Jeremiah Baxter
Communities In Schools
of Dodge County
7th Grade Student
Dodge County Middle School
Winner: Public Speaking
Hello everyone! My name is Jeremiah Baxter and I am in the 7th grade at Dodge County Middle School. I would like to thank everybody that is part of the CIS program. I have been in CIS for one whole year. CIS has helped me control my anger by working in a small group setting with Mrs. Harrington, my site coordinator.
Over the course of my life, I have been bullied several times. It started when I was in elementary school with boys picking on me and calling me names. I would get so mad and angry that I would say things and get in fights. The only person I had to go to back then was my mom for advice. She always told me not to worry because I was my own person. It was still so hard coming to school and dealing with my issues. The friends I did have had my back. I still had issues with being loud and never letting my guard down. That is the reason I got in trouble a lot in school.
When Mrs. Harrington, my CIS coordinator started a group sessions at the beginning of this year, things started to change. At first, I had no idea why I was being pulled out of RTI to come to this class. But, after a while I slowly began to realize I was coping with my anger so much better. We set goals for our lives and talked about issues to help me cope with my issues at school.
The other students became friends and helped me get through so tough situations. I truly felt we were a family. My group helped me feel a part of something good and I was developing skills to help me fulfill my goals for the rest of my life. My counselors, my teachers and principals has been there to help me and I no longer feel I have to be on the defense when I come to school.
Our theme for our group was called “Big Chances, Big Choices”. We are always given choices in life. The way we react to life will affect the chances we are given. We sang an old song about if you want to be somebody and you want to go somewhere you better wake up and pay attention. I love to sing and we would sing this part of the song during many of our class sessions. I would like to conclude my speech with a little song I made up about how CIS has helped me.
You can be anything
You can be anything
You can be anything
You can be anything
Don’t let people tear you down,
Don’t let them see you cry,
You know you can always get by,
Because you are perfect,
And you know you are worth it!
Say Ya!!
Bullies say your not worth it,
Until now I would have agreed,
Remember bullies never succeed,
Bullies never succeed,
Bullies never succeed!