Brighton School students brighten teachers' day
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Dan Bates / The Herald
Fifth-graders Keaton Layman (left) and Ali Bloechl (right) show pre-schooler Sydney Stumpf a picture of her that Keaton shot Thursday morning at the Brighton School in Lynnwood. During an event in which students served gourmet coffee drinks to teachers, Keaton was assigned to take photographs.
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Dan Bates / The Herald
Brighton School teacher Karen Ernst takes a sip of a coffee drink delivered to her by preschoolers Ava Puetz (right) and Donovan Knouse while Kaiden Ambrey watches Thursday morning in Lynnwood.
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Outside the Awake Mobile Espresso vehicle behind Brighton School, first-grader Emily Benson contemplates an offer from 5th-grader, Casey McCarthy to deliver a coffee drink to one of the teachers Thursday morning. Dan Bates / The Herald Photo taken 011410 Photo taken:
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Brighton School teacher, Holly Ripley receives a coffee drink from preschooler Ava Puetz while 5th-graders Casey McCarthy (back left) and Johnathan Reed watch. Casey and Johnathan helped 4-year-old Ava bring the coffee drink to the classroom. Dan Bates / The Herald Photo taken 011410 Photo taken:
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Dan Bates / The Herald
Brighton School teacher Karen Ernst hugs preschoolers Ava Puetz (right) and Donovan Knouse Thursday morning after the students brought her a coffee drink.
Just ask the 16 students who brought them their morning cups of Joe last week during Latte Day.
Pairs of students from preschool through third grade at the private school on 212th Street SW delivered coffee drinks from a mobile espresso service to teachers and staff.
“I think it’s really cool just being able to help the teachers,” said Casey McCarthy, 10, one of a group of fifth-grade students asked to accompany the youngest students who delivered the drinks. “We have a lot of assemblies and we always appreciate the teachers.”
Longtime teacher Sandy Figel says she was happy to be on the receiving end of the special appreciation orchestrated by the school’s parent-led Hospitality Committee.
The committee hired Awake Mobile Espresso of Lynnwood to provide the coffee.
“It’s nice to be appreciated,” she said. “It seems like each year is a little bit different. Usually, the parents do all sorts of things.”
Figel, a second-grade teacher, started at the school for preschool to eighth-graders in 1985, a few years after the school was founded as Bright and Early, a preschool.
“The parents at Brighton have always been very supportive of the teachers here and the staff,” said Principal David Locke. “They do things to celebrate the teachers every year. This year, the hospitality committee has put together a bunch of events to celebrate the teachers.”
Other scheduled appreciation events include flowers in February, catered sandwiches in March and a continental breakfast in April.
“I think it’s wonderful, because we have such great teachers and they really do need to be appreciated more,” parent Diane Wakefield said.
Parents organize an annual luncheon for teachers but this is the first time students have delivered coffee to the 50 teachers, specialists and other staff at the school. “I haven’t done one like this before. It’s pretty cool,” Casey said.
Oscar Halpert: 425-339-3429; ohalpert@heraldnet.com.
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