My Mother's Day wish....

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

My mom is helpful, nice and intelligent

As well as understanding, whole-hearted, and patient

My mom is a great cook

And she doesn't need help from a book

As well as that, she always cleans

And about it, she is never mean

Another thing my mother does is teach

Even when I think the subject is out of reach

Sometimes, when I'm angry, I think she doesn't do anything

But really, I know that she does everything

Sincerely

Abhijit

D.A.R.E (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program

D.A.R.E. is an American program that all 5th graders in the U.S. do. It is a ten – week course. Some responsible people teach the students about drugs, how to avoid them, how to avoid violence, and peer and personal pressure. The students graduate after D.A.R.E. is over.

I took part in D.A.R.E. this year. My teacher was a Milpitas police officer named officer Kevin Jackson. He taught us a lot of things. One of the things he taught us about was the D.A.R.E. Decision-Making Model and how to use it. He also taught us about tobacco, marijuana, alcohol, and another drug called meth. He told us about how you knew someone was your friend. He also told us about laws regulating drugs. We had D.A.R.E. on every Thursday. Officer Jackson was a really nice and funny instructor. He also let us see his police car.s

We had to make two things for D.A.R.E. The first was an essay and the second was a poster. I made my poster really colorful. I also put some short phrases on it. I typed my essay. I wrote a five paragraph essay. The body of my essay was made of three main things. This is a copy of my essay:

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DARE Report

This is my DARE report. I’m going to write about 3 things I learned during DARE. I will write about peer pressure. I will describe some harmful drugs. I will also describe a few of the dangers of harmful drugs.

Peer pressure has many forms. Sometimes, it is positive. Sometimes, it is negative. Peer pressure can come from anyone. Your parents can positively pressure you to do your homework. A stranger can negatively pressure you to buy harmful drugs. In most cases, though, it doesn’t matter about who pressured you to do what, because your decisions mostly affect only you.

There are many types of drugs with negative effects. Some, like marijuana and tobacco, contain ridiculous amounts of poisons. Some, like alcohol, are extremely addictive. Some, like meth, are toxic and volatile. All the drugs I just mentioned destroy every major organ in the human body and cause certain death. No one should use drugs that have this many negative effects.

Using drugs attracts many dangers, such as the two I just mentioned to you. They cause cancer and coma. You can get addicted to them. You die the first time you use a dangerous drug. You can get addicted to a dangerous drug the first time you use it. You can even die before you use a certain drug. These are just a few of the negative effects dangerous drugs have.

I’ve learned a lot during DARE. I’ve learned about some harmful drugs. I know about peer pressure. I know about some negative effects of harmful drugs. I make a pledge to never use harmful and potentially dangerous drugs and I will educate others on why not to use those drugs.

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We also had to learn a song called the D.A.R.E. Song. We sung it at our DA.R.E. graduation.

The D.A.R.E. graduation was really exciting. Still I was a bit sad because we would be done with D.A.R.E. We were the last graduating school of the year. The D.A.R.E. graduation even got televised. It was a really exciting event.

There were 4 awards given to each class at the D.A.R.E. graduation. They are the Best Poster Award, the Best Essay Award, the Most Inspirational Award, and the D.A.R.E. Top Student. I was really excited and surprised when I got called up for the Most Inspirational Award. I really wanted to get it. I was given a medal and a certificate. I thought it was a huge achievement and an ultimate honor.

A few days later, I got a personal, handwritten letter from Milpitas, my town's chief of police, and the father of one of by schoolmates, D.A.R.E. graduate, and acquaintance (Nathan Graham), Chief Dennis Graham!

It congratulated me on earning the award. I was really happy. I've never got a personal, hand-written letter. It was a great honor to get the letter. On the whole it was a great experience and life lesson.

Interview with my beloved teacher

For the end of the year edition of the school newspaper, I got to interview a teacher of our school. It really felt good to interview my former teacher, Mrs. Main. She taught me 2 years ago. For the interview, I had to schedule a time. Then I had to go to her classroom after school. I had to ask her some mandatory questions and some questions of my own. I wrote this interview report for the Marshall Pomeroy Elementary School Newspaper.

A Quick Interview With Mrs.Kathryn Main
By: Abhijit Ramaprasad

Abhi: Mrs. Main, can you tell us about your profession?
Mrs. Main: I’m a 2nd and 3rd grade teacher here at Marshall Pomeroy Elementary School.
Abhi: How long have you been teaching?
Mrs. Main: I’ve been teaching for 39 years.
Abhi: What are your responsibilities her at Pomeroy School?
Mrs. Main: I have to teach students academics and important life lessons.
Abhi: What skills do you need?
Mrs. Main: I have to be patient and motivate, lead, and inspire my students.
Abhi: What are some positive parts if your job?
Mrs. Main: Getting to teach children things they need to know for life.
Abhi: What are the negative points about your job?
Mrs. Main: I don’t think there are any negative points.
Abhi: Would you recommend this job to others?
Mrs. Main: Absolutely.
Abhi: Why would you recommend this job to others?
Mrs. Main: I think it’s is a great thing to do. It needs commitment and enthusiasm, and it rewards you with happiness.
Abhi: Can you tell us about your education?
Mrs. Main: I was in college for many years. I have a bachelor’s degree in teaching. I also have the required teaching credentials. I also took many extra classes in college.
Abhi: Can you tell us about some travel experiences?
Mrs. Main: I’ve been to Seattle, Washington, South America, Europe, and Mexico.
Abhi: Tell us about one of your interests.
Mrs. Main: I enjoy seeing my grandchildren, Atticus and Sebastian.
Abhi: Can you tell us about some other family members?
Mrs. Main: Other members of my family include my sons, Jeremy and Andrew, and my daughter in law, Bethany.
Abhi: How do you feel when an old student comes and visits you?
Mrs. Main: I really enjoy it. Once, a student of mine came to show me his report card. I really liked it. I like remembering the past.
Abhi: Do you want to say anything to the students here at Marshall Pomeroy Elementary School?
Mrs. Main: “Pomeroy is excitement personified”.

Mrs. Main is retiring this year, many years after she started teaching in 1970. Many of us, especially her old students, will miss her. Pomeroy staff and students would like to wish her a peaceful and active retired life.