As I come into school every morning, part of my ritual is to go through my mail. On Monday, December 29, I received a piece of mail that made my day. As part of an assignment option my students have had in my English classes, I invited them to enter an essay contest. The essay contest challenges the students to write a three hundred-word essay addressing the question, "What is important to me?"
The sponsoring company, Creative Communication, Inc., receives entries from all over the country. The students get an opportunity to be published and a chance to win some cash awards. Well, in this piece of mail I opened on December 29, I was informed by Creative Communication, Inc. that two of our students at BEST High School were being offered an opportunity to be published in the upcoming anthology.
Nichole Beery and Nicole Zefkeles are two out of ten students given an opportunity to publish their work. Nichole's essay was titled, "School Helps Everybody," and Nicole's article, "Love Shared, Twice the Gain," are now in the running for a cash award of some kind. Both of these girls have overcome significant challenges in their lives and have a unique ability to express their thoughts and reflections well in the written word.
Please congratulate Nichole and Nikki on their wonderful accomplishment. Students may still submit essays and poems. The next deadline is February 15 for the essay and April 5 for the poetry.
BEST High School takes time to reflect and brag
By Emily Borden, Head Teacher at BEST High School
A day at school is like any other. You go to first period and then to second. Forty-five minutes in biology and then it is time for English class. It is not often that a school can sit down and enjoy spending time with each other, not worry about what assignment is missing or what grade a student got on a paper.
Recently, BEST High School in Kirkland did just that, sitting down and spending some time together as a school. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, students and staff contributed food and time to prepare a magnificent Thanksgiving feast, with turkey and all of the trimmings.
Each home room class sat together and shared a meal, telling each other what they were thankful for. Students would periodically get up on stage and announce over the microphone what their class was most thankful for. In the end, students helped the staff to clean up before going off on Thanksgiving break.
Throughout the weeks prior to Thanksgiving, many students were also giving of themselves. They brought in food and gift certificates for families in school that would not have had a meal on Thanksgiving Day. Even students who did not have a lot to give, brought in food as a way of giving back for all that they had already received.
Overall, the students brought in enough food for seven students at our school to take home a Thanksgiving basket, with a turkey. The Kirkland Rotary also contributed food to feed another student and his family. We all have so much to be thankful for during the holiday season, and giving back only reinforces how lucky we all are.[[In-content Ad]]
