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Rebecca Finke 10-14-13
LaBella Essay
My school, the Locust Valley Middle School has helped me grow and develop in ways that could never happen if I didn’t go to this excellent school. Locust Valley has helped me mature in a number of ways, but the two programs that have impacted me the most is the sport and enrichment program.
This year, I decided to try out for the varsity soccer team. I am only in eight grade. The coaches were super nice and I had a great time playing with the older girls. Unfortunately, I got cut and sent down to junior varsity, where I just finished my season 9-0. My coach, Ms. Sumzick, helped me dearly whenever I had a problem. The girls on the team accepted me even though I was the youngest girl on the team. I learnt a lot about growing up and stepping up to a challenge, no matter how big or small, through soccer. I remember this one time when we had a game, and our sweeper (the person everyone relies on to clear the ball out of the defensive zone) got placed on varsity. My coach told me I was playing sweeper the next day. Since I usually play left defense, I felt really nervous about playing this new position. I remember feeling sick to my stomach the night before the game and telling my mom I wasn’t going to play the next day. She encouraged me to talk to my coach about this problem. The next day I asked her if someone else could play sweeper. She told me that I was the only person who she wanted to play the position because she had faith in me. When the game started, I was really shaky and out of position. However, out of encouragement from my coach and my teammates, I eventually started playing really well. I got lots of support through the game, and that’s what helped me get through the game.
Also, another thing I love about Locust Valley is the enrichment program. I usually get high grades in most of my classes and I used to get bored in class. I took this evaluation and got placed in enrichment math. I loved that class and stayed in it the remainder of the year. It helped me with concepts that we are learning just this year! Last year, in seventh grade, I took English and Social Studies enrichment. In social studies, we had to study a map with over 150 countries on it. Later in the year, we had to take the map test which I got 3 wrong out of 150+ countries and landforms. We also learned about great civilizations such as the Egyptians and Romans. This taught me how to start seeking info on my own and I began researching countries on my own time. In English, we focused on a Shakespeare play called “Much Ado About Nothing”. After reading this play, I wasn’t afraid of bigger and older books so I started reading Tom Sawyer and Sherlock Holmes. Even though the books are hard, I can do it because my teacher taught me to. This year, I enrolled in this class called Model UN. Its very interesting and we are learning about the amendments and what they do. Later in the year we are traveling to the city and meeting kids from all over the world to talk about problems in the different countries around the world.
If I win this contest, I would like to contribute it to the Model UN trip so everyone wouldn’t have to pay as much if we didn’t have the extra money. That is how my school has helped me mature and grow.
LaBella Essay
My school, the Locust Valley Middle School has helped me grow and develop in ways that could never happen if I didn’t go to this excellent school. Locust Valley has helped me mature in a number of ways, but the two programs that have impacted me the most is the sport and enrichment program.
This year, I decided to try out for the varsity soccer team. I am only in eight grade. The coaches were super nice and I had a great time playing with the older girls. Unfortunately, I got cut and sent down to junior varsity, where I just finished my season 9-0. My coach, Ms. Sumzick, helped me dearly whenever I had a problem. The girls on the team accepted me even though I was the youngest girl on the team. I learnt a lot about growing up and stepping up to a challenge, no matter how big or small, through soccer. I remember this one time when we had a game, and our sweeper (the person everyone relies on to clear the ball out of the defensive zone) got placed on varsity. My coach told me I was playing sweeper the next day. Since I usually play left defense, I felt really nervous about playing this new position. I remember feeling sick to my stomach the night before the game and telling my mom I wasn’t going to play the next day. She encouraged me to talk to my coach about this problem. The next day I asked her if someone else could play sweeper. She told me that I was the only person who she wanted to play the position because she had faith in me. When the game started, I was really shaky and out of position. However, out of encouragement from my coach and my teammates, I eventually started playing really well. I got lots of support through the game, and that’s what helped me get through the game.
Also, another thing I love about Locust Valley is the enrichment program. I usually get high grades in most of my classes and I used to get bored in class. I took this evaluation and got placed in enrichment math. I loved that class and stayed in it the remainder of the year. It helped me with concepts that we are learning just this year! Last year, in seventh grade, I took English and Social Studies enrichment. In social studies, we had to study a map with over 150 countries on it. Later in the year, we had to take the map test which I got 3 wrong out of 150+ countries and landforms. We also learned about great civilizations such as the Egyptians and Romans. This taught me how to start seeking info on my own and I began researching countries on my own time. In English, we focused on a Shakespeare play called “Much Ado About Nothing”. After reading this play, I wasn’t afraid of bigger and older books so I started reading Tom Sawyer and Sherlock Holmes. Even though the books are hard, I can do it because my teacher taught me to. This year, I enrolled in this class called Model UN. Its very interesting and we are learning about the amendments and what they do. Later in the year we are traveling to the city and meeting kids from all over the world to talk about problems in the different countries around the world.
If I win this contest, I would like to contribute it to the Model UN trip so everyone wouldn’t have to pay as much if we didn’t have the extra money. That is how my school has helped me mature and grow.
