Meet Elijah, a sixth-grade student from P.S. 279 in the Bronx and PowerMyLearning’s 2018 Student of the Year. Earlier this month, we honored Elijah, his mother, and his teacher at the 2018 Innovative Learning Awards.
During the ceremony, Elijah’s principal said that his success is a testament to the strength of the PowerMyLearning Triangle; a student persevering and deeply understanding learning concepts, a family that is supporting him each and every day, and a teacher who works to make learning fun, to meet his needs as a learner, and to inspire him to do his best.
After giving a powerful speech of his own, Elijah presented his mother, Jasmin Camarena, and his teacher, Ms. Bonaparte, with the awards for Parent of the Year and Teacher of the Year.
We present to you Elijah’s speech:
As my principal said, my name is Elijah Ortiz. I’ve always loved math. A lot of kids I know dislike math, but it’s always been my personal favorite since I’ve started learning it. The reason why I love math is because of the challenge it gives me.
In school, we use PowerMyLearning and it has made math even more fun for me because of the fun Playlists they assign. Sometimes we work on the Playlists in class, and then we reinforce what we learned at home with Family Explorations.
The Playlists that we do in class have a lot of cool things. First, they give you a video to watch to learn about the lesson you’re doing in class. Then after that, it gives you another part which lets you do some math problems based on the things you learned in the video. Once you complete that there are two multiple choice questions, which are my favorite part, because I like multiple choice. After I complete the assignment I go on the Explore section, which is where you can play different educational games about any subject.
My personal favorite is this game called Dirt Bike Proportions. I love this game because I get to compete with my friends. It gives you one fraction and the denominator of the other fraction so then all we need to do is find the numerator of the second fraction to get a boost. So basically, the game is about equivalent fractions.
Overall, PowerMyLearning is probably my favorite school activity, and I’m not saying this because they told me to. It’s just that I really love PowerMyLearning.
Now on to one of my favorite teachers, Ms. Bonaparte. Ms. Bonaparte is a very good and very kind teacher. She makes sure everyone in the class is on track, and if they aren’t, she helps us until we understand the work. She is very patient. Ms. Bonaparte is inspirational; the reason I say this is because she is a very smart person and encourages me and the class to do our best effort. She helps my brain expand with knowledge. She is also really good at explaining things because when I’m confused she will explain the work really clearly to me. Ms. Bonaparte is a great teacher, and I know deep down inside she hopes everyone in my class, including me, is successful in life.
Last but not least my favorite person ever, my mom. She is very caring for her family and kids. She makes sure that I understand what I am learning, and when I have trouble she will go through it and help me with my work until I understand it. My mom means a whole lot to me. She pushes me to be the best person I can be. My mother is beautiful, smart, and a great cooker, but what inspires me most is her strength. I love her because she cares for me and my siblings, and because she works hard to keep us happy. Right now, I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for her.
In conclusion, PowerMyLearning has really helped me be a better student. Ever since I got introduced to PowerMyLearning, I’ve been more confident in my work and in being successful in life.
With the help of Ms. Bonaparte and my mom I feel inspired to be the best I can be. I am grateful to be chosen as Student of the Year, and I am even more grateful to present the Teacher of the Year Award to my teacher, Ms. Bonaparte, and the Parent of the Year Award to my mom, who helped me to be standing here today. Thank you!