Wyoming — For Savanna Barry, being kind, respectful and tidy are values she’s grown up with.
The Wyoming Intermediate School fifth-grader wanted to share those traits with others, encouraging them to be members of the Wyoming Wolf Pack (named for the district’s mascot) who support each other and care for their school.
“I’ve been trying to figure out a way for people to understand they may be hurting the school, or teachers’ feelings, when they are not listening or when they are putting trash all over the school,” she said.
Without being asked, Savannah created a presentation, titled “School Pride,” as a reminder for students to treat teachers and each other with respect and kindness and to pick up litter around the school. Her goal was to be persuasive without being demanding, she said.
“I’ve been wanting to do it for a long, long time,” she said, noting that she was first inspired when she wrote a speech about keeping the school clean as a third-grader at West Elementary School.
The slides she created expound on that idea: “I had my mom help me figure out how to make it bigger and much more meaningful.”
Teachers presented the slides to their classes this fall, and Savanna said she hopes to create another presentation at the end of the school year.
“I’m starting to see a little bit of change,” she said.
Savannah’s teacher, Brianna Jhamb, said she is proud of Savanna for taking the initiative.
“She is a scholar that leads by example and is always helping out and supporting classmates,” Jhamb said. “Her leadership and kindness are shown in the classroom and throughout the school.”
Classmate Lamir Simpson said he learned some good things from Savanna’s presentation.
“She showed courage and (was) believing in herself,” he said.
Savanna, who wants to be a basketball player or police officer when she grows up, said her peers were surprised a fifth-grader stepped up like she did, but she’s glad she had the opportunity to do so.
“I’m happy that my parents put me in this school and my brain got to grow. The teacher and students and my friends got to see me grow. My principal got to see me grow. My family got to see me grow.”
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