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Volume 14 No. 1

Fall, 1999

Experiencing the Sharp Center
by Lentz Acosta
One day I got in a fight on school grounds for a stupid reason. Then two teachers saw me and tried to stop me and they did. Then they sent me to my administrator.
When my administrator finally got the time to see me, she told me the punishment. I knew when you get in a fight on school grounds you get suspended from school. I decided I was going to accept my punishment.
When I realized what I did was not right, the person that I fought and I accepted that it was over. We both told the truth and said that it wouldn't happen again. But that didn't stop school rules, so the other person and I had to accept the punishment of suspension. Since they realized that it was my first time for this they told me about the Sharp Center across the street from the school. This center is only for Blair students who are suspended. That was an option that they gave so we accepted to go there for three days.
The Sharp Center, as I mentioned before, is only for Blair students. The center began last year in early March, 1999.
When I got there I felt like it was going to be boring because I wouldn't be able to see my friends. But when I met Mr. Henley who is in charge of the Center he made me think in a different way.
We started with a conversation about what I did and why I was there. He helped me with some schoolwork and I could use the computers in the Center, too.
Mr. Henley has a positive feeling about the students who go there. “I accept people as who they are and try to help them to go ahead and become a successful in life and encourage them to get involved in school activities,” he said.
Even though Mr. Henley is in charge of the program, he has other people who come to help. “I am trying to get new volunteers to come and help people here in Sharp to help them in their schoolwork,” Mr. Henley said.
In my personal opinion from my own experience, I think that this is a real interesting place because it helps you to get concerned about behaving yourself and helps keep you out of trouble.
Now whenever I think about doing something wrong I don't do it because it might cause me a lot of trouble.