Students in honors classes often have many stereotypes that follow them around. The students are labeled as the ‘smart’ kids, they are assumed to know how to do assignments with ease, teased (usually in a kind matter) about having to achieve that 100% on a test, and it is assumed that the classes are quite boring since the students must be focused on their studies. Being in the class with an honors class proved some of said stereotypes false and others true. If this class had any representation of the rest of 10th grade honors classes, then it can be said that honors students help themselves learn by creating an environment that helps them become excited to be in class. The first thing that struck me as I became a regular observer in the classroom, was the amount of laughter that was constantly ringing throughout the classroom. The laughter created by the students allowed for a happy mood in the classroom. Quite the opposite fro the mood of many of my other classes throughout the day. The laughter would spawn from a joke in the corner of the room, a comment made while the teacher was explaining an assignment, or even from an unrelated remark that had nothing to do with the class or topic. During one class period, the groups were working on posters for a story they had read and analyzed. As they were working on their posters, there was many conversations throughout the room ranging from assigning the presenting jobs to reviewing what different the parts of their poster
When I was younger, I would often return home to a familiar question: So, what did you learn today? My answer would always be "nothing" or "stuff." As I look back, I never lied, yet, I never told the whole truth. Many people think that you don't know anything with only 18 years of experience; I think they're wrong. I've learned a lot about myself and others from the relationships I have built throughout the years. I believe my most important lessons were "people" lessons. Those are the ones which could never be taught out of a book or in a lecture; you have to go out and experience them for yourself.
WOW! So much has happened since June. The SV FFA and ag department had a rough start to our year losing three of our students who were on the FFA officer team to other schools. Even with this bump in the road, the four officers that remained visited Mt. Shasta City and had a blast bonding and learning more about each other at their officer retreat in August. Once school started we found three new officers and attended COLC (Chapter Officer Leadership Conference) where the entire team learned about their diverse leadership styles and were able to bond together as the official Surprise Valley FFA Chapter Officer Team for the 2017-2018 school year. If you see them around, congratulate President Cindy Hinze, V.P. Maddison Seely, Secretary Maya
In previous years, at my high school, we were given the opportunity to be present in an elementary school classroom. For an hour each day, a group of us would ride to the elementary school to help out teachers that needed an extra hand in regards to maintaining their classroom, and allowing them focus more on their lessons instead of housekeeping responsibilities. Being surrounded by elementary age students for these few years really helped me develop deep love and passion for teaching young children. Life set me on a different career path as I attended Georgia Tech last year in pursue of a Business Degree. Throughout the year, as I sat in my business classes, doing my best to pay attention, but I could just tell that my heart was not into all that the business world had to offer. All along, I knew that my heart belonged in the classroom, and after careful consideration, I decided to transfer to the University of North Georgia at Dahlonega. Education 2130, was the first education class I had the opportunity to take, and it required 20 hours of field experience. My first collegiate field experience was nothing short of enlightening, and allowed me to immerse and expand my knowledge in the education world.
Students, faculty, family, friends, on this exciting day, I speak to optimism, laughter, and grins.
Well, this is it, the day all of us have been waiting for has finally arrived. It seems like only yesterday we were picking our noses and flicking them at innocent bystanders or yelling childish phrases like, "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" or, wait, that was yesterday. Never mind. Anyways.
Well, this is it. These are the only seniors who were able to survive the culminating exhibition. If I had known that there would be this many open seats, I would have invited my third cousins from Norway. You know, it's funny. As I look around at the familiar faces in the student section, I am reminded about something. Our class, particularly the girls, have been very fashion-conscious over the last four years. Some even seem to be in competition with one another. Well girls, here we are on the most important day of your high school careers, and you're all wearing the same thing. The guys, on the other hand, could care less. I know for a fact that a couple of you aren't wearing anything underneath your tailored tarps.
“Drum majors, Jeremiah Wooten and Scott Smith, is your Corps ready?”, booms the announcer’s thunderous voice as our show starts. Our head drum major, Jeremiah, turns to the crowd and performs his salute initiating the true beginning of our show. I’m standing on the forty yard line of Ames Field in Michigan City, Indiana when I truly feel that I am performing my show in championship competition. Many veteran members told us rookies that the this competition will likely never be my best performance, and I intend on proving them wrong. Our show progresses, and I focus on being the best I can be every second this the show. An instant passes and we are now eight minutes into our eleven and a half minute show, and my body begins to develop
Welcome students, parents and faculty. Well, this Senior Breakfast brings us one step closer to the event we've been anxiously awaiting. We've worked long and hard to get to this point. And yet, it seems like so little time has passed since we were middle schoolers, excited to move on with our lives and enter high school.
The old poet Kahlil Gibran, a long time ago, once said, "You work that you may keep pace with the soul of the earth. For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission toward the infinite." An interesting thought, that we work in order to keep pace with the earth. Now, I'm sure you're asking yourself, how can my near minimum wage job, where the customers treat me like a doormat and I still have to be pleasant and chipper, keep me in sync with the soul of the earth. Well I imagine there are higher rewards to part-time high school jobs, but other than the always too small pay checks, I am hard pressed to fathom them. Yet, that is not the kind of work I
As a graduation speaker, I'm supposed to stand up here reflectively gazing out upon the few, the proud, the chosen: the Class of 2012, and point in general directions while saying the cliché, "Among us I see the first female president and a future congressman and the next mayor of Everett." But besides that I would never in my most vengeful moments wish those positions upon any of you, I cannot make those assertions because I am categorically against campaigns of any kind.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of the 2012 graduating class of County High School, I would like to welcome you to our commencement ceremony. As valedictorian of this class I would like to speak to you, and my fellow graduates about responsibility, but first I would like to tell you a little story
Depending on who you talk to, you get different opinions on what subject that you’ve studied in high school will help you most out in the real world. Ms. Bow tried to tell you it’s being able to diagram sentences and understand Shakespeare. Mr. Roberts, on the other hand, has a picture of a toppling bridge that says "Engineer missed just one Trig assignment." If you’ve spent a lot of time staring at Mr. Groon's podium during lectures, you’ve read that "He who knows only his own generation remains always a child." But what does this all mean, how do we truly apply everything we’ve learned in the past four years to the rest of our life, and what really is the most important thing to take away with us from high school? Well, I’ll tell you my
We wrap up the last full week of October, thrilled about this week's highlights! If you haven't heard, our school nurse Caren Etling and our educational technology specialist, Mike McQueen were both recipients of educational grants from the Clayton Education Foundation. With congratulations to them both, submitting creative and innovative proposals which benefit our school as a community, we are even more excited about the start of the work they will be pursuing. Caren Etling will now be able to expand the work of our Garden Club, continuing her partnership and support of Tom Sprengnether and science by ensuring all students have an opportunity to actively engage in gardening. Soon, Meramec will be the recipient of an indoor tower
I rediscovered something while trying to think of my speech for tonight. History repeats itself. Everything I felt compelled to say I knew has been said before and will be said in times to come. I grew dismayed at the thought that the human race has progressed so little that the same advice has as much merit now as it did when it was first given, millenniums ago. Yet there is a simple beauty in this. It reassures us that humans will always be human; that everyone is experiencing life for the first time, no matter how many ancestors lie before them. Since we are each seeing life anew, the same truths will occur again and again. These truths have brought us to this point in history; they will carry us for the rest of our lives.
First of all I want to take this opportunity to thank some people. I wish to extend my gratitude and gratefulness to all of you who are present today. The people who care and have made a difference are right here ... right now. The greatest gift any of us could have received is having the people who influenced all of our lives here to witness this milestone. Whether you are parents, teachers, family members, or friends, you have all contributed for us to reach this goal of acquiring our diplomas. All that any of us have accomplished can be credited to you and your undying support. You have been our advocates in our ongoing journey seeking education. I also want to thank God. Because of His unceasing love and grace, He has made all of this