What kinds of things does a Sultan Middle School "Student of the YearGÇ¥ like to do with spare time? Well, it entirely depends on whether you are Naomi Dimsha or Trevor Force.
Dimsha and Force, who were among the four Sultan Middle School students honored with a 2014 Student of the Year award, took some time last week to talk about school, hobbies, future goals and their plans for the summer.
For Dimsha, last week's 8th grade promotion ceremony, which took place on Wednesday June 11, was a significant event not only because it was representative of the end of her final year at the middle school, but also because she was chosen by her teachers to give a speech at the ceremony.
It was Dimsha's first experience with talking in front of a large crowd; a large crowd that would not only be made up of her friends and peers, but also her peers' parents, grandparents and family friends.
"I was terrified,GÇ¥ said Dimsha. "I was so scared. I almost wanted to back out because I was so scared of talking in front of all those people.GÇ¥
Dimsha, who was one of two students asked to speak at promotion, penned the two-minute speech herself.
"I talked about how, since we live in a small town, we've all watched each other grow up and we all have known each other since we were little kids,GÇ¥ said Dimsha. "And about all of the memories that we've had together in middle school and everything that we're going to do when we're older.GÇ¥
Mia Stratman, who was honored for being a Super Skyhawk, was the other student who spoke during the promotion ceremony. Both Dimsha and Stratman received accolades from Sultan Middle School Principal Nathan Plummer, who was extraordinarily impressed with how articulate and well-spoken both girls were.
"They both did a fantastic job,GÇ¥ said Plummer. "I was really blown away.GÇ¥
Plummer, who has been with the Sultan School District since last summer, had nothing but praise for his students.
"I think it speaks a lot to the talent and the upper-level caliber of this 8th grade class going to the high school next year,GÇ¥ continued Plummer. "They're in for a treat.GÇ¥
During their time at the middle school, Dimsha and Force, both 14 years old, became extremely passionate about certain subjects.
For Dimsha, who has lived in Sultan since 2005, the class that she enjoyed the most was her literature class. A writer, Dimsha enjoys writing short stories set in a post-apocalyptic environment.
"I love to write,GÇ¥ said Dimsha.
Force enjoyed science the most, particularly the earth history aspect of his science class. He explained that he very much enjoyed studying the earth's composition, specifically as it pertained to analyzing different rock layers to determine what events were occurring as certain rock layers were formed.
"It's kind of like a mystery,GÇ¥ said Force, who lives in Gold Bar.
He is looking forward to taking more science classes at the high school, and is also looking forward to taking Spanish.
As far as their future college and career aspirations, Dimsha and Force have chosen different potential paths. Dimsha, who is interested in psychology, would like to attend either Pepperdine or Stanford University, both of which are located in California. She is looking forward to taking psychology at Sultan High School and hopes to be able to enroll in the class during her sophomore year.
"I really want to study abnormal psychology,GÇ¥ said Dimsha. "I just find crazy people intriguing.GÇ¥
Force, on the other hand, wants to specialize in herpetology, which is a field of zoology that focuses on reptiles and amphibians. He has been interested in the field for about four years, and is preparing himself for the career by caring for his own exotic pets. In addition to a leopard gecko, Force also has two Madagascar hissing cockroaches, each of which is in between three and four inches in length. He even developed his own custom mealworm farm, which he uses to raise mealworms to feed his gecko.
Force hopes that he may eventually be able to accumulate the community service hours required by Sultan High School through volunteering for the Reptile Zoo.
During the summer, Force hopes to spend time hiking and camping, as well as watching horror movies with his brothers and friends.
Dimsha, a long-time volunteer at Sultan Elementary School's year-end carnival, also volunteers at the vacation bible school sponsored by her church. A bookworm at heart, she loves to relax, draw and read, particularly novels by author John Green. His novel "The Fault in Our StarsGÇ¥ is Dimsha's favorite book.
"I'll read pretty much anything, unless it's like a classic,GÇ¥ said Dimsha. "I like more modern books, but I'll read pretty much anything.GÇ¥
As far as movies go, Dimsha is more inclined toward Disney movies than horror movies, and her all-time favorite movie is The Breakfast Club.
Although Dimsha and Force have widely varying interests and hobbies, one thing they definitely share in common is academic excellence. During their careers at the middle school, both Dimsha and Force were awarded numerous certificates, awards and acknowledgements for their high-level of scholastic aptitude. Dimsha, who maintained a 4.0 grade point average consistently throughout her three years at Sultan Middle School, even received a trophy for her efforts. Force, also recognized for being a high honors student during his three years at the middle school, was a 4.0 student for almost his entire 8th grade year.
Additionally, Dimsha was accepted into the National Junior Honor Society, a national program meant to cultivate and encourage scholastic excellence and good citizenship.
Friends since they were in the sixth grade, both Dimsha and Force are enthusiastic about their participation in the Sultan-based youth group known as Battle. Battle, an acronym that stands for "Being all that the Lord ExpectsGÇ¥ is facilitated by Sultan residents Jim and Kari Fulcher.
The Fulchers, who also own the screen-printing company Sky Valley Ink, host Battle in their home from 6 to 8 p.m. every Tuesday. The evenings include interaction, games, dinner, worship time and Bible study.
"My husband and I wanted the youth of the valley to have a safe place to hang out and learn about Jesus,GÇ¥ said Fulcher, who has been leading the community group for over a year.
"Battle has tried to serve our community by doing a few service projects for Crosswater Community Church,GÇ¥ continued Fulcher. "We have also adopted Main Street in Sultan and have spent hours cleaning up the streets.GÇ¥
Dimsha and Force are looking forward to attending Battle meetings throughout the summer, as well as getting the opportunity to travel. Force, who is participating in Sultan Middle School's 8th grade expedition to Washington, DC and other historical sites, will be leaving for the educational field trip on Tuesday, June 17. The seven-day trip will include stops in Boston, Washington, DC, Philadelphia and New York.
Dimsha also has a trip planned this summer; she will be traveling with her brother, Noah, to Bishop Calif., to visit with her father and see where he grew up.
Dimsha, while recognizing the future's promise, is slightly wistful about moving on. Her feelings were summed up succinctly in the speech she wrote for the 8th grade promotion event.
"The last three years have been some of the best of my life,GÇ¥ wrote Dimsha. "I remember walking through the doors of Sultan Middle School on the first day of sixth grade. I was terrified to be somewhere new, but at the same time I was exhilarated by the endless possibilities that I knew my future held.GÇ¥
Principal Plummer had nothing but positive things to say about his inaugural year at the middle school. He stated that there are a lot of great things happening at the school and that he looks forward to building on the year's successes in the fall.
Force's mom, Julie Force, has found Plummer-áto be responsive to parental concerns and extremely effective at relating to the students in a positive way.
"He's a blessing,GÇ¥ said Force. "He is such a blessing to that school.GÇ¥
Here is a complete list of the end-of-the-year awards given to the 8th grade students at Sultan Middle School:
-á
Super Skyhawks: Camry Zaffram and Mia Stratman.
Student of the Year: Trevor Force, Adam Harris, Katie Lucas and Naomi Dimsha.
Outstanding Citizenship: Lauren Landis, Tyler Aamold and Emilee Castillo.
Rising Star: Kyra Risenmay, Kaleb Dennis and Alyssa Nollette.
Turn Around: Damon Perry, Randy Nagle and Hailey Douglas.
Bright Spot: Jenessa Hill and Noah Stithem.
Most Inspirational: Brittany Suter.
School Leadership: Caleb Webb and Lily Morgan.
School Spirit: Claire Sorgen.
Additional information about the community group Battle can be found at Battle's Facebook page located here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Battle/418330024919088. The Fulchers, who provide dinner for Battle attendees each week, would be happy to accept donations of food, snacks and beverages.
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