A time to reflect through Elementary School

On May 23rd, I achieved an important milestone in my life. I graduated Elementary school. This was a special moment and journey for me. I made a lot of memories in 6 years. On the last day of school during the graduation ceremony, one student from each class wrote a speech about their time in elementary school and shared it in our morning assembly with other students and 5th grade parents. I also submitted a speech to my teacher. Unfortunately, mine did not get chosen. But I would like to share my speech with all of you: 

The title of my speech was ”A time to reflect through Elementary School.” 

Hello parents of the 5th graders, My name is Hanika. Welcome to this milestone and proud moment. None of us would be here without your sacrifices, hardwork and taking care of our endless demands as kids. For that, I want to thank you on behalf of all of us. 

To all our teachers and staff, I only hope we, the 5th graders, have pushed the learning and growth boundaries positively, exceeded your expectations and fully represent the Wyandot way. We can't thank you all enough and are truly grateful to each and every one here at our school. 

Now, to my fellow 5th graders, what a ride, it’s been. We’ve all had unique journeys with many of us crossing paths in many ways, our fair share of fun moments and not-so-fun moments and I bet we all have beautiful memories that we won't forget. We did it and now it’s time for our next adventure. 

I would like to once again thank all my teachers, family and friends for being a part of my journey through elementary school which has shaped me. There has never been a dull or glum moment at school and I will really miss everyone. I know I am taking many learnings with me but the most important ones are being “Respectful”, “Responsible” and “Ready to Learn”! 

Let's GO Wildcats! 

While reflecting, I learnt a few things. First, Rejection is a part of life, second, others deserve a chance, third, don’t do anything half-hearted and finally, don’t be overconfident. I later understood that all these lessons are great learnings for the future and it will help me be successful in life. 

While I have your attention, I would also like to share some beautiful memories that I cherished during elementary school. First are my teachers. I can’t thank them enough for being a part of my childhood. They have all worked so hard to make my life the best it can be. I would like to thank my Kindergarten teacher who always made me feel welcome at my school since the beginning . Next I would like to thank my 1st grade teacher for always challenging me to new things. Before 2nd grade started, Covid 19 began and I did online school. I really enjoyed how my teacher was always so positive during this tough time. My 3rd grade teacher always greeted me with a smile. It made my day. Next, I am grateful to my 4th grade teachers. I loved how my homeroom teacher was always so good at read-alouds and being super nice. My math teacher always made learning so much fun and exciting. Finally, I would like to thank my 5th grade teacher. She had the best activities for us to do. I loved how she always found a way to make me and my peers laugh. I will miss her warm smile. One thing that will be hard to forget is the fart machine that my principal always carried around! 

My friends are a very important part of my journey through elementary school. I remember on the first day of Kindergarten, I was so scared to make a friend until I met so many great people who wanted to be my friend. As I got older I was the person who welcomed new kids at school to sit with me at lunch. Every day was about learning something new from my peers and friends. 

Since 1st grade, I have always participated in many clubs such as diversity club, small groups for fun called (lunch bunch and GO ZEN) and ROX(Ruling Our eXperiences). All of these clubs have taught me so many important things. For example, in the diversity club, I learnt that diversity is not just different types of food, culture and clothing. Diversity is about embracing different people, their ideas and being empathic. One of the projects we did was writing one word that describes what diversity means to us. For me it means, “Community”. In February 2024, I had gotten the opportunity to represent my school's diversity club at the State of the Schools event. This event is where every school from the district shows their clubs to everyone in the community. In addition to this club activity, I joined ROX which was a group only for 5th grade girls to learn and support each other to be strong and self-aware. At ROX, we got to listen to other experienced older girls and successful women which gave us confidence about ourselves. In addition to the clubs, I volunteered to be responsible to take the 1st graders to the bus safely. This allowed me to learn to be responsible for others. I am really grateful for these opportunities and I would encourage every other elementary school student to take advantage of these opportunities. 

Throughout elementary school, I have had so many fun moments, events and trips. Our school organized events such as Enrichment days where I got to learn photography, yoga, canvas painting, balloon twisting, basketball, Taekwondo and being a detective. Every year we had the school carnival and super games where our teachers participated with us. We took field trips to the Columbus Zoo and one of my favorite memories was petting the stingrays with my friends. Our school gave us many entrepreneurial opportunities such as Junior Achievement Biztown which I've written a blog about already. Here is the link if you haven't read it: https://www.hanikachhajer.com/2023/11/i-got-to-be-mayor-of-ja-biztown.html. But we also got a chance to run a store as a class. Our class made stress balls and sold them to second and fourth graders. We made google slides to share our products with others and then the other students would put in their orders. We would then ship it to them. In my 5th grade, I also had the lovely opportunity to be part of the spring musical called PRESS START. I really enjoyed the experience of being on stage, speaking and singing in front of the entire audience. 

Of course, the highlight towards d-day was the day I graduated. We had a fun field day where we got to play so many games including with our teachers. Our parents sent the teachers a personalized note that they stuck to our lockers which was really beautiful. Every family put posters of each of the 5th graders in the front of the school. Finally, all the 5th graders wearing our special shirts which said “BRUH, WE’RE DONE!” were clapped out and the parents cheered for us all. 

I have had some awesome experiences and created many beautiful memories at my elementary school. I will never forget any of my teachers and friends I made there. Now it’s time for my next adventure. 

Middle school here I come!