Celebrating Excellence Rules
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Submitted by K.G., Gr. 12 Student from Westlock, AlbertaPublished December 31
Excellence; distinction; greatness; qualities that anyone would love to possess. As individuals, we all strive for it in different ways. I would like to believe that I have strived for excellence in many areas of my life.
First, through the arts. I started playing the piano when I was four years old and I started dancing when I was five. Like anything, dancing and playing an instrument can be frustrating, discouraging, and stressful. But, when you have worked through the difficulties and overcome the challenges, you are able to enjoy the rewards. I have now played the piano for twelve years and have danced for eleven. I am not saying that I have achieved excellence in my abilities, but through persevering through the challenges that have arose over the years.
Education is a major part of anyone’s first eighteen years of life, learning the fundamentals of math, science, social, and language. Years of the same principles become, quite frankly, exhausting and boring. It is easy to become unmotivated, apathetic, and lazy. However, I have not easily fallen into those traps. On occasion, I know I could have worked a bit harder, but I can say that, overall, my schooling has been important enough for me to give my all and maintain above average grades. I do not think excellence was achieved in my grades, but the attitude behind them. No one is ‘not smart enough.’ Everyone has what it takes to keep up their grades. It is a matter of choosing and applying yourself- doing your best, and achieving your own standard of excellence.
Volunteering is also a biggie in my strive for excellence. In the summer of 2007, I took a two-week trip to Lima, Peru. In my team of thirty people, we went to various locations around Lima to present a drama, play games with the children, serve them hot chocolate, wash their hair, and distribute supplies. The following summer I travelled to New York City to, again, present a drama, play games with inner-city children, paint their faces and nails, and participate in various kinds of Sunday school- the largest in the world. This coming new year I am taking a trip to Bogota, Colombia to teach English in the schools and bring down school supplies.
On more of a minor scale, I have served at the Mustard Seed church feeding meals to the homeless people of Edmonton. I spent Christmas Day of 2008 (and will be 2009) at the Shaw Conference Centre serving a bang-up Christmas meal to thousands of homeless and lonely people, and handing presents out to children. These efforts, small and big, I believe changed my life and changed the life of many other people. Although I never brought someone out of their poverty, I think bringing these people joy, if only for a minute, made a difference in this world. There have also been day-to-day things that I believe have brought about excellence; leaning over a desk to help someone answer a math problem, saying hi to the person serving at the dining hall, giving sincere compliments, and offering a word of encouragement. These gestures are small, but I believe that they count and make a difference. Throughout my life, I think that these have been my greatest attempts at bringing out excellence in my life.
Submitted by E.S., Gr. 9 Student from Edmonton, AlbertaPublished December 30
Chasing Excellence
Track had always been an interest to me, but it wasn’t till grade five that I actually took the time to get involved. I would watch the Olympics every year that they were on and it always made me want to stay healthy and never give up. I wasn’t the tallest kid or strongest kid around and that fact remains the same, but no matter how many times I got second or third or even last I never gave up.
Grade six the following year my track team coach told me that I should start trying field events, instead of just track ones. That’s when I started long jump. It was a slow start, but I ended up getting pretty good at it in a short period of time. So my coach decided to put me in a competition for the top long jumpers in the city of my age group. At first I didn’t want to do it but then I remembered what I would always tell myself about never giving up and went to the meet.
When I got there, the thing I remembered the most was how much bigger and taller all my competitors looked compared to me. Some of them even thought I had come to the wrong meet, but just because someone thinks lesser of you doesn’t mean you should just give in to what they say and give up. So I didn’t. I tried my best no matter what anyone said, jumped as far as I could and hoped for the best. Although when I was done my three jumps, I was thinking, “I came and I tried, but I probably didn’t make it in the top three.”
To my surprise, when the results were given out I had not only made the top three, but I had gotten first. It was one of the most amazing things that I have ever experienced. To be given a gold medal while standing side by side on the podium with two other competitors who were still taller than me even though they were standing on the lower sides. Ever since then I tell people to never give up or give in to words of discouragement because you never know what great accomplishments you can achieve.
Submitted by T.F., Gr. 10 Student from Valleyview, AlbertaPublished December 29
Being a "Leader" is something that comes with responsibility. Not only should you set a good example at school but you should also try and set examples for younger family members, your community, Church gatherings, School Funded Field Trips, etc. Just because you may not be a famous leader from the past or the present doesn't mean you shouldn't always strive to be a better leader for the future.
Ways that I show leadership are by organizing sport fundraisers, and also helping coach younger sport teams. I am in grade 10, and I very much enjoy helping out with sport teams. I am a volleyball and Basketball player, so for me to be able to go and help teach others my skills, improve their own skills, and help them fix their mistakes; I love it. It makes me feel like I got them one step closer to their dream. When I was in junior high, I always dreamed of being a professional athlete! I have a good idea of how the younger players feel.
Working as a team is a great way to show leadership, I think. When your working as a team, it's about helping out others but it's also about trying your hardest. If you’re going to make a Basketball play you need more than one person to make it successful. That's how it is in every sport. When I get on the court my main focus is to do my part in that play so everyone else can do their part to their full potential. Every year that I have played Basketball I have earned Most Valuable Player; not because I am good. Because I play with all my heart.
Everyone who plays a sport can make a great leader, Anyone can make a great leader. With being a leader you need to be positive, and want to help others strive to greatest achievement. A leader is someone who can encourage to do your best for you and others. I have never won anything like this or even thought about applying for an experience like this. I think me doing this, just trying makes me realize more leader-like qualities I have. Also more that I can share with others. I have always dreamed of being/helping in the Olympics. Even if I don't win, I can still tell people that I tried and I am going to keep trying and applying for such things as these. At the next Junior girls practice, I'm going to tell them that even if you might not get to goal your aiming for, your effort in the most important thing you can give. Because one day you will reach the goal you dreamed up.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to enter the "Celebrating Excellence" challenge.
Submitted by T.P., Gr. 9 Student from Taber, AlbertaPublished December 28
Celebrating Excellence
Personally I believe that everyone is a leader in some way or another. In my own words I have summarized what I think a good leader is; someone who accepts, helps, encourages and inspires others to do their best, make good decisions and strive for excellence. I hope that over the years I have been a leader and helped others in many ways, and I hope to continue to be a leader in the years to come.
I love to play sports, some of my favourites are softball, badminton, and swimming. I have played softball for four years and tee-ball when I was young. On my town's team I pitch and love to help out the younger kids that play as well. I play badminton with my school and this year am going to go in with a town group. I have been in swimming since I was young and am training to be a lifeguard. I am not very big so some of the swimming tests are hard for me but I always tell myself to keep on going. I babysit my two little brothers often and enjoy having them. I like to read to them and teach them new things. I have babysat since I was around eleven years old and still enjoy doing it. I go to two youth groups which help out with the community in different ways.
In the E-Free youth that I go to, we rake leaves for people in the fall and shovel driveways and sidewalks in the winter. There is a senior and junior group that gets kids around the same age together. We do many activities and everyone has a lot of fun. In the other group we have gone to help out at the town's library and we are hosting a free-skate at the ice rink in town. I enjoy the groups and encourage others to come and join in on the fun.
School is my top priority. I have high grades and many people who encourage me to do my best. When I am in class I like to help others when they get stuck on something. I think getting a good education and showing your true potential is important for everyone. I like to focus on my school work and am interested in doing something that helps children in the future.
Being a leader doesn't necessarily mean you have to change the world in any drastic measure, like raising a ton of money for the homeless. It just means to help even as little as one person; to put a smile on just one person's face.
Submitted by F.A., Gr. 6 Student from Brooks, AlbertaPublished December 27
I am 11 years old in grade 6. I like to help out in the community by playing sports, recycling, and setting examples. I play basketball at our leisure center. I help my friends raise money for girl scouts and sell baked goods with them. Some days, my class will go outside to pick the garbage off our playgrounds and around the school area. Sometimes, we go with younger kids and tell them to keep the area clean and always help out in the community.
At home, my family recycles bottles, cans and paper and we compost. Each year my school has fundraisers for the Terry Fox run, Mission Mexico, or building a new playground for our school. My school raised about a thousand dollars for Mission Mexico and I was so happy about it and just about the same amount for the Terry Fox Run. I enjoy raising money for fundraisers. At the end of each fundraiser, the person who has shown the true spirit of the fundraiser and raised the most amount of money receives an award such as a bike.
Being a leader is not only about participating in outdoor activities but also to set examples for others. The leader will be like an inspiration and the people will look up to them and they will want to be the leader. I enjoy participating and raising money for my school and setting examples for other people. It’s a wonderful feeling to help someone knowing that, know matter what, they will appreciate it. I think people should keep setting examples so the community can be a beautiful place.
Thank you for this amazing opportunity to write this. It made me realize how important helping out really is.