As part of Black History Month celebrations, City Academy annually hosts an African-American Heritage Celebration for our students and families. This years’ celebration, “A Kaleidoscope of Excellence: Stories and Portraits that Celebrate African-American Heritage,” was held on February 27, 2020, and offered families a chance to explore different activities and presentations celebrating African-American culture.
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Good evening, my name is Jordyn Jefferson. The best way to describe myself as a student at City Academy is through the lens of a rose.
Roses are fragrant, attractive, bright and colorful and when they bloom, they illuminate grace and beauty. They appreciate sunny skies and rainy nights with intentional thorns that protect them from harm.
Today, I stand as the delicate rose I just described, but I didn’t start City Academy as a rose already bloomed. I was a seed, eager to sprout. I began growing my roots that gave me stability. With each spurt of growth, I became resilient and firm. Not even a strong storm could weaken my stem or cause me despair. Each time I gained knowledge, a petal formed. There were times my petals frayed from disappointments and failures, but always another petal would bloom causing me to have hope.
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Good evening my name is Jayden Cooley. I believe my classmate, Alex, with whom I’ve shared my journey with since junior kindergarten used the analogy of his experience at City Academy as a rollercoaster ride. I would agree. We have experienced some really great times at City Academy and I have enjoyed the ride as well, Alex. But allow me to share my experience at City Academy. Since I can remember, I have always been fascinated with mountains. Not necessarily inclined to climb one, but metaphorically or symbolically. Symbolically, the thought of climbing a mountain represents a sense of achievement. Even with a few stumbles and sudden shifts; reaching the summit seems gratifying. Something similar to my time at City Academy.
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Good evening, My name is Kaliah Birchfield. When I first entered City Academy in first grade I was a seed awaiting my chance. A chance to grow into a blossoming tree. With every year, this once tiny seed, grew more into a tree whose branches are now ready to embrace its new journey. Thank you to my parents, my siblings and my peers for helping me flourish and spread my branches.
This evening I’d like to share with you a poem I wrote about my journey and growth at City Academy. It is titled: My Shield Of Branches.
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Good evening, my name is Alexander McCloud and I must say, I am the only student that has been at City Academy for a decade. No, not really but it has felt like a decade. I have spent eight L-O-N-G years as a student at City Academy, but it has been a LONG fulfilling journey. My experience here has been something similar to a roller coaster ride. I’ve experienced some tight turns, some steep slopes, and sometimes inversion and didn’t know if I was upside down or sitting straight up.
Like most kids my age, amusement parks and rides can be invigorating. You usually start with your hands waving in the air; excited to feel the breeze and soon you’re locked in and without warning you are off; screaming from the top of your lungs, with harsh winds slapping your face and with each twist and turn, it feels like your stomach is having a ride of its own.
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Good evening everyone, my name is Za’Cari Bland. This evening marks the start of new beginnings for me, but I can not continue my path without first acknowledging my “new beginnings” or opportunities as a City Academy student.
I had a unique experience as a student at City Academy and in the beginning, thought of it as a disadvantage. While most students started school at the beginning of the school year, my beginnings at this great place, started midway through my first grade year. Expectations were already established, rigor was enforced and friendships had been bonded. For me, I was the girl on the other side of the wall trying to find my way. I was in despair, empty and isolated. The somber emotions quickly came to past. Soon, I realized that I had a chance at something new. The grace of new beginnings. A chance to make friends and to be a friend, a chance to welcome new challenges, a chance to take risks, a chance at finding my purpose and last but not least, a chance at striving for excellence.
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Good Evening! My name is Shiloh Banda and I am pleased and grateful to be standing before you this evening. Never in a million years would I have thought I would be welcomed into a warm institution like City Academy. But never in a trillion years could I imagine standing here as an independent young scholar on Graduation Night; well my day has come.
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Good evening everyone! I am Zoey DiStaso- Hutchins. In life, we only get one start, one finish and a couple of chances to make a mark or leave behind some kind of legacy.
One of the biggest questions posed to me as I made my transition through the years by teachers, administrators, my parents and even indirectly by my peers have been “What legacy awaits you?” A question for many years I found difficult to answer and in some cases something to even consider. “What legacy awaits me?” I was puzzled. How can a 9 year old answer such a question? I’m NINE! But over time, and with much consideration, I have spent my time as a student of City Academy living to identify and answer such a question. The best part of answering this question has been the clarity and the identity it has brought to me and my daily decisions as a scholar.
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Good evening ladies and gentlemen. My name is Ahmad Muhammad and I am a part of the graduating class of 2019. I stand before you this evening with a model of the Earth which is a representation of my stages of growth throughout my time at City Academy. I started City Academy as a 5 yrs old tyke, since then, I have transformed into the young scholar I am today. Tonight, I am content and delighted to be a graduate of City Academy.
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Good Evening my name is Derrick Palmer. Today I’m graduating and I can’t help but reminisce about my bittersweet chapter here. Every great novel includes complications and challenges. While I have been here, I have had many conflicts such as adjusting to the schoolwork, late night homework, fitting in, you know, the new kid stuff. I was the new kid on the block and was not at all happy, because of the dreadful decision my parents made of transferring me.
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