8th GRADE GRADUATION

Yesterday Grace delivered a speech she wrote at the eighth grade awards ceremony. Since I have writer's block this week I am going to publish her speech which allows me to take a break from my own writing AND brag on my kid. It's a two-fer! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!
Attea, by the way, is the name of Grace's school.


The Alphabet of Attea
by Grace Ludwig



Attea is like the alphabet. Many letters, or people in Attea’s case, make up a whole. Each one is different, and contributes in their own way. Some people, and some letters, speak out often, and others only shine once in a while. A few choose to make their appearance only when brought together with another person or letter, and others want to be left alone. Attea is an alphabet in its own way.

A is for awesome. If I could describe Attea in one word, I would choose awesome. Attea is awesome for many reasons, all of which you will hear within the rest of the alphabet.
B is for boring. Yes, occasionally the learning part of school can get a bit boring.
C is for choir, band, and orchestra. I know not every student participated in these activities, but I can name many occasions when my friends and I laughed at Mrs. Reatherford pretending to be mad at us, or Ms. Monastaro’s juicy stories.
D is for drama. And I don’t mean in just Mr. Luongo’s class. I’m talkin’ boys asking girls out, break ups and makeups, friend fights and more, all of which you can find in the halls of Attea.
E is for education. After all, to get an education is the reason we go to school in the first place!
F is for friends. I cannot even begin to name all the amazing friends I have met and had great times with at Attea.
G is for gym class. I would be the first to tell you I’m terrible at sports, so that’s obviously not the reason I enjoyed gym class. What I enjoyed most was the laughs over missed baskets and un-caught baseballs.
H is for the hall way. I’m sure everyone has had some funny, strange, or even awkward moments in the hallway, and I’m positive these moments will continue throughout our years in high school.
I is for immature. Really? 8th graders are immature? You ask. But yes in fact, all 8th graders are immature. No matter how grown up or mature they seem to adults, every 13 or 14 year old has those funny thoughts in their head when a teacher says we need to complete our duties.
J is for the jokes and laughs that are always about the same thing but never get old.
K is for knowledge. The knowledge our teachers have is incredible, and we take advantage of it. Throughout my middle school years I have learned that not everyone knows as much as our teachers and they’re only trying to share what they know with us.
L is for lunch. I will never forget the cafeteria and how we were all so convinced in 5th grade lunch would be so much more fun. It turns out; lunch was almost the exact same experience. It was very enjoyable, and will most likely be a similar experience next year.
M is for magnificent. Magnificent would be the second word I would use to describe Attea and all of the memories I have had here.
N is for new. In 6th grade, everything at Attea was new, to all of us. But now it is not so new, and we’re all ready for new experiences and a new environment.
O is for Officer Smith. I will always remember Officer Smith, and the big kid he was on the inside even if he wasn’t so much on the outside!
P is for potato chowder, which Mr. Woell enthusiastically presented to us during the announcements every week.
Q is for quick change. And not just changing into our gym clothes, but also adapting to our new schedule, lockers, teachers, and more.
R is for recess which included short but sweet moments with my best friends, usually taking place in the sun or woodchips.
S is for socializing. Students at Attea have wasted a large amount of time socializing. But school isn’t just a place for learning; it’s also a place to make friendships that could last for the same amount of time that you know your multiplication facts-forever.
T is for all the teachers I have had at Attea, which have taught me new skills and valuable lessons.
U is for unable to get enough sleep. If there is one thing I would go back and change, it would be to skip those late night Facebook chats and get a few extra minutes of sleep.
V is for victorious. All of us have conquered the battle of middle school, and are ready for a new challenge.
W is for hard work which, as 8th graders, we all deserve a little credit for, but instead we will gladly take the satisfaction of a good grade or score.
X is for x(ex)periences. The experiences I’ve had with everyone I’ve met at Attea have been good and bad, but I know through these experiences, I’ve been changed for the better.
Y is for the youth that will never grow out of us. I believe that every person over the age of 14 still has an 8th grade part of them on the inside
Z is for zero moments of unhappiness. We all have those days when you wake up feel like its going to be a bad day, but members of the Attea alphabet always help each other to feel excellent by 3 o’clock.

Attea is an alphabet. Teachers make up the most important letters, or the vowels, and students are like the consonants. Each letter is important and without it, the alphabet wouldn’t be complete. But most importantly, Attea is like an alphabet, each letter is unique.