Coming Out of My Shell

I was nervous.

I missed the first three days of school because of pink eye. And this was a
new school, so I felt even more nervous. When I finally did go to school, no
one talked or even noticed me. I kept to the side of the playground, until
finally, a girl talked to me. She asked if I wanted to hang out with her during
recess. This was the beginning of a wonderful friendship.

Leah and I were best friends, we did everything together. My favorite

assignment in fourth grade was creative pursuit. We had to create a board
game of our choice with our group. I was in a group with Leah and four other
people. We all liked math, so we created a board game where the goal was to
move on the spaces until you got to the middle. However, the only way you
could move forward was if you answered math questions correctly. It was fun
to watch other people play our game.

I enjoyed attending the History Fair. We had to dress up like famous Utahans
and, while pretending to impersonate this person from history, we had to
give a speech about their life. I did mine about my great-grandmother, who
was a very cool woman. I memorized a page-and-a-half long speech, and
performed it while dressed like a pioneer. The costume was hot, but I was
proud of myself for memorizing the speech.

At the end of the year, I got very sad news. Leah was moving to a different
school for fifth grade. I didnt know what to do. I was very shy, and the only
friend I ever really had was Leah. We would do everything together, and it
seemed like the other girls didnt like me or even notice me. I really didnt
want to go to school the next year, going through the friend making process
and finding a friend as good as Leah was hard.

By the end of the first week of fifth grade, I was stunned. A group of girls in
my class invited me to play with them at recess. They were nice, funny, and
different. They helped me socialize more, gave me confidence, and reminded
me that it didnt matter what other people thought. They embraced me for
me. Through those three girls, I soon became friends with all the other girls
in my class. Even though I was sad to see Leah go, I understand now that if
she had stayed, I probably never would have become friends with those
three girls, or gotten to know the others in my class, and I certainly would
have stayed just as shy as a turtle afraid to come out of its shell.

I think in fifth grade, I acted crazier than usual. Our class embraced funny
craziness; the more abnormal you were the more you fit in, it seemed. I
loved it! Fifth grade was my favorite grade so far. My teacher was really nice,
I had lots of friends, and we did lots of fun activities. My favorite times with
my class were at recess. Most of our class would play soccer together. During
soccer, there was this guy named Dylan. If the ball brushed his hands or feet,
he would clutch his stomach, fall to the ground, and moan. I thought it was
so funny! It was also funny watching the boys trying to be the best soccer
player. I was never a good soccer player, but soccer was my favorite thing to
do with our class.

Mrs. Smith, my fifth-grade teacher, was amazing! She let us have class
meeting, which was where we all met and discussed problems and
suggestions for the class. One memory I have from class meeting was when
Julie leaned back in her chair and she backflipped off of it! When we saw that
she wasnt hurt, we all burst out laughing. We also did a class shop where we
all made merchandise and sold them. I thought it was awesome that Mrs.
Smith let us do that. Debate was also fun. I was paired with one of my best
friends, Kiersten. We turned out to be good at debate and moved on to the
district level! Even though we didnt move on again to State, it was still a
great experience. Around the end of the year, Mrs. Smith let Charlie throw a
Star Wars party on Star Wars day. We ate cupcakes and soda, took a Star
Wars quiz, and I showed off my Chewbacca toy. It was a lot of fun.

I believe these past three years have brought out the best in me. I no longer
have only one loyal friend, nor am I scared to make more friends. I have
learned to step out of my shell and embrace the weirdness in me. The ALPs
program was the best thing that happened to me. At first, I just liked the
program because I was actually learning something, but then I became a
part of something. Even though we teased each other (mostly the boys), we
were always together as a team through every challenge. This is an
experience I want everyone to go through, because no one should go
through school alone.

A Student
Riverton Review

My first day at Riverton Elementary started off not well. We missed the back-to-
school night and I had no idea where to go. I went to the sixth-grade door, but had
no idea if I was supposed to go in, or what line I was supposed to stand in. Finally,
somebody told me I could go inside. When I found my classroom, my first thought
was that I didnt like my classmates very much. They were crazy, dramatic, and kind
of annoying. They tried to make conversation with me, but I am a shy person and
didnt really talk much. Now, I really like my classmates because they were so
welcoming and nice.

Mrs. J., my fifth-grade teacher, was nice, but not strict enough. There were
times when I would go up to her with a question and she would either answer
it for me, or tell me to go sit down without helping me. One thing I did like
about Mrs. J. was that she made Fridays Fun Days. We would do about two
tests, then the rest of the day we would do art or something else that was
fun. On Fridays, before lunch, we held Class Meeting, where the class would
talk about any problems that happened that week that needed to be
addressed. Most of the time we talked about problems with the fourth
graders, such as them taking up the whole field or taking over balls. After
lunch, every other week, we would either do a game in the gym, play
outside, or have free-time in the classroom.

Currently though, I love my teacher, Ms. Smith. She is my favorite teacher so

far. It seemed like she gave us a lot of homework at the beginning, but I
understand now that it was because we werent used to receiving a lot of
homework. I think the amount is perfect. Ms. Smith is very nice and
understanding, but stern. There were days where we came in from recess
and she told us, if you keep coming in loudly like that, we will practice
walking through the halls at recess time, and she actually made us do it,
she doesnt make empty threats. On occasion, Ms. Smith had made promises
of activities we would work on, (like practicing for debate every day,) but we
never got around to it. I wish we did. However, what I like most about Ms.
Smith is that she apologizes for when she might be a little on edge and
makes up for her mistakes, and most importantly, she also always had fun
activates for us to do. I appreciate that she gives me extra time to work on
assignments and projects.

Mrs. Jones is my favorite principal. At my old school, the principal was very
rude and strict. The staff here at Riverton Elementary is very understanding
and friendly. They all love to help and what I like about them most is that
they answer questions nicely. I love that everyone here tries to meet
everyones needs.

Overall, I have learned a lot of school-related lessons, but have not really
learned any life-lessons. Riverton Elementary has been a good school to go
to in the past two years. Thank you to all who have helped me.
A Student
My Class, My Friends, My Tribe

I stood in the doorway, nervously watching all the unfamiliar people file pass.
As they got ready for the day, one girl kept walking past the door. She smiled
at me and kept saying hi. As this was repeatedly done, and as I watched the
rest of the class, I wondered about these other students I noticed that
these people were different. They didnt care about the clothes they wore, or
how their hair was done. They were okay with being who they were. Over the
next few weeks, I learned named, personalities, and voices.

Every Friday, class meetings were held. Those were my favorite parts of the
week. It was here where our class really got to know each other better.

I started to make new friends. Every recess, I would play soccer. (Most of the
time, I couldnt kick the ball because I would laugh so hard watching
everyone else play.) one girl, the same one who made me feel welcome on
the first day, was Sally. She instantly became one of my best friends. Later,
Cami and Kerry came into our little group. We have stayed friends through it
all, supporting each other through everything. As I got to know our class, I
realized that we were a tight knit group. Many of the students here had been
in the class since first, second, or third grade. When someone was sad,
everyone comforted them. When someone was happy, we laughed with
them. We stuck together through it all.

At the end of our fifth-grade year, we each wrote about one thing that had
happened that year. When I read my copy, memories of fifth grade fill my
head, and those memories still make me laugh.

I was so excited to come back to my amazing ALPs class for the next school
year. Sixth grade. The last year of elementary. I saw many familiar faces.
New faces where there, too, but all of them were smiling and laughing. I was
happy to see everyone and anxious to start a new school year with my
classmates. We continued to play soccer and laugh until our ribs hurt. We
were always the weirdest in the school, and we were proud of it. Most
importantly, we were all friends.

These past two years, I have learned how to respect myself, be who I am,
and form lasting friendships. I hope that I can stay in touch with all of my
classmates through the next few years. I know that these friendships have
changed my life forever.

A Student
Late Comer

It was the first day of school. I looked up and saw the massive grand
building. It seemed larger than my old school. I felt a little nervous, but deep
inside I knew that I was going to be fine.

I was a late comer.

I had just got the news that I had been accepted into the ALPs program, and I
knew that it was going to be a struggle, because I felt that I was behind
everyone else in everything.

When I got to class, I felt like an alien. Everyone looked at me, and
everything was different. The lunchroom was gargantuan, the classes were
more compact and organized, and the students the students were much
smarter!

My teacher, Ms. J., and I began to get to know each other. There was this one
kid named Collin and I learned that we both like to play games, and I learned
quickly that I should stay away from Evan, unless I wanted to get licked. It
took about a month or two, but I finally felt like a part of the class, and it
turned out, I wasnt as far behind like I thought I would be. I remember going
on field trips, doing races, and participating in some crazy lunch creations
made by Collin, which we liked to call, Collins Creation Donation Foundation.
Collins Creation Donation Foundation was a huge glob of disgusting mixes of
almost anything you could get for lunch that day, and then Mark would eat
them.

It was in this class, where I met Martin. Martin is one of the bests friends I
could ask for. There was this one time when we were out running our daily
laps around the asphalt, when Martin and I decided to have some fun. Martin
took one of his arms out of his coat, and I stuffed my arm into his empty
sleeve. Together, we ran, completing our lap. When we turned the corner,
Martin tripped on a rock and we went tumbling. Our arms got scrapped, but
we didnt care. We were laughing so hard, we couldnt even feel the pain.

Martin and I played and had fun every day. We would talk about our favorite
baseball teams, the Herriman Mustangs and the Utah Horns. Every day, we
would describe our practices and games, bragging about who played better.

After baseball season, I knew that the school year was ending. The last day
of fifth grade sprang upon me. I had made so many friends.

Summer break passed by and then it dawned on me. I was now a sixth
grader; one of the oldest kids in the school. My classroom looked similar to
my old classroom, but it had a different feel. I met Ms. Smith, who is a
genius.

I remember looking around the room, seeing my classmates hang up their

backpacks, and then I saw him.

MAARTIIIIIN!

A boy turned his head and instantly walked towards me. I guess you could
say Martin and I have been stuck together ever since.

As long as Ive been at Riverton Elementary, I learned a few things. But the
most important is that I have learned what it means to be a friend.

A Student