Page 19 - Flathead Beacon // 5.27.2015

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COVER MAY 27, 2015 | 19
Whitefish High School
June 6, 1 p.m. Whitefish High School gym Class of 2015: 113
VALEDICTORIANS
4.0 GPA CUMULATIVE ALL FOUR YEARS
Georgia Donaldson Keaton Grove Sarah Latchum Micah McFeely Malia Morris
Columbia Falls High School
June 6, 11 a.m. Columbia Falls School gym Class of 2015: 180
HONORS DIPLOMA
MINIMUM GPA OF 3.95 WITH MINIMUM NUMBER OF AP CLASSES AND FOUR YEARS OF MATH AND SCIENCE
Colter Norick
Ciera Finberg Meredith Stolte Winter Kemppainen Dalton Halden Connor Bowman Ike Schweikert Carla Nicosia Breanna Friar
Ty Morgan
Bigfork High School
June 6, 11 a.m. Bigfork High School gym Class of 2015: 65
VALEDICTORIAN
4.0 GPA CUMULATIVE ALL FOUR YEARS
Veronica Farrier Marissa Mazziotti Megan Pancoast
SALUTATORIAN
RANKING SECOND HIGHEST IN THE GRADUATING CLASS WITH A 3.978 GPA
Makena Morley
Stillwater Christian School June 5, 6:30 p.m. Stillwater Christian School gym Class of 2015: 21
VALEDICTORIAN
4.0 GPAS ALL FOUR YEARS
Sarah Paolini
SALUTATORIAN
RANKING SECOND HIGHEST IN THE GRADUATING CLASS
Sophie George
Linderman Education Center June 4, 7 p.m. Linderman Education Center gym Class of 2015: 122
Judi Hewitt is retiring as principal of Creston school at the end of the year. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
THE ‘CRESTON WAY’
Principal Judi Hewitt to retire at the end of the school year after 26 years in Creston
BCy JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
RESTON – She calls it the “Cres-
ton way,” but when you ask Judi
Hewitt to provide a succinct def- inition of what makes the little school- house on the east side of the valley so special, she struggles to find the words.
“You can’t really verbalize it,” she said.
But listen to Hewitt talk about her school for a few minutes and you get an idea of what it means: a style of education that values both tradition and progress, and a setting that allows teachers to focus on every individual student so that each one succeeds.
That’s the Creston way.
For more than 25 years, Hewitt has shaped the small school on the east side of the Flathead Valley, first as a teacher and then as principal and su- perintendent. This spring, Hewitt, 64, is retiring as one of the longest serving school administrators in the county.
Hewitt first arrived in Creston in 1989 and within a few years became head teacher. In those days, small rural districts like Creston (the elementary school is the only one in the district) often did not have principals, but a teacher. Hewitt was teaching kinder- garten and, because her students were
gone halfway through the day, she had extra time to deal with administrative issues. In the early 1990s, the school board paid for Hewitt to go to school in Missoula during the summers so that she could earn the proper certification to become principal.
“As principal and superintendent, you take care of a lot of things,” she said. “Everything from plumbing prob- lems to policy.”
But teachers at Creston said Hewitt has done more than keep the wa- ter running. Jamie Shanks, who has taught at the school since 1999, said Hewitt has always worked hard to get the teachers everything they needed to do their job. Tami Ward, who teaches fifth and sixth grades and will be tak- ing over as principal and superinten- dent in the fall, echoed that sentiment.
“There’s going to be a void when she is gone,” she said.
Hewitt said her proudest accom- plishment has been recruiting a qual- ity staff that are dedicated and care about their students. They are also open to trying new things and think- ing outside the preconceived notions of what education should be and because of that she does not worry about what will happen when she is gone.
One way Creston is different,
Hewitt said, is that students do what is called “the daily five.” Every day kids take time to read to themselves, read to someone else, listen to some- one read and write and learn about the technical aspects of grammar. And one teaching tool you won’t see in the class- room is a worksheet, Hewitt said.
“You don’t help kids read by giving them worksheets. They learn how to read by reading and writing,” she said, adding that the reading program allows teachers to walk around the classroom and work one-on-one with students.
Because there are only 70 students in the school, teachers are able to work one-on-one with students. The small class size often attracts students from outside the district.
But it also might be Hewitt herself. Teachers at the school said the par- ents and community members respect Hewitt and that much of what makes the school special comes from its prin- cipal. But Hewitt said the Creston charm isn’t leaving anytime soon.
“I’ve walked through the doors for 26 years – for half of my adult life – and it’ll be tough not to do that anymore,” she said. “But I’m confident that every- thing will be fine here because there are some great people here.”
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