Bus driver honored
When school bus driver Marty Coon walked in the doors of Winton Elementary School on Tuesday, he knew he wasn’t there for a good time. His boss and co-workers had told him the school principal was concerned with the speed the buses were – or weren’t – leaving the school. They were there to listen to her concerns and figure out how to improve.
Turns out that couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Coon was honored as Numerica Credit Union’s School Champion of the Month during a surprise, all-school assembly Tuesday.
Fifth-grader Brittany Reese nominated Coon, calling him on the application form “nice, fun, cool, awesome” and “a good bus driver.”
Coon is a man of his word, Reese wrote, as is evidenced when he tells the kids they’ll have a substitute driver the next day.
“Next day there is a sub driving the bus,” Reese wrote. “See what did I tell you, you can trust him.”
Reese lives in the Winton attendance zone but attends Fernan Elementary School to help ease overcrowding at Winton. Coon drives the bus route in the Cougar Gulch area south of Coeur d’Alene and also buses a few students to Fernan, including Reese.
“You get paid to sightsee,” Coon said, referring to the second reason he loves being a bus driver. “Number one is the kids. They’re cute and relatively innocent.” Coon became a bus driver five years ago after retiring from his job as a Los Angeles police officer and moving to Idaho.
Coon’s wife, Chelly, and his parents, Walter and Harriet, as well as his daughter, Bonnie, and son, Jarod, attended the assembly. The family had to keep the award a secret from Coon for about a week, Chelly said.
“I had to tell him we had out-of-town company coming (today) so he’d be all dressed up,” she said.
Brittany received $25 for writing the winning essay, along with two passes to Silverwood Theme Park. She’ll also be entered into a drawing for a free iPod. Coon received a $45 gift certificate to Outback Steakhouse, a gift bag, a recognition plaque, and two passes to Silverwood. The district’s transportation department will receive $100, to be used how Coon sees fit.
The School Champion of the Month is chosen every month September through May. Students can nominate their favorite employee from any North Idaho school. Nominations consist of a written essay explaining why the employee deserves recognition. Forms are available at any school office or online at www.numericacu.com.
Good character workshop
A crash-course in character development will be offered from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at John Brown Elementary School in Rathdrum this Tuesday.
Big Mouth Presentations will hold a free workshop for parents, teachers and other community members about how to develop “a culture of character” in your home and at school, John Brown music teacher Erica Carr said. The school has been focusing on good character development and hopes the lessons parents learn at the workshop will complement what their kids are learning at John Brown.
During the hourlong workshop, parents “will be given tools that companies like Disney, Nike and Southwest Airlines uses to create a corporate culture and be given ways to apply these same principals in their own homes,” according to the Big Mouth Presentations Web site. “Each parent will then be challenged to think through their own parental strategies and be encouraged to write out a mission statement, values and goals for their own family.”
Free child care will be provided, but attendees are asked to RSVP by calling the school at (208) 687-0551.
Teacher artwork on display
Artwork from art teachers in the Coeur d’Alene School District will be on display at the Devin Gallery at 507 E. Sherman Ave. beginning Monday.
“It’s an opportunity for us to show what we do outside of school and it’s a chance for the community and the students and the parents to see what the art teachers can do,” said Leslie Landwehr, an art teacher at Bryan and Winton elementary schools. “Most of us do work outside of teaching.”
Teachers have been displaying their art annually for about 10 years, she said.
Their work is from a wide variety of mediums, including photography, painting, graphic art and fabric art. Some will be for sale.
The art will be on display through Nov. 18. Devin Gallery owners Skip and Debbie Peterson are hosting an artist’s reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday in conjunction with Artwalk.