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2008-2009 LISTEN TO A LIFE CONTEST
GRAND PRIZE WINNER
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The Lenovo ThinkCentre
M Series Education Model computer is preloaded with the Adobe Digital School Collection (Adobe Acrobat Pro, Photoshop Elements, Premiere Elements, and Contribute) and Vital Source Library Edition. It has an Intel processor, 1 GB RAM, a 100 GB harddrive, DVD-CD combo drive, and comes with a 19-inch Lenovo ThinkVision flat-panel monitor. Lenovo also offers a variety of other quality notebook and desktop computer systems. Special pricing is available for schools. For more information, visit www.lenovo.com/k-12.
Orchard Software provides targeted instruction in math, reading, writing, language arts, and science for grades K-9. Combining formative and benchmark assessments aligned with state standards, motivating instruction, and qualitative data reporting, Orchard Software is the preferred choice for thousands of schools across the country looking to improve AYP. To learn more, visit www.orchardsoftware.com.
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Winner of 11 national awards including an International Reading Association Children's Choice, a Teachers' Choice, and the Pinnacle Award for Best Gift Book! The contest theme of hopes and dreams across a lifetime is inspired by the bestseller Dream: A Tale of Wonder, Wisdom & Wishes by Susan V. Bosak. 15 of the top illustrators in the world each offer a gorgeously illustrated page in a poetic, multilayered story about life's hopes and dreams, inspiring both children and adults. A great book to share in the classroom – from elementary to high school – Dream is also a popular gift book for children, teens, and adults. Find out more about Dream. |
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AND THE GRAND PRIZE WINNING TEAM IS... |
Kathy (Ziyue) Dai, 12,
and
her neighbor
Helen Simms, 72
This is Kathy's first year at Phillips Middle School in Chapel Hill, NC. Her family recently moved to the area. Kathy didn't know her neighbor, Helen Simms, until her teacher Lisa Joyner assigned students the project of interviewing an older person to find out about their life. Kathy is an outgoing, creative, hardworking student in grade 7. She is a competitive swimmer, and loves to read and write. She rewrote her essay ten times to make sure it was respectful and authentic to the life she was writing about.
Congratulations!
SHE HAD A DREAM
Human experience is a priceless treasure. With it, we can understand much more than what is right in front of us. Not appreciating these experiences is like casting a treasure trunk into the ocean, watching it sink into the murky depths.
When I rang Helen Marie Simms's doorbell, I was set for
a tedious game of question and answer. That was how I felt before she shared her life with me. I left with a lifetime of experiences to learn from and share.
In a single afternoon, I visited a different era in history. It was a time when everything balanced on one word: segregation. This was never a part of my reality, but a dark cloud upon hers. To be born to a black family at the peak of segregation cast an uncompromising shadow upon Helen's childhood. "No one ever said life would be fair. You take whatever you get and live it to its fullest." This motto inspired her work as a civil rights activist.
For Helen, opportunity didn't come around often. If you were lucky enough to catch it, you used it to your benefit. If you overlooked it, you had to work hard to get it back. "I just wanted the opportunity." We take advantage of it now, but it was a blessing to Helen, one that lifted her towards her medical career dreams. Living in a generation of endless opportunities, I have never thought about all we take for granted.
A few words shaped her life: To be more than farmers.
To be more than "that family of blacks." To contribute like any white person could. Those were her goals, her dreams, always bound from full potential by the cruel limits of color. Helen reached for them anyway.
Click here to read all the other winners
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