Fundraisers and Generous, Giving Children
Kudos to The Monticello News “nerd team” which took first place at “Nerd Night” at Jasper County High School Monday.
The team, comprised of my daughter and co-worker, Hannah Pope; columnist John Jensen, and fellow scientist, Kristina Sorensen beat three other teams to win.
That’s good because when I contributed to the team on trivia night, we didn’t win. And, John is very competitive…he likes to win. He’s also very smart.
“Nerd night” was the third in a series of friendly competitions, along with trivia night and the adult spelling bee, that have been hosted at the high school, put together by science teacher Dr. Tyson Harty.
It was a shame there were so many conflicts Monday that more teams did not compete.
I, for one, have been so excited since Dr. Harty began these unique fund raisers, because they are definitely atypical. He isn’t asking his students to go out and sell anything (although they do sell drinks and snacks during the competitions).
He isn’t asking the local businesses to buy anything. He isn’t taxing his students with raising money for their competitions…he lets them concentrate on studying and working towards a goal. Did you notice the Envirothon team from little ole Jasper County was third in state last weekend?
He’s showing respect for his peers in the community by taking the time to create friendly competitions for them to show their stuff. And, because it’s friendly, no one should be ashamed if he or she doesn’t win.
But, I’m afraid some people were afraid they weren’t smart enough. I tried to get a Kiwanis team together. More than one person indicated that he or she did not feel smart enough to compete with “nerds.” What a shame. Hopefully we can make a donation anyway.
(I had to cover the County Commission meeting so I couldn’t be there.)
The first trivia night had about a dozen teams…sponsored by local businesses and families. Trivia night this year was competitive too. However, the spelling bee did not attract much interest, and the turnout at nerd night was a bit disappointing.
People, we have to support our schools. And, when we have someone like Dr. Harty being innovative and creative, we should embrace that. And, when the kids see the adults in the community competing and showing their smarts, they see that education does matter.
So, all of you who didn’t compete because you didn’t feel smart enough…please send a $30 check (entry fee for a team) to the high school to support the science teams. Let Dr. Harty know he is appreciated.
Or, just get ready to make a donation or buy some pizzas, cookie dough, Coca-Colas, Boston butts, fudge, candy bars, Vidalia onions, junk or whatever, because our tax dollars do not cover expenses of these competitions that get our children outside the county to compete and prepare for the next stage in life.
The science students are not the only ones who have excelled, so there will be more requests for donations and sales of not very useful items. We must support those, too. I don’t mean to criticize them, but I really do appreciate Dr. Harty trying something new.
And, we also should applaud the music teachers in our school system who presented a very entertaining kaleidoscope concert recently. That was also a fund raiser.
Heck maybe I’m just a nerd myself, and that’s why I push so much for school and community involvement.
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And speaking of our young folks. I just have to relay two stories I heard this weekend that warmed my heart.
We had an Easter egg hunt at my house Saturday. My great-neice, Maddie, was here and made a new friend. They were two of the youngest in their group that was hunting, so they did not find as many eggs as some of the others. And, Maddie’s friend found considerably less than she did. So, with no prompting from anyone, she took half the eggs from her basket and gave them to her brand new friend. Someone has done something right raising that child.
Then, I learned of a young man who hunted in the same field, 8-12 year olds, who found $1 in an egg. Later that evening he was at the local Circle K, and he saw the donation bucket for Mary Smalling, a cancer patient. He said, “I think she needs this $1 more than me,” and dropped his dollar into the donation bucket.
Sometimes us older folks see or hear about a disruptive child and wonder what the world is coming to. With children like these coming up, I think we’re in fine shape for the future.