Gloversville students of the month step out in style

PHOTOGRAPHER: Jim McGuire

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The lesson to be imparted to Gloversville High School students might be obvious: Hard work pays off.

It sure seemed that way Friday, when a stretch limo pulled up at the Rail Yard restaurant and 11 students filed out for lunch.

To live in such high style — dining far from the school cafeteria — an enterprising student must (according to the criteria) demonstrate “hard work, dedication, respect for others and [serve as] … a positive role model for our school and community.”

Each month, one student is chosen by each of the 11 department chairpeople. The program was established by physical education teacher and varsity baseball coach Jim Robare.

Robare said the department heads are searching for students who are making an earnest effort while demonstrating good citizenship in the school community. Those students are not necessarily the highest academic achievers, he said. The award winners receive certificates. He said they have been a very “diverse group.”

When Robare got the idea, he said he contacted Rail Yard owner Don Blanchard and Marty Quinn, owner of Primavera Limousines.

They were immediately receptive, Robare said, summing up their response as “no problem; anything you want.” Quinn donates his services, and the Rail Yard and the school store take turns picking up the lunch tab.

Quinn, driving and dressed in a tuxedo Friday, shrugged off his contribution. “I love doing it,” he said. “If everyone in the community did a little bit, …” he said, making a point that needed no more words.

Student Anthony Murray, a linebacker on the football team, said he was honored to be chosen.

Though his friends joked with him about his limo ride to lunch, Murray said the remarks were congratulatory.

Murray was selected by the technology department.

“It’s pretty cool; I didn’t expect it,” Murray said. Though his parents have always insisted that he be polite, he said he assumes he was chosen because he is competent with the engineering software and helped other students understand and use it.

Jonathan Stanyon, a sophomore chosen by the support services department, responded succinctly when asked to describe the limo ride: “It’s a good time,” he said.

High School Principal Richard Demallie said the department chairpeople are urged “to look at every aspect of a student, not just grades or extracurricular activities.’

Demallie credited Robare for devising a program that not only pulls together community resources but in so doing empowers the staff in decision-making and rewards students.

Demallie said the program may have begun with one teacher but has become an “entire community effort.”

Photographs of the students, taken by art teacher Jason Harrod, are framed and placed in the school display case.