Newcastle parents whisked their children off to school this week, symbolically bringing an end to the long summer nights.

After dropping the kids off at school, you might feel the urge to kick back, relax and enjoy some “me” time. You deserve it after a long summer keeping the young ones entertained.

But wait! The schools need you. The volunteer jobs are endless. The playgrounds need monitors, the libraries can use assistance, the front offices might need your organizational skills, teachers almost never have enough helpers and the nurse’s offices are often in need of a mother’s touch to watch over a sick child.

But the best volunteer jobs may be working directly with students. Parents, grandparents and other citizens are always welcome to just listen to children read.

If you prefer something more athletic, check into becoming a volunteer to help a coach. The middle schools and high schools have an array of sports teams that need organizational and skills assistance in support of its coaches.

Getting involved in school doesn’t necessarily mean more time with children. The PTA at each school is looking for parents to volunteer in everything from teacher recognition to fundraising. Start by joining your PTA, and then get involved.

For those who want to take on a bigger role, ask about becoming a mentor. If you can give just an hour a week, Issaquah’s VOICE Mentor Program and Renton’s Community in Schools of Renton program offer opportunities to make a real impact on the lives of kids who need it most.

Learn more about Issaquah’s program at voicementorprogram.org and Renton’s at renton.ciswa.org. There are several students hoping to find a “special someone” to become their friend, cheerleader and confidante.

Schools require a background check on every volunteer, parent or not. All volunteers must apply and be approved before they get clearance to begin service. In addition to the typical background information, volunteers must undergo a Washington State Patrol criminal history check.

To get started, simply stop in at your local school’s office to learn more about volunteer opportunities. Learn more about volunteering in Issaquah schools at http://bit.ly/1U9T6kT and Renton schools at http://bit.ly/1JHYZzV.

By Greg Farrar
Sydney Hopper, Liberty High School senior, has taken no prisoners while on the fastpitch mound during her prep career, but as a giving youth volunteer is as kind off the field as she is aggressive on.

Sydney Hopper has enjoyed heroic moments in softball.

Winning hits at the plate, game-saving strikeouts in the pitching circle.

She is a key reason Liberty High School started the season 7-0 before recent back-to-back losses to Lake Washington.

But it’s the way Hopper conducts herself off the field that causes others to look up to her.

She believes in giving back. So, in addition to playing softball and carrying a rigorous academic schedule (with a 3.99 grade point average), the 18-year-old senior volunteers to help others in a variety of programs, including two dealing with special-needs youths — Camp Casey and Athletes for Kids.

Freshman Jessie Tappan, who has ADHD and is developmentally delayed, is in her second year as Hopper’s “buddy” through Athletes for Kids, and the two share a tight bond. Tappan’s smile in a photo with Hopper taken before a Liberty football game last fall tells you how much her mentor means to her. And Hopper’s smile is even bigger.

“They’re relationship is awesome,” said Lori Tappan, Jessie’s mother. “Jessie doesn’t do things with her peers, so Sydney gives her that bonding relationship that she lacks … Sydney has taken her to school sporting events, which Jessie would normally not have the opportunity to do.

“I’m impressed that Sydney does these things with Jessie. Many kids her age wouldn’t even think of helping or hanging out with special-needs children.”

Hopper considers herself fortunate to have many role models in her life, so this is a way to pay it forward.

“I’ve had a lot of people in my life that have really helped me out, that have been mentors for me,” she said. “I really do think I have the best parents in the world. They have supported everything I’ve done, and coaches I’ve had, teachers, friends — I’ve just had so many supportive people around me, and I’m really grateful for that. So, I wanted to be that for other people.

“I think community service has been a way for me to help out people and to hope I’m having a positive impact on other people’s lives, just like people have had a positive impact on me.”

Hopper, the youngest of two children, began volunteering as early as sixth grade.

“She’s just always been a very kind kid,” said her mom Mindy, who keeps the scorebook and compiles stats for Liberty. “It’s a joy to be her mother.”

And to be her coach, according to Jon Kinsley, a longtime assistant who took over the softball program this season as the Patriots faced their third head coach in four years.

“I’ve been coaching high-school kids for a total of 26 years now, and I’ve never seen a better leader,” said Kinsley, who is also the boys golf coach and had an earlier stint as head boys basketball coach at Liberty. “First she walks it, and then she talks it, all through positivity … She’s just a very bright, unassuming, kind kid.”

Hopper, a three-year captain who also ran cross country, plays clarinet in the school band (and guitar on her own) and is past president of Liberty’s honor society. As a Relay for Life captain earlier this school year, she raised nearly $2,000 on her own for the American Cancer Society. She helped organize the offseason softball workouts and will run Liberty’s kids’ camp.

Oh, she was Liberty’s Homecoming queen as well.

“She’s pretty much involved in everything,” teammate Maddy O’Connor said. “She’s a great leader and just really a well-rounded kid.”

Lake Washington coach Traci Tawney said Hopper is always complimentary to opposing players, win or lose.

“She just really seems to enjoy the game,” Tawney said.

And she’s good at it, too. At 7-2, Hopper has 64 strikeouts in 46 innings with a 2.50 ERA while batting .464. She plans to play at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, but first hopes to lead Liberty back to the state softball tournament and improve on last year’s 0-2 finish.

“We set a goal to finish in the top eight, and I think we could do even better than that,” Hopper said. “This team has a lot of potential.”

And the perfect leader to help them reach it.

Contributed
The Liberty High School drill team surrounds its new hardware after winning two state titles at the 2015 state championship March 27 at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

The Liberty High School drill team went into the March 27 state competition with few expectations.

Sure, they thought, it would be nice to place in the top two of the military and kick categories, but realistically, they hadn’t seen many of their competitors, so the squad was unsure where it stood in the pecking order.

After a tumultuous three years that saw three different coaches filter in and out of the program, the Liberty drill team gave what captains called their “best performance ever,” capturing two state titles in the March 27 competition held at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

The performances weren’t perfect, junior captain Amanda Roberts admitted, but it didn’t take away from the thrill of hearing the Patriots’ name called twice.

“We had just won not one, but two state titles, something that I’m pretty sure has never happened in Liberty history,” she said of the moment the awards were announced. “We all were incredibly proud of ourselves and filled with joy.”

Liberty took first place in the kick category with a “superior” rating of 271.7, while a score of 240.15 was enough to capture the 1A/2A military title.

The trip to Yakima was an amazing experience, made more so by a team that is closer and more polished than ever, senior captain Mikayla Nudelman said.

“Knowing that all our hard work and the time we’ve put into drill has paid off is an unexplainable feeling,” Nudelman said. “Each girl has sacrificed a lot for the team, so getting these two trophies just makes all the ups and downs worth it.”

Nudelman said the team’s performances were “disciplined,” leading to some of the highest scores in school history.

“Our Cheshire cat-themed kick routine was high energy, exciting and honestly, pretty adorable with our cat ears and tails. Our military routine was intense, difficult and had lots of tricks and lifts,” Nudelman said.

Hard work, sacrifice and dedication defined this year’s 18-member drill team, Roberts said, thanks mostly to the positive influence of coach Lindsay Starr, who along with assistant coach Sydnee Williams, led the squad to its historic year.

“She pushed us to our limits and made us feel like a real, united team,” Roberts said of Starr. “These wins were just the cherry on top of an amazing year that has shaped a completely new drill program that will lead us into the future.”

Nudelman agreed, crediting Starr for bringing the team together.

“Starting the year off with a new coach, we were headed in a completely different direction, and we trusted her to lead us to where we are,” Nudelman said. “Between summer to now, our team has transformed into a unified entity, something we have never been before.”

The Liberty High School community is known for the passion it displays toward its extracurricular teams and activities, but for some reason, it hasn’t similarly supported the Patriots drill team, Roberts said.

She’s hoping a little hardware will change that.

“For years, the Liberty community and students have never really thought much of drill. We were always just kind of there,” she said. “We were always put as last priority for practice space and things like that.

“Finally, these wins show people that we are a Liberty sport to pay attention to. We are hoping to get the respect that we deserve for working so hard.”

Leilani Bruce, Lilli Donahoe, Hannah Fadler, Emily Rutherford, Sami Galluzzo, Alex White, Lindsey Williams, Riley Wigen, Hanna Warmenhoven, Zoe Herrild, Madison Brenden, Erika Kahler, Theresa Nguyen, Laura Suddock, Ali Whittles, Nudelman, Maddie Lam and Roberts make up the 18-member drill team.

Nudelman, Roberts and Nguyen are captains.

Hazen comes up short of four-peat

Contributed
The Hazen High School drill team gathers for a group shot after performing at the 2015 state championship March 27.

For the first time in three years, the Hazen High School drill team returned home without a state title, but you won’t find the Highlanders hanging their heads.

They put up some of their best scores of the year in Yakima, and even though it didn’t result in the top spots, co-coach Victoria Hupf said she was proud of the improvement her team showed.

“In both routines, you could tell the girls gave their all, and they felt really good about themselves and the performances they put on when they stepped off the floor,” she said.

Hazen competed in both the 3A pom and military categories. The Highlanders earned third place in pom with an “exceptional” score of 254.3.

Driller My Nguyen earned some individual recognition, after placing third in the drill down competition, beating out a loaded field of her competitors.

“This young lady, after an extremely long and hard day, was able to go out there and focus 100 percent on the task at hand,” Hazen co-coach Evelyn Turner said. “She exercised the discipline and handwork that Hazen Drill stands for and for that, I could not be more proud.”

Drill is by no means an easy sport, Hupf added. Hazen practices and competes nearly year-round.

In addition to early morning practices held almost daily, they also perform at school events and find time to give back to the community, as they did when they volunteered at the Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure.

“Every day, I am in awe of what these girls have been able to accomplish over the course of the year,” Hupf said, “and it has been an absolute privilege to have had the opportunity to help coach them this year.”

Finally, a bit of free time for a second cup of coffee.

But wait, your school needs you. The volunteer jobs at school are endless. The playground needs monitors, the library can use assistance, the front office might need your organizational skills, teachers almost never have enough helpers and the nurse’s office is often in need of a mother’s touch to watch over a sick child.

But the best volunteer jobs may be working directly with students. Parents, grandparents and other citizens are always welcome to just listen to children read. For a bigger role, ask about becoming a mentor, helping guide a child in his or her social development and studies — or sometimes just to be there to listen.

If you prefer something more athletic, check into becoming a volunteer to help a coach. The middle schools and high schools have an array of sports teams that need organizational and skills assistance in support of its coaches.

Volunteers at schools are not expected to take leadership roles. Volunteers do not get involved in discipline or instruction. The role is one of helper.

Getting involved in school doesn’t necessarily mean more time with children. The PTA at each school is looking for parents to volunteer in everything from teacher recognition to fundraising. Start by joining your PTA, and then get involved.

The Issaquah and Renton school districts require a background check on every volunteer, parent or not. All volunteers must apply and be approved before they get clearance to begin service. In addition to the typical background information, volunteers must undergo a Washington State Patrol criminal history check once every two years.

To get started, stop in at a school office to learn more about volunteer opportunities and get an application. Forms and information can also be found on the district’s websites at www.issaquah.wednet.edu/schools/volunteers.aspx and www.rentonschools.us/Departments/Community_Relations/VolunteerInformation.

Representatives from local community organizations that could use some volunteers will staff booths.

The event, from 2-4 p.m. at the Newcastle Library, 12901 Newcastle Way, is sponsored by the Friends of the Newcastle Library.

The fair is the result of an idea cultivated by the local teen leadership board. The board, which began as two separate entities affiliated with the Newcastle Library and Coal Creek Family YMCA, meets monthly to talk about things they’d like to see in the community.