Zada Sheranian

I am very excited to have the opportunity to speak to you today. Before I start I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. I have lived in the mountains of Utah my whole life. I am the oldest of three sibling and all of them are pretty feisty, especially the youngest one. I love to travel to warm places and I love to bake. I have attended Waterford since I was three years old, and it has been a wonderful experience for me to learn and grow, but today I would like to share my experience as a sixth grader and some of the things that have made a big impact on me.

I want to begin with the first day of school. I’ll admit, I was pretty nervous. I was worried that I would get lost or go to the wrong class and of course, my worries came true! I went to my very first Latin class at the wrong time! One by one, Mrs. Poole called out students names as they shuffled to find their assigned seats, and that is when I realized my mistake! I was the only one left and I didn’t have a seat, but Mrs. Poole  helped me find where I needed to go and I rushed to my next class where an empty seat was waiting for me. That is what I would like to focus on, always having a seat and always being welcome. That is what Waterford middle school had given me.

The whole Middle School community at Waterford–the teachers, the students, my friends, and of course my cousin Diesel–have made me feel welcome when I was nervous. They offered me an empty seat in this big new world and they helped me to find my way. My teachers this year have been such a support as I have made my way through the 6th grade. They have answered my questions and calmed me down when something wasn’t going right or something wasn’t perfect, and those that know me well, know the perfectionist in me can get pretty overwhelming! But, they helped me feel confident in my work, which has made this year very enjoyable for me. We are all fortunate to be in a school with amazing teachers who care about helping us become our best selves while having a wonderful middle school experience.

The whole Middle School community at Waterford–the teachers, the students, my friends, and of course my cousin Diesel–have made me feel welcome when I was nervous. They offered me an empty seat in this big new world and they helped me to find my way. My teachers this year have been such a support as I have made my way through the 6th grade.

When I was in 1st grade, I remember being scared of the big Middle School kids, but now that I am one, I can tell you that being a Middle Schooler at Waterford is pretty amazing! Everyone helps one another and, for the most part, everyone gets along. I have seen kids help each other up when they have fallen, laugh together when they make mistakes and students working together to find solutions to problems. This is the recipe for a good community and I am proud to be a part of it!    

Last but not least, when I was in the 5th grade, I was worried that middle school would be filled with homework and essays and endless tests. This turned out to be true, but I also discovered that Middle School is full of FUN activities, like the ice-cream social, the superman flavor was delicious by the way, the movie night were we saw Wonder, the WOW days, the dances, the field trips and more! We are always encouraged to PLAY at Waterford. We play instruments and sing, we can play sports and we have the opportunity to try out for school plays! We have so many opportunities to expand our talents while having fun together!  

I am grateful to attend this wonderful school! Thank you Waterford Middle School for saving me an empty seat. I would like to Thank all my teachers for making me feel welcome and a big thank you to the students council for making this year so fun! I hope we can all do our part to make next year’s batch of nervous Sixies feel just as welcome as I did.

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Adrian Walker

When I was in lower school I thought middle school would be SUPER hard. I was really nervous about the finals and how hard they were. I heard from people that the hardest part about sixth grade was the finals. But when I had my first final in fall term, I saw it was just a normal test but longer and from stuff from the whole year. It was still hard, but a lot less stress than what I had heard. In my first week or two, I didn’t really know where all my classes were. I forgot where the rooms were, so I basically just followed people that I knew were in my grade and hoped they were in the same class as me. I didn’t understand the numbered building system and I still don’t know.

On Class Day, I had to sit by a new kid. Turns out he would become one of my best friends over the course of the school year. Over the course of the school year I have had some great experiences. You just never know when good things are right around the corner.

One of the nice things about sixth grade is how much freedom you have. I really like how after each class you have some time to go outside, get some fresh air, and run around on the quad or do something else for eight minutes. Another nice thing about sixth grade, and Middle School in general, is how you don’t just have one teacher that you have to put up with (all of the teachers are nice but you still get bored watching one person all day). One of the best experiences of 6th grade for me is some of the new friends I’ve made. On Class Day, I had to sit by a new kid. Turns out he would become one of my best friends over the course of the school year. Over the course of the school year I have had some great experiences. You just never know when good things are right around the corner.

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Fiorella Paredes

So far this year, I love Middle School!

I’ve been a student at Waterford since fourth grade, and from the first day of school, I was really impressed with how nice everyone was to me. Every single student in my class would try to help me in some way, doing the smallest to the biggest favors. Even though I’m not a new student anymore, everyone is still really nice. I have made so many great friends since then.

On my first day in Middle School, I was so excited I actually woke up early. The only thing I could think about was how much fun I would have, although I was actually really nervous. But sixth grade was so much better than what I had expected it to be. I thought Middle School was scary and just about homework. I thought it was going to be all about drama and stuff, which let's be honest, it kind of is. Anyway, right as I walked into my class I could breathe the Middle School air. We have more responsibilities, new opportunities, and we get to make more of our own decisions. This clearly isn’t Lower School anymore, we don’t have the monkey bars anymore…I mean c’mon. But at least we can still play a lot of fun games here too.

This first year of Middle School has taught me so much. I have learned to be a more responsible, organized, and to grow as a person. Everything about it, has made me want to come back to school everyday to try and become a better person.

Everyone had always told me that finals were super scary. But they are really just like normal tests with a plus and minus. The plus sign is that you finish your final at 10 a.m., then get to go home and relax and take some pressure off. The minus part is that finals are based on what you’ve learned the whole semester. And, well, you just get more nervous since you THINK of the word FINALS and of all the stress and hard work. It’s not like I love finals, but they are not the worst thing in the world either.

Even though I was excited for Middle School and all of my new classes, the only thing I was 100% excited for was volleyball. Most of you may know that I LOVE VOLLEYBALL, like my sister. I have been playing volleyball since I was in kindergarten, and ever since then, I have never stopped playing it. I was really excited that we would finally get to have a volleyball team, practices, and games. But it wasn’t just about playing and trying to win, it was also about having fun with your friends. Everyone in the team would work hard as a group. That is not easy, because you have to get along with your teammates and trust them. But that is what Waterford teaches us, teamwork. They teach us to work together to succeed, not only in sports but in group work in academics.

This first year of Middle School has taught me so much. I have learned to be a more responsible, organized, and to grow as a person. Everything about it, has made me want to come back to school everyday to try and become a better person. And of course my friends are a huge influence on me wanting to come to school. I hope that almost everyone in this room can relate to this. Sixth grade has been this crazy but really exciting adventure and I can’t wait for what is yet to happen.

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Shayan Pandit

I’d like to talk and reflect about my experience as a Sixie and some of the things that I enjoyed most about Middle School.

When I got a note from Mrs. Nebeker telling me that I was invited to speak in assembly on Thursday, I was flooded by a mix of emotions. I was scared, excited and a little confused.

Ok, let’s start off. First of all, being a 6th grader has been great, and I’m sure most of the kids in my grade would agree. The Middle School community has welcomed us in without any hesitation and I’m grateful for that. In math, for example, I’m in a 7th grade Algebra math class and I was super shy and hesitant at first, but everybody was nice to me, and I’ve made some great friends. Now I’m super comfortable whenever I go in, and it’s almost like I’m with my own grade in there.

I’ve had a lot of great experiences here at Waterford. They have affected me and shaped me in many different ways.

Another time, we were allowed to play outside during homeroom. Me and my friend decided to check out the spikeball net and ball. We set it up and started playing a 1 vs. 1 game. Soon, two 8th graders, you know you who are, came up to us and asked to join our game. We decided to let them play with us and they were really nice. We had lots of fun and I vividly remember that experience.

Moving on, I’ve had a lot of great experiences here at Waterford. They have affected me and shaped me in many different ways. There have been many good times, like winning the Geography Bee, and some bad times, like showing up insanely late to class once, because I thought I had Art when I really had Latin. It happens sometimes. But let’s focus on some things that I have enjoyed about Middle School, like the fact that we have an hour of lunch. I mean, that's like having a free period! Also the fact that we get exercise by walking to classes instead of becoming fat lumps sitting on desks all day. These small things add up and are really are the things that make Middle School fun.