The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting online on October 18, 2021.
President Dave DeBois rang the bell at 6:16 p.m., calling the club meeting to order.
Rick Walter led the membership in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Attending were George Anderson, David Aubry, Rich Bergdahl, Bella Chaffey, Gary Cohn, Matthew Colpitts, David DeBois, Monica Fratita, Shellie Gehring, Margie Glenn, Brandon Honcoop, Michael Hunter, Jim Meniketti, Amy Mutal, Kristin Olson, Rick Ostrander, John Pruitt, Patti Smith, Bill Taylor, Brian Tucker, Rick Walter, John Woodbery.
Guests:
There were no guests this evening.
Announcements:
Community Service Chair Bella Chaffey updated us on Warm Coats. She took samples to John Muir for kids to try on and has received feedback. Based on that information, she has begun ordering coats. So far, 89 children need coats, which is a few more than in previous years. Bella also spoke about holiday gifts for kids, and our wrapping party. Schools want to know how many kids we can supply. (See Bella’s email of about 10 days ago if you would like to contribute money to this project, or see the articles in the Spokesman.) We will wrap gifts at the Kirkland Women’s Club the evening of December 20, in lieu of a regular meeting. Food and drinks will be provided, and dress with some holiday cheer to make it a social as well as a service event. The Denny Park invasive plant removal project received only one Rotary volunteer to date. It was offered that perhaps the format – Rotary is just one group among many – may not be the best for us.
Club Service Chair Monica Fratita will reach out to Eastside Baby Corner to see if we can contribute in some way.
Vocational Service Chair Mike Hunter gave us an update on the Student of the Month selection process. Tonight is the deadline to apply (twice extended), and interviews have started.
President Dave reported on progress on returning to in-person meetings. We will try a couple of meetings at the Courtyard by Marriott, as discussed last week. The dates will be November 1 and 8, and the first two buffet main dishes will be lasagna and pasta alfredo. We will also look at two-week trials at the Wilde Rover, where we would meet on Wednesdays and order off the menu, and at Tech City Bowl. If there are no other trials, the board will decide based on the feedback from members.
Happy Bucks:
There were no Happy Bucks this evening.
Program:
President Dave introduced our speaker, who is one of our newest members, Dr. Matthew Colpitts of Ventures Academy, a new, private high school for startups.
We heard about the school’s target students – young people who are exceptional and ready for an education and school experience that challenges them and prepares them to be entrepreneurial business people, primarily in the tech world. The school is also different from most other schools in that it is all year long, without the traditional summer vacation. Ventures Academy is different in style, curriculum, and in the relationship between staff and students. When dealing with required subjects, they will try to integrate subjects such as history and literature in ways that broaden the students’ understanding of the subjects.
Students progress through subjects at their own rate and continue to progress until they have mastered the subject.
The curriculum also includes a lot of technology, such as coding, plus management and leadership so that the student gets an understanding of all the areas necessary to the functioning of a successful technology business. This learning process includes two ‘boot camps’ of coding per year, management, and leadership.
After finishing school, students can remain for an additional year to run the business they have started, in partnership with the school. The school would then have an equity stake in the business, along with the student.
Tuition is $36,000 per year, including daily meals, trips, etc. Financial aid is available.
The school plans on tracking graduating students in order to learn how well the curriculum prepares students for their next step, whether school, work, or other.
Dr. Colpitts answered a number of great questions from Rotarians, primarily revolving around two areas – the nuts and bolts of the functioning of the school, and also how the school and the students can fit together. This last is critical so that a student-candidate can get the most out of their experience at Ventures.
Joker Pool:
There was not a Joker Pool this evening.
Adjournment:
President Dave noted that there will be a club board meeting this coming Thursday (Mr. DeBois will send out an agenda) and rang the bell at 7:30 p.m. to adjourn the meeting.
Respectfully Submitted
Dave Aubry – Acting Scribe