Kinley Leuthold wore a bright blue sweatshirt Thursday, Dec. 19, with the phrase “Winning is my Business” written across the front.
Ironically it was her second-grade classmates who were “winning” when Leuthold shared Rauk’s pizza with her 26 classmates at Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary in Beaver Creek.
In three months Leuthold accumulated 300 Patriot PRIDE points, which are awarded for positive behavior and character traits: Positive, Respect, Integrity, Determination and Excellence.
Her goal was to earn a pizza party.
“She didn’t think she’d be able to do it,” said her teacher Diane VandenHoek. “But she had enough for that and some left over.”
The 154 kindergarten- through fifth-grade students are awarded points for exhibiting the PRIDE behaviors, which can be earned individually or as a group.
“Classes and students can get points anywhere, anytime during the day, even in the lunchroom if showing one of the five behaviors,” VandenHoek said.
Students can cash in their points for various prizes such as books, T-shirts or pencils, or paper coupons. Among the rewards was the class pizza party, which requires the most work, 300 points.
“Kinley decided at the beginning of the year that she wanted to accumulate hers to get the class pizza party,” VandenHoek said.
“I wasn’t surprised she chose to do this because she is a very kind and thoughtful young girl.”
Never boasting about the number of points she accumulated each month (about 100 each month), Leuthold quietly selected the day for the party with the request that teachers be invited, too.
Principal Todd Holthaus arranged for the pizzas from Rauk’s Hilltop Stop in Beaver Creek and helped serve the students and staff.
“Serving the second-grade students their pizza for the Pizza Pride Point Party was a neat experience,” he said. “The students’ excitement was contagious.”
As the Patriot PRIDE program is intended to teach, the students demonstrated proper meal manners and waited patiently as the pizza was cut and served.
“I had a grand time,” Holthaus said.