THE LEGACY NEWSLETTER FALL/WINTER 2012 VOL. 25 Letter From The WHS Foundation President Friends of Washburn High School, The school year is well under way at Washburn, as is the Foundation’s support of the School, students, and staff. Last spring I wrote in this space that the one constant in today’s public school budgeting environment is a lack of adequate public funding due to budget cuts. This scenario seems to have become the new norm, with public institutions in many sectors increasingly relying on alternate and private sources of funding to meet their needs. Washburn High School is no exception to this trend. In order to achieve its goal of Excellence in Academics, Arts, and Athletics, Washburn has partnered with the WHS Foundation to attempt to fill in specific gaps in funding and provide unique opportunities to students that they would not otherwise have without outside support. This is where YOU come in! Last spring I shared that, in working with the administration at Washburn, we identified over $150,000 of potential ANNUAL funding needs, including tutoring, scholarships, and grants to teachers. I am happy to report that you listened, and, with the leadership of a group of alumni sponsors, successfully met our Spring Match Fund and raised over $70,000 toward our goal. Please see the article in this Newsletter for more information. While the recent fundraising success is laudable, our work is not finished. We have a lot of work to do to continue to connect new donors to the success story that is being written at Washburn. While the existing donors have helped propel the surge of support recently, the vast majority of stakeholders in Washburn’s well-being have yet to connect and contribute. The good news is that it’s never been easier to connect to the WHSF. Simply go to WashburnConnections. org and click on “Membership” to learn how you can support Washburn and keep up with the rising tide of Miller Pride! Please read on for more information on the “Are You In?” Membership Campaign, success stories from current and former Washburn students, information on the effort to renovate and improve the auditorium, and a great testimonial from a parent about why it’s important to support our public schools. It’s a great time to be a Miller... Are You In? Mark Bachman, ‘91 President, WHS Foundation THE LEGACY NEWSLETTER FALL/WINTER 2012 Testimonial from a WHS parent I am writing to you in support of the value of our multi- community connections that are reinforced when you year investment in the Washburn Foundation. see each other at football or basketball games. With more kids attending Washburn and staying in the My wife and I first began our connection to the Washburn community - we cut down the number of parents Foundation the first year my son decided to attend who abandon the school district and neighborhoods Washburn. His decision to attend Washburn fit into the when their kids reach school age. This continuity adds pattern of attending our neighborhood public schools - to the bonds of the neighborhood - increasing the first Burroughs, then Anthony and finally Washburn. We value we place in our homes and the businesses in the supported his decision after attending the open house neighborhood. as well. The open house at Washburn featured a diverse student body and new principal -Carol-that told the Our son is now in his first year of college, using his truth. Carol was going into the “fresh start” year and this Washburn education to apply and get accepted at 8 appealed to us since she could only influence change if different colleges. Our son’s experience with the diverse she could manage the mix of skills and commitment of population at Washburn has forever changed his outlook on the teaching professionals. where he feels comfortable and the kinds of environments that feel right for him. My daughter - now a sophomore I listened to Carol say that some things would not be at Washburn - never hesitated about where she was going perfect, some things will surprise us, but with the rich to high school. She has been able to embrace all the diverse mix of students and committed parents and benefits from Washburn sports (basketball, soccer, track) community we had the foundation to make this fresh and student council. Her friends are from all over the start work. We decided to contribute in support of Washburn attendance area and have led us to meeting the three “A’s” : Academics, Arts, Athletics that needed some new friends of our own in the form of their parents. funding in the early phases. Investing in the school your child attends is not a new idea, or more noble than other Invest in the foundation for your kids, your community causes, but if you heard the case for how basic some of the and the future of rich friendships the connection will needs were at this point in Washburn’s history you knew provide. it was a place where you could make a big impact. Rich Renikoff The key for this investment decision is even broader than the needs of the school. The payoff comes in the strength a strong high school provides to the community. As Washburn has progressed from turnaround project to a success - the benefits to the community are evident. The revival of Washburn keeps kids in the community building bonds with each other, neighbors and parents. Kids walk to school, parents and adults without kids at the school attend athletic events together - for the VOLUME 25 FALL/WINTER 2012 www.WashburnConnections.org THE LEGACY NEWSLETTER FALL/WINTER 2012 While there is definitely a new feel to Ramsey, some Rhinos spotted at things never change. Mr. Marietta showed us the infamous “tunnel” between Washburn and Ramsey. Ramsey Middle School He said this is emblematic of the past and future bond between Washburn and Ramsey. He hinted that is where he and Principal Carol Markham-Cousins have been meeting to discuss future collaborative opportunities This past September, something happened just across between the two schools. See, the tunnel really does exist! ol’ MacQuarrie Field that hadn’t occurred in over 30 years: Ramsey Middle School opened the new academic year as a community middle school (6th -8th grade). Mini-Grants Provide For decades Ramsey served as a junior high school for Washburn High School. It was the proverbial feeder of Opportunities future Millers. Now it’s back! “THANK YOU for the check for $500. The students are The new principal Paul Marietta and his staff are very SO eager for this opportunity to learn about printmaking excited about the opportunity to design a curriculum and and actually participate in this workshop in a professional culture for a “new school” in the district. Mr. Marietta studio. said the school will focus on implementing a rigorous curriculum that includes the STEM program (Science This is truly quality enrichment! Technology, Engineering, and Math) and the Arts. To You and the Foundation are awesome!” help students keep pace with our ever-accelerating Nancy Hinz, IB Visual Arts class instructor technological world and to enhance achievement, Ramsey is one of only a handful of schools in the district to have Hinz’ grant is for two afternoons at Highpoint for iPads for each student. The first class of Ramsey students Printmaking to expose her students to “the world of has already been empowered to help shape their new printmaking and expand their creative boundaries.” Over school. In a hotly contested election the student body 40 additional staff members who requested and received chose the new Rhino mascot over the original Ramsey financing this fall offer similar thanks for their varied Rams mascot! projects. Last year chemistry teacher Sam Jayakumar (and ranked table tennis player) began a “PingPong” connections/club at the request of some students, using tables going “from bad to worse,” but students came every week. Last spring a parent donated a table to the club. This year your financial donations will allow the club to purchase additional equipment to keep the dozens of players swinging. (Additional “in kind” donations are certainly welcome.) When the Mini Grant program debuted in the spring of 1998, the Foundation was able to award less than $1000 VOLUME 25 FALL/WINTER 2012 www.WashburnConnections.org THE LEGACY NEWSLETTER FALL/WINTER 2012 to the school; your generosity this past year enabled Martha Baker Donors Barbara Barickman us to award this fall over $18,000 in grants directly to Barbara Bauer Received Donor classrooms and activities. From the Arts department Mikkell and Lois J. Beckman to WRAP, students can experience field trips, enjoy Scholar Alix Behm ($5,000 - $9,999) Janelle Beitz supplemental books for the classroom, improve Anonymous Toni and James Beitz Tom and Paula Crouch technology, receive care from the nurse’s office, use a Becky Thatcher-Bell and Farfellow Foundation (Kip and Tracie Bell bus card for a trip home from after-school tutoring. Suzanne Knelman) Carolynn Bell-Tuttle Deborah and Tom Healey In a new IB science class the students will measure In memory of Frank Ario Richard and Maryan Schall water quality in the Minnehaha Creek water shed. Michael Belzer Steve Stoll Environmental Systems and Society is a course which Mary T. Benson Mick Benson investigates how local activity impacts the global Gold Medalist In memory of Bill Shinn (‘53) ($1000 - $4,999) Herbert and Lynne Benz environment. What better opportunity than a creek Anonymous Robert W. Blackmur Anonymous which leads into the Mississippi River, which leads to Charles and Kathy Bodger Kevin and Paula Ario In memory of Frank Ario the Gulf of Mexico? Your donations also make possible Lawrence Bachman John and Christine Lee W.