Seven students earn ‘Do?The Right Thing’ awards
The city’s “Do The Right Thing” ceremony for December was held Wednesday in City Council Chambers. Seven Cape Coral students will be recognized. The guest speaker will be Detective Christy Jo Ellis.
Jayde Morales-Siegman
Diplomat Middle
Everyone remembers where they were when the terrorist attacked our country on Sept. 11, 2001. We also remember how as a country we rallied together to do what was necessary to insure 9/11 would never happen again. “Let’s roll” was the common phrase used at that time to endure and to keep moving forward as a nation. The 9/11 Remembrance event accomplished many things, most importantly to never forget and to honor those who have paid the price for defending the freedoms and privileges we get to live out with our families. Jayde, together with her National Junior Honor Society members (Julie Nguyen, Isabella Montoya, Avie Montoya, Natalia Flecha, Dylan Wanser, Tatiana Rodriguez, Makenzi Walden, Grace Chrissy, Audrianna Macchia, Somer Wheeler, Kiyanna Caggiano, Kaitlyn West, Destiny Jordan, Denetria Johnson, Victoria Rubarski, Edward Pedraja & Kaleigh Cook) at Diplomat Middle School, spent time collecting donations for military family overseas. Because of the Jayde’s leadership skills, generous heart, compassion and concern for the families of our military well over $1,500 worth of supplies were donated by Publix and are continuing to be delivered by Jayde and her club members to the military men and woman and their families overseas throughout the year. I feel that Jade is an outstanding role model and deserve to be nominated for “Do The Right Thing”.
Keira Shoff – 2nd Grade
Liam Shoff – Kindergarden
Oasis Elementary
Liam and his sister decided to have a bake sale and lemonade stand at their house on a Saturday morning to raise money for underprivileged families in our community. They put together the stand and created invitations themselves. With the help of their mother, they raised about $250 and donated it to our school’s “Have A Heart” fund”. The money raised for “Have A Heart” goes to families and teachers at Oasis who are struggling.
Madeline Perez Jacome – 12th Grade
Mariner High School
Madeline walked into the restroom and saw a girl laying on the floor of the restroom inside a locked stall. She ran to her side and patted her on the back asking her if she was OK. The girl did not answer and Madeline proceeded to check for a pulse. When she found a pulse, Madeline ran to the clinic for help and ran back to the restroom, climbed under the stall, unlocked the door and waited with the girl until help arrived. Madeline is a student in our Nursing Assisting Academy and remained calm, cool and collected throughout the entire situation. She was able to assist the paramedics when they arrived by providing precise information. Madeline handled herself very well and we commend her for her quick thinking and care for a fellow student in need.
Willis Cheatham – 5th Grade
Hector Cafferata Elementary
Willis was out and heard cars beeping horns and noticed two young kids in the road. He realized they were on their own and took their hands and walked them to the police station. Their mother was called who arrived in tears. She realized what a great thing Willis did and offered him money and food to say thank you and he declined with a “not necessary.” What an extraordinary young man. Who knows what would have happened to those two kids had Willis not step in. Willis deserves to be nominated for the “Do The Right Thing” award.
Caleb Worst – 8th Grade
Challenger Middle
I would like to nominate Caleb Worst for the “Do The Right Thing Award.” His leadership skills, sincere caring and dedication to academic excellence [Caleb has earned all As in grades 6 and 7] make him an excellent candidate for the award. Caleb is a wonderful person. He has tremendous social skills and gets along extremely well with others. He is caring, compassionate and generous. Each year Caleb and his grandfather purchase 8-15 new bicycles on Black Friday. They then spend the weekend assembling the bikes. This year it was 14 bikes. Caleb says that this is great “family time” with his grandfather. When the bikes are completed they load up the vehicle several times and deliver the bikes to the Cape Coral Care Center. These bicycles will be given to children that Caleb never sees or knows about. He is generous in his time energy and in the caring that he gives to others. He deserves the “Do the Right Thing Award!”
Brandon Cycak – 8th Grade
Caloosa Middle School
Ann Tikka, an Equity Coordinator (and business teacher) at Caloosa Middle, nominated Brandon Cycak for “Do The Right Thing.” She stated that Brandon Cycak is an amazing student! When Brandon entered middle school, we conducted a Child Study Team Meeting to discuss his disability. Brandon has been diagnosed with the genetic disorder called Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct and Endolymphatic Sac. He is being treated in Tampa after his doctors finally placed a name on his conductive/progressive hearing loss. Brandon’s hearing is not clear. His hearing is similar to a “cell phone cutting out” or what is described as intermittent hearing. Brandon will eventually lose his hearing entirely. In the meantime, he is learning how to read lips. What is outstanding about this student is that regardless of the fact that he cannot hear teacher instruction, he consistently earns a 4.0 grade point average in all his classes. Brandon has been a Caloosa Middle School Renaissance RED CARD member (solid As) for the last nine quarters since he has been in middle school (all four quarters in the 6th grade, all four quarters in the 7th grade, and the first quarter in the 8th grade). With only a few weeks remaining in the second quarter of this year’s first semester, Brandon, again, has all As. What is exceptional about this achievement is that because Brandon cannot hear classroom instruction, as soon as he gets home, he begins his day all over again, starting with the first class of the day. He re-reads classroom instruction, completes the work that was supposed to have been accomplished in class, and does his homework before proceeding to the next class. Brandon’s family is used to having him eat his dinner while he continues to study and complete homework. He works well into the night, sometimes up to midnight, to complete his work before going to bed, and starts the process all over again the next day. He does this without complaining and continues to excel in all his classes. We are all so proud of Brandon at Caloosa Middle School that I am nominating him for the “Do the Right Thing Award!” He places his disability aside and makes the most of everyday of his life. His behavior is the epitome of what the “Do the Right Thing Award” acknowledges. Thank you for considering Brandon for this honor.