by Juwan Scott, Captain of the Albizu Campos Basketball Team, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School
(Students at Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School compete in monthly “Attendance Challenges” by supporting each other in their PANA groups (Peers Advising to New Achievements). Following are comments by a student who earned a place on September’s prize-winning adventure trip, which went to the Jayuya Pana, with an attendance rate of 90.5%.)
Students who won the school’s September Attendance Challenge, by earning highest percentage for on-time daily attendance, won tickets to go to the United Center on October 6th to cheer the Chicago Bulls against the Washington Wizards. We started by taking photos in front of the Michael Jordan statue. After we took our seats, we watched players shooting on the court. The whole time watching, I was thinking about how our team at Albizu Campos compares with the Chicago Bulls. The Albizu Campos team thrives on defense, just like the Bulls. As I watched, I was thinking about leading our own team through the upcoming season. Then the lights went out and it was silent. After we gave the “Power Clap,” it was Game Time! Highlights of the game included every basket by Derrick Rose, who came back from a two-year injury to prove himself. After the first quarter, the spotlight was on us, when the huge “Mini-Tron” display showed students from our school with signs in the air. The best moment was during half-time, when our school was acknowledged and welcomed to the “Mad-House on Madison,” with our school name in lights, broadcast to the 21,000 people in the arena and across the nation.
