My Worst Day

It was probably one of my craziest days, and every thing was going wrong. First, I got into to a fight at school. Then I got kicked out of school. Then on the way home my chain popped and my tire popped, too. So now here is the story of my worst day.
First thing I did was wake up to get ready for school. I went to take a shower, and my brothers and sister used all the hot water. So I had to take a cold shower. The I left for school. I was about two blocks away from school, then I crashed. It was crazy. I flipped over my handle bars. Then my shirt got all dirty. So luckily I had a shirt under my other one. Well, then I got to school. Everybody kept messing with me. Then I got in a fight, and I got kicked out of school.
The on the way home I was riding my bike and then I fell off. My chain and my tire popped right then. That is when I knew this was my worst day ever.

By D. S., a middle school student

How to be Successful

Do you want to be successful in school? In order for that to happen you must work on a plan of success. You must tell yourself what you want out of life. Do you want to be a bum or a successful businessman? You decide whether you want to better yourself and have a family.

First of all to be successful, you must stay out of harm’s way. No drugs or alcohol. If you decide to do it, then you are ruining your life and your plan for success. Secondly, you must stay out of trouble. You should not get into trouble at home or at school if you want your plan of success to work. Thirdly, you should go to school and have a job. You can party and hang out with friends but to a certain point. School comes before anything. People can take everything from you, but they can’t take your education. Lastly, those are a few words I think you should take to heart. I know I didn’t, so I am trying to get kids not to follow my footsteps.

By M.V., a high school student

Decisions Decisions

Life . . . the most fragile thing in the universe. It can end in an instant. It changes every second. You only get one chance with it, and every decision you make effects it in some way. Most of the decisions you make can set your life on a path to happiness or on a path to pain and suffering. We are not even in control of our own lives. Not only do your own decisions affect your life but so does everyone else’s.

Someone makes a decision to drive while intoxicated for example. That same night you decide to take your girlfriend out to dinner. Somehow, the timing is so perfect and that drunk driver pulls out in front of you going 60 mph. This happened to a friend of mine. Luckily, they lived, but this shows how easily your life is affected by others.

The thousands of people in the twin towers made the decision to go to work. Terrorists also made a decision that day causing thousands of deaths. People, who had families, died in an instant because of the decisions of a few people. My uncle worked in the twin towers but decided to call in sick that day. His decision saved his life.

You can’t predict what’s going to happen. Your life can change instantly whether you want it to or not. We are not in control of what happens to us. We are always affected by the decisions of other people.

By S.S., a high school student.

How I Handle Stress

There are people that get stress sometimes. Well, I am that kind of person that gets stressed. I will tell you three things I do when I am stressed. The first is when I am trying to just start saying things to people that talk to me because I am not in the mood to talk to anyone. So if someone bothers me when I am angry, I just say, "Want to fight," or I say a bad thing to them, but if I do that, I get into trouble. This would make me more stressed out. I just don't want anyone to talk to me. It just makes me feel weird. Some people try to make me laugh and some times it works and some times it doesn't. The second thing I do when I am stressed is that I just try to find a quiet place to get relaxed again. It does work for me. I get angry, and I just stay in a quiet place and start thinking. I get relaxed, and I am much better. Sometimes I just ignore people. I say to myself, relax, relax, and don't say anything. Just walk away. Also when I am stressed, I get my boxing gloves and start punching the punching bag just to pretend it is somebody, or I play video games and shoot people just to make me better. The third is sometimes I just sit down and don't talk to anyone. I just sit there with an angry face and just ignore people when they talk to me. Sometimes my girlfriend makes me feel better when she hugs me. She just makes me smile. I just hate it when people come up to me and say what is wrong or why are you mad. It just bothers me. So those are the things I do when I am stressed.
By I. A., a middle school student

How I Handle Stress

What do you do when you have stress? Well, sometimes it can get way out of control. Say you are just minding your own business when someone says something. What would I do? I would walk away because if you strike first, you will be in trouble. Also if he hits you and you do hit him, back off and tell a teacher before it is too late. Last, but not least, a way to take stress is to hit something soft or to talk to somebody. Fighting is not the solution to stress because if you walk away you are the biggest man. Take my advice and use it. In conclusion, don’t fight because it is you who will get in trouble not the person. So think before you act.
By L. M., a middle school student

How I Handle Stress

Everyone becomes stressed and angry some time. Some ways to prevent this is to walk away and forget about it, ignore the person or situation, and when you are angry, punch a pillow or something that won’t hurt you. First, let’s talk about walking away and forgetting about it. When in a problem, walk away. That will stop a fight or a problem. Forgetting about it will also stop you from getting in to trouble. Another way to stop stress is to ignore the person or situation. If you ignore the person, it will also stop anger. Don’t always ignore things because sometimes it is an adult. The last way is when angry punch something that won’t hurt you. If you do that, it will relax your anger, trust me. Don’t try to start a fight because you just might get in more trouble. You might even get arrested. Now you know why and how to handle your anger or stress to keep from getting arrested or getting in deep trouble. It is okay to be stressed out or angry.
By J. C., a middle school student

How I Handle Stress

Every one becomes stressed or angry at sometime. But you do not have to get mad and hit somebody. That would just make problems even worse. Everybody has to learn to ignore when they get stressed or angry. If you can’t ignore someone, all you have to do is walk away. Most of the time it always works. Now different people have different ways of handling stress. The way I do it is I count to ten. If I am still stressed, then I will just walk away. Once and awhile some people get real angry. Then they flip out and hit someone. Now that is how people get hurt. I hate it when people take their stress or anger out on other people. That is why people end up in hospitals with broken bones or fractured bones. All because someone couldn’t handle their anger. That is how teenagers end up in jail or a program. Once in awhile I would get mad or stressed and hit someone. It wasn’t really a good idea. I figured that out after I got angry.
By D. S., a middle school student

How I Handle Stress

These are some things about me when I get stressed that make me mad.
When I get stress, I just walk away from people and don’t talk to them. I ignore people so I can try to think of what to do in that moment. I get all angry inside. When I’m home when I get stress, I get to go in my room, lock the door, and just go to sleep.
Getting stress is not fun but some things I do is don’t talk to people. When they try to talk to me, I will not reply and sometimes I say leave me along right now. I just walk around and think about things and take deep breaths that help me sometimes and sometimes it does not help me.
I get very angry and mad when I’m stressed. I don’t like it when I’m stressed. I start to yell at people when they talk to me and look at me, and most of the times I yell for no reason. When I yell at people, they get mad at me, and I don’t mean to yell.
I get very frustrated, and I can’t think right. When people mess with me, I want to fight them and that is how I lose my friends because they think I’m going to fight them all the time. Then I am very mad at myself.
Those are things that happen when I get stressed, but I can fix them by not making mistakes.
By D. J., a middle school student

What I Do to Handle Stress

When I get stressed, I usually ask advice from my friends. I always can count on my friends for advice when I’m in trouble also sometimes I can’t always make good choices while I’m around my friends. Sometimes it’s so hard for me to focus when there so many distractions around me. Most of the time I will have trouble calming down once I have started my stress. When I can’t turn to my friends for help, I will normally just listen to my music or I will have my mom or dad to talk to.
By D. B., a middle school student

How I Can Improve Myself as a Student

There are lots of ways I can keep myself out of trouble. Maybe I could not talk back. That would really make me a better student. Anybody can make improvements. You just have to try your best. It’s not hard. That’s how I think when I really want to improve my behavior.

The habit I would really break would be not to fight. When someone says something to me, I should ignore him, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. It’s actually pretty hard. It’s hard not to fight. Well, if I could improve on that I would be a better student.

I would like to learn better habits, too. If I could learn one new habit, it would be to not get into trouble. Nobody likes someone who is always in trouble. I’m not the kind of student who looks for trouble; trouble finds me. When a teacher or staff member tells me to do something, I don’t bother to listen to them. On that one I should make a big improvement. From now on I am going to try my hardest to do better. Then if I can’t I probably will have to try harder the next time.

By D.S., a middle school student

How I Can Improve Myself as a Student

Everybody has good and bad habits, and they need to develop better habits than bad habits. People don't know how to pass into the next grade because of habits. So more people should learn how to change the bad habits into something more like always wanting to read. Learning how to pay attention and jot down important notes that the teachers say and try to teach you is important. If you just jot down notes, then maybe if a test comes around, your teacher might say open notes test or you could study which will help you pass. Mainly female teens have terrible attitudes. I now have this bad attitude, and I have learned that you can fail with this attitude. I know this because I am fourteen years old and in the seventh grade, and it is not fun. You will fail with an attitude because with an attitude you will get into trouble. When you are in trouble, you miss out on your work and your friends. Kids that go out looking for trouble are not going to have a big life with a lot of money and a nice dream job. Because without good grades you won't be able to go to a normal college. So if you are looking for trouble, you might not care now, but in the future, you will care. Reading books and doing sports are really good by helping you get good grades. Sports will make you very healthy, and sports will make you want to do more work and want to get good grades. It is your future and your children's future. You must make the right choice.
By M. J., a middle school student

How I Can Improve Myself as a Student

Shhh, shhh, shhh, shhh! How would you improve yourself as a student in school? I would by not talking to friends and learning to stay quiet. I would give my teacher more respect so I would get respected back. Last, I would try to help the teacher more. First I would not talk to a friend and stay quiet. I would ignore the fact that people talk to me, stay focused, and do my class work, and when I finished my work, I would read a R. R. book. Another reason I can improve myself is by giving respect and getting respected back. If I start doing things right away, I can also say hi and bye to EA. Last is by helping around the classroom more often by turning on computers, organizing the bookshelves, and passing out papers. Now you know why and how I can clean up myself, gain respect, help others, and stop talking. Adios amigos.
By J. C., a middle school student

How I Can Improve Myself as a Student

These are some of the things I need to do to improve myself in school. I need to do all my work in my classes and my homework. I need to do all my make-up work that I am supposed to do so I can get good grades. Then I will get A's and B's in my classes. My mom will be happy with me, and she will give me rewards. I can start to read 30 minutes everyday on my extra time so I can improve my reading skills. Then when I take reading tests, my score will go up and that will be very good for me. I will try to think about the work I get and not just rush through so I can be done. If I think about it and take my time,I will get a good grade on that assignment. The habit I will start doing is raise my hand before I speak and don't call out when the teacher is teaching the class. The teacher will be happy with me. The habit I will stop is not to get any referrals and don't get in trouble and no EA, ASP, ISS, OSS, and Saturday School. These are some things that will help me improve in school and my classes. Everyone will be happy with this, and I won't get EA anymore, and I won't see Mrs. Warden and Mr. Hill.
By D. J., a middle school student

How I Would Improve My Neighborhood

First, I would change the rules in there because there are too many teenagers going out at night and doing crimes without getting caught. They should put some more police patrols to stop this. The second thing would be that they should send some workers to make the neighborhood clean because the neighborhood right now does not look so clean. The third thing would be that they should put a time limit for the park because some 5-10 year olds are getting harassed without parents knowing anything. To stop this they should only allow kids with parents at the park until 7:00 pm.
By D. H., a high school student

How to Improve Myself as a Student

How can you improve yourself-as-a-student? What habits would you break and end? What new habits would you try to learn?

I would improve myself as a student by working hard on my school work. By working hard you will understand things easier, and you will get stuck on things less. When I work hard, I always try harder and harder every day. You also have to break some bad habits like being rude, disrespectful to teachers and students. You have to show respect to get respect. You may not get along with all your teachers, but you have to be the bigger person and kill them with kindness. I would also do all my work to get good grades in school. I would bring new habits to school like be nice, helpful, and happy.
By S. J., a middle school student

What Makes Me Stressed

Things that stress me are home school and homework. Everyday the same thing, homework here and homework there, homework everywhere. At school I get stressed a lot because at middle school there are kids who threaten to beat me up, and the teachers don’t do anything. The teachers are way too mean. When you raise your hand because you know the answer, they don’t choose you, but when you don’t know the answer, they choose you. Teachers don’t understand kids.
By A.S., a middle school student

Why Do I Get Stressed

Three things cause me stress: problems with school stuff, friend problems, and parent problems. I am stressed when I get too much homework and teachers yell at me too much. I get really mad and stressed out because all of these things in school.
I am stressed with friend problems that come between us. We yell at one another and then they say they are going to spread rumors to people that I did something with someone or tell people that I am a back stabber and not a very good friend. This gets me very stressed.
I also get stressed out when I get home. More people yell at me at home - my mom, step dad, my older brother, and my little sister. I get crazy when I get there. I feel like making a tornado come in to my room and helping me destroy everything. This is how I get stressed very quickly, and I need someone who understands what I mean.
By J.B., a middle school student

Regrets and Reform

Is it really so hard to believe that someone is capable of changing? Apparently it is for my Mom and step father. I know I’ve made mistakes throughout my life, but so has everyone else. My mistakes may have been worse than others, and I realize that. I also realize that they are no where near as bad as some of the things I could be doing.
I know trust is a terrible thing to lose, especially for a stupid thing like “pot.” I would give anything to back track and change the fact that I ever even tried it. Still, I haven’t killed anyone or hurt anyone. I believe the punishment should fit the crime. Every time I do something stupid, I get caught. This tells me I’m not meant for this kind of life.
I’m almost glad that I got caught. If that’s what it took to shock me into reality, then so be it. I finally realized that I needed to stop what I was doing. I understand somewhat more clearly why my parents are taking such drastic steps. They just want to help me. I now realize that by punishing me, they only want the best for me.
I know they don’t want this life for me anymore than I do. I know I can change, and, in a way, I already have. I know it’s going to take time for me to earn back the trust and respect of my parents. That takes time that I am more than willing to spend.
I know I’ve done wrong. I am willing to pay for it which I have and still am. I know that because of all this I will do better. I will try harder to fix my life and never let it get this bad again. I do love my family and the thing I regret the most is hurting them.
By a high school student.

My Goal

If only one day I could become a soccer player that would be so cool. Man, everybody would be so proud of me. This would be my perfect goal. I have dreamed about this for six years. If this could come true I would have finally achieved my second goal. My other goal was not to go to a special program, and it came true after I improved. Becoming a soccer player would be so awesome. I could chill with all the other famous professional soccer players. I would probably have so many friends. But maybe being a soccer player would not be so much fun after all. Maybe I would feel bad because I did not like it, but it would not matter because I would know that I actually made it. This is my goal, the one I have dreamed about for so long.
D.S., a middle school student

My Goal

I want to play football because it is fun. Playing football gives me an adrenaline rush. I play because I like to run and tackle people. I like it because when I have the ball I can run away from people. Sometimes when I get tackled it does not feel good but I can always get the person back. Playing football is also dangerous.

For me to play football I have to do all of my school work. If I don’t do it I won’t be able to play. I have to stay out of trouble, get no referrals or be sent to the office. To play I have to get good grades. In order to get better at football, I have to practice, stay sharp, and stay focused so I know when to do my part. I need to learn how to play to do anything. I need to know what to do at the right time. I need to get to practice on time and be serious. I can’t fool around because that could cost the team the game. I have to listen to everything the coach says. I need to know where my place is so I can do my part. I need to know what time to run, stop, tackle, and go back to my position. I have to know when to stop because if I don’t that could cost us a game.
D.P., a middle school student

My Goal

Everyone has a goal. My personal goal is to win a world championship in barrel racing. Winning would take a lot of determination. I will have to keep myself disciplined. A positive attitude will help my horse as well as it will me.

I will need extreme determination. I know that I can’t quit. If this is something I want to win I will have to stick with it. If I don’t win every time I run, I cannot let that stop me. I owe it to my horse to put the bad runs behind me and look forward to the next one.

It will take discipline. I can’t just decide one day I don’t want to practice. When I get home I need to go straight to my horse field. I don’t have time to fool around. If I am expecting my horse to do well, I need to keep him in shape and give him a fighting chance.

Positive attitudes take away stress. I must always have a positive attitude with my horse. He doesn’t need to be stressed out because I’m in a bad mood. He will want to do his job better if he gets told he is doing well. My horse doesn’t need the stress if I am expecting great things from him.

My goal of being a world champion will take work. I will always have to be determined. I must stay disciplined. I need to keep a positive attitude. These are the traits I need for my horse and me to have a chance at winning the big time.

A middle school student

Things I Learned in In School Suspension

The things I learned in Enhanced Assist (in school suspension) are math, vocabulary, reading, and writing lessons. Mr. Hill taught me how to work math problems out in a different way than what I use to do. I have many problems in math, but since Mr. Hill showed me a different way, I do my math work that way. Mr. Hill also taught me about vocabulary and proper words. Now I know the meaning of new words, and I know what to do when I need to put in the right meaning. For example, if the word is "national," and the choices are "sub," "inter," and "under." The answer is "international." We read about a horse named Hans who was really smart. If Hans owner said what is 2 plus 2, the horse would pick up his leg four times. I learned lessons from the videos. We saw one about not drinking and driving and one about not letting peer pressure push you into doing something wrong. Don't make bad decisions.
By K. C., a middle school student

My Goals

The goals I would like to really achieve are playing baseball and doing better in school so I can graduate. Playing baseball is my life and everything I want. So by playing baseball I will have accomplished my goal which means I have to practice my swings a hundred times a day and watch baseball games on television so I can learn the plays and batting stance. I want to be like my hero, Manny Ramierez. I would like to be on the same team, the Boston Red Sox and have the same number, 24.
Doing better in school is what I really want to do because in order to play baseball, I have to graduate. So right now I am only 12, but I have to study very hard to accomplish my goal. The college I want to go to is Gainesville College where the Florida Gators play or Boston College where the Eagles play. This is my dream.
By K. C., a middle school student

My Best Friend

Best friends are good for when you need them. They are always by your side, unless they are not really your friend. Friends don’t get you into trouble. Actually friends are supposed to help you. If they get you into trouble, then they aren’t a good friend. Good friends protect you. They should always be there for you always no matter what. If you cannot trust your friend, then that is not good. Well, for me, of course, I trust my best friends. I know they will never lie to me. That is basically why I can trust them at all times. My best friends have respect for me. That is why they are my best friends, all because of respect. Everybody deserves respect. Even I treat my friends with respect. That is how I think of my best friends. They are all important to me in one way. That is how it should be with best friends.
By D. S., a middle school student

My Best Friend

The reason Dan is my best friend is because he is always there for me. He will never make fun of me. Also he will always have my back in any situation that happens. The first reason I’m going to describe to you about my friend Dan is he is always there for me. The reason why he is always there for me is because he’s there when I need him, and he is there when I want him to be there. Also the reason why Dan is my best friend is because he will never make fun of me and never talk behind my back or talk bad about me to my face. That is what I call a best friend. The last reason why Dan is my best friend is because he always has my back, and a best friend should always have your back when you’re in trouble or when you are in a situation that you can’t handle by yourself. Dan always has my back and that is why he is my best friend. Now I have told you why Dan is my best friend because he always has my back, he never makes fun of me, and he will always has my back.
By J. V., a middle school student

My Best Friend

Chadly is my best friend because he is funny and because we are in the same grade. Last, but not least, we are in the same class. Chadly is my best friend because he is so funny. One time he tried to pick a fight with the biggest kid in school who is already five feet tall. He did not win. He ran away. Chadly is my best friend because we are in the same grade. I also have him in four periods. He is almost one of my teachers. Chadly is my best friend because he is very smart. He has better grades than me. His grades are A, B, A, C, B, B, and A. My grades are A, B, B, C, F, and D. He has art and band, while I only have band. In conclusion, Chadly is my best friend because he is funny, and he is also very sensitive about his weight. Also, we are best friends because we are in the same class, and, last but not least, because he is very smart.
By S. B., a middle school student

My Best Friend

My best friend is Braden Lee Macradle. We have been best friends since 4th grade. Some things we like to do together are go out to eat at Dairy Queen or at the mall. The reason he is my best friend is because he is always there for me when I am feeling down. We provide each other with money in the mall. On my 10th birthday he bought me a PS2 and a pair of Air Force 1 sneakers. I remember one time in 6th grade when we won playing basketball. We parted in the middle of 6th grade because he had to go to Phoenix, the program in Naples, because he brought an air soft gun to school. I transferred to East Naples, and there we reunited. Now we have each other’s backs. We hang out, and we do the things we always use to do. That is why he is my best friend.
By K. C., a middle school student

Should a Family Turn Off the TV for a Week?

Should a Family Turn Off the TV for a Week?

Yes, I think it is a good idea to take away television for a plethora or reasons. The reasons are, maybe it is making us get less smart. Also it may be keeping us off task. When it is time for you to do your homework, it is keeping you awake every night so you do not get the rest you need to go to school in the morning. Maybe on Friday or Saturday you can watch TV and on Sunday you could watch it until 5 pm and study from 5:00 to 6:30.

No, I don’t think it is a good idea to take away television privileges from us kids. You can learn a lot of things from it like on Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, and the History Channel. People say watching TV makes your brain healthier. If your kids are not doing their homework, check their planners everyday and make them do their home work and then let them watch television.
By K. C., a middle school student

Who I Respect the Most

Mohammed Ali was a great man and in this essay I will tell you about how he was a great man. First, he was an undefeatable man. Second, he always won with respect. Finally, he was a great husband and father. Mohammed Ali was an undefeatable man. He was the world heavy weight champion of the world. He never lost a match. He would always knock his opponents out. He always won with respect. Whenever he won, he would never rub it in his opponent's face. He would just say, "good match man," and that was it. He was a great husband and father. He never hit his wife. He would always play with his kids and hug them.
By N.L., a middle school student

Who I Respect the Most

Who I look up to is Big Mike. When growing up, I looked up to him as an older brother. He looks after me like his little brother. The first thing I'm going to say about him is he was born and raised in Michigan. He is 26 years old, about to turn 27 on June 2. His favorite clothes and shoes are Sean Jhon and Air Force ones. The second thing is he is an electrician. He works as a cable man from Miami to Orlando. He baby sits half of the time but works the other half. The last thing about Big Mike is he is like a big brother to me. He keeps me out of trouble as much as possible. He lets me hang out with him after 7:00 pm if I am good. If I need somebody to talk to, I can talk to him because he won't tell on me.
By D.M., a middle school student

Who I Respect the Most

The person I respect the most is my dad. I think he loves me very much because he helps me learn how to play basketball. He bought a ball for me. He helped me learn English because I don't speak English very well. He makes me practice in English when we walk around. He would make me say English words. Some singers sing about people who inspire songs. Think about someone you respect. You must respect yourself and others and the world around you.
By K. M. a middle school student

Who I Respect the Most

I admire country singing artist Toby Keith because he always treats people with respect. He performs concerts in Fort Myers. People admire him for his character and kindness he shows to them. People love the songs he sings.
By D.B., a middle school student

Who I Respect the Most

My mother, my mother, I care for her so much. Well, ever since I was little, I would say she cares for me more. Probably, I would say she is the most caring and considerate person. She is kind plus she has a lot of respect. Here are all my reasons why I think my mom has my most respect. My mom has a lot of responsibility to take care of everyday. The reason why I think she is responsible is because every morning she has to wake me up at 5:30 to go to school. I don't ever want to get up so she has to keep bugging me to get up. Then whenever I get in trouble, she takes care of the problem. The other character trait I think my mom has is kindness. She is not ever rude to me or anybody else. My mom always says please and thank you. The reason is she doesn't lie. Now you have to admit that is respectful. The last character trait that I would have chosen for my mom would be caring. She definitely cares for me and my brother and sister the most. The other thing is if she did not care, I would not be eating everyday. That is why she cares so much. Those were all of the character traits I would choose for my mom. She is a respectful person. That's why I chose to write about my wonderful mother.
By D.S., a middle school student

Who I Respect the Most

The person I respect and admire is my mom for these reasons. I love her, she helps me, she supports me, and she loves me. First, I love my mom because she is always there for me when I am feeling down. She provides me with the things I need. Second, she helps me when I need help on my homework. When something is wrong, she is there for me. Third, she supports me with nice words. Also, she loves me. When I am going to bed, she makes me a sandwich or something to eat with milk. Last, she loves me for all the reasons I just told you.

By K. C. a middle school student

How to Improve School

I would like to change several things about my school. If I could change or improve something, it would be the time we have to get up to take the bus to school. The reason why I would want to change the time is so that other students and I don’t have to get up so early and catch the bus to school. I also think that we shouldn’t have to get up so early because we get really tired by the middle of the day, and we don’t want to do our school work. I also think that we should get more time between classes. I think that we should get more time because sometimes students don’t make it on time to their next class, and then they get in trouble. I think that teachers should give us some space and let us socialize with our friends. I think that the Dean should make an arrangement and let us have a longer lunch period. We should be able to eat during a longer lunch period because some students do not finish their lunch. We should also be able to communicate with our friends at lunch.
By T. R. a middle school student

How to Improve the School

Being able to vote for student council should be a right for people to decide who should take care of the school. Some things the student council could do to make the school better are to help organize school dances and help the cafeteria staff make better lunches. We could make the school campus better by planting new flowers around the school. We also should respect others. We need to respect teachers and administrators. Then they will feel better about the school and the people in it. The school library needs better books that students will want to read. Also we would receive many compliments from the staff when their students read more library books and pass more tests. Also all of us could use healthier lunches like salads, fruit, pasta, and other entrées. Our school would be a better place if we had better choices for the school lunches. If we did all these things, we would have a better environment and help students stay in school.
By D. B. a middle school student

How to Improve Schools

If I could make a change in school, I would make two changes. My first change would be about sports. The problem is that the middle school should have football, wrestling, and basketball 5-5 tournaments. I think it would help most teenagers stay off the streets, because if they are busy with something they like to do, they will not run the streets. Did you know that most people that are killed are teenagers? People ask why. The reason is the streets, and the streets involve gangs, drug dealers, and rapists. I think sports would prevent most students from dropping out of school, and it would keep students off the streets. The second change is to hold open gym after school. Open gym before and after school for two hours would help teenagers.
By D. M. a middle school student

Challenges

Writing Prompt
All of us face challenges. Describe a challenge that you face. What lesson are you learning?

Challenges
Well, the challenge that I face is staying out of trouble. So here are some ways for staying out of trouble: pay attention, be silent, and be good.

Well, when you want to pay attention, you should block out distractions and focus on the teacher. You should also be dutiful while you do the work.

When someone is about to make you talk, just ignore that person. If they keep on bothering you, just tell the teacher.

Being good is a hard thing because when you are good, you feel like you are plain and boring. But you are not in your teachers’ and parents’ eyes.

In conclusion, I would like to represent my ways to stay out of trouble: paying attention, being silent, and being good. Those are the ways for staying out of trouble.
By N. L. a middle school student