At the June 11 Board Meeting longtime volunteer, Aimee Thompson, of Newport, was surprised with the honor of receiving the annual Tom Moore Memorial Award. Named for a former school board member and volunteer, this award has been given since 1993 to the individual(s) who best exemplifies the volunteer spirit.
Aimee said she started volunteering by committing to help with reading groups in her eldest daughter’s 1st-grade classroom. Not only did her daughter struggle with reading, so were many kids as her class size was large and reading levels were all over the place. She would help with leading a certain level reading group one morning a week, while her Mother-in-law watched her two younger kids.
LCSD has come a long way in aligning curriculum, training, school culture, etc. since her girls were first enrolled. There were things she thought needed some change, so she said she became involved because she wanted to find out more how the schools functioned. The school district is full of a lot of lovely, caring people who don’t give up and Thompson said she has always wanted to support them.
The Carnival had under 100 kids attending, so the Boosters worked hard and for several years I was involved we consistently had 500 kids plus their parents attending. If kids have positive experiences like that with school, it impacts how they feel about school. She also comes from a family of educators, so she always knew she was going to be volunteering in the schools because schools are the heart of the community and where Thompson believes people can make the most impact in the world.
Two years ago, Aimee approached Newport Middle School (NMS) with the idea of becoming an Oregon Green School. Shortly thereafter, a teacher at NMS and Aimee began brainstorming what that might look like. With Aimee’s vision and a teacher’s innovation, the Green Team class was born at NMS. Two years later, the Green Team has changed the face of NMS. NMS is now composting all food waste at meal times, reducing garbage headed to the landfill, recycling more efficiently, composting paper towels and using reusable silverware.
This program and these positive changes were made possible because of Aimee’s vision and her willingness to go after and secure a $10,000 grant to get the program off the ground. It’s no surprise the green movement has made its way to Sam Case where it is alive and well.
Aimee Thompson is a volunteer leader in Newport Schools and is highly deserving of any recognition our schools can provide. Her countless volunteer hours over the last decade as a booster, community coach, Site Council Member, school volunteer, and green school visionary make her an excellent candidate for the Tom Moore Memorial Award. The West Area Administrative Team feels Aimee is highly deserving of this award.
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