K.K, a sixth grader from Norwalk, CT said:

I  worked hard this year, I wanted to have all A’s in my classes.  Unfortunately, the last week of school I got sick for three days.  I ended up missing a test.  I asked my teacher and she said I was doing fine, she didn’t even tell me about the missed test.  I was really hurt when I saw my grade was not an A.  she wrote on my comments, “needs to follow up with missed tests”.

I learned a lesson that not all teachers were my friend because if she really cared about my grades, she would have told me like all the other teachers did that I needed to make up a test.  I learned that I have to be careful with certain teachers.  She ruined my 4.0 GPA .  I will always follow up now whenever I am absent to make sure this never happens again.   I want to thank her so I don’t make this mistake in high school when colleges will look at each grade.  I wanted to share this with you so you don’t make this same mistake.

I was busy this whole school year.  I would stay afterschool every day except for Friday.  Tuesdays, I had intramural sports afterschool.  Wednesdays I had band practice, and I got to march in the Memorial Day parade in Norwalk, Thursdays I had enrichment where the coolest thing we did was dissect squid.

In the next few years, before I go to college, I know I have to keep getting all A’s, and try my best, participate in school activities, and do sports.  My role model is Russel Peters because he is a successful comedian who represents us Desi People.  His parents migrated to Canada 40 years ago.  I like him because he is funny and talks about our culture.  I wanted to imitate for you one of his acts:

F.K. from Norwalk, CT said: 

Thank  you for the trophy, it really means a lot.  I also want to thank my parents always being there for me, for motivating me, and for always being like my best friend.  Every two week or so they would ask me if I’m getting a’s in school.   When they me it reminds me to keep working hard and it also motivates me.

All my life, I was surrounded by books.  Books were my toys when I was little, I would read the books upside down and act like I was reading.  Since I was born, my parents brought me to college with them.   My mom tells me she would ask permission from her college professors and bring me with her in the baby seat as long as I was sleeping.

I’ve always seen my parents study.  They have always  books with them.  I can see the hard work my parents have done, and I’m thankful to be a part of it.  Through all their struggle, I know one day they’ll be proud of me, or anyone of us.  I really do want to make them proud and especially after listening to Lazarus, even though I’ve only known about him for a week.  Hes a great motivation to try harder in school and reach the top.  For me to reach the top, I’m going to have to participate in more extra curricular activities and volunteer.

This year I did many sports after school as well as the special art program. When I go to high school I want to high school and be a volleyball star, I’m good at it now but I still have many things to learn to be the best.  Another extra curricular activities was this art program.

My art teacher chose with as a good artist and told me to try the program.  When I went we learned about culture in Cambodia (asia) we also sent a drawing that we painted and sent it to camboda.  It was cool because I learned about Cambodia and had fun at the same time.

Not only did I do after school activities I got chosen to read my essay about drugs in front of the Mayor of Norwalk, the senator and the congressman.  I was nervous because it was my first time speaking in an auditorium full of people but when I saw my friends there, my health teacher, and my parents looking at me proudly, I got over it and just read it.  It was awesome because after the courage to speak program was done, my picture was in the newspaper and the internet.

However, that wasn’t enough for me.  My hard work led me to write a poem that was published in an actual book!  The day I found out I couldn’t wait to tell my parents, I was so excited myself, especially since any of you can buy in a few months and see that my poem about our cousin is in this book.

I’ll read the poem for you now:

This year, I too had a similar challenge like K.K with some of my teachers, but I learned to never give up and always follow up with the teacher and let them know you are watching what they are doing.

Thank you! I hope you learned something!

H.A. a seventh grader from Ridgefield Park, NJ said:

Thank You for this Trophy.

I tried my best this year, but it just wasn’t enough for me. The AP classes I was enrolled in proved to be a challenging barricade to overcome. I was in a new school, everything was different. The day to day hardworking routine I had in elementary school didn’t seem to comprehend with my first year in middle school. I had to rewire myself to work with challenging classes and work schedule. There were tons of ups and downs in the 2010-2011 school year. I tried my hardest and got low A grades. Other students had seem to be doing much better than I had been. When something like this happens, I just feel wrong. At the end of the year, I felt like I was a failure. But I learned from my mistakes, and I’m much more determined to tackle next year’s challenge. Life is a big maze of forked roads and blocked paths. That is all I have to say.

Thank You For This Great Prize

Z.K. a first grader from Norwalk, CT said:

Thank you for the trophy.  I worked very hard in school this year.  I read 400 book and got three medals from my school.  I also learned how to read and write.  I wrote weekend news and my own book called Three Little Fishes.  When I grow up I want to be a doctor so I can help people.

Thank you.

See you next year.

A.K. a kinder-gardener from Norwalk, CT said:

Thank you for the trophy.  I love my family, and I love God.  This year I went to school and read 200 books.  I got two medals.  Next year I will work hard and learn how to write.  I learned how to read Arabic from my grandmother.  When I grow up I want to be smart.    Now I am going to sing a song for you  (at which time she sang a duet with her sister Z.K., “I’m Coming Home”)

A 4th grader from Langhorne, PA said:

I want to say thank you to my teachers, parents, principal, and my sisters. This year I got the first in math award. I worked so hard to get that award that I even beat a 5^th grader in math. I got this award because I had the most points in math in the whole school. I had 7,557 points. I listen in math, pay attention in school, and do my h.w. Also, I worked hard and tried my best.

When I grow up I want to be an engineer because I want to design amusement parks, homes, and invent new things. I’m going do my best in school and try my best and get good grades so I can go to good college.

An 8th grader from Langhorne, PA said:

First of all, I want to say thanks to Ayub  and Uswah  for starting this program and encouraging us kids to do better in school. Also, I want to say thanks to my parents for helping us and getting us everything we need and most importantly for encouraging and supporting us.

This year I graduated from middle school and received the President’s education award. I got good grades and tried my best to get this. Today I’m going to tell you how to get good grades and succeed in school and make your parents proud! First of all, you have to pay attention in school. Even if it gets boring you have got to pay attention to your teacher. If you don’t then how will you learn? Also, always do your homework so you can get good grades. Even when things get difficult, never give up. Never say I can’t do this. This is too hard. Always say I can do this. I can win. Try your best and keep going. Always have trust in yourself and God. Remember, God never helps those who don’t help themselves meaning that if you don’t try and be lazy, then how is God going to help you succeed? So always work hard, try your best and be kind! I’m going to do all of these things that I told you today to become a successful pediatrician or an engineer and I hope you will too!

A 6th grader from Langhorne, PA said:

I would like to start this presentation by thanking my family. I want to thank Mama for supporting me through bad times and always being there for me. I want to thank Baba for making sure we had the best quality supplies for school.  I also want to thank him for always telling me to do my best and never give up. I want to thank my sister, for helping me out with my homework and giving me advice on school.  I also want to thank Ayub and Uswah  for holding this program and giving us kids a chance to talk.

I’m going to give you a few tips and advice on how to get good grades like me.  It’s actually easier than you think.  Tip number one, when you get an assignment in school, write it down! This way you won’t forget what you have to do for homework. Tip number two, don’t talk in class. If you do you could miss out on important information. You could also lose your reputation in front of your teacher. Next, when you have a test coming up, start studying for it  that night. If you wait for the last day, you’re going to be stuck. Tip number five, get enough sleep! Especially when you know you have a big test coming up. Not getting enough sleep will make you tired and lazy in school. Tip number six, if you get a bad grade on a test or assignment, don’t freak out. Ask your teacher about the questions you got wrong, if you don’t understand them. Also, it might be smart to ask the teacher if you can retake the test or if she can do something about it.  These tips will surely make you get good grades and make you a star student.

Getting good grades will help you in your future career. If your good at math and science and you get good grades in those two subjects, you might turn out to be a great doctor.  I want to be a pediatrician (a children’s doctor) when I grow up.  To achieve that, I’m going to have to get good grades in math and science.  I’m also going to have to start making my goals now. For example, I might want to start learning about our body system and how our body works.

Thank you.

 A 5th grader from Langhorn, PA said: (This 5th grader placed third in the entire school for the Scripps National Spelling Bee)

To start off I want to say thank you to Mama for waking me up every morning for school and helping me get good grades. I want to thank Baba for getting my everything I need for school and encouraging me to do my best, and thank you to my sisters for helping me with my homework and helping me study every time I needed it.

This year I got the Presidential Award signed by the president. I got that because I was a great student.

I was excited when I got that because it was the biggest award I got.  If you want this award you have to do your best in school. Like trying your best to get good grades, paying attention in class, doing your homework, working hard, being a good student and never giving up. I hope I get this award in Middle School too. I’ll continue to get good grades in the future so I can be a successful doctor when I’m older. 🙂