Cape Coral Police Department recognizes local youths
The Cape Coral Police Department “Do The Right Thing” ceremony for May was held Wednesday in the City Council Chambers.
Fourteen Cape Coral students were recognized:
* Winner: Ajda Muhamedagic-12th Grade, Challenger Middle
Before the spring break a relative of Ajda’s had an accident where she fell on a knife. This knife cut the girl’s throat, punctured her trachea and collapsed her lung. Ajda was present at home. She applied direct pressure to the wound, stemmed the bleeding and loss of air. Ajda remained calm and called her mother who transported them to the hospital. The relative had to be airlifted to Tampa where she was in Intensive Care. Ajda’s quick and capable reaction saved her family member’s life.
* Samuil Zayranov 4th Grade, Pelican Elementary
Samuil is an avid reader and visits the Pelican media center and the Cape Coral Public Library regularly. Samuil noticed that his media center had limited quantities of some of today’s most popular young reader books – Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Dork Diaries, Magic Tree House, etc. So, all on his own, Samuil came up with a plan to help his school add some of these popular titles to their collection.
Samuil began writing and illustrating his own creative short stories. Once finished with a story, he had his mom make copies of it so that he could sell it to family and friends. He has even received orders from out-of-state. Samuil has taken the profits from the sale of his own books to purchase brand new hardcover and paperback books for his media center. Samuil has currently donated close to 20 books, and his mom said he has plans to purchase several more before the end of the school year. Samuil’s love of reading, his ingenuity, and his dedication to his school and his peers is to be commended.
* Jayda Rakestraw-7th Grade, Diplomat Middle
* Shane Davis 7th Grade, Diplomat Middle
* Enyah Thompkins 7th Grade, Diplomat Middle
* Claudia Bais 7th Grade, Diplomat Middle
Jayda, Shane, Enyah and Claudia came forward and wanted to help provide clothing and shoes to several fellow students that were in need. They realized that some of their peers were wearing the same worn out shoes and clothes and wanted to make a difference by donating their clothes. To date, over six bags of clothing and shoes have been donated to help students in need at Diplomat Middle. The true character of these four students at Diplomat Middle is to be admired.
* Brooklynn Bowman – 3rd Grade, Christa McAuliffe
Brooklynn has a friend who has brain cancer. She decided to raise money for the family to help with their medical expenses. With the help of her mom, Brooklynn sold rainbow loom bracelets and hosted a school-wide fundraiser that collected over $2,000 to go to her friend’s family. We thank Brooklynn for her tiredless effort to raise money to help her friend.
* Cheyenne Haynes – 8th Grade, Caloosa Middle
While waiting for parents to pick up their children at the end of Caloosa Middle School spring dance, a teacher and Principal, Dr. Ann Cole, heard a discussion going on between two students standing off to the side away from other students. Cheyenne Haynes had pulled another student aside and was calmly explaining to this child that his behavior was unacceptable. Apparently, two students had disagreed about something and the student Cheyenne was talking to was irate and wanted to start a fight. She told him to calm down and think about his actions before he hurt someone. She further explained to this student that she previously thought nothing of shoving a student until she realized what could happen. Cheyenne explained that if a fight broke out that the student would be forced to leave. This conversation continued for about 10 minutes until the other student said he understood and he was sorry about his actions. If Cheyenne did not intervene when she did, the outcome would have been quite different. We thank Cheyenne for recognizing bullying and stepping in to stop it.
* Tiana Osowski – 7th Grade, Challenger Middle
Tiana has worked very hard to bring up her levels. She went from being significantly below grade level (level 1) on the Reading FCAT to a level 3. She is now reading at grade level. Her parents said that this is the first time she has been at grade level or made the A/B honor roll. Tiana has not only made academic progress, but she has assisted other students in class and serves as a role model for them. She volunteers almost every weekend at the Imaginarium Science Center where she works with snakes, prairie dogs, toads, tortoises and different lizards. Tianna is to be commended for not giving up when faced with learning challenges.
* Jacob Autrey – 3rd Grade, Pelican Elementary
Third grader Jacob is kind and his helpful demeanor led him straight to being a mentor to those who need it. Jacob now spends time each day helping students who struggle academically in reading. Jacob takes them to the media center to assit with making good book choices. Without Jacob these students would not be making such great progress. The time that Jacob dedicates to these students will not only instill good study habits for those he helps but will also strengthen his leadership skills. He is a wonderful mentor and the students at Pelican Elementary are lucky to have him.
* Zoe Kurtz – 2nd Grade, Cape Elementary
Zoe selflessly requested baby blankets in lieu of gifts for herself on her eigth birthday. The blankets are to be donated to the NICU at Golisano Children’s Hospital at Health Park, where her mother works as an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner. We thank Zoe for her generous gift.
* Benjamin Titus – 6th Grade, Oasis Middle
n Nathan Macias – 6th Grade, Oasis Middle
Both Benjamin and Nathan made a decision to help another student run his make-up mile. During a time that other students were playing in a fun activity in Physical Education, these two 6th graders asked if they could encourage the runner to help improve his time. During EVERY step of the run both Benjamin and Nathan ran alongside this student and provided positive support. We thank Benjamin and Nathan for their supporting and encouraging efforts.
* Mia Mazurkiewicz – 2nd Grade, Trafalgar Elementary
Unbeknownst to her mom, Mia took all her little Pet Shop toys and placed them in her pink fire helmet and went door to door selling them in her neighborhood. She came home and told her mom that she raised $3.25 for cancer presumption. Mia knew how passionate her mom was about the cause and wanted to help her raise money. We thank Mia for her kind heart.