A Spanish-speaking student entered Cindy’s first-grade class this year. The student didn’t speak or understand any English. Seven-year-old Cindy is bilingual and from the first day, she helped her teacher and the student by translating questions, directions and more. The teacher doesn’t speak Spanish and the student doesn’t speak English; without Cindy’s help, the two wouldn’t have been able to communicate. Cindy helps this student every day without being asked and has been a blessing for her classmate and teacher.

Jake’s grandparents were visiting for the holidays when his grandfather fell in the bathroom and could not get back up. Jake and his grandmother tried to help his grandfather, but they couldn’t. Jake immediately ran to get help, but many neighbors were away for the holidays. After several attempts, Jake found a neighbor who was home and asked her to help get his grandfather up, which she did. The neighbor said seven-year-old Jake was very mature and handled a scary situation well.

Firefighters were called to a house fire on Hoskins Road. When they arrived, heavy smoke and flames were coming from the back of the home. An elderly resident was cleaning her stove when her bathrobe caught fire. She took the robe off and left it on her porch and, without her knowing it, the smoldering robe started the fire. Twelve-year-old Zeke was passing by the house when he saw the fire, ran to the house, and told the family to get out. The elderly woman and her entire family were able to escape the house.  The woman’s daughter says Zeke’s quick thinking saved their lives.

Kevin has had a great third-grade year after a tough time in second grade. He works very hard on his classwork and recently made the highest score on the first-quarter math test. He is also very helpful and generous. This eight-year-old raked and mowed lawns to raise money for the United Way fundraiser. He made about $30, which he donated to help his class raise the most money in the school.

Mariah is 10 years old and in the fourth grade at Grier Academy. She is an A/B student who is very involved with school activities, as well as activities in her community. At Grier Academy, she is involved in Right Moves for Youth and the Cardinal Singers. She’s also a Girl Scout. Mariah is also very helpful; when she visits her father, she also spends time with some of his older neighbors, helping them with chores they have a hard time doing on their own.

Kameron is 13 years old and in the eighth grade at Alexander Middle. A sixth-grade student left her wallet on the bus one morning. Kameron found the wallet and returned it to the school office. The student was thrilled to get her wallet back, including the $11 in cash that was inside, as well as several gift cards.

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Clarence is 10 years old and in the fifth grade at Mountain Island Elementary. As a member of the school safety patrol, he has gone above and beyond to help classmates in need. One student recently started using a wheelchair and Clarence, on his own, offered to help the student to class every day. Clarence also helped another student who was on crutches – all without being asked. Clarence has shown he knows how to do the right thing.

Nine-year-old Alicia has had a rough year. Her father passed away unexpectedly at the beginning of the year, but she has handled herself with more grace than most adults could have maintained. Alicia kept her grades up and continued to be kind to her third-grade teacher and classmates. Adding to the difficulty of losing a parent, Alicia also had to move out of her home because of issues with the house that caused health concerns. Alicia has managed to keep her head held high and realize there is more to life when difficult things happen.

Nine-year-old Manika called 911 when her grandmother got sick. She stayed calm, knew her address (even though it was not her own address), and knew her grandmother’s medical history. She was able to relay all of this important information to the 911 dispatcher so crews were prepared to provide appropriate treatment as soon as they arrived on the scene. While this emergency was happening, Manika was also taking care of her twin five-year-old brothers!

Matthew has battled leukemia for a number of years and is now finally able to participate in school sports. He was a key member of Southwest Middle’s football team, always playing with a great attitude. This 15-year-old also recently completed pet-therapy training sessions with his dog, Willow, so they can visit children at local hospitals and brighten their days. Matthew is not only a hard-working student, but he is also modest in accepting credit and compliments for his accomplishments.

Darrell is in the fifth grade and is on the Olde Providence Safety Patrol. One morning, on the bus on the way to school, he heard a kindergarten boy tell a friend he did not feel well. Darrell helped the boy to the health room, and it was later discovered that the kindergartener had been having small seizures on the bus. Darrell should be applauded for stepping up and making sure the younger student got the medical attention he needed.

A hearing-impaired student recently joined 10-year-old Gabrielle’s class at Cotswold Elementary. Gabrielle took it upon herself to learn sign language so she can communicate with this student. When the student’s interpreter isn’t in the classroom, Gabrielle makes sure the student understands the lesson. Gabrielle shows empathy and caring by including the student in all social activities and keeps the student in the classroom loop by using her newly learned sign language to communicate.