Speaking out starts young

Fourth-graders in teacher Susan Squires' class at Empire Elementary School wrote letters to the editor of the Nevada Appeal recently to practice their letter-writing skills.

"Our kids felt they needed to let people know how they feel about our school," Squires said. "It's a wonderful school."

But it is getting a bad rap, she said. The school is the only in the Carson City School District to be in need of adequate yearly progress four years in a row. This year, a team of state and local specialists will get together to see what can be done to make progress.

"I love it here," said Squires, who has worked at Empire for five years. "I would not leave here, no matter what. The children are incredibly hard working."

Here are some letters:

Dear Editor,

Empire Elementary School is just the best school in the whole wide world. We always try hard. This school is the best! All of the teachers here are trying their best to teach us. We always write a lot and read a lot too. The teachers are so nice. We always have work so we can try really hard. All of the kids are trying to be smart every day.

Sincerely,

Kariana Montes

Dear Editor,

At Empire, the kids are good readers. Nice teachers. A very nice principal. Lots of math. Not too much of math. Good rules.

Sincerely, Cynthia Guadalupe Quintanilla.

Dear Editor,

My name is Serenity Amador. I go to Empire Elementary School. At Empire, we work. At the school, we write. At the school, we create. At school, we discover Egypt.

What we do at school is special, like P.E., computers, music and library. At school, we have three recesses. We eat lunch. We have to respect teachers. We do groups.

Sincerely, Serenity Amador

Dear Editor,

Hello, my name is Anahi. Do you want to learn about Empire Elementary School? Let's discover what we do at school. We do specials like P.E., computers, library and music. We eat then we have recess.

We have to respect people when we are outside.

Sincerely, Anahi Medina.

Read the Whatever page next Monday for more student letters.