BCMS students rock!
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| These students are already hard at work to attend the Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington D.C., in July. (l-r) Kay Hilliard-Dodge, Kelsey English, Ben Tompkins and Michael Youngwirth. |
The four, sixth-graders Ben Tompkins, Kelsey English, Michael Youngwirth and Kay Hilliard-Dodge, provided the highlight for Tuesday night's school board meeting as they were introduced by BCMS science teacher Jaak Sanders, all having been invited to attend.
"Not only are these four great students," Mr. Sanders said, they are developing into great leaders, too. If they see something needing done, or a fellow student needing help, they don't ask or wait to be told, they're right in there helping and getting things done."
Unsurprisingly, he pointed out, all four professed to really like science (!), and they also shared in common a love of reading and math.
The Junior National Young Leaders Conference is a six-day program to be held in July, dedicated to middle school students nation-wide who have demonstrated leadership potential, who have shown maturity beyond their years and who have demonstrated the desire to learn and excel, as students and citizens.
Most years, BCMS gets one, maybe two invitations; as best anyone can remember, four invitations is a record.
To get there, each student will have to raise about $2,500 to cover their registration, travel and expenses, and Mr. Sanders confessed that he's not well experienced in fundraising at such a high level, and BCMS principal David Miles II, in his first year, admitted that he wasn't certain if the effort could be considered school-sponsored or not.
Both said they've already had inquiries from people and businesses who want to donate, but that no account has been established as yet.
"Of course it can!" both the board and superintendent Dick Conley shouted at once, and Conley promised that by Wednesday morning, everything would be put in place to allow the Middle School to accept donations as the details were worked out.
Those interested in helping can call Mr. Sanders at (208) 267-5852.
Adding an exclamation point to the opportunity awaiting these four, curriculum director Robin Merrifield recalled that she'd made the trip when she was a young Boundary County student (she didn't say when, but the assumption is last year or maybe the year before), and said it still stands out as one of the most positive and memorable experiences of her life.
And a little later in the meeting, Mr. Conley, with assistance from two BCMS teachers, told about a letter in the board packet BCMS teacher Susan Stolley received from the Wounded Warrior Project, a Jacksonville, Florida, group dedicated to helping our nation's military personnel wounded in war and their families.
"Dear Susan Stolley," the letter reads. "Thank you so much for your generous gift of $1,085.33 on 12/19/2013 ..."
While Mrs. Stolley was the recipient, the letter was aimed at every student at BCMS.
While the fundraising effort itself was laudable, it was the students' choice of recipient, for which they they worked so hard, that drew Mr. Conley's admiration.
"This is a program that helps our country's wounded service men and women, and I think it speaks highly of these students that they recognized and worked for such a cause."
What makes it even more remarkable is that they did it one penny at a time, with a penny drive challenge.
There wasn't much members of the school board could say after that. Nor the teachers or administrators in attendence.
What was plain to see, though, was the pride and gratification reflected on every face at the board table, and on every other seat as well. A moment of contemplation of clarity. A moment that said, "your efforts are truly worthwhile."