School is the place where we learn what we need for success in life. It is a place to have fun, make new friends, and prepare for our adult lives. However, all good things must come to an end, and so is the case with me. June 25th was the last day of school. However, this was more than just the last day of school. This was my last day of middle school, and my last day as a student at Central. It was a fantastic year, and I have made many memories over the past three years.
Middle School was, among other things, a huge jump up from elementary school. When I first came to Central, I was immediately amazed by the building, infrastructure and technology. I was a little nervous as well, because I did not know a lot of the other kids, as we all came from different elementary / middle schools. The teachers were very nice, and we soon got accustomed. With age came responsibility. If we missed a day or more of school, the teachers would no longer come to us and ask for the homework that was due the missed days. Instead, it was our responsibility to go to the teachers and do the same.
While the curriculum was challenging and always kept us on our toes, I enjoyed working on lego robotics, soccer, art club, science fair, the play, fashion show, band and chorus. Over the 3 years at Central, my team created 6 different robots for state and city level robotic competitions. We won the city competitions twice. I did not realize that by now I had participated in 8 concerts playing the clarinet and also did chorus in 8th grade. For all 3 years, soccer was always in winter before school. Not only did I play, but I also maintained the scores for each week in spreadsheets. This helped teams know where they stood and what they had to do to qualify for the play-offs. Every year, I did my science projects enthusiastically and also presented them to the general public at the South Shore Science Festival in Quincy. I was covered by the Patriot Ledger twice. The bigger moment was when I got to present my Chromatography project to none other than nobel laureate Prof. Jack W. Szostak. In 8th grade, I did my first play, Singing in the Rain Jr. & participated in the foreign language fashion show.
Field trips in middle schools were different. In 6th grade, along with the regular field trips, we got to go to a camp in Duxbury, MA called Camp Wing about 30 miles away, for the entire day. But in 7th grade, it was at Camp Wing for 3 days and 2 nights. And in 8th grade, it was a trip to Gettysburg, a Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania, for 3 days and 2 nights. These trips are lifetime memories. I have made so many friends while participating in these activities. It has helped me evolve and grow significantly. The year ended very well, with myself being the recipient of the Emily Zarnoch (EZ) Award, the highest honor awarded to a student at our annual 8th grade awards ceremony.
I would like to thank my teachers, fellow classmates, and the principal and vice-principal, Mr. DeCristofaro and Mrs. Shea O’Connor, for helping me throughout the past three years. I have enjoyed the last three years of Central, and take valuable memories with me to Quincy High School.
So, what do you think ?