SFDSCA Writes: What Would Make Rockaway Even Better?

Last week, we published a few of the sixth-grade students of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy’s persuasive essays about certain things they would like to see changed/improved in our community. We have included a few more this week. These students are hoping the right people take note of their suggestions, and have clearly given this a lot of thought. It is wonderful to see what the future leaders of our great community think could make it even better! Thank you again to their teacher, Nancy Re, for kindly sharing them with us.

CYO Volleyball for Boys

By Tommy Aiken                   

Audience/Reader: CYO sports

I think CYO should start volleyball for boys. I do not think it is fair to have a girls’ volleyball team but not a boys’ team. Volleyball is my favorite sport, and I would love to play on a team. In the following essay, I will give reasons why there should be a boys’ volleyball team and I hope I can convince you to make one.

I have many reasons why CYO should start a volleyball team for boys, and I will share them below. Volleyball can improve hand eye coordination along with your mood, speed, agility, and more. It can also improve the way you work with a team. People may say this is a bad idea because not many boys would want to join, but I have asked my friends and most of them said they would join. Many may also think it would be hard to find a coach, but my dad said he would love to coach. In high school, volleyball is a very popular sport. Some students get scholarships for playing volleyball, but if no boys know how to play, then there will be no team and no scholarships for volleyball. Many people, including myself, love to play volleyball as a hobby. I have done some clinics and I practice in my backyard a lot so I think I would do very well on a team, and it would probably be my favorite sport.

Those are some of my many reasons why CYO should start a boys’ volleyball team. I really love volleyball and I hope a team is started. It would work out perfectly for me and my friends and it would fit into my schedule. I hope my essay has convinced you to start a team for boys.

Community Clean Up

By McKenzie Doyle                              

Audience/reader: Rockaway Times, Local Politician 

Would you like to go to Rockaway beaches that are not very clean? The answer is probably no. A way that we can fix this is not a problem. We can do this by having a clean-up every week on the beach. This could keep our beaches cleaner. This would also help the environment. We could do this by trying to put this in The Rockaway Times. Even though the beach would be nicer, it could increase the number of people going to the beach. It could also create more homes for the wildlife.

A clean-up could also help so trash doesn’t get into the ocean and kill sea life. Also, when it rains, trash won’t leak into the ocean. I would like a clean-up to happen because the beach could be safer and water can have less bacteria. I think this clean-up situation should be a part of our community. I think this can’t only help the earth but show how strong our community really is. Also, if you do research, you can find that there is a difference in animal shortages. Maybe this could be a solution to this problem. No one has found why all the whales have been washing up on shore. Perhaps cleaner beaches could change this problem. Our community could help find a way to fix it.

Another reason for a beach clean-up is to mitigate the problem caused by the ocean debris and the danger that plastic pollution poses to marine life. We could find a million different ways to fix this. We can help show that we need to take part in our community and not let trash take over it. For example, we can explain to others how the trash all gets into the ocean and kills animals. I think a clean-up would help our community and with the ocean.

Build an Indoor Roller Rink

By Jack Neville                         

Audience/Reader: Local Politicians

I think Rockaway should open an indoor roller-skating rink. Local politicians need to use some of the worn down, vacant lots in Rockaway to build a safe, healthy and indoor place for kids to have fun, celebrate and exercise.

Kids are always looking for things to do in Rockaway. Kids need a safe place to hang out together. Without a safe place, kids can get into trouble or get hurt. Families need a place to have a birthday party. It would be nice to not have to travel to another town to celebrate a kid’s birthday. A roller-skating rink would help kids stay healthy by exercising. If kids aren’t provided with ways to stay healthy, we can’t blame them for unhealthy habits. This is why Rockaway should have a roller-skating rink.

As you can see, our local politicians need to provide for the children of Rockaway. They need to use funding and the available space to provide for the children. So these are just three of the many reasons why I feel that Rockaway should open a roller skating rink.