How You Leave

Inspirational Words for 8th Graders"
at Albany Preparatory Charter School
June 8, 2012

by Antonio Booth

Did you know that people will remember two things about you? They will remember how you started and how you ended.

The most important memory that we will have of you is how you completed your year. Did you finish strong? Or, did you wimp out? Did you give up easily? Or, did you persevere in spite of the challenges you faced?

Throughout this year we have worked hard to help you finish strong. We presented challenges so that you could learn to persevere and not give up. You were the first group of eighth graders that had to complete twenty hours of community service. You were the first group of eighth graders that had to use Microsoft Publisher to create and document your personal project.  

Did you wimp out from these challenges? Some of you wanted to; but we refused to let you. Some of you fussed about completing twenty hours of volunteer time, but we helped you find meaningful ways of fulfilling your obligation. We are proud that you fed the homeless at Interfaith Homeless Shelter. We are proud that you helped clean parks in the South End Neighborhood. We are proud that you participated in the Juvenile Diabetes Walk. We are proud that many of you participated in raising money for our neighbors on Park Avenue who lost their homes due to a fire.

Parents, many of our students found volunteer work on their own. For example:

·         Donovan chose to help Schoharie County hurricane victims clean out their homes. He made a PowerPoint to show our sixth graders about the impact of Hurricane Irene

·         Anthony is busy volunteering at Pine Bush Discovery Center.

·         Jessica Mitchell and Diamond Magwood finished their volunteer work before school began.

·         Faith has volunteered over two hundred hours fostering pit bulls.

·         Pre-Shea helps with a church soup kitchen almost every Saturday.

·         Michael handles the video and sound system at his church.

·         Devon spent her summer vacation in the Dominica planting trees at a National Forest.

·         Tabitha, Shanell, Micheaude, Destiny, Natasha and Hector organized a dance to raise money for breast cancer.

·         Taquee and Marquis and Aubrey collected stuff animals to help kids who faced abuse.

·         Our students baked at least five hundred cookies and made over 300 sandwiches for the Albany City Mission.

·         Some of them volunteered at the New York State Museum.

Eighth graders, when you look at the end of this past year you should be proud at how you finished your eighth grade year. You finished strong. You did not wimp out. You did not give up. This is how your teachers and administration will remember you.

This is your last year at Albany Preparatory Charter School. Today will be your last memory of matriculating at Albany Prep. It is a positive memory because you did what it took to make it to the finish line.

Next year you will be starting a new adventure. You will be in high school. At Green Tech you will be told that you will have to complete 100 hours of volunteer work by the time you graduate. At Purple Tech you will have to complete 150 hours of community service before graduating. At Albany High you will be demanded to stay in class and encouraged to take rigorous courses to prepare you for college. Whatever high school you enter, demands will be made upon you about your behavior and academic standards.

Will you start strong in your ninth grade year? Will finish strong in your twelfth grade year?

Will you accept the academic challenges of high school or will you give up?

Start strong
Finish strong- even if the work is difficult!

Start strong
Finish strong- even when you feel you cannot do the work

Start strong

Finish strong – even when you do not make the grades that others do

Start strong
Finish strong- even if you have to get someone to tutor you

Life’s race is never to the swift or the fastest. The winner of the race is always the one who perseveres to the end.

An African Olympic runner participated in the summer Olympics in Mexico. When he was running in the race, he fell and dislocated his knee. Instead of stopping and throwing in the towel he continued hobbling. He was the last man to finish the race. The crowd saw him hobbling over the finish line and gave him a standing ovation.  Later he was asked why he did not quit because he was injured. He said, “My country did not send me five thousand miles to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.

Albany Prep eighth graders your teachers, your parents and the administration have not invested all of our time and energy in getting you prepared for high school for your to simply to start high school. We expect you to finish high school.

Start strong!

Finish strong!
Start strong!

Finish strong!

How you start and how you end will be the two things that people will remember about you.

Start strong!
Finish strong!

   ___________________________________________________

Have you been asked to speak at a special ocassion?

Perhaps this message will inspire you.
If you would like me to speak at a special ocassion contact me at bootha@juno.com

Antonio Booth

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