UCAES Students Share Love for Their School

By Kristy Plata

Upper Columbia Academy Elementary School head teacher

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By Lorna Hartman

UCA Elementary School administrative assistant

Upper Columbia Academy Elementary School leaders recently asked upper-grade students to answer the question, “What do you like about this school?” Here’s what they said, in their own voices.

“Every time I finish an assignment, I go out with the sweet assurance that I have done my duty.” — Sixth-grade student

“There are lots of things I like about this school ... The first thing is that it is small, so you know everyone in the school by name. The second thing is that you are never in the wrong group for your skill level when it comes to school subjects ... I like that we all play games together at recess, even with the lower-graders.” — Eighth-grade student

“I like the fact that I have many friends here ... the system of specific time periods for specific subjects ... the creativity of most of the field trips, and that events are heavily influenced by what the students want to do. I like the time I can take during social studies to draw, and I love the trips we go on, like 7Up and Froyo. I love how Mrs. Plata spoils us.” — Eighth-grade student

“I love that my school is small, so I know almost everyone. We usually go outside every day. My teacher is nice, and she gives fun assignments. We don’t have a gym — although the school is building one — so we walk up to the high school. I love being here.” — Fifth-grade student

“I like my school because it is small, so you get more one-on-one time with the teacher. Also it has two great teachers. We get to play fun games like gaga ball ... and we know everyone at school. This year we are getting a new gym.” — Sixth-grade student

“I love my school because it is small and I know everyone. I love that there is gaga ball and foursquare. I like being able to socialize ... I like the way Mrs. Plata teaches. I like the people at school and being able to talk to friends. I like being able to go to the gym and play badminton.” — Sixth-grade student

An eloquent seventh-grade student wrote the following essay:

“I go to a tiny school in Spangle, Washington, called UCAES. What I love about my school is that it’s so small that all the friends you make here would be either for life or still a long time. We are all really close and we have fun together, share our thoughts and enjoy school. Although I have gone to much bigger schools, this one is pretty special.

“Another reason I like this school is because of the teachers. They are all nice and caring. They care for their students and take care of us. This school might be tiny, but I really enjoy being here. Eh, I don’t like doing the actual schoolwork, but I like my friends here ... 

“A bunch of people might say school is to learn and not to make friends, but for me, if you’re going to do something that is going to change your life, for example school, you better at least enjoy the journey and the company, and that’s something I do at this school. I love that about this school.

“I also love the things we do here — games like gaga ball, foursquare, Apples-to-Apples and nine square in the air. I like all my classmates ... I also love my teacher, Mrs. Plata. I love how she spoils us even though we are extremely annoying, loud and obnoxious. She takes us to frozen yogurt, and we had a fun 7Up trip at Camp MiVoden.

“My school might be tiny but it’s a pretty special place.”

This story originally appeared on the Northwest Adventist webpage and can be found at https://nwadventists.com/news/2024/02/ucaes-students-share-love-their-school.