Brian Favorite – Island Park Elementary

Job Title: Paraprofessional

Job Description: Brian works with 4th grade teachers at Island Park Elementary to provide supplemental help in the classroom and support students both one-on-one and in small groups. He also works with the “Eagles Nest” morning math group for “students in the middle,” coordinates Friday enrichment activities and helps run “Recess Camp.” He is a crossing guard in the morning and afternoon, and this winter he is the assistant director of the school musical, Mary Poppins.

Location: Island Park Elementary

Typical Day: Brian begins his day as a crossing guard, directing traffic and students for safe arrival to school. He then divides his time among the school’s four 4th-grade classrooms. During recess, he helps to run “Recess Camp,” offering creative alternative activities for students. Some of these include: Sewing & Knitting Club, building things with boxes, ping pong and kick ball games. On Fridays he runs the enrichment program which, most recently, has involved the all-student video commercial project. Under Brian’s direction, Island Park students have learned to be producers, directors, writers and script supervisors for 20 minutes worth of school “commercials.” This winter all 104 fourth-graders will learn to do “public service announcements” in the form of rap songs. Brian and his team plan to create a DVD of all of the commercials and PSA’s for parents to enjoy.

Best part of the job: Getting to know the kids by working with them one-on-one and in small groups.

Something people may not know: Brian grew up in Los Angeles and worked in production for many TV sitcoms such as “Mad About You,” “Married With Children” and “Grace Under Fire.” He also worked for TechTV in San Francisco. After 9/11, Brian had a mid-life crisis and went back to school for a teaching degree. Then he spent a year in Tonga with the Peace Corps and now he is at Island Park!

Years worked in the district: This is Brian’s first year in the district.

Outside interests: Working on a documentary about Tonga, yoga, swimming and spending time with his family -- niece Eve Berrington, a sophomore at MIHS and her dad, Jim Berrington. They all live on Mercer Island.

Rich Mellish – Principal of West Mercer Elementary

Location: West Mercer

Job Description: Rich is the first line of support for students, staff and parents. His primary responsibility is to make sure West Mercer is a safe and welcoming school so that students learn everyday. He works hard to engage all stakeholders in the school community on the same goal – student learning.

Typical Day: There isn’t one. Rich spends his time in classrooms as much as possible. Sometimes he does a school-wide “walk-through,” dropping in on classrooms for 5-10 minutes at a time to get a sense of student learning. Other times he does longer, more formal visits. Rich’s other tasks involve communication with staff, families and others involved in the school, as well as budget planning and professional development for teachers. He enjoys working with others to support and develop school systems and structures that enhance student learning. Everyday is unique, and although there is the occasional need to respond to unplanned issues, Rich says, “Things run smoothly at West Mercer. I work with a wonderful staff team.” For the last year and a half Rich has been part of a district team that selected and is implementing a new elementary math curriculum.

Best part of the job: Spending time with students and supporting teachers in their efforts to help all students learn.

Something people may not know: Rich learned how to speak Spanish, French and Swahili in college. “I wanted to go to Africa, but never made it. I ended up going to Mexico and Albania, but I didn’t learn much Albanian. It is a language unrelated to any language on earth!”

Years worked in the district: 2 years. Rich came to Mercer Island after 14 years in the Seattle Public School District where he taught high school math for seven years and served seven years as an elementary principal.

Outside interests: Rich and his wife Jennifer live in Renton with their two boys Ty (age 6) and Ryan (age 3). Rich enjoys spending time with his family, playing racquetball, white-water rafting and reading a good book.

Bonnie Barthelme – RN,MN, School Nurse

Job Description: Bonnie is a certified school nurse for the Mercer Island School District. She works with the other school nurses to coordinate school and community health for students and staff. School nurses also review, update and inform staff about health policies. Other jobs include: notifying parents and staff about contagious illness in the schools, working with the public health department, writing health reports for special education students, and writing health plans for children with life threatening conditions (asthma, allergies, heart conditions etc). Nurses also train staff in how to deal with anaphylaxis, asthma, seizures, diabetes and administering epi-pens. Bonnie is ESA certified, which means she has received special training in school law, special education and health law.

Location: Lakeridge Elementary and Islander Middle School

Typical Day: Bonnie’s door is always open to students and staff. She sees an average of 30 people every day at each school. Staff members come in at the onset of illness, to check temperature or blood pressure and seek advice on medications. Students come in with recess injuries (either real or perceived). “We give out a lot of band aids, ice packs and glasses of water,” says Bonnie. “Sometimes students get stressed at school and come in with a headache or stomach ache. More often than not they just need to rest a short while and hydrate. It is our job to rule out true illness or injury.”

Best part of the job: The kids, all of them, Kindergarten through 8th grade! They are all so special to work with.

Something people may not know: Bonnie worked as an American Embassy nurse in Nepal for four years. She has also hiked to many of the base camps in Nepal.

Years worked in the district: 14 years. Before coming to Mercer Island, Bonnie worked in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Home Health Care and the American Embassy Medical Clinic in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Outside interests: Bonnie enjoys travel, adventure and riding “sidecar” on a motorcycle. Her 19-year old daughter graduated from MIHS and is currently attending Willamette University.