom Intergenerational HighSchool (WIHS, https://www.intergenerational.school/). Cindy showed a video about a school that she founded in Minnesota called the Laura Jeffrey Academy (http://www.laurajeffreyacademy.org/) that is an example of what is also possible here in Bellingham with WIHS.
“Intergenerational Learning is the incorporation of multiple generations across the school program, benefitting the younger generation of learners as well as the elders who share their knowledge and experiences with us. By giving opportunities for diverse generations to interact in a learning setting, WIHS hopes to built a network of relationships and support, reduce inaccurate stereotypes, and help build a sense of personal and societal identity.”
When Cindy moved to Whatcom County three years ago, she started to learn about the many gaps in Whatcom County education. This was the catalyst to start the new school.
Why WIHS? If you are young person living below poverty line you are twice as likely to be chronically absent from school. WIHS will provide a nurturing environment to everyone, including low income kids, kids with learning disabilities and minorities. The school’s chair and principal, Erum Mohiuddin, talked about how the school will connect to the community and give back. New and innovative learning systems, students and teachers being valued, extra time to help the students, inclusivity.
INNOVATION 1
They will employ “Phenomenon Based Learning”, a method developed in Finland, to study real-world and compelling problems from a variety of subjects.
INNOVATION 2
“Critical Thinking Skills” decoding words, what messages are being depicted in these words, what do these methods mean to the community and the world;
INNOVATION 3
More adult support: elders and traditional providers, homework help, plans for high school and beyond.
501c3, board members, looking for business partners and attorney, staff is growing,
WIHS is a public charter school. Like all public schools, charter schools are:
Open to all students
Tuition-free
Publicly funded
Staffed by certified teachers
Held accountable to state and national standards
It is the first charter school north of King County.
Currently 9 students enrolled, and another 40 are interested. The ultimate plan is to enroll up to 300 students. They are looking for downtown location, 4,000-20,0000 sq ft.
If you are interested in helping the school in some way, you can contact Cindy through the WIHS Website, or come today (Wed Jan 29, 2020) to an information table which will be set up at Bellis Fair Mall from 1:00-8:00pm.
Raffle won by Doug Wight.
Respectfully submitted,
Stowe Talbot