Author's Speech: Oimony 1965 – Bellefontaine Middle School

My time at Crone Middle School has come and gone so much faster than I would have ever expected. I can still recall my fifth grade memories as if they occurred just yesterday. If you told me these three years would fly by in a second, I would have never believed you. My fifth grade self thought that middle school would take my entire life to finish, and high school was a whole other topic. As a fifth grader, I was so excited for lockers, new friends, and new classes. I forgot all the other factors that play a role in middle school. This includes grades, homework, tests, quizzes, etc.

In 1910, when this school was first open, many students throughout the United States still attended classes in one-room schoolhouses. Aside from the one-room schoolhouse in Marshwood, Olyphant had progressed beyond that stage. This building was the centerpiece of the Olyphant School District. It had the look of a high school in a major city. At the time all of the streets in downtown Olyphant were paved with red brick. Most of the students lived within walking distance of the school. They were able to walk home to eat lunch. Therefore, no one ever thought of including a cafeteria in the building plans. It was built without a cafeteria or kitchen of any kind.

I was born on April 30th, 1981, in the small city of El Progreso, Honduras. Honduras is a country located in Central America. I regret that I don’t have many memories of my childhood, but I do have one fond memory. I remember my next-door neighbor would grow chickens. He had an incubator that he used to hatch baby chickens and I would play with them. I believe I had a good childhood growing up in Honduras, however, everything changed at the age of five. At the age of five I began having complications with my breathing and after a while my mother decided to take me to the hospital. The doctor’s discovered that I had a benign tumor between my lungs. My mother often tells me the memories of the events that transpired next: visiting hospitals in El Salvador, buying medicine from “herbal doctors,” and

You’d like to say that it was some epic and heroic series of events that had finally ended you. That you had sacrificed your life to save your friends, but no. It was the boring old natural way of life that got you. You had cancer, and it was killing you.

In 1908, during his second term as President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt appointed the Superintendent of the Olyphant School District, Prof. Michael J. Cummings, to be a representative of the National Civic Federation (NCF) for a visit to the British Isles. The NCF was an organization whose mission was to promote an understanding between big business and labor unions in order to avoid costly labor strikes. The purpose of the visit was to obtain a firsthand account of the British school system, especially how it related to child labor. Prof. Frank J. McGuigan, principal of the business department of Pittston High School; and Prof. C. F. Hoban, Superintendent of Dunmore Schools, were also members of this team. Many of the other members were from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The team left on October 17, and returned in November.

I went to Ebenezer Middle School in Rincon Georgia for all three years. By the time I had made it to middle school I had adjusted to uniforms and the new people in a new district.I was upset that the uniform shirts were now green, and I had grown used to the navy blue shirts from fifth grade. I was very excited to start switching classes more and I was ready to start playing an instrument. In middle school we had A days and B days. Everyday it switched between the two. Everyday you would still go to your main classes, but the fifth class would switch everyday. That fifth class was an elective, and I had band as one of them all four years. In eighth grade I had the option to do band everyday so obviously I chose to do that.

Located in the suburban and almost rural parts of Harrisburg sits Central Dauphin High School, one of the largest public schools in the area, and my former high school. The school is composed of around 1,708 students with my graduating class reaching about 420 kids. The student to teacher ratio is fifteen to one which is equal to the Pennsylvania average. Not surprisingly, our school has a 23% minority enrollment ratio which is 8% less than the Pennsylvania average. Also, only 16% of the students at Central Dauphin qualify for free lunch. When you compare these numbers with our sister school, Central Dauphin East High School, there are some surprising results. Central Dauphin East has a 65% minority enrollment rate with

In September of my junior year of high school, my mom told me for the third time that she had cancer. She had spent the entire summer coughing. It was a bad summer cold or maybe a stubborn case of bronchitis. No one could seem to figure out what was causing the cough. A late summer bronchoscopy finally solved the case. It was cancer. Calmly, she reassured me on that September day, “It’s an early stage cancer. They say it’s very treatable. We’ve been down this road before.” The next nine months was a road that no one in my family had traveled. Frequent doctor visits, chemotherapy treatments, and hospitalizations became our new normal. We painstakingly watched as each round of chemo treatments devastated and weakened her. Through everything, my mom was resilient, tough, and determined to live.

Despite my parent's divorce, I led a contented life. I lived in Colorado Springs, with my mom, little sister, and step-father. My father lived in the outskirts of Denver, but his distance never kept him from playing an active role in my life. As I grew up, I had the same concerns as most of my peers. I worried about how I fit into the social hierarchy of high school. I sometimes felt awkward in my own skin. However, my focus quickly shifted away from such superficial matters. In November of 2013, my mother learned that she had Pancreatic Cancer. My bubble of protection from the world's problems promptly burst as I heard the diagnosis. My family did our research only to discover that the statistics were horrifying. The five-year survival rate

On February 9, 2016, I began my first day as a volunteer at Nora Sterry Elementary School. I walked to the site with Carmen Garcia and it took about a half hour. On my way, we easily noticed the difference in Nora Sterry’s surrounding community and UCLA’s. Passing the freeway about a block away from the elementary school, homeless slept on the side walks of the streets.Though UCLA is near this location, the university is sphered by cool shops and tall buildings in Westwood. Not many would think that just a couple blocks down, a community would be impoverished. (Definitely a surprise)

Hello, I am Sadè Stanton, a 2ND grade teacher at M. Agnes Jones Elementary School. Per our conversation, the second grade team will be coming to the King Center on Friday, May 6, 2016 at 10:00am-12:30pm. This will be approximately 80 students, 5 teachers, and 10 parents. If there are any further questions, please feel free to contact me at (404) 748-2261. If you need to contact the school, the number is (404)802-3900. Thank you in advance for what I know will be an amazing experience.

James Hosmer was a fisherman, a hunter, a gardener, and an office worker. He thought he was healthy most of his life. He couldn’t wait to retire soon. He had worked his whole life to get to this point. Then tragedy struck, he went to his doctor one day because he was having pain all over his body. That pain ended up being cancer. The cancer would stop him from planting his garden, the cancer would stop him from getting that big fish, and spending time with grandchildren. The cancer would also stop him from his lifelong dream of seeing his daughter Susana Nwosu graduate from nursing school. It was a slow and painful death. The person that was once full of life, happiness, and energy was gone. There was just a shell of a person left. He

Your day has been great so far. You went on vacation, you found a dollar bill on the floor, you ate your favorite dish, nothing can be better than this. As soon as you walk on the boardwalk you are hoping to see big waves and fish in the sea, instead, you see dead fish and some animals floating in the water next to old car tires, trash, and fertilizer. Now you feel terrible and want to go home. Pollution is devastating. The reason why I researched this topic is that I do not want my family nor my planet to get sick. Pollution can be stopped very easily, it’s just that people “don’t know” how to stop or they just don’t care, which is a serious problem. I want people to see that pollution is mainly caused by humans, and also for them to see that it is a horrible thing that is happening. Some kids litter because they see their parents and their whole family doing it. When I was researching this topic, I noticed that I needed to find out more information, so I asked questions to myself. When did pollution get so bad? How many animals have gone extinct because of pollution? How many people die each year because of pollution? How much does everyone on the planet pollute each year? What is the best way to stop pollution? Can just one person make a difference? After a lot of research, I found out lots of ways that we can stop pollution, so it is possible to end it. Or at least improve the air.

Everyone hears the word “Cancer” and automatically thinks death? Imagine being told you have cancer a month before Christmas and having to start chemotherapy right away. That was me at age 16 barely a junior in High School, they say high school is supposed to be a great experience. And it was at the beginning which was my freshman and sophomore year. I was that girl athlete with lots of friends who went day by day not caring about my health I would eat lots of junk food and stay up late at night. I come from a Hispanic family single parent my mom and 4 siblings 3 girls and one boy. Two had already gotten married and there was only 3 left at home including me. My mom would work out in the fields so sometimes she 'd come home late, therefore

It’s October of your fifth grade year, at the end of the day. You’ve gotten back into the swing of things, your teacher is awesome, and you’re at the top of the elementary school food chain. You’re about to walk outside. The weather is beautiful; the trees are still mostly green with a few ambitious leaves already changing color. The sky is blue and the sun is shining in the way it only does during fall. You’re going to remember how it felt to walk across the parking lot on that day for a long time. You’re happy, like you normally are when you leave school, and you get in the car. That’s when Mom tells you your little brother has cancer.