Hello my name is Kayla, and I have attended River for 6th, 7th and 8th grades. Although at times things were challenging, I have loved every second in this school.
If you were to ask me in the 6th grade if I thought I would be speaking to you right now, I would have said that there was no possible chance. I was too shy. And look at me now I am speaking to all of you. I was so shy in the beginning of 6th grade that I would rarely raise my hand in class, and I would only feel comfortable talking to people from my elementary school, and now I am still a bit shy but it is nothing compared to what I was three years ago. I think why I am able to do this right now is because of River School. Since almost everyone is accepting of people, I began to feel comfortable to speak up, and build more confidence in myself which is something that I have been working for my whole life. I have become the person that I am today, because of River and it has been a change for the better.
River School has changed the way I think, and I have learned that the basic classes such as language arts and math aren’t all of the education that needs to be learned, but to also learn about the global community and how things are interrelated, from the Egyptians we learned about in 6th grade, to the different cultures on the rivers in 7th grade, to learning about children who are in awful situations around the world in 8th grade.
One of the things that I very thankful about having gone to River School is that it has given me challenges. Because of meeting those challenges, I have become very proud of my work, and myself. I can’t thank River School enough for giving me those challenges that changed the way I think.
River School has opened up my mind so much, and it has also allowed me to think for myself. The main thing is that River school has opened up my mind, imagination and most importantly my heart. I am very thankful to have gone to this school, and to have met all these wonderful teachers and students. No other school could replace River for me and no one could replace the teachers and the students who make up River School. So thank you very much for making my three years the best three years of my life.
Thank you.