07-09-1999
The best of the best at Warsaw Community High School will be honored at a special awards dinner Tuesday at 2517 Restaurant.
This year’s 20 award recipients had to meet heightened standards, according to Warsaw Community Foundation for Public Education president Keith Reinholt.
“This year, not only must the students receive straight A’s on all of their report cards, but they must have also received straight A’s on all their term exams,” he said. “We want to recognize the achievement these kids have made for academic excellence.”
This year’s recipients are:
Grade 12 – Stephanie Campbell, Sheila Chan, Jane Martin, Megan Piazza, Melanie Slone, Jessica Zaugg.
Grade 11 – Robin Bickel, Jacob Felger, Nathan Ridderman, Stephen Slaughter, Carly Smoker, Adrienne Wilka.
Grade 10 – Hillary Barlow, Dustin Snyder.
Grade 9 – Pauline Campbell, Bethany Case, Scott Lawton, David McDairmant, Curtis Rhodes, Dayne Ridderman.
The WCFPE is a nonprofit corporation that encourages and assists educational functions and activities for Warsaw Community Schools. It coordinates a partnership program, pairing schools and area businesses, to provide beneficial experiences for students.
“One of the problems we’ve encountered is that people think we’re a part of the school system,” Reinholt said. “But we’re completely separate from the schools.”
The foundation is making a strong push this year to increase its membership. The funds raised through the drive – a family membership is $10 per year – will be distributed through scholarship grants.
The foundation also provides grants to teachers who have programs that extend outside the classroom to benefit students, according to board member Cathy Teghtmeyer.
“We want to help provide funds that would not be provided through normal school budget sources,” she said.
Teghtmeyer added that $9,700 was awarded last year to teachers in the corporation to pay for additional programs and curricula that emphasize and promote educational excellence.
The foundation’s corporate sponsorship program has been a huge success as well, according to Reinholt. The partnership program pairs an area company with a particular school on a three- year rotating basis.
“We’ve had great cooperation between the businesses and the schools. We rotate their partners every three years because it gives different industries a chance to be involved in all the schools over time,” he said. “And it’s not all about money. It’s about keeping the businesses connected to the schools, to get them in there and give them a stake in the educational system.”
Some prime examples of how the partnerships have produced some excellent educational events include the Zimmer employee choir performing at Silver Lake Elementary and employees from R.R. Donnelley & Sons hosting a “Hopscotch Around the World” program, which stressed an appreciation for cultural diversity, at Harrison Elementary.
A new event for 2000, Reinholt said, will be a Community Quiz Bowl, where corporate teams will compete in answering questions covering mathematics, science, spelling, etc.
“It hasn’t been determined exactly what type of questions will be asked, but it will definitely help foster an appreciation for academics,” he said.
While a time and location have yet to be determined, preliminary plans call for the competition to be held in January or February, Teghtmeyer said.
“It’ll be something to help everyone beat the winter blues,” she said.
For more information on joining the Warsaw Community Education Foundation, or to purchase tickets to the July 13 awards dinner, call Reinholt at 267-5940.