Our own personal Outstanding Student Service winner!!

In April, I got a letter congratulating me for Savannah being nominated for a Mesa Public Schools Outstanding Student Service Award.

What on earth was that??  Who nominated her?  What is going on??

I looked at the bottom of the letter and asked Savannah if she knew who this particular person was that nominated her.  She said the teacher helped the special needs kids at her school.  Then a light started to turn on in my head.  Oh yeah, my sweet 11-year old Savannah has been helping a kid who is very ADHD at school, and maybe that is why she was nominated!

Well, many are nominated, but few are chosen.  And after attending the award ceremony on Friday, May 10, we realized most of these awards are given to special needs kids who are happy, helpful and making great strides in their learning progress. 

There were only 2 awards given to non-special needs kids, and Savannah was one of them.

I am so proud of my girl.  In a nutshell, here's what happened:

Back in October, Savannah noticed a boy named Shane in her class was being bullied on the playground, and was having troubles in class.  Her teacher had stuck his desk in the corner and wouldn't let him get out of the square she taped around his desk. 

Savannah felt that if Shane had someone to help him and sit by him, he would feel more engaged in the classroom and would participate better.  She talked to Lane and I about what to do.  We decided she could write a letter to her teacher asking if maybe Shane could sit next to her at her table, and she would help him.  She was scared the teacher would be mad at her for "telling her what to do", but she did it anyway.

The next day, Shane's desk was next to Savannah's, and her help began.  She helped him do his schoolwork, pay attention, stay on task, and finish his assignments.  Then she would play with him at recess and invite him to play with her friends to keep him away from fights or bullies.

This made a world of difference for this boy.  He progressed so much in his school and social skills and was doing sooooo good.  He even was so thankful to Savannah that he brought her a Christmas present to school and told her she was his best friend.

Apparently the special needs teacher also noticed the change and found out what Savannah had been doing to help Shane .... and here she ended up getting an award! 

Seriously, the girl amazes me with her good heart and generosity.  Lane and I could not have been prouder!!

After showing a video clip of Savannah and reading her nomination letter, she was awarded with a trophy and certificate.

So proud of our good-hearted girl!