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schools | Lake Washington School District, state see rise in homelessness [5] crime alert | Redmond Police Blotter [3]
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2013
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
SPORTS | Redmond High swimmers, divers and gymnast qualify for this weekend’s 4A state meets [11]
FEATURE | Father-daughter team score with top Kindle math app [8] meaning of the word, the leadership students who organized and ran the assembly used RESPECT as an acronym that stands for religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, personal style, economic status, culture and traits — just a few things that make an individual who they are and should be respected.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
LOOKING BEYOND RACE AND ETHNICITY
Redmond High students participate in the RESPECT assembly. Students stood or raised their hands if statements read aloud applied to them. Topics ranged from having siblings to worrying about their next meals. Samantha pak, Redmond Reporter
Redmond High School assembly celebrates differences among students Samantha Pak spak@redmond-reporter.com
On Wednesday morning, the sounds of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” filled the Redmond
High School (RHS) gym as students filed in and took their seats on the bleachers. They were getting ready to witness the school’s first-ever RESPECT Assembly and just
as the pop star’s song promotes and celebrates the differences among people, the assembly emphasized how there is more to people than meets the eye. In addition to the literal
Junior Shelby Albrecht, one of the student organizers, said they wanted to stress that you don’t necessarily have to love everyone but you should respect them. “Everyone deserves that respect,” she said. Albrecht and the rest of the organizers — senior Mariama Suwaneh and sophomores Bailey Campbell, Angelica Mason and Jennifer Martinez — were initially planning on holding a diversity assembly for Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January, which would focus on race and ethnicity as similar assemblies have in the past. However, after consulting with school administration and the associated student body executive council, the assembly organizers gave it more thought, Albrecht said they realized RHS’s issues of [ more respect page 7 ]
Teacher escapes troubled past through yoga SIMONA TRAKIYSKA UW News Lab
ng Session! Nosh Hedgeman’s troubled life is in the past. Courtesy of Simona Trakiyska
His father used to bite him and tell him that he was stupid. When he was 4, his father put out cigarettes in his stomach. Today, at age 40, he can still see the marks. Coming out of a seriously dysfunctional family, Nosh Hedgeman struggled to survive in his own home. Escaping to the street corners at age 14 seemed to be the only solution to avoid his
father’s physical and emotional abuse. Surrounded by anger and ache in the early stage of his life, Hedgeman started using crack cocaine. He hoped it would stop his pain. “By the time I was 13, 14, I didn’t have any self-esteem, I didn’t know what it was,” Hedgeman said. Looking back, Hedgeman realizes how angry and depressed he was — the inevitable result of the circumstances of his early life.
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Don’t make a resolution. Join a revolution!
“It all started as funny games,” he said. The next thing he knew he was heavily addicted to crack cocaine. Up to age 28, Hedgeman spent a lot of time in juvenile hall, jail and state prison. His life was far from normal. But then something happened that changed his life. While serving time in prison in his home state of California, he received a gift. It was a book, “Bikram Yoga,” sent to him by [ more nosh page 7 ]
A sign and messages honoring Don Wong at Norman Rockwell Elementary School. Courtesy of Angie Bindon Ballas/ Facebook
Norman Rockwell ‘beloved’ staff member dies Andy Nystrom anystrom@redmond-reporter.com
Don Wong felt he had the best job in the world. He was a dedicated physical education teacher who thrived on watching his students shine. The 61-year-old sports fanatic — who played rugby until he was 52 — also approved of his instructor’s uniform at Norman Rockwell Elementary School, said his sister Ann Cohen. “He got to wear T-shirts and shorts all year round,” she said. “His kids were all of his students. He loved them. He wanted all his kids to excel, and he motivated them. We spoke to him about retiring, and he said, ‘What, are you crazy? What am I going to do? This isn’t a job, it’s my passion.’” Wong passed away on Monday, Rockwell Principal Kirsten McArdle said. “Rockwell lost a beloved staff member this week,” she added. Wong taught at Rockwell since [ more wong page 9 ]
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