Six students receive Do The Right Thing awards
The Cape Coral Police Department hosted its Do The Right Thing Student Recognition Awards ceremony for the month of March Wednesday at City Hall. The following students were recognized for their positive attitudes towards school and family, their healthy decisions regarding drugs and violence, as well as their good citizenship.
Overall winner
Signe Thomas, 12th grade, Mariner High, daughter of Bill and Eula Thomas
Signe created an “Adopt-a-Grandparent Program” for the Rehabilitation and Health Care Center of Cape Coral. Her inspiration for the project came from a resident she met a year ago when she saw an advertisement for artwork. When she went to see it, she met the artist, a resident there, and spent the afternoon talking with him. She saw his loneliness and soon realized that she could easily fulfill this unmet need. She visited him several times before noticing that other residents also looked forward to her visits. According to Signe, “when I find a project that is a good cause, one of the first things I do is spread the word about it.” Soon Signe had 20 peers from her school making visitations to their “adopted” grandparents. Signe states, “every minute I spend is repaid tenfold. Seeing one of their faces light up when a student volunteer walks through the door is worth all the effort involved.”
Max Fisher, 6th grade, Gulf Middle, son of Matthew and Wanda Fisher
Max is being recognized for his honesty. He went to his gym teacher with a wad of several folded up dollar bills that he found in the hall. He told his teacher that it looked like a lot of money because the bill on top was a $20. The teacher took the money and when he unfolded it, there was also a $50 bill inside. Max had found over $70 of cash and didn’t think twice about doing the right thing with it. Needless to say, when the owner was located, he was extremely thankful for Max’s integrity.
Kyleigh Hardcastle, 8th grade, Challenger Middle, daughter of David and Melanie Hardcastle
Challenger Middle collects money for a program called Kristy’s Kids which purchases food and gifts for disadvantaged kids. Kyleigh devoted every day to this program for three weeks manning the collection table and keeping track of student donations and encouraging her peers to give to this cause. She frequently asks, “What else can I do?” In December, when the tragic death took place in Cape Coral of one of her schoolmates, Kyleigh took over the memorial fund project for the school and manned the collection table each day.
Carlos Goodman, 6th grade, Oasis Middle, son of James and Tamara Good-man
One day not long ago when school was closed for a day, Carlos stayed home with his 95-year-old grandmother while his mom and dad were at work. At about 10:30 in the morning, the emergency alarm in the condo sounded and the residents were instructed to evacuate the building. Without hesitation, Carlos prepared his grandmother and the family dog for the five-story journey down the emergency fire stairwell. As the three of them descended, Carlos would take the dog down a full flight of stairs and secure him then run back up and carry his grandma’s walker down, then return to help his grandmother down to the next landing. This evacuation procedure continued for five flights. When the three of them finally reached ground level, they found out it was a false alarm. When Carlos was asked later why he didn’t take the elevator down, he responded, “What if it was a real fire?”
Constance Adams, 6th grade, Challenger Middle, daughter of William and Rosemarie Adams
Challenger Middle School has a student, Kay, with Down’s syndrome. Without ever having been asked, CJ has taken Kay under her wing and helps her to get her homework assignments and objectives written into her daily planner. She then helps Kay to complete her assignments and makes sure she is involved in class activity. If Kay is struggling with content, CJ brings it to the attention of her teacher. Daily, she rephrases most lessons to assure that Kay understands. After class, CJ shows a great deal of patience as she helps Kay pack up and instead of spending “between class” time with her peers, CJ gives this up to make sure Kay gets to her next class.
Kaitlin Samman, 7th grade, Diplo-mat Middle, daughter of Edgar and Kathryn Samman
Kaitlin has a friend whose father recently died of cancer, so Kaitlin was determined to find a way to lift her friend’s spirits. Kaitlin did odd jobs for her neighbors and washed cars to raise some money. With the $100 she earned, she surprised her friend with a shopping trip.
Special Recognition Award
Challenger Middle School 6th grade GREAT class
Challenger Middle School’s resource officer, Officer Negron, taught a GREAT program this year which has recently been rejuvenated in our schools. GREAT stands for gang resistance education and training, and part of the 13-week class required students to make a poster or write an essay as to how they could better their community. While several students did that, 17 students went above and beyond by actually getting out in their community to make a difference. These students volunteered at the Animal Refuge Center or helped to find homes for retired greyhounds, some cleaned up trash from vacant lots and local parks, while others mowed the lawns of vacant and foreclosed homes in the neighborhood, one young man posted water conservation posters throughout his neighborhood to educate his neighbors, and others planted gardens at the school making our community a little better with their citizenship.