I Am Byrne Creek
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Byrne Creek Secondary School, located in Burnaby, British Columbia, is the 2012 winner of ASCD's Vision in Action: The ASCD Whole Child Award. At ASCD's Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Principal David Rawnsley accepted the award on behalf of the Byrne Creek community, and shared a student-written poem that represents the rich diversity that is so valued at the school. Here is the "I Am From" poem, in its entirety.
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I am from Iran, a country with scorching hot deserts, a rich history,
colourful gardens, of roses covered with unforgiving thorns.
I am from the Pearl of the Orient Seas,
where the Sun rises from the west,
vanishes before the clock strikes—to thick puffs of gray.
I am from Kinshasa:
big city, large population, huge family.
I am simply from a quiet neighbourhood nearby.
I am from Shanghai, China,
where my