The first day of school for any freshman is terribly difficult, especially when you know so few people. My first day in the summer of 2009 at San Diego High School of International Studies was no different. I was the little fish in the ocean, ignorant and scared. I remember getting in line with 50 or more other students to get my schedule for first semester. I remember getting to the front of the line and having a man ask me what my name was; I told him. He then proceeded to ask me from what middle school I had come from and if I was nervous for high school, even though he could easily tell that I was. Then later, perhaps lunch or nutrition break, he approached me again. He asked how my day was going so far; I told him “good”. He then smiled, an expression that would always be on his face for the next two years, and even now, even in the light that he has received a pink slip. It took me several more weeks to discover that he was, in fact the principal, Mr. Ankeney, and he was just as nervous as I, as it was his first year as well at SDHS IS.
Several weeks later, I had made a close group of friends. They were familiar with my family, and they realized that, according to them, Mr. Ankeney looked like my dad. Of course, in the haste of the usual teen contradictoriness, I said no. But they pressed on, and I would continue to deny it . However, even if Mr. Ankeney did not look like my father (truthfully, if my dad still had a beard, they would have a slight resemblance), his compassion and caring for all of his students could be compared to the best father’s compassion and caring for his children. Mr. Ankeney is a father figure for IS, and as a student body, we are his children. He cares for each and every one of us, and we all have the same feelings towards him as well.
Mr. Ankeney is the best principal I have ever had. Fact. In my years of elementary and middle schools, I have had a numerous amount of principals, but none of them would do the things that Mr. Ankeney does. Every day, whenever he walks by, you can always count on hearing a collective cry of “ANKENEY!” from a large group of students. We respect and care for him. There aren’t enough adjectives in the world to describe how awesome, amazing, cool, great he is. And when we heard that he might not be returning to us in the next school year, of course we were outraged. I urge the people responsible for his pink slip to greatly reconsider the position you have put him in. There will never be another principal ever like him. Ever.
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