"Bickleton's Fine Print" Page 4

Interveiw with Mr. Rapach By Miguel Macias John L. Rapach was born in 1943 on May twentieth in San Francisco, California. His father, John D. Rapach who served in the military, was involved in both World War II and the Korean War, and his mom, Gertrude E. Rapach was a homemaker. John attended many different schools because they moved a lot due to his father's job. He started school in Santa Barbara, California and was there through half of fourth grade, then he went to Port Townsend, Washington. He moved to Shelton later and stayed there through half of his eighth grade year and relocated to Belmont, California where he graduated. He stated that he was the first one in his family to have graduated from high school. He attended San Jose State, where he wanted to go into forestry. He went to college for a full year, then enlisted in the army rom 1962 to 1965 where he trained as an infantryman, and ended up as a personnel sergeant. After his service he went back to San Jose and studied science, then elementary education, and then was selected for a program in secondary schooling. Around this time he met his wife, Pam. He recalls meeting her for the first time in a crowded lecture hall where she offered him a seat right next to her. He said they never officially dated, and that their dates consisted of going outdoors to collect bugs and plant specimens. After seven months, they decided to get married. John received his bachelor's degree in 1968, after that he attended Oregon State University where he got his Master of Sciences, funded by the National Science Foundation. After college he moved to Quilcine, Washington where he taught at a school of about 100 students. 1972 was the year he decided to teach in Bickleton. He mentioned that he looked at many other schools, but something about Bickleton and all the friendly people made it easy to come here to teach. He has enjoyed all 32 years of teaching in Bickleton, and he sees all of his students like an extended family, and that is what he loves about Bickleton so much, the one-on-one interaction with students. He remembers reading a bumper sticker about four years ago that said, "I taught the future I teach." He hopes that his teaching has somehow touched all of his students in a way that has positively influenced their lives. His advice for the new science teacher would be to have fun. He says he will miss teaching, but will move on to his second passion, which is traveling.

SUPERINTENDENT'S CORNER Dear Community, I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your love and support durning our time of need. It's truly a blessing to have the many support systems that we have in our community. January has come and gone, and it is hard to believe that February is here and spring is not that far away. Altough it may be hard to tell with the recent snow! We started second semester of school on January 27th and our students are quickly getting into their routines. The basketball season is rapidly coning to an end with the district tournament in Goldendale on February 17. We do not know the time yet, but we'll keep everyone posted when they let us know. January is School Board Appreciation Month, and I would like to thank our Board of Directors for a great job. The School Improvement Team will meet on February 5 at 6:00 p.m. to evaluate the district's strategic plan for the first semester. We look at what works, what doesn't work, and then recommend adjustments to the plan to ensure that the district educational goals are achieved. The Reading First Program continues to move forward and we are seeing constant growth in our young readers. Mrs. Venema, Mrs. McBride, Mrs. Whitmore and Mrs. Clinton are at a new curriculum workshop. They will bring back valuable information as we get started with the new math curriculum adoption for K-12 this spring. There are several committees working on various needs of the district. We are evaluating our portfolio process, class schedules, and the mentorship program that we instituted earlier this year. Our weight room is just about ready and I encourage the community to take advantage of this opportunity to get into shape. I am very proud of the students under Mr. Venema's direction who have worked hard to make this weight room a reality. It looks great! With spring around the corner it is time for community input for our school. The major committee work will be in the area of curriculum and the students handbook. If you are interested in any of this, please let me know. We welcome your expertise. I would like to thank the community economic development council for their support in acquiring funds for our school. We have preliminarily been awarded $22,515 to replace a badly-needed roof on the high school. Without this kind of help, it would be very difficult to get the job done. Again, thank you. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to come and see me or call. My door is always open, and I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Ric Palmer