Warrior of the Week

Previous W.O.W. Recipients

by Karen McKelvey

December 04, 2007

12/3/08	Vince Banim	It is always difficult to replace a legend, but Mr. Banim has made the transition as West High School Band Director seamlessly. He puts in extra hours every day planning and organizing his program, provides solid daily instruction and sets high standards of excellence and expectations for his students. Recently, his hard work has paid off when he learned that our squad qualified as one of only 12 high schools to compete in the SCSBOA championships for field show!
11/17/08	Janet Tajii	Mrs. Tajii is a parent volunteer who has served on countless committees and helped to organize numerous West High events for years. Currently, Mrs. Tajii is a PTSA board member, WHEUPA president, school site council president and can be seen working the snack bar at just about every WHS event. But most importantly, Mrs. Tajii recently served as the West High Bond Campaign Coordinator and she dedicates hundreds of hours of her time to organize our volunteers, and ultimately was a leader who helped bring out the vote in favor of Measures Y and Z. West High would like to thank her for all of her hard work and dedication.
10/29/08	Melanie White	Mrs. White can always be seen putting in extra hours to be an effective educator. From attending meetings before or after her work day, to spending time helping her students, Mrs. White is truly a dedicated professional and it can be evidenced by her student performance and the award winning yearbook produced by her class.
10/21/08	Mary Lange	Mrs. Lange has worked diligently to mentor her colleagues as well as prepare a rigorous academic environment for her art students. In addition, she has challenged herself by putting in extra time to develop a new AP studio Art course here at West, the only one in TSUD. Her students produce award winning work on a regular basis, and they are commonly recipients of local, statewide, and even national recognition . . . most of these accomplishments can be credited to their outstanding teacher.
10/14/08	Heidi Allred	Ms. Allred has made an immediate and positive impact since coming to West High School as our district nurse. She is an outstanding communicator, a diligent provider of health services and brings a sense of calm in emergency situations. She is always willing to do the extra work necessary to complete her tasks and she has even volunteered her time to be the sponsor and coach of the West High School Surf Team.
10/6/08	Sue Eriksen	As Pep Squad and Drill Team advisor, Ms. Eriksen spends tons of extra hours preparing her students for performances and competitions. This past week, she incorporated dozens of elementary school students into her pep squad performances during the home football game. The event was extremely well organized and was a positive experience for the entire West High community. It is because of Ms. Eriksen’s diligence and high expectations that the West High Pep Squad and Drill Team’s have both become highly successful representations of our school.
9/29/08	Jason Druten	Mr. Druten has volunteered his time for the past several weekends to reorganize and upgrade both the West High School Fitness Room and Boys Locker Room. In addition, he has approached his PE classes with energy on a daily basis and can regularly be seen running the mile or leading a fitness workout with his classes. It is this enthusiasm for fitness that has his students smiling and sweating simultaneously as well as learning the skills to be healthy.
9/22/08	John Swanson
9/15/08	Mark Pesusich	Mr. Pesusich has begun this school year by bringing a positive and enthusiastic attitude with him every day. He spends the extra time necessary to plan interesting and engaging activities for his students. His passion for teaching is evident and his students are provided a meaningful experience each and every day.
9/4/08	Cirilo Castaneda, Phil Drasner, Linda Luhmann, MaryAnn Sablan, Todd Oshiro	During this past summer, some individuals stood out for the extra efforts in making West great. They are: Cirilo Castaneda organized an almost entirely new crew of custodians, working with fewer resources to make our classrooms and campus clean and beautiful for students, faculty and staff. Phil Drasner volunteered hours of his vacation time to create our Counseling Office Conference Room. Linda Luhmann and MaryAnn Sablan reorganized an office for a new employee and spent hours of their time making sure her transition to West would be successful. Todd Oshiro volunteered hours at a charity golf tournament benefitting our schools, modeling the importance of community service alongside the members of the West High School boys and girls golf teams. West High appreciates all that each of these individuals do and we commend the extra effort.