It is my sincere pleasure to recognize Gabriel Warren as our December Student of the Month. This is my first year serving as Gabriel’s Educational Facilitator and I must say that I’m truly humbled by the breadth and depth of his engagement in life. When we began developing this program, we envisioned supporting families in empowering their children to explore the expansive worlds that exist within science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.  Gabriel has met and exceeded our expectations – he truly exemplifies our vision. In addition to his challenging core programming (that includes a World Language course in Hebrew), Gabriel is an accomplished dancer.  As COVID restrictions impacted the ability of students to attend dance classes, Gabriel’s parents converted an out-building into a dance studio which enabled him to continue to pursue his passion for dance. Gabriel’s other interests include fiction writing, cooking, gaming and building his wilderness survival skills.  Gabriel also has his own youtube channel and enjoys video editing and content development.  Finally, beyond his significant program accomplishments, Gabriel is truly a kind, caring, and loved young man whose smile reflects exactly that.

 

It is my pleasure to nominate Deven Lumley as our Elementary Student of the Month for December. Watching the videos he sends of his STEM creations highlights his love of science and learning in general. Deven points out any issues or mishaps that may have come up and then shows how he was able to find a solution to the problem. He is intelligent, determined, and creative in his approaches. Deven is also involved in Kori Dunn’s LEGO League class where he is known for being polite, friendly to others, and willing to try new things. Overall, Deven exhibits many of the traits that we at TEACH-NW notice and admire.

– Amanda Spurlock (EF)

“Deven is the kindest & the happiest kid I know. He always has a smile on his face and can enjoy whatever he is doing. He is always eager to learn and loves doing any kind of building/science experiment he can get his hands on. I love to see the excitement on his face when he has figured out a math problem he didn’t think he could do!  Reading/writing were not subjects he enjoyed the first few years of school, but to see how that’s changed makes me proud. He has worked hard to develop those skills. He spends his free time playing Xbox, riding his bike, and hiking. He also engages in worldwide volunteer work of writing letters and calling people in the local community to help bring comfort and hope during these difficult times we are facing. That’s what I’m the proudest of.”

– April Lumley (Mom)