WJREA recognizes Graceville School essay contest winners

The West Jackson Retired Educators Association rewarded Graceville School fifth graders for their participation in the organization’s annual essay contest, Friday, February 16, 2024.

All participants received goody bags and the top three winners received additional gifts and accolades.

Presenting the rewards were, Amity Britt, Brenda Vaughn, and President of the WJREA Sue Johns. Students were asked to write an essay about a happy memory with their grandparents. The three top essay winners were: first place Lazaya Sorey with her essay “Grandma Queen”, second place was Ahmir Gainer with “My Great Grandma”, and third place was Paisley Peterson with “Remembering Grandma”.

All three essays have been reprinted below.

Grandma Queen

By Lazaya Sorey

Everyone has special memories and experiences with the important people in their life. Some of my favorite memories in my life have been made with my awesome Grandma Queen.

My Grandma Queen is what some people would call crazy, but I would describe her as a very caring grandma with a huge heart who just loves to take care of people. She loves and takes care of her family, but she also spent many years loving and taking care of students on the school bus that she drove.

My favorite memories with Grandma Queen were when I first started riding her bus. She welcomed me on the bus each morning with her big smile. She was also a much better bus driver than some of my classmates had! In the afternoons, sometimes I would get to ride home with her and stay at her house for a little while. She always made sure that I got my homework done. I would try to be sneaky and watch TV instead, but she caught me every single time!

Another good memory I have with Grandma Queen is sitting with her at basketball games. A lot of people in my family have played basketball over the years and Grandma Queen never misses a game! Sitting beside her is so much fun because she gets very involved in the game. She even has a referee shirt that she wears to some games because she said the referees do not really do their job right and she can do it better. She also makes sure that I have plenty from the concession stand during games too. Even when I tell her I do not need anything, she still makes sure I get it. This year, I got to play middle school basketball. Grandma Queen made it to every one of my games. That made me feel like I was cared for by her. It made me feel special.

My Grandma Queen has a very large personality. She is very outspoken and tells everyone what she thinks. I think that is where I get my personality from. I have been told that I have a big personality. Also, everyone tells me that we act just alike. I love it when people tell me that. I am proud to be compared to such a great woman. I love my Grandma Queen, and without her I would probably just be known as “that one girl.”

As you can see, my Grandma Queen has made an enormous difference in my life. She is incredibly special to me, and I am proud to be her granddaughter.

My Great Grandma

By Ahmir Gainer

Everyone has special memories and experiences with the important people in their lives. Some of my favorite memories in my life have been made with my great grandma.

Some of my favorite memories with my grandma are making food and helping her with cleaning. Some of my other memories are when me and my great grandma were watching a football game. We made a bet with each other on who was going to win and then my great grandma won the bet. That was not good for me because then I had to clean the bathroom for a whole month! I did not like this outcome, but she thought it was very funny. Another memory is when I was helping my grandma pick pecans and then we used them to make a pecan pie. The pie was so good, and it was even better because I helped her make it! Every Sunday, my great grandma and I will sing church songs until we get tired. She is an incredibly good singer and makes the songs sound great. I am not as good as her, but it is still fun every time we do it. Me and my great grandma love to read scary books like Goosebumps. We take turns reading and love the mystery of the books. We also love sports. I remember when Florida State won the championship in 2014, and we celebrated by cooking our favorite pasta. I remember when my great grandma first taught me how to cook spaghetti and meatballs. I wanted to learn so she taught me. She also helped teach me how to read and count when I was really young.

These memories are special to me because they were made with my great grandma. She is one of the best people in the world and I am so happy that I have her in my life to make memories with.

Remembering Grandma

By Paisley Peterson

Everyone has a special memories and experiences with the important people in their life. Some of my favorite memories in my life have been made with my grandma. She is my favorite grandma. My favorite memories with my grandma are when we were when we were just spending time together.

I remember a time when we had a movie night at her house. We picked out a movie to watch together and then we snuggled together, and she said I love you. That was a good night! Then, the next day, we went to the peanut festival in Dothan. We went on the Ferris Wheel which is one of my favorites. While we were one it, we hugged each other, took pictures and then she kissed me on the forehead saying, “I love you” and I said, “I love you too.” This was another sweet moment. When the festival was about to close, we got in the car, and she dropped me off at my house. Before she pulled away, she rolled down the window and said, “today was the best day of my life!” I told her I felt the same way. She said, “can I tell you something?” I asked her what it was, and she said “I am always there for you, even when I die. Enjoy being young while you can.” A few weeks after that she died in her chair then we took her to the funeral home Mariana and had her funeral. It was incredibly sad, and I miss her very much.

Even though I miss her and do not have a chance to make any new memories with her, my memories with my grandma are still great memories. I am thankful that I got to have these experiences with her. I will always remember her.

WJREA MEMBERS are pictured with the essay contest winners from left, Sue Johns, Amity Britt, Lazaya Sorey, Paisley Peterson, Ahmir Gainer, 5th Grade English Teacher Samantha Matthews, and Brenda Vaughn.

For more article subscribe to The Graceville News at Pricing Plans.