T-Shirt Spells `Super' For Beacon Hill Pupils -- Personal Goals Worked Out With Teachers Regarding Schoolwork

Ten-year-old Daniel Ross' goal was "to get better grades in music class." He went up two full marks.

The goal of Jessica Moorman, 11, was "to get my homework turned in more."

She missed only one assignment.

Theresa Tse, also 11, aimed to read six books during the quarter. She polished off 15.

Today they were to be among 271 classmates at Beacon Hill's Maple Elementary School sporting green T-shirts that proclaim in gold letters: "The Super Kids Go to Maple."

The T-shirts were their reward for meeting personal goals worked out with their teachers in a project made possible through the help of the school's PIPE (Partners in Public Education) partner, US Bank.

The bank foots the bill for the T-shirts, sold at cost by Mary Anne Arena and Mary Anne Reichle, two former bank employees who started a T-shirt company.

The goal setting is a way to motivate the youngsters to improve their behavior and their academic achievement.

"They do it on their own," said Principal Lynn Fuller.

"They feel very good about that," added first-grade teacher Margaret Broderhausen, the school's PIPE coordinator.

This is the third year of the program, which includes a contest to design the shirt.

This year's design winner was 11-year-old Pele Washington, who came up with his idea from the principal's comments to the school's 468 students.

"Miss Fuller says we are all super kids and go to a super school, and this is the best school in Seattle," Pele said. Kids who earned T-shirts will wear them proudly. But Jessica Moorman warned them to be careful: Last year, "I was trying to air it out, and it blew away," she said.

Jessica vowed that when she takes off her T-shirt this year, "I'll put a rock on it."

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