Gifts. Passions. Dreams. Possibilities.

“At my school, there’s a lot of different people, there’s Mexicans, Hispanics, Asians, Black, White, and everybody comes together. It doesn’t matter what you look like, who you are, how you dress. Everyone comes together and still talks to each other … It’s amazing how people can come together and fight for one thing. I really love it.”

I really like when I can see the difference I’m making in the world. At my school, one thing that I’ve been working on these past few months is getting more compost. So I started a program called The Green Team, and it is a student-led group that meets every other week and we take care of compost bins and doing all the announcements.

“I play basketball and run track, but I really love basketball, especially my teammates. We are really close. We aren’t the most talented team, but we still made it to state this year because we believe in each other.”

“I either want to be a Lego engineer or an astronaut. I’ve always wanted to work on space stations and learn if there are other planets or life forms. I want to be an engineer, and I always get these crazy ideas, but I don’t have time to make them so I want to have a job dedicated to making those ideas so other kids can use them.”

“I have this friend. His name’s Zach, and he’s one of the nicest kids I know. There’s this other kid in our school who doesn’t have a lot of friends. Zach talked to him for five minutes, and that kid had the biggest smile in the world. Just that little, ‘Hi, what’s up?’ can really make someone’s day . . . and their life.”

“Lately I’ve been going to tables where people have been sitting alone, bringing some of my friends, and hanging out with them. It makes me feel really good inside to help other people and know that I’ve made their day better.”

“All of my teachers have been fantastic. They’ve significantly impacted my life in different, distinct ways. I had a physics teacher last year who was one to push you really hard, but he also recognized that it’s okay to not be perfect and screw up, but that you have to get back up and do your best no matter what situation you’re put in.”

“Kindness to me is the little things we do in our day that make people happy. One thing I’ve observed here at Timberline are the programs for kids who have special abilities, children dealing with autism and hearing and visual issues. That’s something I didn’t have in my old school.”

“I either want to be a mechanical engineer because I like building and making stuff out of things that are really random. Or an architect because I love my legos.”

This year was my first year at Capital. Our wrestling team had a lot of freshmen and a lot of new guys. I took some pride in being a good upperclassmen, helping them out with technique and making sure they know they can talk to us, the upperclassmen.

“My mom has taught me to never give up, even when you’re going through tough times, just keep moving”

I like working on math papers by myself. I really like how you get to use big numbers. You think it’s scary, but when you actually look at it, you’re like whoa! That really is easy!

Before I came to Taft, I went to a charter school and I struggled in math. Here at Taft the teachers have been pushing me… and it’s really helped.

“I moved here from Texas last year, and I was used to a big, crowded school. Roosevelt is the best school ever. It is small and calm. Mrs. Mills is the best teacher that I’ve ever had because she is funny and nice. She has a compost bin with worms in the classroom as a part of our science unit because we are learning about vermicompost. Mrs. Mills has inspired me.”

“My favorite teacher is the geology and astronomy teacher here at Timberline. His name is Mr. Yeggy. What I love about him is that he’s very people-oriented. He’s going to care about you as a person before anything else, and if you are struggling, he wants to help you out. He’s willing to adapt to your style of learning, and that’s a big deal. He knows everybody’s a little bit different. Going the extra mile like that really, really means something.”

We are learning about reading. We learned lots of words. My favorite words are ‘family’ and ‘I love you.’

Ms. Michelle has helped us a lot. On International Women’s Day, I got the opportunity to be on the news, which was really inspiring. We met with a senator and a few other women speakers, and it was just a fun day of women’s rights and activities.

“My aspiration is to be a NASA scientist and guide the first person to land on Mars, and if I do well in math and science I will be able to achieve my goal. I also want to be a creative director or veterinarian because I love art and I would love to help the needy or sick pets and animals in the world.”

“I’d like to be a zoologist because the job sounds awesome, and you get to work with animals of all kinds, land or sea, everyday. My goal this year is to keep reading and keep making relationships in my class and continue to keep my grades up and just have a good school year altogether.”

“After college I want to help people. Maybe travel to South America or Africa. After college I hope to be financially stable and able to support myself and then be able to give back and support others.”

“My biggest dream is to be an automotive engineer and LEGO Star Wars designer. I love art because I’m good at it, and it makes me feel good. I also like science experiments. My favorite teacher is Mrs. Greenwood because she has a pet turtle and is really funny.”

When I’m older, I want to be a chef, because I want to cook like my mom. She comes from Guam, and they make really good food on the island.

“Kindness, for me, means being respectful. A lot of things fall under being respectful, like listening, speaking when you’re supposed to, and including people. Kindness is this and a lot more.”

“I love to draw, and I like art because it doesn’t matter how bad or good it is. I also sell paintings at my house. One time I painted nature – I went to the front yard and painted a robin.”

“It’s important to be nice so you can have more friends. People won’t think you’re mean, and people don’t get hurt.”

I first started volunteering because it was required for a program. From there, I just developed this passion for doing it, and I felt like it was nice to help other people.

“This year we’re taking a trip for yearbook camp, and it’s going to be amazing. All my friends are going. They’re helping us be better at spreads and layouts so we can improve ourselves in that field.”

I want to be a comedian. I just really like making people laugh. I also want to be a scientist that goes looking for dinosaur bones — a paleontologist. My favorite dinosaur is the T-Rex, or the Raptor.

“The most important thing I’ve learned from my dad is not to let anyone get in front of you when you’re chasing your dreams and don’t stop until you achieve your goal.”

“Kindness means just making other people feel safe and comfortable wherever they are. I’ve only been here for a few months, and everyone is very accepting and includes me.”

“I believe that what I’m teaching in my classroom is the foundation to what they’re going to be learning in the future, so if I can get them excited about learning and get them excited about reading and writing, I feel like I’m setting them up for a future that is positive, and full of growth and excitement.”

“Our district provides special programs to help every child. For example, we have a deaf and hard-of-hearing program, new this year. It has opened us up to a whole new world.”

“My teaching philosophy is trying to build better people, as well as all the academics. I think teachers can get a little bogged down with math and science and stuff, and I think that just helping kids navigate their lives is an important part of being a teacher. So I really focus on the positive aspect of impacting the student as a whole.”

“While you’re talking to students, try to make even a 1% positive difference in their lives. As they carry on through life, that impact will grow. I want to help people become better versions of themselves, and whatever difference I can make in their lives, that’s my passion.”

I want my students to have integrity. That’s huge for me, and I just want them to show kindness to each other and make this world a better place. I ask them, ‘How are you going to make your community a better place because of what you learned here?’

“I’m a lifelong learner, and I thrive on gaining more information. This is mostly because I want to be the best teacher I can be for my students. I know that best practices evolve, change, and grow, and I want to stay on top of what these are. I also want to learn more about who I am as a person and as a learner so that I can make and have better connections with my students.”

“I think what I primarily focus on here in the library is just getting kids excited about learning. I feel like as humans, we’re just naturally curious. I want to build upon that natural instinct and just try to expose kids to so many different things. I really encourage them to think outside the box and try to learn about the world around them.”

“I think sometimes students forget there are other post-secondary options besides college. There are apprenticeships, there’s military, there are so many opportunities out there. But I certainly let students who have the vision of going to college know it’s possible and help them get there.”

“I love to teach reading, especially to 5 year olds, because I like emergent learning. If you can think it, you can say it. If you can say it, you can write it. If you can write it, somebody can read it. And it’s just all so brand new.”

“When students come back to see us, it fuels our fire, fills our cup, and makes our bucket full to just keep going. And even when they don’t visit, we have a book with all their pictures and all their letters over the last 10 years. I know that they’re walking away with a little bit of us, but we’re walking away with all of them.”