Friday morning Annabella, (my daughter) Regina (my best friend that drove in from TX), and I walked into the Southeast Middle School front office. Everywhere you looked you saw students in PINK! No, not just the girls but the boys as well. Teachers were wearing their shirts that I had created and the kids together looked like a sea of pink.
As the students went through the breakfast line teachers and Annabella walked around with PINK jack-o-lantern buckets that the students put more money into. One student who didn’t have much money gave all the money that he had… $0.06 and he gave it with every bit of pride that his heart could stand. It almost brought me to tears because he was truly giving!
As they filed into the gym you could see the pride on the students faces because they knew they had done something tremendous.
The ceremony started off with a 7th grade student, named Megan Sharp, reading a poem for the 1,000+ people that she had written about cancer. It was a beautiful poem and the students cheered with so much enthusiasm because one of their own had created something so inspiring.
After that my mother, Mollee Vicknair spoke to the students thanking them for all that they had done. In that gym were 938 "inner city" students, that most people consider a statistic, sitting there SILENT! They were respectful and considerate beyond anyone’s expectations. It was so quiet that you literally could have heard a pin drop. At that moment they knew they were listening to a woman that they had just helped. They knew right there and then that they had made a difference in her life.
Those 938 "inner city" students, that people only hear bad things about...had just done something close to a miracle. After my mother finished speaking she received an extremely loud, almost deafening round of applause, and some of the students even stood up to support her.
Next followed, Janet Dewey-Kollen, Executive Director Baton Rouge Affiliate Susan G. Komen for the Cure, spoke to the students. She reinforced how impressed that she was by the students determination to achieve this tremendous goal.
Finally it was time for me to lose my hair. I promised the students that one of them would be able to cut 10 inches off my hair to donate to someone that had lost their hair due to chemo. The name was drawn and DeJah Joseph, an 8th grade girl, was chosen to do the cutting. I had taught DeJah last year so I knew (or thought) my hair was in good hands. The students cheered as she asked them if they were ready. They started to yell “Cut it, cut it” as Annabella bobbed her head in rhythm with the chant.
A second later I heard…SNIP, SNIP, SNIP! Then it was over. I had fulfilled my promise and so had my students. The only little issue was, that DeJah hadn’t cut it straight! 10 inches off the right side, 12 inches off the left side, and 14 inches off the back. YEP…14 inches off the back!!! J
It was well worth it and I would do it again all over. That day I realized how proud I am to be a teacher. I realized how proud I am to work at Southeast Middle School where the teachers not only fosters their education, but their spirits. I realized that I LOVED all 938 students that made this possible and that they will always be my kids, not my students…MY KIDS!!
So, to those of you that consider my kids only a statistic…THINK AGAIN!! Because in 2 weeks they have raised almost $6,000 and we are more than half way to our goal of $10,000. They are making a difference in the fight against Breast Cancer!
And to those of you that have donated online on behalf of our students... I THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!
These children have shown us heart, courage, and determination which are all qualities that we need more of in this world.
The students at Southeast Middle School are creating the change that we want to see in this world. Please help encourage them in any way that you can.
To Donate go to: Http://BatonRouge.info-Komen.org/goto/BRKidsFightingCancer
A very proud teacher,
Ms. Perk
Before
After
De'Jah cutting my hair extremely uneven ;)
My mother speaking to the students as they sat silently listening!
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