I like to go on the playground. It’s fun because there are a lot of things to do on it. We go on the monkey bars. That’s really fun. There’s a slide. Once I climbed up it; I grabbed one of the metal things and pulled myself up.

Have you thought about what you want to do when you are older?

I want to be a barber.

Why?

Because I do my hair every day and stuff.

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I like to cheerlead and dance because it’s been a passion of mine. It’s been something that I’ve wanted to do since I was younger. I’m happy that I made the cheerleading team at the school because I know that it’s not something that’s easy to do.

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I think most people think Valentine’s Day is more about love, but I think it’s more about friendship. Some people think it’s all about having a Valentine, but you don’t need one – you can just have everyone to be nice to.

So, everyone is your Valentine?

Basically, yes.

Why do you think it’s important to be nice and kind to everyone?

Well, because Ms. Hand talked about it and she said, “It brings a mile of smiles.”

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This is my fourth year at Lynnhaven Middle. The best part of my job is getting to see the kids every year and how they change and get better and to know some of their story. And a lot of it breaks your heart a little bit; you just never know what students really are going through until you work [in a school]. I have two kids. They went through school. I mean, just in general, you don’t know what kids are dealing with nowadays, and sometimes you can make them laugh or smile, give them a hug, make them feel a little bit better, listen to them and be there for them. I mean, we’re here for the headaches, the stomachaches, the PE injuries and things like that, but you develop relationships with kids. You just see them grow. They’re really my kids. My husband says, ‘They’re not your kids,’ but they’re my students; they’re my kids. I’m glad I get to be here every day for them and hopefully I can give them something if they’re not getting it at home. I use a lot of humor in my nursing because that’s just how I relate. If I can make kids laugh or smile, I enjoy it. I’m not changing the world by any means, but you can make a difference.

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I was born and raised in Pungo. I went to Creeds Elementary for grades 1-7 and then I went to Kellam. They didn’t have middle schools then…or air conditioning.

I started out with the division in 1972 as an electrician and I was an electrician for 26 years. Then they created the night crew. So for almost 20 years I’ve been in charge of plumbing, electrical and HVAC from 2-10:30 at night. I was head of security officers that work overnight. I was in charge of them for 3.5 years.

Are you a night owl?

Yes. I love it. I love nights. I go to bed at 1-1:30 in the morning.

What would you say about the night crew?

Oh, they’re great. It takes a special person to work nights. I have 22 people – they do HVAC, electrical, plumbing, A/C filters. We take care of all that at night. We have two night crews. The other night crew is everything but mechanical systems. It’s been good. I love my job – love my job and I love the people.

Are you retiring? 

No. Maybe in a couple more years. I might make it to 50 years. I don’t know.

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You got to go to Hawaii, right? What was that like?

It was good. It looked like a tropical island. You couldn’t go out, like, far in the ocean. There were tiny fish swimming up around my grandma and my grandma’s friend’s legs. This kid, he was looking for the fish in the water. He was snorkeling.

I heard you brought back a special gift for your assistant principal. What did you do?

We used some wrapping paper and we put some sand in a bottle and we wrapped it up and we gave it to her.

Why did you do that?

Because she asked me nicely. She said that she wanted some sand from (Hawaii).

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I want to be a veterinarian.

Why?

Because I like pets and I want to be able to take care of them. And I want them to be healthy because I like dogs a lot. I have two dogs, a turtle and a bunny.

Are you responsible for taking care of them?

Umm, no. My dad is responsible for the turtle and my sister is responsible for the bunny. My other two sisters are responsible for our two dogs.

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What I’m passionate about at Kempsville is school spirit – 100 percent. I like to dress all crazy. Me and partner in crime, Abby O’Neil, try to step up every spirit day. When I got here four years ago I noticed there wasn’t a huge participation in spirit days. I thought there was a little more school spirit when I was here…maybe not much. I graduated in 2009. Honestly, when I was here, I only did some of the days. Whereas, now I try to go all out. Me and O’Neil try to push each other all the time because it’s fun and it brightens the school up.

I’ve dyed my beard before for Chief Pride Day. I dyed it red and blue. We dressed up for Old Person Day. I’m always partial to America Day. I’m a very patriotic person. On Twin Day a bunch of students dressed up like me. On Tacky Sweater Day I dyed my beard green and hung ornaments in it. Kids start laughing when they see me. Good! It’s funny. It’s school spirit!

When I was in high school I thought I was cool, in a bad way – as in, I didn’t take advantage of all the opportunities Kempsville had for me. I didn’t go to leadership workshop. I didn’t do many spirit days and stuff because I thought I would be a weirdo. I didn’t want to stick out. Now I do this so that kids know it’s okay to take these opportunities. I’m all about after-school activities, about spirit, about wanting to be here.

Kempsville is such a cool school. It really is. It’s a historical school. We have a community that supports us and I mean, some kids knock the building for being 50 years old but our custodial staff is awesome. They are rock stars. It’s an old school, but we have roots. I can’t emphasize how cool it is to see from both sides, as a student and a teacher. I mean, I teach across from my English teacher from 11^th grade. It’s just a really cool place to be.

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I like to do math a lot and multiplication, but sometimes it’s really hard. We’re getting into decimals and I’m kind of starting to understand. I also like to do Achieve3000, and we’re doing this watershed project where we build it and paint it.

I hear you are a member of your principal’s student advisory panel.

I am. I like that we can share our ideas to make our school a better school, and it’s really fun going to the meetings.

What are some ideas the group has to make the school better?

A vending machine. Vending machines…I just like them for some reason.

Also, I want a spring dance. That’s when the weather is OK to dress up and that’s my birthday season. My birthday is in May. We could have a carnival theme.

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I donate a lot of things. I also try to help people as much as I can with activities and things. For my age, I really wish I could volunteer. I’m just trying to find something that I can volunteer for. I just have really a lot of fun helping people. I donate clothing, jackets, toys to Samaritan House. It’s usually good to share with people who don’t have a lot.

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I want to go to college and major in psychology or photography.

What interests you about those subjects?

I just like taking pictures and I want to know why people do the things they do.

I also like math and history. Math sort of comes easy to me, and I like learning about how our nation is the way it is, how it came to be.

I’ve always loved art. I’ve done it since I can remember. I got into being an actual artist and selling my stuff about eight years ago. I do a lot of mixed media – found objects and a lot of stuff with silverware. It’s just fun. Finding different objects, common objects that people kind of look at and throw away, I love to repurpose them – old clocks, old watches, basically anything I can find. I go to thrift stores a lot. I just go in there for hours. Sometimes I don’t really have an idea I just find the piece and that sparks the idea. Sometimes I do have an idea and I’m looking for that one special piece. Then it’s like a needle in a haystack, but sometimes you find it.

So I kind of do that on the side any time I have free time. It’s pretty cool because I get to take that and bring it into the classroom and the kids just love it.

This is my 15^th year teaching – 14 in kindergarten and one year in pre-K. I’ve just always loved the little ones. They’re so moldable. I just love that they come in not knowing a whole lot and then when that light bulb goes off, especially around January, it’s amazing! And when they leave kindergarten and you’re responsible for that, it’s a pretty awesome feeling.

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I like helping my little sister. She’s 1. I help her with ABCs. I say, “OK, A-B-C,” and then she starts smiling. We also do little flashcards with my old flashcards I used to do. I bring them out and I say “A is for apple;” and if we have that thing in the house, I bring it and let her touch it and see if she can get used to it. I’m always the small one in my family and I’m always the one being taught by somebody. Now, this little munchkin is here and I get to help her.

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I am a senior at Kempsville High School. My interest is to go and get a political science degree at whatever college I may attend. I recently found out that I’m moving to Naples, Italy in early July. My stepfather was stationed in Naples, working for the US government. I’m very excited. It’s a big opportunity. I’m going to be attending UMOC Europe. It’s an online/onsite college. I will be majoring in political science and then I’m going to get my law degree. I’m hopefully going to be a lawyer working in the 757 area or probably Northern Virginia. I also so have an interest in running for political office one day. I’m very excited. I hope to represent the Old Dominion very well one day.

Why are you interested in running for office?

I’m interested I running for office because I do believe that politicians and our youth are the future. Essentially, if we can find a way to collaborate and work together we will have the ability to change the future for whatever good we may believe in.

Are you interested in any particular area or policies?

Education reform. Both my parents work in the education system. I grew up around parents who taught children and I always saw how passionate they were. I know that a lot of the teachers who work in the school system are very passionate and I want them to have the best resources available to them to be able to educate young minds and hopefully, one day, create teachers for tomorrow.

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Super Bowl friends

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I like to play basketball. I’m the captain on my team. My coach said I’m the No. 1 pick because I’m the most aggressive on my team and most hardworking. I hustle a lot. For most people on my team it’s their first season and I’ve been on for a bunch of seasons, so he picked me to be the captain.

Why do you like to play basketball?

Well, it’s healthy and I like making baskets.

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What I like about Windsor Woods are the kids. When I started with the school system I was working nights, so I didn’t really interact with the kids. So when I became the head day custodian I didn’t know if I had the temperament for kids because my kids are all grown up. When I came in and started working with them, it’s fun. Kids are so honest. They’re really honest. It makes me appreciate being here, seeing young minds grow.

Your principal says you’re doing a lot of mentoring, too.

I just want them…some may not have a father figure or someone who is going to guide them down the right path, so I just want them to know – right or wrong – I’m going to be fair.

And I heard you were arm wrestling students.

That was for a leukemia fundraiser. They donated $1 to arm wrestle me during lunch. It was funny. It was really funny. I gave them a Superman cape to wear.

Did you win?

No. All the kids were too strong.

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I kind of like doing art because art is pretty fun to do. Like, you draw and you can make stories on a computer with it and you can paint, cut, paste and draw. I’ve been doing it when it’s art time in school. I just did a kindness poster for Ms. Carol in the cafeteria and said it was the best food ever and put food around everywhere. She loved it, and on the bottom I signed it: ‘by Rex, the Kindness Kid.’

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I’m a triplet. I have two brothers. I’m the youngest. We are all in different classes.

Do you like being a triplet?

Well, sometimes, but mostly I don’t get the attention. I do get my own room.

How do you celebrate your birthday?

Last time, we went to Great Wolf Lodge and I brought one of my friends. We just had one birthday cake and I don’t know how many candles. I’m turning 10 this year. My birthday is in December.

What do you like to do in school or outside of school?

In school I like to do math and division. Outside of school I like to play on my phone or play on my Xbox. I like reading. I like telling others about my life. Sometimes I just tell them in talking or I write about it.

I want to be a neurologist when I grow up. My mom says, please be a doctor so you can have a good experience in life. So, I want to be a neurologist. They have a good job and they study more, and I like to study.

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The people at this school are really cool. The teachers, they’re great. I love my teachers, and Mr. Harris is really nice. I started a club earlier. They make it really easy to do what you want to do with it. I started an Operation Smile club. In middle school I did it for a little bit, but I didn’t really get into it. Then when I got to sophomore year, I started volunteering at their headquarters and I met some great people and it was a lot of fun. I thought, we don’t have a club here and I know other high schools have them and I wanted to start one.

I want to be a doctor when I graduate so it’s a good way to help people and learn a little bit about medicine, even though there is not much hands-on experience. It’s just great being in the environment and meeting new people and hearing about their missions and knowing I’m doing something to help them, even if it’s just small.

Why are you interested in becoming a doctor?

I’m really good at math and science, so that kind of helps. And I just really like helping people, honestly. I’ve always loved volunteering; it’s my favorite thing to do. Becoming a doctor would mean I could help people every day.

I love children so I was thinking about becoming a pediatrician but I have a lot of personal experience with eyesight; like, I’m wearing contacts right now, so I was thinking about ophthalmology. The eye is so cool! It’s connected to the brain. There are so many things about the eye. You’ve got the iris and the pupil, and there are cones and rods and that’s what makes you see color, and certain people see different colors in different ways because of the cones and the rods. And the optic nerve connects to your brain. And you could hurt your eye in some way and it can be fixed even though it’s this weird ball, squishy material. It’s just really cool.

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I like playing at PE and math. I like to play Around the World in PE. You start in one spot and shoot the ball, and if you make that you scoot on to the next spot and shoot. You go around the court and whoever makes the last basket is done.

What do you like to do outside of school?

Play with my friends. We play baseball and shoot hoops.

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I like to dance because it expresses how I feel. I also love to sing, act and draw. It expresses who I am because you don’t have an instruction to do it; you can just do it freely. I try to do it every day in my free time. My favorite is dancing. I go to Old Donation School every Monday. It’s a school for the gifted and I go to school there for a day for dance. I’m on the dance team there. Here, at my school, I’m on the safety patrol team. A safety patrol is a person who helps keep people safe. So, I hold the door for people who are coming in. We tell them to walk instead of run. I decided to do it because I want to keep everyone safe and I want to make sure that everyone is okay.

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When we grow up we’re going to be different. When you’re 10, you’re a little different and when you’re a grown-up, you’re, like, really different.

How are you going to be different?

I buy my own clothes. Have my own money. Put your clothes on by yourself. I’m ready to go out on my own because I problem solved and opened a bag of chips.

What are you going to be when you grow up?

I find dinosaur eggs and see what dinosaur’s it is. I want a Tyno Rex!

Where have you learned about dinosaurs? In school or somewhere else?

Somewhere else. I go to Dinosaur World! It’s very long to get there. But you can go wherever you want because there is a park there and I went to a park there. I saw real dinosaurs!

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I’ve seen the shop grow from three people to 36. All three of us rode in the same truck to do AC work, and that was it. That was it. I’m going to say there were maybe 40-ish schools at the time. We were just getting started with AC. I graduated in 1972 from Kempsville High, and First Colonial and Kempsville were the only high schools that had air conditioning at that time. Then there were a couple of middle schools. That is my biggest reflection; I’ve seen a lot people come and go in my shop. I’m going to miss the people a lot.

Are you retiring?

Yes. Friday is my last day.

What are you going to do in retirement?

I’m not really sure. I’m going to do some work for a couple guys that do side work. My wife, all she’s worried about is me laying around and not doing anything. We’re kind of remodeling the house right now so family can take it over and then we’re moving and downsizing.

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My favorite subject is math. There’s nothing wrong with other subjects but math is just what I like. I have a love for it. I understand it. I want to be a math teacher – a middle school math teacher. I want to teach in middle school because the kids are not too childish but then they’re not grown yet, so I can kind of get them on the right track before they hit high school. I had a great middle school math teacher and I feel like I could be like her. I don’t feel like a lot of people understand how to use math and I want to make sure they can use it. I can use real world situations to help them out and help them understand what math is really for.

I plan to go to North Carolina Central to study education. I’ve been accepted. The campus tour is next weekend. There is a freshmen orientation in June where we are there for a week.

Do you want to come back and teach at the beach?

I will. I plan to come back home. I’m in the VTFT program – Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow. So, I will be applying for the teaching contract and hopefully I will be selected and will have a guaranteed job with Virginia Beach when I come back.

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Last year I had a big surgery. So, this leg is shorter than the right and I had to get a big brace to stretch it out to make it even. And, it was really hard and difficult to do such a thing because it took a lot of money and a lot of therapy, and I’m still kind of going through it right now. I’m almost all done with therapy, but I have to get surgery again when I’m about 15. I missed about four weeks of school.

And your teachers and friends here helped you?

Yes. Cameron was the biggest help of all. He’s still my best friend. He helped during the surgery without me asking. He carried my books since I had to have crutches. Also, I have another best friend whose name is Jadelyn. He helps me out. He’s a really good friend and loyal to me.

Is there anything else we should know about you?

Sometimes at my home and here, I love to act weird. Sometimes I get crazy just to have a laugh.

What do you do?

I don’t know – just something pops in my head. Like, I might sit like this.

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We haven’t been in school much lately, but it’s near the end of the semester. I’ve liked all my classes so far, especially physics. It mixes the two things I like – math and science, which I’ve found very interesting. Calculus, surprisingly, is probably my second favorite class right now. I’m struggling in English, but I’m getting through, trying to hold that A, well an A minus right now.

On the swimming side, everything is going well. Soon we’ll have districts and then regionals, and hopefully I’ll make it to states. Last year I got two seconds at states, in the 100 free and 50 free. The year before that I got two thirds at states, in 500 free and 100 fly. So hopefully this year I’ll get two firsts. Hopefully – that’s the goal. This year I’m probably go to do 50 and 100 free and see if I can get the state records that the senior who beat me last year got. He graduated so hopefully I’ll win it this year. That’s the goal. I’m excited to try and get the record.

Do you have a favorite race?

I like the sprints – 50 and 100 free, 100 fly, occasionally 200 free, all the freestyle and butterfly sprints. I just like swimming. When I was growing up it was between that and football. I’ve been swimming for 12 years, since I was 4. That was when I started competitively swimming. It was summer league. It was 25 free and 25 back. That was it. Now I’m up to 200 fly, the mile – all the long stuff now. I’ve just always liked swimming. I always just liked the way the water feels and it’s a good activity to work everything. You’re not just building strength. You’re building flexibility and stamina. It’s fun.

I hear you have several colleges interested in your swimming career.

I got All-American swimming for my academics, and then I got All-American for swimming in general, for the 50 and 100 free that I won at states last year. I haven’t committed yet but the recruiting process started for me September 1 of this year. That was interesting. It’s all new. It’s a fun process but it gets kind of stressful at times because you have to call these schools at night and think about whether or not you want to go there. Like, I’m stuck between three schools right now: Virginia Tech, UVA and Indiana. So, it’s stressful but it’s fun.

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What I like about school is my teacher. I like her because she is funny and she makes learning fun and we do a lot of fun stuff. And if you’re having trouble with something she kind of gives you a clue and helps you with it.

I like math. It’s my favorite subject because it’s usually not really hard for me. Some things do get a little difficult, but I start to understand if somebody gives me, like, a clue.

Outside of school I like to do gymnastics. I got in this special class. It’s for higher level people and we do different stuff in different groups. I like the beam and bars. I get a little scared when I jump on the beam because one time I fell off,  but I landed on my feet. Now we’re practicing handstands on the beam.

Have you thought about what you might want to be when you grow up?

I want to be a nurse like my mom. I would get to help people who are sick.

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I am a clergyman. I am an assistant pastor at my church and that’s what drives me – my spiritual beliefs. My religion advises me to go forward, makes me excited to see a new day each day. I’ve been a clergyman since 2001. I get excited to have older people confide in you and you can pray with them. When things turn around for the better, they come and thank you. Just spending time and showing deep concern for them is great.

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I really like school because we learn.

What kinds of things do you learn?

We learn… I know math a lot.

Is that your favorite thing to do?

Well, my favorite thing to do is to do pluses. And I’m REALLY good at pluses.

You are? What is two plus two?

Four!

What about three plus zero?

Three.

I can’t trick you. What else do you like about school?

I like that we learn how to read books. We always get new books and we read with Ms. Valet.

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I like the fun in reading and the fun in math. My teacher makes math really fun for us. She tells us fun things like: “The yellow duck has three sisters. They are pink. How many ducks does that equal?” It’s four because there is one yellow one and three pink ones.

And I like to read. I read at home because it helps me a lot. Outside of school, I like to read and I like to do my own kind of math. Like I do hard problems that my dad helps me with and my mom helps me with reading if I get stuck on a word.

I like to be active. I’m going to start doing karate soon. My next door neighbor – she’s my babysitter and she teaches it. And one of my Girl Scouts friends is coming to karate too. I like to do arts and crafts. I have books that tell me what I can do. You make a picture frame with sticks, and you can paint a picture of the ocean or of leaves falling down.

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