Do the Right Thing Awards
The next “Do The Right Thing” ceremony for April was be held Wednesday, April 30, in City Council Chambers. Seven Cape Coral students will be recognized.
Jake Lutsky 8th Grade
Challenger Middle School
Jake is a very special child who encourages everyone around him. He assists with 6th grade students asking if they had a good day and if they stayed out of trouble. He is a great role model and a mentor to fourth grade students at Patriot Elementary. Jake is always willing to help out with any job no matter how big or small. He works patiently with students who have difficulties in math and reading at Patriot Elementary and the teachers there say that they are grateful for his time and effort with those students. He takes everything in stride and doesn’t really make a big deal about things. He doesn’t seem to get stressed about any of it. It’s such a great quality about his personality. Jake competes to do his best but not to beat others.He typically is high-fiving the opposing players and acts like it’s just another day!
Benjamin Rivera Jr. – 8th Grade
Challenger Middle
Benjamin has served as the drum major for the advanced percussion classes for 2 years. He decided to learn to play a second instrument and started learning the saxophone last year. He has become one of the finest students in the Challenger Band Program. He recently was chosen, through auditions, to participate in the All County Jazz Performance. He graciously serves as a role model and student leader by selflessly offering any help he can to other students. He leads through academic and musical achievement and with the respect of his fellow students and teacher. He often spends hours after school practicing and tutoring.
Danyella Orjuela – 5th Grade
Pelican Elementary
Esteban Orjuela – 6th Grade
Mariner Middle
Danyella and Esteban are admirable children. They are generous with their time and are always willing to help no matter how big or small the cause may be. For the past 5 years, Danyella and Esteban have dedicated their time effortlessly to serving the community during the Thanksgiving holiday. It began with an invitation from a dear friend to attend the “Feed 5K” at a church in Estero. This was an all day ordeal that ended with the delivery of meals to a multitude of families throughout Cape Coral and the North Fort Myers areas. They participated in a special event where they helped to feed over 5,000 families in need of a meal on Thanksgiving Day. Their first year was a little challenging, but as they continued to volunteer throughout the years they began to develop leadership skills. They initiated the tasks without needing to be told where to go. They packed over 400 containers of gravy and 200 containers of cranberry sauce. They served in the conveyor belt filling up trays with meals and even took the challenge of being servers. After a long day of food and tray preparation, the next step was to take all those trays of meals to families throughout Cape Coral and Fort Myers. This was the journey of enlightenment for both of them. This is where they learned that being “in need” did not equate with being “homeless.” It made them appreciate what they had and helped them understand the meaning of having a home for your kids and still struggle with feeding them especially during the holiday.
Guy Sapen Jr. – 8th Grade
Caloosa Middle
Guy has been a role model and has taken one of the life skill students, Zach, under his wing for the school year. Both Guy and Zach were on a cross country team and are now both in track together. Guy has gone out of his way to help Zach learn the aspect of both these sports. Not only does Guy help him with these activities but Guy got to know Zach as a friend and treats him like he is no different. When Guy sees Zach in the hallways he is always high-fiving him and asking him how his day is going. Guy has gone out of his way to make Zach smile. Recently Zach won ribbons at a Special Olympics running event and Zach was dying to share it with Guy. With that the teacher pulled Guy out of class for about 5 minutes just so that Zach could share it with him. That moment when Zach got done letting Guy read what he had accomplished will be something the teacher will remember for the rest of her life. Guy was so ecstatic for Zach and gave him the biggest hug and high five. Zach lit up; he knows that Guy is his friend and that he cares about him. Zach started off this year super shy and not really talking to a lot of people. Guy is one of the few people that Zach confides in and is always talking to or asking about. Guy is an amazing kid! He knows that he is making the biggest difference in Zach’s life and he makes sure to go out of his way to make Zach feel special anytime possible. Thanks to Guy, his teacher will always have a story to share with her fellow teachers about how one person can change someone’s life. Guy is an outstanding student who has been through a lot and has turned himself around and is acting selfless daily.
Jason Jans – 7th Grade
Challenger Middle
Jason is an honest person. He found a large sum of money on the ground as he was entering the gym at Challenger Middle. Many students would have considered themselves lucky and would have chosen to keep it. But Jason appeared not to think twice. He handed the teacher the money and told her that someone had dropped it and that he did not see who it was. Jason’s teacher states that she is impressed with his integrity!!
Brianna Blevins – 6th Grade
Challenger Middle
When Brianna’s kitten, Minx, got his head stuck in the floor lamp, Brianna was the only person home at the time. Luckily she heard him cry and rushed to his aid. She held him up so he wouldn’t be dangling by his head and checked to make sure he could breathe OK. She needed to get to the phone to call her step mom, Sara. She placed the floor lamp on its side so Minx could stand and then she raced to the phone. When Sara arrived they both put butter around his neck to make him slippery and pulled his head through, but the kitten wasn’t budging. Next Sara sent Brianna to the neighbor’s to get a saw to break the lamp. When Brianna came back she held Minx still so they wouldn’t cut him, but they only got half way through because it was getting too close to Brianna’s hand to keep going. Finally they called 9-1-1 and had to get a fireman to pull her freighted kitten free.