Amari is a student who always strives to give back to her teachers, classmates, and community. She goes above and beyond and is absolutely the kindest 5th grader I have ever met. Last year I had the honor of being Amari's teacher. She would always show these random acts of kindness to me and her classmates. For Valentine's Day she even made everyone a personalized bracelet. She is inclusive, thoughtful, kind, and humble. Today despite losing in our student elections, she stood at the dismissal gate telling all of the students who ran for student council "Good job! You had an amazing speech!"

Amari has such a positive attitude about school and life. I know that she will grow up to be an amazing leader and change people's lives one day because she is already doing it!

Last year Amari's mom chaperoned one of our overnight field trips and shared that Amari has always wished and asked for family and friends to donate to her community on her birthdays. One year she gathered her family to make blessing bags for the homeless, another year she gave back to a youth shelter, and another she gathered and donated items to an animal shelter.

Amari has no fear when going after her dreams. Once she sets her mind for accomplishing a goal she works hard to achieve it. She always maintains a positive attitude and pushes herself to greatness.

While she was in my class, she also developed a passion for basketball. Her parents signed her up for a team and in just one year is the top player with rebounds. She is now part of the program directors team because she out rebounded his whole team last season. Amari recently shared with me that she dreams to get a basketball scholarship and one day become a pediatrician. If there's anyone who is going to make her dreams become a reality, it's Amari!

Andrew serves the community through boy scouts by volunteering his time both at school (leading the school in the pledge to honor 9/11 victims) and making the community a better place by completing projects around Fullerton.

Damian Vargas is the smallest third grade boy in my classroom. He makes it his mission to joyfully reach out to other students whenever he sees they are in need of help or support. His compassion and empathy demonstrate wonderful humble examples of kindness to those around him. Damian's helpful attitude and resourceful nature come from a strong commitment to his family. His mother developed a large brain tumor when he was just an infant. The brain tumor went undetected she had a massive seizure and slipped into a coma for many months. The prognosis and surgery was devastating to the family. For months they watched, not knowing what her outcome would be. Finally, when she did regain consciousness, she had brain damage, suffered speech loss, and muscle paralysis. As Damian started to grow, he saw his mother fighting to regain her ability to walk and lift her arms; she learned how to speak and communicate again-- all from a wheel chair. Damian learned how to care for his mother by watching his grandmother, who at the time, was helping the family care for his mother. When Damian's grandmother developed Covid, and later Alzheimers, Damian at that time, a second grader, stepped in to help. He is now his mother's primary care giver--all while continuing to demonstrate an immense amount of effort in the classroom. He is an excellent example of a child with personality as big as his heart.

Daniel is studious, always on time and does his homework. He deeply enjoys and has a unique talent in his wood shop elective class.

Daniel Fischman is also resilient and hardworking. He is responsible and shows great care in his studies. He is the first in study skills to ask about completing homework (which most students do not ask at all). He shows great interest and enjoyment in his wood shop elective class. It will be awesome to see what he creates in wood shop this year.

Delilah Hamlin has a dream to start a nonprofit organization where 100% of the proceeds goes to help finding a cure for children fighting cancer. When she saw how painful treatments were for her own brother, she knew that the nausea, pain, and allergic reactions to some of the medications would go away with her will to enact change--a cure!

James (Jimmy), has been an avid LEGO builder for 6 years and founded and ran a LEGO business for over a year. He is actively looking to grow his LEGO business and even expand it to BrickLink (the largest fan-run LEGO marketplace online) or ebay. He sees himself creating with LEGOs for a long time.

Karis lives and breathes the game of soccer. Her dream is to one day play on the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. Her love for soccer started at the young age of 3. She now plays in an exclusive girls’ soccer club called SoCal Blues. Her team ranked #1 in their ECNL league last year and currently stands as the #2 girls' team in the nation for her age group. ECNL stands for Elite Clubs National League, a top league-based platform for girls. Karis has an incredible work ethic. Her drive to work hard and her continuous pursuit of excellence has led to numerous soccer scouts complimenting her on her performance after games. She has been invited three times to ODP, an Olympic Development Program and was recently invited to PDP, a Player Development Program. These are exclusive invitations where they have identified elite players to train and compete against some of the best players from all over the country. However, the most exciting opportunity Karis very recently received was an invitation by the U.S. Youth National Team to one of their identification centers in L.A. This is a HUGE honor for any teenager dreaming of one day playing soccer professionally! Besides Karis’ hard work on the soccer field, she translates that same work ethic and strong character off the field as well. She’s currently getting straight A’s in school and has a caring heart for younger kids. A few years ago, Karis and her family traveled to China for a service project. They stayed for one week working at an orphanage with mentally disabled children. Karis played and loved on the kids each and every day. They absolutely adored her! This past summer, Karis volunteered a weekend in Mexico also playing with kids from an orphanage, passed food out to the local community, and helped paint walls for a new building that was built for the orphanage. Karis’ dream of one day being on the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team may not be far off as she continues to train for this game that she loves with passion, sacrifice, and an unbelievable work ethic. Karis will undoubtedly succeed in whatever she dreams because she possesses a determination to never stop learning and improving herself, both on and off the field.

Sara is actively involved in several community activities as well as an active student at Woodcrest Elementary. Sara has performed in the local musical Mogli last year. She won first prize in a local painting contest for her submission. Sara also sings at her church. Sara also plays the piano. Sara loves trying new things as she is now the anchor for the new Woodcrest Student News Channel. She is a very outgoing and active student that loves trying new things and expanding her skills when she can. 

Hayul (Viviana) is a wonderful student who has been in Speech and Debate for the past three years. She loves to compete in Speech and Debate competitions so that she can share her opinions on important topics that she is passionate about. She used to be very shy but by being in Speech and Debate, she has gained confidence and is not afraid to share her thoughts on various subjects. She wants to continue this passion and be on the Speech and Debate team throughout her high school career.

Advocating for Animal Welfare. Whenever she is given a chance to write an informative or persuasive essay, she always chooses to go with advocating for animal welfare because she knows that she can inform/persuade her teacher/audience about protecting animals, which in turn, leads to them to informing others. She also enjoys helping out at her local veterinarian hospital to provide good care for sick animals. To have a love for animals is her passion so they can live a long life. 

Whammy is an entrepreneur at heart! He has created multiple small businesses throughout the Golden Hill community. He works to collect food donations for shelters and local churches. He is the President of the GH student council, and has devoted his life up to this point to the service of others.