Walnut students selected as Distinguished Gentlemen
By The Emporia Gazette (Contact)
Friday, March 16, 2007
Five fourth-grade boys have taken on new leadership responsibilities this year as part of a new program at Walnut Elementary.
Xavier Cahoone, Logan Cayton, Daha Evans, Alex Luthi and Trevor Morgan were selected as Distinguished Gentlemen of Walnut Elementary. The boys were selected based on their applications and will serve as role-models and ambassadors for their school, according to Stephanie Stapp, student support specialist.
They meet monthly as a team and are responsible for giving tours to new students to help them feel more comfortable. They also read announcements to the student body on Friday.
“These young men have risen to the occasion and are phenomenal,” Stapp said. “They dress up and wear ties on our meeting days, and they have written their own code of conduct.”
Fourth grade boys were invited to apply for the Distinguished Gentlemen group last fall and selections were made in November.
“Our entire school will look to you as role models, so be ready for the task. You will be allowed to have special areas of service in our school and will become an important part of how our school functions,” their notification letter read.
Earlier this month, the boys invited Assistant County Attorney Tim Dupree to be their guest for lunch. After a pizza lunch, Mr. Dupree talked about his career as a prosecutor and the education required for the job. He also responded to a series of questions prepared by the boys in advance.
“I am really proud to be here with all of you distinguished gentlemen,” Mr. Dupree told the boys.
They were interested in the types of cases the county attorney prosecutes, how much money attorneys make, and the checks and balances in the legal system that prevent the wrong people from being accused of crimes.
“Being a prosecutor is fun because we help the police officers do their job,” he said. “There also is a lot of responsibility to being a prosecutor.”
At their first meeting in December, they discussed their goals for the year and wrote a “Code of Conduct.” The code addresses respectful behavior and their goal of serving others in support of the school community.
“We will not call other students or adults in our building names, will not bully others, and we will not fight. Those behaviors are not part of the role of being a gentleman. When we see others choosing those behaviors, we will not support them in that choice, and will report those behaviors to an adult immediately if another student is in danger,” the code reads.