Conchita Day

I remember when I first arrived at Conchita. I began at the beginning of the 7th grade and I was very worried that something would happen and I wouldn't be accepted in the "group". Even before I walked through the entrance, I was greeted with open arms and all my worries flew away. These past two years I've attended this school, I have learned so many valuable lessons for my upcoming high school experience, and in life. But the most important lesson I've learned through the years is teamwork.

I used to think I was all on my own in the world. Yes, I would have my friends and family there to help me along, but I needed to do everything myself. Conchita taught me, over and over again the value of friends and teamwork. Everyone here showed me that I was not alone, and I never will be. I will always have my peers to lean on and my teachers to count on. It's the best feeling the world, knowing you have endless support and encouragement.

Kennedy Todd
8th grade

I can't tell you a sentimental story about how Conchita changed my life because really, I can't remember my life without Conchita. All of my closest family members have been to Conchita. My brother, my cousins, me. I used to come home after school and when my parents told me to say a prayer, I would say the one we say every morning after the pledge. 10 years of my life have been here and I don't know that I am going to do without it.

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams" - Eleanor Roosevelt. We're all dreamers. Every single person dreams of achieving a goal or having something. That's what we do at Conchita. We dream and we go after those dreams. Those dreams are what pushes us further. What sets us apart because Conchita kids are trained to dream. That's what makes us so good at what we do. Because when you dream of something, you can't ever let it go. And when we go after that dream, believe me you will always see us strive for the best.

My choir teacher always tells us, "Don't be mediocre. Be great."  We don't settle at Conchita. We reach for the stars. We go for the extraordinary. That is what Conchita has taught me in these ten years. Not to be mediocre. But to find something you are good at, and make it great. To set yourself apart with kindness. To be the best that you can be and you will be fulfilled in life.  Because not only are you doing something you are great at, you're doing something you love.

I truly believe that when you look past all the homework and the tests, which a lot of us dread, you see how amazing your life really is here. The academics are great here, but that is not what sets Conchita apart. What sets Conchita apart from everyone is the fact that they teach you to be an amazing person. A person that can achieve anything you want because you persevere. I'll take all of this with me when I leave.

Camila Dominguez
8th grade

My years in Conchita will always be memorable as some of them have been the greatest of my

life. I'll be missing a lot of what we've done here as a school and as a family of sorts. Family

Affair, Walk to the Future, and Spirit Week are only some of those memories. Since I'll be leaving Conchita in a couple of months, I've taken the thought of my past here into a new perspective.

One that I now see that I've taken for granted. I'll be missing the teachers and all the friends that

I've made here and the only words I can say to them are thank you. Thank you for helping me

shape myself and my future into what it is now. I can promise that Conchita won't just be another memory in my life that'll be forgotten in time. It'll be locked in my mind and my heart as my home away from home.

Adrian Rabassa
8th grade

A four year old, a seed ready to sprout,
the worries of becoming
a white rose
in a bush full of red ones.

What if I don't grow?
What if.
Yet everyday,
I was given
a little bit of water
and soon I saw
a little green leaf growing.

The sun?
The smiles!
The smiles would be my shine.
Everyday greeted with a
"Good morning !"
And off I went with my day.
A little vine growing
little by little
everyday.

The years passed,
The taller I grew,
And the more I saw
how my garden,
was a unique garden,
a colorful one,
each flower a different color
and different personality too!

The older I became
The longer my vine
The stronger my roots
Covered by the blanket
Protected by the sun
Nurtured by love
All from the same garden.

Conchita created this garden,
that provided my shine,
gave me my water,
and watched me grow,
from a seed
to a flower.

My last year.
Being taught how to step off,
And find a new place to grow

Camyle Pliopa
8th grade

Up and up and away we go
Flying through the adventure that is our life
Smiling through it all
Dancing around the halls
Of the school where we've spent years
Growing our precious hearts
 
Here, where we've spent years,
Growing our hearts
We've learned to splatter the world
With the paint that is our love
We've learned to project our voice
deep into the world
So everyone will know of our precious little hearts
 
Here, where we've spent years,
Growing our hearts
We've learned to spread our beautiful melodies of happiness
With the intention of making the world beautiful, too
We've learned to flourish in the knowledge we are given
And to pass it on forever and forever

Here, where we've spent years,
Growing our hearts
We have learned to fly through our lives as if it were one big adventure
Savoring every moment
knowing that even though these moments will pass
We will always find our adventures
Deep inside our growing hearts

Valentina Castro
8th grade

Conchita

Conchita gave me a voice,
it gave me a mind,
gave me a pick and an axe,
and told me to carve
When I asked what,
It said "Carve"
It took me a while,
but i think I've finished it
 
It's not a masterpiece,
It's not complete,
It may never be complete.
Maybe it'll become an
unfinished piece,
like most of Rodin's artwork.
What I carved was a path,
Something simple
But what's most interesting
Are the details
 
I carved musical notes,
songs I will never forget,
the feeling of the smooth wood
of a violin under my skin,
the sound of a piano flowing
through the auditorium while
I waited, to go next, to play next,
all the music I have heard on this haven
 
I carved words,
long and short,
perplexing and simple,
words recited, words written,
words never said, and words learned,
words spoken to the giggling band of girls
All the words I've ever known
 
I carved many different things,
but what was the biggest was
passion, confidence, love.
They helped me to carve myself.
 
Conchita helped me to carve
my structure, my personality, my mind.
Carving taught me to connect my pencil
to my brain.
In the end I realized, Conchita has carved me

Gabriella Garcia-Urbay
8th grade