Julie Hembre believes that every child deserves to become a reader and a learner, no matter the circumstances or place in the world a child happens to live. This core belief drove the Cougar Ridge librarian to lead and develop her Books to Africa Project with the help of students here in the Issaquah School District. Prior to the project, Julie’s dedication caught the attention of Microsoft, earning her a trip to Prague in the Czech Republic through the Microsoft Educators Program. There, Julie met with other Microsoft Educator prize winners from around the world who began connecting her with other educators, including Thejane Malakane of Lesotho and Phuti Ragophala of South Africa. Julie then began traveling to Africa and discovering firsthand the deficiencies with facilities, supplies, and books that schools experience there.
Back in the US, the Books to Africa really began when Julie discovered several boxes of unused picture books at her school. She shared with her students that she wished these books could be given to children who needed them. The students engaged immediately with the idea to send these books to South Africa and worked to organize and raise money for the project. Students developed a promotional video as a class and many students donated their own money! The project was successful, and Julie kept the engagement going by having her students Skype with classrooms in Africa.
“I want my students here at Cougar Ridge to think of themselves as learning partners,” says Julie. “We aren’t approaching this as charity. We Skype with other classrooms a couple of times a quarter, which is fun for the students in both countries and truly connects them.” In our district, Julie notes, we are fortunate that most of our students have access to books and are encouraged by parents to read them at home. Such a reading culture is not always present in other parts of the world, especially in disadvantaged areas. It is one thing to send books to classrooms in Africa, it is another for a teacher to know how to create a classroom of readers with those books.
This key point is what sparked Julie to return to Africa in the summer of 2017. “By going the first time,” Julie explains, “I really saw how important books are because there are very few reading materials. I found out very quickly the only ones they had were the ones we had sent over as a classroom. I also saw teachers struggling to motivate kids to read. Next time, I want to go back and give time to work with the teachers to help them with some techniques to help encourage the students to read at home, even when they don’t live in a reading culture.”
There is no doubt, Julie would be welcomed back with open arms. This past summer, many students and teachers she had met on her prior trip rushed up to her and were so excited to see her again. The schools put on quite a big celebration in her honor with posters and music, and poetry recitations. There are many amazing stories that Julie has to share about her experiences. You can read more about her latest trip and the Books to Africa project on her blog at http://bellbulldogreaders.edublogs.org/. We are proud of Julie and her desire to go above and beyond to develop cross-cultural learning partnerships that result not only in a culture of reading, but also a culture of kindness.
This past June, Maywood Middle School student Elizabeth Yan became the USA Junior Olympic National Champion in her ball routine in rhythmic gymnastics. She qualified for the competition after becoming the Region 2 athlete of the year and champion. Region 2 consists of 10 states all together, including Washington, Alaska, Idaho, and Montana, to name a few. The USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic National Championships is the most prestigious competition for gymnasts at this level.
Congratulations, Elizabeth!
First morning of New Hire Academy where enthusiastic new staff gather for breakfast before starting their week learning with and from Issaquah staff. This is HR connecting and empowering staff in their roles in the ISD. We're glad you decided to join us! Welcome!
Know a person who would be a positive addition to the Issaquah School District? Encourage them to join our District--check out the opportunities through our Career Opportunities webpage.
This past June, Skyline head football coach Mat Taylor was honored with the Gatorade National Coaching Excellence Award. In an early evening ceremony at Skyline High School stadium, Taylor was recognized in front of the entire football team, past players, families of the program, and many other friends of the team. During the presentation a special message was played from head Seahawks coach, Pete Carroll, honoring Taylor for his dedication to his players and the sport.
Taylor started coaching at Skyline High School in 2000, and in that time the team has won six state championships. One of those championships was in his inaugural season as head coach, when the team went a perfect 14-0 for the season. In his time as head coach, Taylor has led the team to 4 state championships and 3 academic state championships – the latest academic state championships being this past season, where the team of 77 averaged a 3.550 GPA. Taylor has also coached three students on to be Gatorade Player of the Year.
Congratulations to Coach Taylor on this amazing accomplishment, and thank you for everything you do for our students!
Check out a great video about Coach Taylor courtesy of Gatorade here.
About the Gatorade Coach Excellence Award:
The Gatorade Coaching Excellence Award was established in 2016 to honor the best and most dedicated high school coaches across the country. Every athlete, professional or amateur, has had a coach inspire them along the way, and Gatorade aims to celebrate the truly remarkable impact that coaches have on high school athletes. Each year, Gatorade honors two coaches who have made an impact on the lives of their student-athletes and whose commitment to the coaching profession goes far beyond the game.