WE SEE IT, TOO.

“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.”

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.

“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.”

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 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!

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.

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 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.

I’m learning about 3D shapes and math. My teacher makes it really fun because we get to build cars out of K’Nex and we get to see how far they go with the blocks on it. Mine went from our classroom door to Miss Duke’s door, which is kind of close.

My favorite class would probably be chemistry and physical science. We get to use fine chemicals and labs to see how everything reacts. We’ve used baking soda and vinegar to create carbon dioxide. I want to be a biomedical scientist. They help cure diseases. I like using chemicals, I like chemistry and I like helping people.

“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.”

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

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?’

“This year the best part of what I’ve experienced through being a kindergarten teacher is seeing the kids kind of come to life in nontraditional ways. You always expect the kids to flourish in English, math, and those core subjects; but then we do something outside the box like art, science, or a STEM activity, and see kids really light up. We see their strengths, and maybe I wasn’t aware of them, and suddenly I’m stunned and amazed and impressed by these kids that I had no idea had these passions and interests.”

“My favorite class this year has been AP Government. Politics is a hot climate right now, and being able to learn how that process works has been very fascinating. Right now, we’re talking about Congress, how a bill becomes a law, and the way the Houses interact with each other. It’s been really cool to see what we’re learning play out in the real world and current events.”

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.

“I want to be an automotive engineer because my great, great, great grandpa owned the Studebaker car business, and I want to make it come back alive. I’ve been coming up with a lot of ideas for cars. My goal this year is to improve my math skills.”

“I want to become a dentist. I think most people are influenced by the media, so they see athletes or photographers and stuff like that, so they ​are gravitating towards those areas. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I think that a smile can light the world, and I want to help create that, and I want to become a dentist. I love seeing people smile.”

“One way that I challenge students beyond the curriculum is to take their learning and teach it to their peers. Once they have learned the material enough to be able to become the teacher, I then know they have really learned it. And then I’ll ask them to take it one step beyond. We never let students sit around and take the easy route.”

“All the teachers here are very cooperative and we can talk to them about our grades. No one here is scared to talk to their teacher and let them know that we’re not understanding something because they are always glad to help us..”

“One of my favorite subjects is math. I really like it because we have a great math teacher. Ms. Mantooth is awesome, and she just makes it fun and enjoyable. Like, it’s not just boring math. And I also like science a lot. This year we did a bunch of work on cells and learning everything about cells. And we got to do a big cell diagram, and that was really fun.”

“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.”

“I like sciences because it’s so fun, and we get to play with robots. I like Mrs. Montgomery because she’s so sweet. I like music because we always get to sing and dance. I like my friends because they let me pick all the games at recess. I like math because I like getting so smart.”

“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.”

“I was in band 7th and 8th grade. I loved that class because I love music, and it’s a passion for me. It made me a better person because it taught me to accomplish the work that I have to do to make others succeed with me. It really taught me self responsibility.”

When Ope Abimbola transferred to Fairmont Junior High School, he struggled with many of the same challenges any new kid in school faces. Though, moving from Nigeria added a bit more difficulty. People spoke differently. They acted differently. The climate was colder.

In many ways, Boise differs from Nigeria, Ope’s home country in West Africa, but one thing remained the same: he had a community that accepted him and his family and were willing to help them adjust to the new environment. Fairmont’s diverse student base also helped Ope realize there were students from multiple culturally-diverse backgrounds.

And the move to the U.S. for Ope’s family meant so much more than a geographic change.

“I didn’t really live with my dad for the first 10 years of my life. Due to his job, I would only see him once in a while in a year,” Ope said. The move to Idaho allowed the whole family to be together again.

Now, as a chemical engineering student at the University of Southern California, the 21-year-old can reflect warmly on this transition. His experience at Capital High School helped him love the home his family made and grow into the man he is now. Teachers encouraged him to ask questions and strengthen his character. Particularly, his physics teacher helped him learn patience.

“Physics was very challenging. I got my first B ever in that class,” Ope said. “But I was like, ‘You know what? It’s okay.’ And that has definitely prepared me for college, because in college you’ve got to know how to balance your life choices.”

In high school, Ope’s schedule was filled with extracurriculars, allowing him to hone in on his time management skills. He played soccer and tennis, and took part in science olympiad, national honor society, and mock trial.

Though college was never a doubt in his mind, the where and how was unknown.

The Boise School District helped connect him with scholarships that ultimately sealed the deal with USC. Specifically, George and Bev Harad’s AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) scholarship was a big one, something Ope will be eternally grateful for.

“Ope has an enormous amount of positive energy and has learned how to balance it among his college studies, social activities, and seeking out new potential career opportunities, such as his summer internship at Micron,” said Bev Harad, one of Ope’s biggest fans. “These qualities, combined with his ever-present enthusiasm and love of life, make him an extraordinary young man who is destined to have a meaningful impact on society.”

The future is bright for this amazing young man. He intends to graduate with a degree in chemical engineering and has his eyes on a master’s degree in material science. He’s interested in working with sustainable energy. Though it’s unknown where he’ll end up, Ope wants to return to Boise to raise a family one day and give back to the community.

But he does say one thing with certainty: He’s come a long way since he was that shy junior high kid, and the Boise School District has been with him at every step.