SEEDs of Wisdom Prep students spoke at the SEED Dinner, welcoming incoming freshman families and recognizing seniors on April 10. SEED (Students for Educational Excellence through Diversity) is a school-wide, multi-racial/cultural, multi-class, and multi-religious organization open to everyone in the Prep student body. Following are excerpts from the students’ speeches, giving advice to new students, about their Prep experience.
Darien Gilling ’16
I
am a freshman here at Prep. I previously attended Park City Prep Charter School in Bridgeport, CT. The decision to attend Prep was not mine, but my parents. At Prep, in my opinion, there are many academic challenges. For most people their academic challenge is keeping up with the work, while for others their academic challenge is trying to study for a test instead of trying to cram the night before. During your four years at Prep, your life can be either difficult or easy depending on how you manage your time and if you are able to stay on track or not. The teachers here are always willing to help. The teachers here are not like the teachers we had in middle school. They do not come and find you to tell you that you are doing poorly or that you didn’t turn in an assignment. They want you to be responsible and take the time out to ask them for help or come see when you have a question. Taking the time out to go see your teachers tells them that you are concerned about your grade in that particular class. The relationship between parents and the school community is interesting. Some parents come in to check up on or ask questions about their son or sons. My mom comes in sometimes to check up on me and find out how I’m doing in my classes. Honestly, I am fine with my mom checking up on me, because it shows how much she cares about me and my education. At Prep there is an event called the Freshman Retreat, which is an overnight stay at Prep where you interact with other freshman and do activities together. The Freshman Retreat for me was an amazing experience. I formed a brotherhood between not only my group members, but with my
group leaders. My words of advice to incoming freshman parents is to encourage your son or sons to participate in school activities or play a sport. Also, allow your son to learn to make decisions and make mistakes so that in the future he will make better decisions.
Nicholas Greco ’13
I
’ve only been in SEED for one year but it did so much for me. To summarize the benefits of the SEED program into one sentence would be to say it’s the reason I was able to go to Fairfield Prep my senior year. That one sentence is all that is needed. Without the SEED program and the aid I received from it there would have been no way I could have finished my Prep career. I would have had to transfer and leave behind my friends and most importantly miss out on all the opportunities available to Prep seniors. While I may not have experienced the benefits of the SEED program for all four years, I can say that without a doubt, they are something you shouldn’t take for granted. When you realize one day that you were able to go to Prep because of those benefits, you’ll realize how lucky you actually are. It wasn’t always easy during my time here at Prep. I needed a lot of help with everything from how to prepare for the whole college process all the way to simply which classes I should take. That help came from the combination of my guidance counselors here at Prep. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s told you but one of the most important things you can do during your time at Prep is to form a relationship with your guidance counselors. Even if it’s just making an appointment with them and telling them how your year has
been going so far or asking them for help with a problem you’re having I guarantee you it will help. I don’t think there are actually enough words to describe in all how lucky I was to have been in SEED this year, to have formed those types of relationships with my guidance counselors and also what comes next. As I stand here tonight looking out at all of you I can only tell you to take advantage of everything Prep has to offer. Buy into the idea of Prep and embrace the SEED program as much as it has embraced us all as members. To that end I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to both Dr. Andrade and Mrs. Thomas because without them none of this would be possible for any of us.
Orlando Sanchez ’16
O
ut of school, time management and sports is going well for me so far. Most sports have practice every day so I would go to practice and do my homework as soon as I come home, so that I don’t have to stay up all night . It worked for quite a while both during the football season and during the football training I did after my summer enrichment camp. One thing that helps me with my time management in AND out of school is the Monday SEED sessions with Mrs. Thomas. Basically, what you would do is stay there for an hour and do your homework with your fellow classmates, talk to Mrs. Thomas about your grades, your GPA, and basically, how she could help you with picking up your grades. Mrs. Thomas is always willing to help you with your homework, no matter how annoying you are and I’m talking from experience here. She’s been there for me as a teacher, a helper, somebody who was concerned about helping me, and most of all, she’s been a friend to me. She’s a great source to have whether you are a student or even a parent. Parents, Mrs. Thomas is a great woman to talk to about your son. She will give your son advice on how he could do better and she will be there for him whenever he needs help, both academically AND socially. Parents, it is great to have communication with the school and to always check up on him. These four years are going to be challenging for him, but a little help from his classmates, his teachers, and , most of all, his parents will help him get through the journey at Prep. His knowing that people are there for him, by his side, WILL help him do better in his Prep life. Prep Today 23