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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (May 12, 2018)
SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2018 | 7A A Teacher’s Purpose By Ramiro Ramirez Siuslaw High School Student H appy Teacher Apprecia- tion Week to all teachers! As an honor to Teacher Appreciation Day on Tuesday, I will present some of the most memorable teachers I’ve had during my school years. My kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Griff es, is still one of my favorite teachers as she had a kind heart and her class was fun. She had a connection between kids’ hearts because she got the class hyped up for all activities. Whether it was math, social studies or reading, she always had the stu- dents ready for the next activity. Th e most memorable moment I had with her was one of my fi rst times acting. In the win- ter, Mrs. Griff es set up a play so that the whole class could par- ticipate. I don’t remember how well the play went, but I know it involved some singing, and dancing. I acted as a snowman — and boy what a time that was. Aft er I moved on from kin- dergarten, I wouldn’t have a teacher as memorable as her until fi ft h grade. As we prepared to enter fi ft h grade, I heard some of my class- mates talk about the teachers that they wanted to be with for the 2012-13 school year. Some of those included Mr. Daugh- erty, Mr. Utz and Mrs. Halpin. I, on the other hand didn’t really care which teacher I had. I was then placed in Mr. Anderson’s class, and that year brought more than I expected. On the very fi rst day of fi ft h grade, Mr. Anderson made an announcement about the sign- ing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Some of the oth- er students didn’t seem to care about it since they were talking and doing their own thing, but I looked around the room and found several things related to U.S. history. Th roughout the year, it was a great ride with him. Mr. Anderson appreciat- ed that I was one of the leading characters in CROW’s produc- tion of Meredith Willson’s “Th e Music Man Jr.” Th ere were so many subjects that I had a blast doing with him. Our class learned math and the history of America through the FLOWERS to brighten Mom’s day Handcrafted Bouquets, Plants, Home décor, Jewelry and more…we have your gifts for Mom! Florence in Bloom Place your Mother’s Day delivery order today! 541-997-5391 • 800-914-2305 1234 Rhododendron Dr., Florence fl orenceinbloom.com magic of media. Th e most fun I had was a re- search project on a hero we ad- mire. At the time, I was a Micro- soft enthusiast and had recently looked at the evolution of the Windows Operating Systems from 1979 to 2013. My project would be about the one who contributed the most help to these systems, Bill Gates. I could arguably say, this was the project I put the most eff ort into, going as far as making fake laptops, and an information board with loads of information about each operating system’s name, launch date and reception. I even ended up dressing up exactly like Bill Gates — black suit and a pair of glasses. Mr. Anderson gave me an outstanding grade for my craft smanship on my hard- worked project. Aft erwards, there were more teachers to come. I can’t think of a teacher any better than Mrs. Dotson, my sixth grade English teach- er, to make middle school less stressful. My sixth grade year was very stressful since I saw friends and classmates go into their own groups and isolate themselves from me. Whenever I tried to squeeze into conversa- tions, they would either ignore me or tell me to go away in a rude manner. I was pretty much left alone then, but Mrs. Dot- son would have some stories to make my day bet- ter. Some stories included “Touch- ing Spirit Bear” which is a book that I completely fell in love with. I do hear there is a movie about it, and a sequel to the book and movie titled “Ghost of Spirit Bear.” I’m interested in learning more about these stories. Another teacher that stood out to me was my Future Suc- cess teacher, Mr. Perry. In fact, he made the most impact on my life by clearing some of the fog in my future and have me fo- cus on the things I loved via a website. In our class, we took a survey online of some things we loved to do and then the web- site would list possible jobs that thought would suit us. Mr. Perry told us to narrow it down to three jobs we liked and then choose one of the three. One of them was a comput- er soft ware designer, someone who creates and develops soft - ware for the computer indus- try. I decided to choose that job since the employment in that industry is growing, and heck, I love computers! Mr. Perry is also the teacher most relatable to me. Th e most similar item we both share is a high level of discipline. I even got into the leadership program through his leadership advi- sor recommendation because he saw the qualities in me that could make me a potential lead- er for the school. In my current school year at Siuslaw High School, there are several teachers that make my day better. Some include Mr. McNeil, my Geometry teacher, and Mr. Wartnick, my English II teacher. However, there is one teacher that stands out for me the most — my biology teacher, Mrs. Castro-Brandt. I can argu- ably say that she is my favorite teacher so far. Th anks to her teaching, biol- ogy is now one of my favorite classes, a class I never knew I would like. A reason why she is my favorite teacher is the way she uses the “tough love” method on our class. If we are behaving good, she will be easy on us, but if we don’t know some class material or misbehave, she straightens up the class in a quick, strict and easy way. Another thing that I like about her is that she embraces nature and the conservation of our planet. She has a project which has taken her over 20 years to build a mural solely out of plastic bottle caps. It may seem strange, but it is an excellent way to reuse these small plastic items. She thinks that she may be able to complete the project by the end of this school year, or in the middle of next school year. Because of those things, I have learned to appreciate the science of nature even more. Teachers exist for a purpose: to prepare the upcoming gen- eration with knowledge about the world they currently live in. Th ey also teach them to be re- sponsible, safe and well adults. I would like to thank not only all my teachers, but all teachers, for educating us about the world around us. NUTRITION from page 1A Church members have been coordinating efforts with the Florence Community Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and the local school districts to iden- tify and support students that are facing immediate hunger and broader food security issues on a regular basis. “Volunteers deliver the food bags to Siuslaw and Mapleton schools on Thursday,” Barba said. “The school staff knows the students who may have lit- tle or no food to count on when they leave school Friday. They discreetly distribute the week- end food bags for those children to place in their backpacks.” Siuslaw Elementary School Principal Mike Harklerode cur- rently accepts 70 or more bags from FB4K each week and sends them home with children that are facing nutritional issues. He spoke to the overall challeng- es faced by young people who come to class hungry. “This program fits a very spe- cific need in our community. We have a number of kids who get three meals a day at school. Over the weekend, and especially over long holiday weekends, these students may not have access to the same level of nutrition,” he said. “Being food insecure can be demoralizing. It is hard to think of anything else with a hungry belly. The food backpack program helps to fill that need. It also allows for families to main- tain dignity and honor since the distribution is discrete.” The number of backpacks filled by the volunteers has in- creased steadily since the first year of the program. FB4K now readies 80 or more support bags each week. “In 2012 we began feeding 20 children with funds our church’s women’s group had raised. We soon discovered the need was much greater,” Barba said. “We faced two choices: end the pro- gram when we ran out of money or get the word out to the com- munity of the reality of hungry children living among us. We are people of faith in God and believe we can fill a need when we become aware of one.” Barba said the small group that had come together as a means of fellowship and com- munity service was surprised at the response to the first year of food support. “Honestly, we were over- whelmed. We are parents and grandparents and we would not walk away knowing the children were already counting on the food. So we took a risk, began to let the community know about our food challenged children and how FB4K’s program was effective for them,” Barba said. “What we found was a com- munity full of compassionate friends, neighbors, businesses, churches and service oriented groups who would not accept the reality of hungry children.” The work done by FB4K has been appreciated by program participants and educators in Florence since it began. One of the often-mentioned reasons is the fact that 100 percent of all donations are used to purchase food for distribution. In addition, FB4K was recog- nized and acknowledged on a larger scale recently. According to Barba, FB4K partnered with the Florence Community PTA in 2016 and invited PTA President Tiffany Holdahl and Vice President Sar- ah Nunez to serve as advisors on the board of directors. “Sarah submitted the FB4K program to the Oregon PTA in consideration for a statewide award,” Barba said. “In April, we were surprised when she told us that she had not only entered us ... but that FB4K was chosen to receive The Program of the Year Award.” The Oregon PTA’s website said, “This award will be pre- sented to the local unit that sub- mits an outstanding program or project that focuses on one or more of the following areas: parent involvement, education, health and safety, cultural or performing arts or community service.” While Barba appreciates the award FB4K received, she is quick to add that the success of the program is primarily due to the dedication and commitment of donors and volunteers. “I think this Program of the Year Award is to be shared with every volunteer, donor and partner in our community who makes FB4K effective in erasing childhood hunger. Our volun- teers are humbled with the com- munity’s generosity, support and trust in us. We work tirelessly to earn that trust and never lose fo- cus of our motto ... Together, No Child Will Go Hungry.” For more information on the Florence Backpack for Kids nu- tritional support program, call 541-997-2497 or visit www. backpackimpact.com. Marilyn Barba is the program director for FB4K. She believes the need for the program was clear and some form of nutri- tional support was needed for local students. “In the spring of 2012, our small women’s group researched, developed and, nine months later, were ready to implement our food backpack program,” Barba said. “The program was designed to provide three nutri- tious, shelf stable, easily opened meals with snacks for Saturday and Sunday.” t importan ly s u o m r no th. play an e tion’s you a n r u o Teachers f ent o to- our kids developm e g h t in id in u g le ro as pire, Th ey act h and ins . c s e a r e t u t y u e f Th ssful oad- ht, succe aches, br ig o r c b d d n r a a w els nt. role mod chieveme a , s r g o t in a g c a r u ed e c- ncou ds and e eek, we r in W m n g io t in ia n e elp- pprec eacher A ation to h T ic g d e in d r u ir D r the ders, achers fo uture lea f e t ’s e n iz io t n a g o ur n hildren, o c r u o g in succeed. port, en- p u s n a c s you ration of b a few way le e r e a c e r in e H chers 12 2018: thank tea - 6 d y n a a e M g , a cour Week o reciation eachers t t p p r o A f r s e d h goo Teac sh baked e ol. r f r e v li aft er scho - De r o e im t volunteer nch m lu o t o a r s y s jo la en any c there are ed. if t u o d d to be fi ll e - Fin r e n t a h t picture o ies it a n u t w r a r o d p op ts to ers. e studen g a r u heir teach o t c r n o f s - E k d’s n te of tha your chil o n o t a e e it t r o w u n thank yo a e it r - W teacher. 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