Teaching children about the importance of giving has been one of the Villa Academy's main goals since its establishment in 1978.
But the lessons being taught over the years could never have been more valuable than in this time of need for the thousands of victims of December's devastating tsunami.
School's spirit
The Villa Academy is a private, independent Catholic school at 5001 N.E. 50th St. that lies in a beautiful, historical setting overlooking Lake Washington.
It was established as an orphanage more than 100 years ago by Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, an Italian-born nun and founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The orphanage was subsequently converted to Villa Academy in 1978, but it continued to educate its students in accordance with the Cabrinian tradition.
Pauline Skinner, head of the Villa Academy for the last six years, said the Cabrinian tradition is based on compassion and focuses on the growth of the whole person. The school helps each child realize his or her full academic, social and spiritual potential.
Simply put, the school strives to develop both hearts and intellects of its students, Skinner said.
It was certainly in keeping with the school's spirit that students, teachers and parents alike started to suggest ways to help the victims of the tsunami disaster.
Skinner said that she expected that kind of response from her school: "I knew that there'd be a lot of energy...to reach out to these people."
After students came back from their Christmas break, the student council considered the best way to respond to the tragedy. "They came up with 101 ideas, which goes to show how much they were touched," Skinner said.
In the end, with help from their advisers and moderators, the council decided on "Give Change, Make a Change," a fund-raising campaign whose goal was to collect 10 million pennies (or $10,000) for the tsunami victims.
Each class was given a plastic peanut butter jar in which students could put their change,allowance or money they got for Christmas.
Those jars would then be emptied during the lunch breaks into a 20-gallon fish tank in the school's cafeteria.
The response from students was tremendous, Skinner said. Some students went as far as asking their relatives to match their contributions.
In a short time, teachers realized that the fish tank was getting too heavy for the cart it was wheeled around on, so they replaced it with a more heavy-duty one.
So far, not counting the coins that almost fill the 20-gallon tank, the school has raised more than $6,000, Skinner said. Vince McGovern, Villa Academy's middle-school director, said that the students have raised more than $8,000 overall.
But there are also other incentives for reaching the student's fund-raising goal of $10,000: Michael Miller, one of the middle-school teachers, promised to cut 1 inch of his ponytail for every $1,000 raised.
"At the rate this is going, he might have to shave his head," Skinner said.
The campaign lasted through Jan. 28, and the final amount raised, $12,830.59, was counted and announced during a school assembly Friday, Feb. 4.
The money will be donated to Mercy Corps, as decided by the student council.
A first-hand account
The tsunami-relief effort struck a more personal chord with one Villa Academy student.
William Oberle, 14, an eighth-grader, was vacationing with his parents, Mark and Mardie Oberle, on the island of Phucket, Thailand, when the first wave hit the beach.
The Oberles checked in late the night before to their second-floor Duangjitt Resort Hotel room, located about 100 yards from the Patong Beach. William's parents were so tired the next day that they slept in. But William went out and tried the hotel's swimming pool early in the morning.
Around 8 a.m., as he got out of the pool and prepared to sit down, William felt the earth shake and saw the pool's water ripple. Minutes later, he heard the loud noises of the tsunami waves slapping against Patong Beach's first buildings.
Then the waters started to rise, and the pool flooded with muddy seawater. People were running and screaming everywhere, William recalled.
His parents, fully awake now and aware of the situation, placed William in the hotel room while they started to give first aid to victims in the lobby area.
His father, a pediatrician and associate dean of the University of Washington's School of Medicine, was ripping sheets and improvising splints out of the hotel's furniture.
Three days later, the Oberles returned to the United States. William witnessed the devastation on the way to the airport. Scenes with cars slammed against walls, injured people and Buddhist monks praying on the streets are still vivid in his memory.
Feeling fortunate
When he returned to school, William was asked to share his experiences with his peers.
"I spent the next three days explaining the trip," William said. After awhile, his "mouth was dry from speaking so much."
Pauline Skinner recalls being fascinated by watching William speak in front of the school assembly.
"He was absolutely himself; he just told his story," she said. "You could've heard a pin drop, it was so quiet."
At the end of his presentation, the students applauded William, but Skinner recalls seeing him gesture, as if to say "Why do you applaud? I didn't do anything special."
Asked about the Give Change, Make a Change campaign, William thinks it is a great idea, given the scale of destruction the Thais suffered.
William considers himself very lucky and thanks God for not being on the beach when the tsunami struck. But even though he came very close to being a victim himself, William wants to return to Thailand again next year.
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