Rooftop motivation
Monday, May 24, 2004 12:24 PM PDT
Nyssa principal finds unique way to mark contest
Kristin Gribben - Argus Observer
NYSSA - The principal renowned for trying just about any stunt to motivate his students and staff was at it again Friday.
Nyssa Elementary School Principal Geno Bates sat on the roof of the school gymnasium for three hours Friday morning. The escapade was part of a bet Bates made with students and teachers to collect as many General Mills "box tops" as they could.
General Mills awards 10 cents for the top of every General Mills box schools turned in.
Bates told the elementary students if they brought in over 7,000 box tops between Feb. 13 and April 16 he would sit on the roof during school May 21.
The students and teachers met the challenge and brought in 7,406 box tops from 23 different states - from as far away as Massachusetts - by calling, writing and e-mailing friends and family to see if they had box tops they were not using. Nyssa fourth-grade teacher Steve Wyborney, who spearheaded the event, said teachers and staff were targeting box tops that were being thrown away, not ones that were already going to another school.
The fundraiser brought in $740 for NES. The funding will go toward books and accelerated reading tests for the school library, according to Wyborney.
Wyborney said he began the fund-raiser with his class last year and the students were so successful at collecting box tops, he suggested opening the event up to other classes. Over 2/3 of the classrooms participated in the event. What began as a fundraiser turned into a lesson plan for Wyborney's students. He said he used the box top drive to teach students how to write letters and learn about statistical probability.
It was also Wyborney's idea for Bates to sit on the roof. He said Bates, who has been principal at Nyssa Elementary for two years, has been very receptive to teachers' ideas.
Earlier in the school year, Bates and vice principal Darren Johnson wore pink pajamas to school after students met their reading goals. Bates, armed with his cell phone, a bottle of water, and some doughnuts that Johnson brought him earlier in the morning, sat under a large umbrella while intermittent rain drops poured down on him Friday.
The weather was not exactly conducive to sitting outside for three hours, but Bates wore a smile as each classroom in the school exchanged turns going outside and saying hello to their principal.
