Ceremony honors teacher at local elementary school.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Ceremony honors teacher at local elementary school 

Lindsay Gietter, a fourth-grade teacher at Awbrey Park Elementary School, was one of 13 Oregon teachers and 1,000 across the nation honored during the first-ever "A Day Made Better" celebration, sponsored by OfficeMax and its nonprofit partner Adopt-A-Classroom. Gietter was surprised Oct. 2 with an in-class ceremony and donation of school supplies worth approximately $1,200. She was nominated by Principal Karen Hardin, who recognized her for going above and beyond her responsibilities as an educator.

The "A Day Made Better" campaign responds to the fact that teachers spend as much as $4 billion of their own money each year on classroom supplies, according to the National Education Association.

It seeks to educate and motivate the general public to take action and partner with educators and schools in their community.

Kiwanis Club honors two students of the month

Seniors Sam Myers and Jordan Hogan were honored at a recent meeting of Bohemia Sunrisers Kiwanis as Cottage Grove High School students of the month for September. Myers, who plans to major in landscape design next fall, has a 3.54 GPA and is involved in Key Club, Interact, Link Crew and pep band, where he serves as band council president. He has received a Rotary award and been named Outstanding Social Studies Student and Citizen of the Year.

Hogan has a 3.96 GPA and is editor of the school newspaper and president of Key Club. She is also very active in Future Business Leaders of America and Link Crew, and was named student of the year by the Booster Club two years running.

She'll attend college next fall to become a registered nurse.

Two Pleasant Hill students earn AP scholar awards

Two students at Pleasant Hill High School have earned the designation of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level advanced placement exams.

Rachel Lankston qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning a grade of 3 or higher on four or more exams, and David Garcia qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP exams, with grades of 3 or higher.

Springfield senior finalist in national scholarship

Hunter Russell, a senior at Springfield High School, is one of two students in Oregon to be named a semifinalist in the 44th annual National Achievement Scholarship Program competition based on his performance on the 2006 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

Russell is among 1,600 black high school seniors who have an opportunity to continue in the competition for approximately 800 scholarships worth more than $2.5 million, which will be awarded to the students next spring.

Conducted by the National Merit Scholarship Corp., the program was initiated in 1964 to recognize promising black students throughout the nation and to provide scholarships to the most outstanding.