The weeks before winter break are traditionally when schools throughout the Battle Ground School District hold their annual food drives, giving trees and holiday events. This year, things were a little different at Pleasant Valley Middle School after the unexpected loss of seventh grade teacher Patrick Schommer last May.

That prompted Patrick’s wife, Jessica, to come to the school with an idea: The Schommy Showdown would pit the Schommer family (and friends) against the rest of the school to see who could bring in the most food donations for the North County Food Bank.

“Pat was very competitive,” Schommer said. “He was a coach and he would go into everyone’s room and say, ‘Who’s going to beat me this year?’”

“I can hear his voice in my head asking me, ‘Pace, where's all your food? What are your kids doing? Where's your points?’” recalled Amy Pace, a sixth grade teacher who helped coordinate this year’s drive. “The fact that his honorary homeroom won versus the entire school is a great testament to his lasting impact here.”

Pleasant Valley uses a points system where each donated item is worth one point, with a bonus item getting five points on specific days. This year’s drive brought in over 5,000 items, earning 13,000 points. Team Schommy finished first in a close race.

“It has just been amazing,” Jessica Schommer said. “Absolutely beautiful watching the school just jump in and take part.”

Schommer said she’s already planning for how Team Schommy can win the drive again next year.

High schoolers step up

During Battle Ground High School’s annual food drive, sophomores Bradley Woodberry, Noah McEuin and Kolten Funk (pictured, left-to-right) raised $400 that helped bring in enough food to fill the back of a pickup truck for the North County Food Bank.

Bradley Woodberry, Noah McEuin and Kolten Funk post in front of a world map “This was an amazing and generous gesture toward those in need,” said world history teacher Amanda Fulfer, who helped coordinate the drive “They should be highlighted in every way possible.”

The high school also put together a total of 282 candy grams to spread positivity and helped out around 30 families through their giving tree.

Over at Prairie High School, their Health Occupation Students of America club students, led by new president Emilee Natiola, collected over 400 items of food for the local food bank. This fully student-run effort included daily announcements, emails and a ton of legwork. The school also collected canned food donations during their recent Winter Carnival, where cans of food are used to vote on the best holiday display by a club or student organization.

Other schools keep the giving going

The district’s primary schools also stepped up in a massive way. Glenwood Heights Primary students collected over 3,200 items; Captain Strong chipped in an additional 2,400; and Daybreak Primary contributed nearly 1,300 items. CAM Academy students contributed nearly half a ton of donated food to the North County Food Bank.

Giving trees also helped provide for hundreds of families across the district. Tukes Valley Primary reported that they received 250 requests for food or gifts. Thanks to the generosity of their school community, they were able to fulfil every request! Yacolt Primary and Amboy Middle School joined efforts to fulfill gift requests for 60 families, including more than 350 people!

Amboy Middle School's administrative staff poses with gifts donated for their giving tree Elsewhere, Pleasant Valley Primary families fulfilled 18 gift requests, Battle Ground Virtual Academy was able to provide for 19 families, Prairie High School helped 42 families with gifts and Daybreak Middle School saw 50 families helped through their giving tree. Daybreak wanted to recognize the contributions of New Heights Church for donating gift cards. Summit View and Westminster churches also stepped up for Prairie High School. Meanwhile, Summit View and Church on the Rock contributed to River HomeLink families, providing gifts for 14 families and holiday meals for nearly a dozen more.

“Battle Ground Public Schools is fortunate to have such an amazing and generous community that steps up year after year to help families in need during the holiday season,” said Superintendent Denny Waters. “We are grateful for the efforts of our students and staff in coordinating these donation drives. It makes a huge difference in the lives of so many.”