First Penguin Award

Students make leap to help others

In the cold, bleak Antarctic, there is no telling what might lie beneath the surface of the frigid water. Dangerous predators that lurk under the ice shelf are quick to pounce on the penguins who find food in the water.

This makes the first penguin in the ocean exceptionally brave and self-sacrificing. The first penguin has inspired people from the late Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch of "Last Lecture" fame to businesspeople who want to reward employees who are unafraid to take risks.

Most recently, Kalispell Middle School has embraced the first penguin by creating the First Penguin Award, designed to honor students who demonstrate courage by taking a risk to help others.

The award is new to the school this year and KMS recently announced its first four recipients: eighth-grader Logan Hensley, seventh-grader Shabaan Qureshi and sixth-graders Tucker Rauthe and Lili Gilsoul.

Teachers nominated students throughout the first trimester, and school counselors determined which nominees were most deserving. Other students will be recognized throughout the year.

"These students display kindness and selflessness towards others," Principal Barry Grace said. "They truly have taken a chance to help others of our KMS population."

According to the teacher who nominated him, Hensley goes out of his way to encourage and organize special-needs students in his physical education class.

"He does this without my instruction, and he steps up and makes sure these special students are involved and have success," the teacher wrote. "Logan is their biggest cheerleader. He is a mentor to all the students in the class."

Hensley explained that many students in the class are very competitive and into sports, and they like to win. Those students are sometimes impatient with or ignore the students who can't run as fast or throw the ball as well, Hensley said.

To make sure the special-needs students get a chance to play, Hensley asks the other students to share the ball or include all the students in the game.

Gilsoul also goes out of her way to help special-needs students in class. The teacher who nominated her for the award said, "She always makes sure the special student has a partner, will willingly help the student during group work and has informed me or another adult when other students are not as kind or are impatient with these students.

"Lili does this without being asked and has also become an advocate for others who are struggling."

Rauthe likewise was nominated for the award because he went out of his way to help ostracized students. He said he was chosen because he helped one student in his pod. Other kids thought this student was "a little weird," but Rauthe wasn't afraid to help.

The teacher who nominated him said, "There have been several other occasions in which Tucker has been partnered with a student who is easily left out, and he always works willingly with these students. He also verbally supports kids when they are easy targets of being left out or excluded."

It's easy for students to be excluded when they're new to school, particularly if they don't speak English. One student who speaks only Spanish might have been overwhelmed in his first days at the middle school if not for Qureshi.

Qureshi, who is originally from India, doesn't speak Spanish, but that didn't stop him from befriending the new student. Qureshi says he uses sign language of sorts to communicate with his new friend; if they are on their way to P.E., for example, Qureshi will run in place and gesture.

Welcoming new students is something that Qureshi is known for, according to the teacher who nominated him.

"I have observed Shabaan in the hallway and in my classroom helping others who are lost or new to KMS," the teacher said. "He works to include everyone around him and only has kind things to say."

These students' actions might seem minor to adults, but in middle school's peer-pressured environment, their kindness is risky and heroic. The pressure to fit in is intense, the students agreed, but helping others is worth it.

"It's just the right thing to do," Hensley said, as the other three students nodded in agreement.

"It's probably inspired other kids to do it," Rauthe added. "It makes you look even cooler, because people will want to do that."

The students have seen a little fallout from their actions. Sometimes other students exclude them from group activities or won't let them play games. Sometimes friends are disappointed when they choose to help special-needs students rather than partner with a buddy.

But for the most part, Hensley said, "people pretty much don't care."

"I don't notice it too much. If it is happening, I just let it pass by, because I don't really care," Gilsoul said. "It's not like people just shun me away."

Gilsoul said she thinks the penguin award will be good for the school because it will encourage other students to help one another.

"It will make people nice people," Qureshi agreed.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com