Youth Appreciation 2023

Sophie

Mrs. Wentworth nominated Sophie for her classroom leadership, saying…

“I have had the pleasure of teaching Sophie for the past two years. From the moment she entered my classroom in the fall of 2021, she has been a shining example of dedication, kindness and perseverance. Sophie has taken on numerous roles in the classroom, around the school and in her own community, all while maintaining excellent grades, strong peer relationships and involvement in extracurricular activities. She consistently goes above and beyond in all aspects of her life, taking on additional roles and responsibilities. Sophie has volunteered for numerous positions within the school, including lunchroom helper, pizza helper, nutrition for learning helper and morning announcer. She is also willing to step in at a moment’s notice to help her teachers and peers with tasks large and small. Sophie is the first to volunteer, often giving up her breaks to lend a helping hand. She is trustworthy, reliable, and she demonstrates strong leadership skills.

“Sophie’s compassion is evident in all that she does. She has a strong sense of equity and strives to include all of her classmates. Her kindness and compassion have a positive impact on her peers, who often seek her out for help. Sophie’s caring nature also extends beyond her school community to her neighbourhood. During the summer, Sophie organizes a camp for children in her area, planning various activities for children from ages 5-8. She is also highly involved in her gymnastics club.

“Sophie is also a remarkable student, consistently striving to do her very best by putting 110% into her work. She shows genuine care for each learning opportunity and is eager to learn new things. Always asking how she can improve, Sophie takes feedback from her teachers with enthusiasm and eagerly applies it. I can think of no one more deserving of receiving recognition for all her hard work and dedication to her classroom, school and community.”

Jenna

Mrs. Wentworth nominated Sophie for her classroom leadership, saying…

“I have had the pleasure of teaching Jenna for the 2022-2023 school year. Jenna’s kind and caring nature is an asset to our classroom. Over the course of her grade 6 year, she has taken on numerous roles in the classroom, around the school and in her own community, all while maintaining excellent grades, positive peer relationships and involvement in extracurricular activities. Jenna is also willing to help at a moment’s notice, often sacrificing her own break time to do so. She is trustworthy, reliable and she possesses strong leadership skills. Jenna selflessly volunteers her time all while maintaining excellent grades and involvement in extracurricular activities.

“Jenna consistently goes above and beyond what is expected. She has volunteered for numerous positions around the school, including lunchroom helper, safety patroller, office helper, pizza and nutrition for learning helper and morning announcer. She is committed to each role and has shown excellent commitment to each one.

“Jenna displays a maturity far beyond her 12 years. Her genuine concern for her classmates and peers encourages others to follow her example. Jenna is the first to include new students into her group and she will often seek out partnerships that allow her to work with a wide variety of her classmates. The patience and kindness she shows to her classmates is unmatched.

“Jenna strives to do her best with each new learning activity. She’s not afraid to take risks with her learning and she will often present a unique perspective on topics. She is fully engaged in the classroom activities and this is reflected in her excellent grades and learning skills.

“I could think of no one more deserving than Jenna to receive recognition for her kindness, involvement and dedication to her school community.”

Austin

Kirsten Carr and Craig Smith from Strong Start Charitable Organization nominated Austin with Kirsten writing:

“Optimist Club of Waterloo North’s Youth Appreciation opportunity has given me the chance to nominate our devoted volunteer, Austin. Strong Start welcomed Austin as a volunteer in 2016, when he was 14 years old. At the time, I was working with him, personally as an IBI Autism Therapist, assisting his social and academic growth. His family and I felt that the volunteer opportunity with Strong Start Charitable Organization, would connect him to other volunteers and staff, while providing support for his social development. This position gave him something to do in the summer and supported Strong Start’s need for consistent volunteers. In addition, it assisted with learning what he was capable of in a work type environment.

Austin volunteered every summer throughout high school, continuing to volunteer two times a week, since his graduation. He has participated in many distinct volunteer roles at Strong Start, most recently in our National Program Deployment Centre in Waterloo. He gave the gift of his time every summer, supporting kit checking for the Get Ready for School™ and the Letters, Sounds and Words™ programs. During COVID, Austin assisted Strong Start and the Get Ready for School program by assembling materials for our At-Home program.

Currently, Austin supports all three Strong Start programs. His work includes assembly of Baby Connection® participant bags, Get Ready for School activity bags and Letters, Sounds and Words materials. This includes the unpacking and sorting of thousands of activity and game pieces, assembling activity bags, washing toys, label and stuffing envelopes during our annual holiday mailer and regularly prepares the mailouts for our online trained Volunteers. He has also taken on the management of our weekly recycling and breaking down all cardboard.

Austin is excellent at sorting, labelling bags and assembling materials. He is friendly, reliable, dedicated, and independent. He is confident in his abilities, polite and he always has a smile on his face when he is here. He is known by everyone and has made significant strides in conversing with others in the office. He is an integral part of the Strong Start Volunteer team, and his continued commitment provides support for staff to work on other tasks. He is an important part of the 750 in 750 campaign team, providing much needed support for the Letters, Sounds and Words rapid expansion through his work unpacking materials and assembling activity bags that will go into the Kits for schools throughout Ontario.

Volunteering has provided Austin with a meaningful position, where he can find value, a sense of belonging and appreciation for his many talents. He is a welcomed addition to the workday, whenever he is in the office.