]]> http://wamash.com/2010/04/mrs-baldwins-booktalks-spring/feed/ 0 http://wamash.com/2010/04/bones/ http://wamash.com/2010/04/bones/#comments Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:40:31 +0000 mrsmith http://wamash.com/?p=3638

How do you remember 19 bones and 4 joints in 7th grade? Through Music! Have a listen.

Bones Song by Susie Shepardson

Mrs. Anderson’s 7th Grade Science Class

There will be four groups of 8th grade students all led by Outward Bound staff and one Worcester Academy Faculty chaperone. Each chaperone will be blogging via their cell phones to the following blogs. Please follow along as the 8th grade class navigates their way through New York City this week.

• Mr. Smith’s Crew
• Ms. Hale’s Crew
• Mrs. Clark’s Crew
• Ms. Iaccarino’s Crew

Salifu Kamara speaks to the eighth grade.

By Molly R.

The class of 2014 just finished reading the book A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah, the story of Beah’s journey as a child soldier during the civil war in Sierra Leone as part of our African Connections unit. We were fortunate to have Salifu Kamara, another former boy soldier from Sierra Leone, come to talk to us on March 31.

The room was silent. The air was thick. We all were waiting for Salifu Kamara to speak. At first glance Salifu looks like the average college student: collared shirt and tie with a leg injury forcing him on crutches. But Salifu is far from average, for hiding behind his eyes is the haunting past of his childhood.

Salifu grew up in Sierra Leone during the civil war. He grew up in a poor house on a small farm where he had no bed and little education. But nonetheless he was happy. He would play soccer for hours on end like any other African child. When Salifu was nine, the army rebels came to his village and destroyed everything he once knew. He watched his family die, his sisters get raped, and his life change forever. Salifu became a child soldier in the rebel army at the age of nine.

While most nine-year-old children are learning how to multiply and do long division, Salifu was learning how to use a gun and how to kill. He stayed with the rebel group for about two months, making little friends along the way. The one boy Salifu was able to connect to was gruesomely ambushed while sitting next to Kamara. If there’s one thing Salifu remembers about being in the rebels’ army is that he was taught to be forceful, and was taught to kill. “My gun was my everything.” Salifu described, “Without it, you were gone.” Salifu didn’t even know what he was fighting for. It wasn’t until his arrival in the United States that he learned the war was over diamonds.

After running away from his fellow comrades, Salifu went into hiding, yet still acted as a rebel by being forceful. Not a day went by that Kamara didn’t think to himself and say, “Today I could die.” Salifu wasn’t able to escape Sierra Leone until three years ago; when he was 20 years old, he came to the United States with a few friends. Since his arrival he has been attending Clark University in Worcester, MA and enjoys speaking publically to raise the awareness of the plight of child soldiers that still exist across the world.

“Glory I lost in childhood I will regain,” Salifu says. Salifu is still haunted by his past but he’s striving to move on and make a brighter tomorrow. He likes to publicly speak in front of the younger generations to help make a difference for future child soldiers. Yet as positive as Salifu strives to be there are still moments were he becomes truly depressed. He says, “On parents day for Clark University all my friends would come introduce their families to me. Oh this is my mother and father, they would say. And I was happy for them. I was. But afterwards I went to my room, thought about my own family and cried.” At a young age Salifu was deprived of the one thing everybody needs – love. He was never able to have his mother hold him when he was scared, or tell him it was going to be okay. He had to make do for himself. “Love was forcefully taken from me,” he acknowledges. Having survived through Sierra Leone’s living Hell, Salifu has twelve goals he emphasizes people to strive for:

1. Love others as you love yourself.
2. Give to others.
3. See others for who they really are.
4. Rejoice through suffers
5. Never laugh at others
6. Be mindful
7. You can always find your way
8. Be vigilant
9. Give hope by loving others
10. Be the first voice to say no, fight for freedom from inequality
11. Be the change you want
12. Love always deeply and be there for others.

Salifu Kamara is one of the most inspirational people I have ever seen. Even throughout all his daily challenges, adapting to American culture and walking on crutches, he strives to be a good person. When people ask how he managed to turn his life around he simply replies, “I don’t know…God?” or “God brought me here.” Salifu is trying to forget the past. The people he knows from Sierra Leone he considers to be a part of his family, greeting them by “brother.” Yet the former child soldier has no desire to return to his homeland: “The trust is gone, I’m afraid if I return the rebels will show up again, burning down houses and the violence will be back.” Salifu refuses to read the book A Long Way Gone, and even though he is friends with the author, they never talk about their experiences or Sierra Leone.

Salifu Kamara is an amazing person. His personal strength and ability to love is something we should all strive for. The major issue he stressed during the presentation was your ability to love. “Just hug a child and say I love you. Kids need to be protected, and we all still need love.” Salifu has gone through hardships that my worst nightmares can’t even compare to. To embrace the world alone, with no family, is a scary thought. Yet somehow Salifu managed to overcome seeing the world at its worst, seeing suffering, villages burned, gruesome sins and his whole family gone. Salifu finds comfort in speaking publicly for he feels that the more he can educate younger generations the higher chance change will come.

When Salifu was finished with his inspiring speech, the air was once again thick and everybody sighed in relief and counted their blessings. With a thunderous applause, I think its safe to second what Salifu said and say that, “My heart is with all of Sierra Leone’s surviving refugees.”

Photo Credit: Peter Smith

The winners from Worcester Academy are:

• Ashay Athalye
• Cameron Smith
• Julian Kallanian
• Sidharth Sadhujan
• Danae Alexandrou
• Alyssa LaCoy

Mrs. Carter’s 7th grade advisees spent some time this week creating Valentines for residents at the Radius Health Care Nursing Home near our campus.  These masterpieces will surely bring a smile to the faces of some of our senior citizens.

Here is a brief look at some of the sports offered in the Middle School for the Winter Season.

Boys’ Basketball

The Worcester Academy Middle School Boys’ Basketball Team ended a great season last year; however, with new eight graders coming back, they have greater skills. Sam Joaquin, an eighth grader, thinks that the team will have great chemistry this year due to the eight graders, who are great leaders on the court.

When interviewed, Sam Joaquin, told us that he is excited for the up coming season and to play with his friends.  Joaquin also predicts a good season for their team, due to all the new players coming in. Sam, a“6 foot 2 monster”, says that he has a lot of trust in his eight grade teammates to lead the team to victory.

Girls’ Basketball

Worcester Academy Middle School Girls’ basketball team is currently 7-1.  The team’s captains are Alex Radel and Carly Heman. They practice four, hard times, a   week, with many drills. Many new girls to the team do not know what to during these complicated drills. Their coach, Mr. McCarthy, tries to bring drills and hard aggression to the team. The team brings great enthusiasm to every game and they give it 100 percent.   Girls’ Basketball plans on finishing the season with as many wins as possible and on bringing great success to the Middle School.

Wrestling Team

The Worcester Academy Wrestling team is having a rough start to the season going 0-3; however, they never give up and never surrender. The team is led by Byron Leigh and Johnston Wheeler, who bring experience and leadership to the mat. While some wrestlers are new to the sport, others are experienced, such as Aman “the darkness,” Byron “the freak” Leigh, Johnston “Philipe” Wheeler, Connor McCarthy, and Chris “Snappy” Hunter. The team has and will always bounce back from any loss and come back determined for victory.

During the winter months, the 6th graders in Mrs. Baldwin’s English class each chose a fiction independent read book. After completing the book, a list of eight possible projects was given to the students. The completed projects were presented in class. Click here to view the projects… and enjoy!

The NFL postseason has arrived and the teams in AFC (America Football conference) are the Indianapolis Colts (14-2) who are the number one seed (they face the lowest winning seed) and The San Diego Chargers (13-3) are the number two seed (they face the highest winning seed). The wild card teams are the New York Jets (9-7), the Cincinnati Bengals (10-6), the New England Patriots (10-6), and the Baltimore Ravens (9-7).

The first game in the wild card was the New York Jets against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Jets had some luck as the Bengal’s kicker, Shayne Graham, missed two field goals. Shonn Green was a big impact as he had 135 yards with one touchdown. Dustin Keller had 3 catches, 99 yard, and 1 touchdown. Pro-bowler Darrelle Revis covered Chad Ochocinco (the Bengals best wide receiver) that gave Carson Palmer (QB) few options to throw to which led to an interception. Mark Sanchez (Jets QB) had 182 yards throwing with one touchdown. The Jets beat the Bengals for a 24-14-win. They go to the divisional round. Then the Patriots squared off against the Ravens. Ray Rice ran 83 yards for a touchdown on the first play at the line of scrimmage. The Ravens scored 24 points in the first quarter. Wes Welker was out with an injury and Welker was a huge part of the Patriots offense. He usually was thrown to on third downs. Lots of cornerbacks tried to stop, but could not. Tom Brady feeling pressure was intercepted 3 times. The Ravens beat the Patriots at home for a 33-14 win to face the Colts.

In the divisional round, the New York Jets play the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers had a 7-point lead in halftime. Nate Kaeding missed 3 field goals, which broke his record of missing a field goal of 40 yards or less. Phillip River (Chargers QB) was intercepted 2 times, but had 298 yards in the air. Shonn Green once again had 23 carries, 128 yards, with 1 touchdown. Mark Sanchez was intercepted once with 100 yards in the air. The Jets came back and beat the Chargers 17-14 and they would go to the championship game. The Colts had to face the red-hot Ravens. The Colts offense did very well against the Ravens defense. The Ravens offense turned over the ball more than 3 times. Peyton Manning (Colts QB) had one interception, with 246 yards in the air. He had 2 touchdown throws. The Ravens didn’t get anything productive as the Colts defense’s speed stopped both the running and the throwing game. The Colts beat the Ravens 20-3. The Colts would go to the championship game.

In the championship game the Colts were up against the number one defense in the league. At first the Jets defense were out playing the Colts and the offense was attacking in every different direction. Just in the second quarter Mark Sanches (QB) threw to Braylon Edwards and he ran it all the way. Then when the Jets had the game going well for them, Peyton Manning (Colts QB) figured out the defense. He threw to Pierre Garcon for a touchdown. After a field goal and another touchdown the game was sealed, as the Mark Sanchez was intercepted. The Colts beat the Jets 30-17 for a victorious golden ticket to the Super Bowl for the second time this decade.

In the NFC (National Football Conference) the teams are the New Orleans Saints (13-3) who are number one seed (they face the lowest winning seed) and the Minnesota Vikings (12-4) are number two seed (they face the highest winning seed). The wild card teams are the Dallas Cowboys (11-5), Philadelphia Eagles (11-5), Arizona Cardinals (10-6), and the Green Bay Packers (11-5).

First, the Dallas Cowboys faced the Philadelphia Eagles. Felix Jones with 16 carries for 148 and 1 touchdown. Tony Romo had 244 yards with 2 touchdowns. The Cowboys beat the Eagles 34-14 and they go to the divisional round. The Arizona Cardinals took on the Green Bay Packers. Both defenses couldn’t stop the offenses. They went into overtime as a 45-45 score. In overtime, strangely the Arizona Cardinals defense came up and forced fumble Aaron Rodgers. Karlos Dansby picked the football up and ran it all the way. The Cardinals go to the divisional round.

In the divisional round, the Vikings faced the Cowboys. Sydney Rice with 3 touchdowns. Brett Favre had 234 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Vikings beat the Cowboys 34-3 and go to the championship game. The Saints faced the Cardinals. Tim Hightower got a touchdown on the first play, but the Saints gave a proficient answer with a touchdown drive. Warner got hurt and the Cardinals couldn’t recover. The Saints went to the champion ship game with a win 45-14.

The Vikings and the Saints faced off for a glorious Super Bowl ticket. The Vikings were outplaying the Saints, but the Saints responded to every touchdown. The game was tied 28-28 and one throw from Brett Favre would get in field goal range. He threw and was intercepted. Now the officials say that it should have been flagged and the interception canceled. The teams went into overtime. The Saints scored a field goal for a 31-28 win. The Saints go to the Super Bowl for the first time in history.