KAPA‘A — Gary Towner, Food Service Sales for Hawai‘i, received a round of applause and a hearty “Amen!” when he said teachers, on the average, spend more than $1,000 out of their own pockets to help their students learn. Towner
KAPA‘A — Gary Towner, Food Service Sales for Hawai‘i, received a round of applause and a hearty “Amen!” when he said teachers, on the average, spend more than $1,000 out of their own pockets to help their students learn.
Towner of Hopaco OfficeMax was joined by Kaua‘i Branch Manager Richard Ho, who moved to Kaua‘i this year, and Terri Nakamatsu, Hopaco OfficeMax account manager, in presenting its annual A Day Made Better award Thursday at Kapa‘a Elementary School.
Jason Kuloloa, the Kapa‘a Elementary principal, said this year’s winner was selected by the teachers themselves.
“When Gary spoke to me about the program, I sent out an email ballot so all the teachers could vote on who they thought was the most effective,” Kuloloa said. “There was a clear winner — Jewel Ramelb getting the most votes.”
The surprised first grade teacher could not believe the announcement, but did not hesitate to try out the new office chair, which served as the throne for her award.
“I cannot accept this award without saying something,” Ramelb, who started teaching in 1972, said. “Teaching is never about me. I’m going to share this with the other teachers because it’s always about my colleagues.”
Ramelb, who said she thought the balloting was about the oldest teacher, an award she would easily win, said she’s learned from every administrator she’s worked for, just as she’s learned from the new teachers coming into the system, the community, and most of all, from the children.
“This (teaching) is not about the money,” Ramelb said. “I love the children. Where else can you get all the kudos and love?”
With a theme of working to erase teacher-funded classrooms, A Day Made Better is a nationwide initiative by OfficeMax, states its website.
More than 90 percent of teachers spend their own money on basic school supplies for their students, according a recent survey, states the website.
OfficeMax, in an Oct. 2 release, said its back-to-school shoppers and business customers contributed nearly $1.9 million in school supplies to teachers nationwide for their classrooms through A Day Made Better program where surprise classroom events help provide relief and support to teachers who spend their own money on much-needed classroom supplies.
This is the sixth year of the A Day Made Better program in which OfficeMax associates surprise 1,000 teachers with $1,000 each, worth of school supplies.
New this year, throughout October, OfficeMax will accept monetary donations at the checkout counters of all its retail locations for AdoptAClassroom.org. These contributions will be put into a spending account on AdoptAClassroom.org, where schools that participate in A Day Made Better can use the donations to order additional supplies and equipment for their classrooms.
Visit www.adaymadebetter.com and adoptaclassroom.org for more information.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
