Notes from the School District: Community Donations, Rivalry on National Stage and the Next Step from Rachel's Challenge

The Enumclaw School District has been making full use of its new Facebook page (www.facebook.com/EnumclawSchoolDistrict) to keep the community informed on all the good news of its schools, staff and students, including photos from its recent Focus on Education school tour, of students working on Thanksgiving baskets and more.

Meanwhile, here are some highlights from Monday's meeting of the Enumclaw School Board that hasn't made it to social media - not yet, anyway.

Community Donations - The Board approved the following donations:

• $3,000 from Black Diamond PTE to Black Diamond Elementary to be used for sound systems in the classroom
• $1,588 from Enumclaw Foursquare Church (5K Run) to District Office to be used for special education needs
• $917.58 from O'Connor Photography to Kibler Elementary for photography commissions to be used for classroom enchancements

USA Today Poll - This has made social media but we thought it was worth another mention. The Enumclaw vs. White River school rivalry is a contender in a USA Today high school sports poll asking readers to choose the best school rivalry in the nation. The grand prize winner receives $10,000 to be split evenly between the two schools' athletic programs. Way to support your Hornets - go online and vote!

We Day Seattle - Superintendent Mike Nelson shared an objective of the district to move beyond last year's successful Rachel's Challenge community project to further empower our youth to make a difference in the world. We Day began as an effort in Canada to guide youth away from apathy and become engaged in their communities and their world. It falls under a large movement 'Me to We,' which in turn sits under the international charity Free the Children. We Day Seattle represents the first U.S. city in which the movement will take root and takes place on March 27, 2013. The Seattle Seahawks, Microsoft, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Coach Pete Carroll and Q13 Fox are among local sponsors or supporters of the event.

Nelson the project is still in its preliminary stages in Enumclaw but will likely involve a process for educators to engage students and guide them through an application process in which a certain number of students will be selected to attend the March 27 event.

Speakers for that day include former president of the U.S.S.R and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson said.

To learn more about the project and the movement, visit www.weday.com.

Quote of Note: "We serve the same people. It hits home when something like that happens." - Board President Chris VanHoof, offering condolences to friends and family of Enumclaw Councilman Kevin Mahelona, who passed away this last weekend.