their nominating faculty member said about them.  Each student was also asked five questions.  

 

           Christian Decker

 

Christian is a graduating senior at Weston High School.  Christian was nominated by his principal Andrea Dixon-Hundredmark and the rest of the Weston staff for being a kind and considerate graduating senior. Principal Dixon-Hundredmark said: We have had the pleasure of having Christian as a Weston student since ninth grade. He has been a rock star ever since. He's always kind, looks out for others, and works extremely hard. In his Earth Space and Biology Science classes, Christian always encouraged and helped his table partners. This Fall, in his Business Math class, he showed tremendous perseverance as he worked independently to answer questions, solve problems, and solidify his math skills.  He usually insisted on completing work perfectly, using white-out even after being told it was unnecessary!  Christian also participates regularly in class discussions, helps others when needed, and is always patient and tolerant of his peers!

 

Christian was accompanied by Weston High School Counselor Katy Brown. Here are the answers from Christian:

 

Tell us about your school and something you love about it: Weston is the opposite of what is perceived.  The teachers are always helpful and help students understand their questions.

 

What career path do you see yourself pursuing in the future?: Thinking of working in the video game industry

 

Do you have any extracurricular activities or hobbies that you love and enjoy?: Videogames, Diamond Dots, Sewing bottles together

 

Rotary stands behind Service Above Self, in what ways do you serve your school or community?: Help the lunch ladies set out and serve lunch.  Also helps teachers when they need help. 

What organization have you chosen to give to and why?: Saving the Blue: research on sharks and rays around the largest island in the Bahamas

 

 

Britney is an  8^th Grader at the Stilly Valley Learning Center. She was nominated by her teacher, Rachel Manza, and the rest of the SVLC team for being fantastic.  Ms. Manza said: Britney is a hard-working student.  She goes above and beyond every week to produce quality work for her classes.  She's a great leader, who is a positive role model for others.  She has respectful interactions with all of her peers and she makes a point to participate in the school community.  Britney is fun-loving.  Her spunky personality makes people laugh and feel comfortable.  She adds a lot to our community at SVLC.

 

Britney was accompanied by both her parents and her math teacher Ms. Manza.  Here is a what Britney had to say:

 

Tell us about your school and something you love about it.: the teachers are amazing and always willing to help

 

What career path do you see yourself pursuing in the future? : Criminal Psychologist because it seems exciting and different.

 

Do you have any extracurricular activities or hobbies that you love and enjoy?: track. Britney loves discus.  

 

Rotary stands behind Service Above Self, in what ways do you serve your school or community?: Britney tutors a first and second grader in the morning and helps the lunch ladies.

What organization have you chosen to give to and why?: Seattle Children’s Hospital  because they help kids to get medication and help they need. 

 

Mary Feider               

 

Mary is a Junior at Arlington High School.  She was nominated by her teacher Greg Hurst for her excellent grades.  Mr. Hurst wrote: Mary is, without question, one of the best examples of what a great student should be. She is a fantastic scholar as evidenced by her straight A's, but more than that, she is a wonderful human being that is always seeking to improve in every aspect of her life. She is an accomplished writer, and she works with other students to improve their writing through the AHS writers club. She is a high jumper on the school's track team, and she has worked very hard to improve her skills in that realm. Additionally, she is a wonderful friend to all of her classmates. I cannot imagine a student being more worthy of this award than Mary Feider.                           

 

Mary was accompanied by both her parents and her Principle Mr. Fish. 

 

Mary’s answers were:

 

Tell us about your school and something you love about it: AHS is very diverse and the sports programs are very competitive.

 

What career path do you see yourself pursuing in the future? : engineering program in either material or chemical.

 

Do you have any extracurricular activities or hobbies that you love and enjoy?: track, writing, reading and drawing.

 

Rotary stands behind Service Above Self, in what ways do you serve your school or community?: Fridays Mary goes to Eagle studies and helps tutor in math and English.

 

What organization have you chosen to give to and why?: Arlington Food Bank because organization goes year round. 

 

 

Benjamin is an 8^th grader at Post Middle School.  He was nominated by multiple teachers at his school for his outstanding citizenship and overall kindness.  He is always willing to help a teacher or classmate without even being asked.  He does the right thing when no one is looking and is an overall amazing human being. Each day he comes to school with a great attitude and does his best work.  Mr. Taylor described Ben as a “top shelf kid.”  He makes a difference in the classroom and school environment.  Benjamin is going to do big things and we are so excited to nominate him for this award. 

Benjamin was accompanied by both his mom and dad. 

 

Benjamin’s answers to our questions were:

 

Tell us about your school and something you love about it.: the teachers are very friendly and they want to help students get where they want to go.

 

What career path do you see yourself pursuing in the future? : Teaching because they can help kids.

 

Do you have any extracurricular activities or hobbies that you love and enjoy?: Benjamin likes to solve puzzles and enjoys taking apart computers.

 

Rotary stands behind Service Above Self, in what ways do you serve your school or community?: by being kind to everyone and helping teachers as much as possible

 

What organization have you chosen to give to and why?: Noah animal shelter because they help animals go to a good place.

 

       Adrienne Pournadeali

 

Adrienne is a 7^th grade student at Haller Middle School. She was nominated by Fran Schmitz her teacher for her outstanding initiative, citizenship and work ethic. Ms. Schmitz wrote: Adrienne Pournadeali is a model for the qualities society needs in terms of being a scholar and a citizen of her community and world. When it comes to school, Adrienne gives 100% of her effort every single day, asking questions and encouraging others to achieve their personal best. She is the student who plans ahead and looks for creative ways to extend her learning in ways that can affect others. She is the student that asks for ways to extend nearly every aspect of what she learns in school to some other aspect of life or the community. 

 

Recently, she asked if she could host and judge a narrative writing contest with candy prizes. She created a contest document, had students elect to be part of it by emailing her, and came up with different areas with which she'll assess student writing. The fact that she had several students sign up in the first day to write outside of class time and trust her to judge their contest speaks to the level of respect she has of peers from all social groups. She went through the steps to contact teachers and administration before doing so to respect school guidelines and make sure she had approval. 

Additionally, Adrienne took quick initiative in the first weeks of school as a 7th grader to tackle environmental issues. She found a faculty advisor and started the environmental club at Haller that meets each week. Since the beginning of the school year, this club has written a proposal that was approved to begin composting at Haller and met with the school district regarding the Styrofoam lunch trays. As a result of that meeting, Arlington School District is switching to compostable lunch trays. 

 

If Adrienne sees something that needs to be improved, you can be sure that she will take the initiative to get it done. She is a student of strong character who will change our world. 

 

Adrienne was accompanied by both her parents, her grandfather and fellow Rotarian and her ELA teacher Ms. Schmitz. 

 

Adrienne’s answers to the questions were:

 

Tell us about your school and something you love about it.: They give students the opportunity to be leaders because students can start clubs and be in student council. Students can make needed changes. 

 

What career path do you see yourself pursuing in the future? : An author. Adrienne does a lot of writing from poems, and short stories to novel writing. She would also like to pursue activism and motivational speaking.

 

Do you have any extracurricular activities or hobbies that you love and enjoy?: Writing, spending time with family, singing with family and dancing.

 

Rotary stands behind Service Above Self, in what ways do you serve your school or community?: Adrienne started the composting program at Haller she is a 7^th grade senator at school and tries to uplift peers so that they know they can do anything.

 

What organization have you chosen to give to and why?: Sarvey Wildlife Care Center.  Because she is passionate about the environment and Sarvey works to care well for animals.