1. Board of Education Meeting September 21, 2015

2. Camryn Sparschu – My World Wish Currently a 6 th grade student at Fort Gratiot Middle School At the end of 5 th grade, while at Thomas Edison Elementary School, Camryn won first place at the state level of the PTA Reflections Contest

3. Camryn Sparschu – My World Wish Every year, Thomas Edison students have the opportunity to participate in the PTA Reflections Program. The program focuses on the arts, and includes categories of dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography, and visual arts. The National PTA Reflections Committee chose the theme: “The World Would Be a Better Place If ….”

4. Camryn Sparschu – My World Wish Camryn won first place (Award of Excellence) for her essay titled “My World Wish.” Over 1,000 entries compete at the state level, and 144 entries are selected as state level winners. Camryn’s entry was one of only 3 chosen as Award of Excellence winners in the Literature division for the intermediate (grade) level. Camryn’s entry was the only intermediate literature piece selected for national entry.

5. Camryn Sparschu – My World Wish My World Wish When I was a little girl I used to worry a lot about the weather. Would there be too much water in the oceans because icebergs were melting? Wouldn't all that extra water mean there was going to be a flood?! What if a tornado hit my house?!! What if my house got hit by lightning and caught on fire?!!! What if there was a hurricane in Michigan?!!!! These were big problems to me in my four year-old brain. As I have grown up a bit since then, I have come to realize my fears were not likely to actually happen. The probability of any of these catastrophes actually hurting me was almost zero. Especially the hurricane, which I learned only happens in coastal states! Whew! So when I asked myself, how would the world be a better place, I thought about all my worries when I was a youngster. I think the answer is facing your fears with the power of knowledge. I am very grateful that I was able to research about the storms and causes of weather so that I could stop my fears. I learned to fight back the fear of these things by understanding them. I know there are places in the world where a girl can’t go to school just because she is a girl. There are places where books and schooling are only for the wealthy. There are places where people don’t allow new information because it challenges their old laws. What if there was a child just like me out there and all she needed was some knowledge to feel safe from the storms? What if she was afraid and just needed an explanation to take that fear away? Education is a powerful tool. The world would be a better place if there was education for all.

6. Camryn Sparschu – My World Wish Congratulations, Camryn!!