Metompkin Elementary Beta students seek to compete nationally
ACCOMACK COUNTY, Va. – At least 30 students at Metompkin Elementary School are at the top of their class making the best grades and winning competitions across Virginia, and now they are looking to step up their game.
“I learned to make sure to work hard and keep my grades up and don’t let them go down because then I won’t be in Beta, and it’s really fun,” said Daniela Larrieneaga Bertrand, a fourth grader at Metompkin Elementary School.
In just a number of days they want to compete at a national competition in Oklahoma City, but they do not have enough money to get them there and now they are asking the community to help.
“Competing nationally means a lot to us,” said Khale Labore, a fifth grader at the elementary school.
“We’ve been invited by the judges from regional and some of the groups competed in was group talent, and we’ve won second place for individual awards,” said Labore.
These kids do more than just dig their heads in books. They have won at regional competitions by doing all sorts of things like singing, dancing, photography and even building robots. More than half of all students at the school come from low-income families, and that is why they push themselves to be the best.
“The Eastern Shore as a whole is a rural community so we want to work hard to help our students to see that there is something beyond the small community that we have here,” said co-BETA coach, Melissa Purdy.
According to Purdy, even though the community faces different challenges, competing inspires these students to push forward.
“This is a wonderful community where the families work very hard to provide for their students, but we want our students to see that they can grow and that there are other opportunities out there for them,” said Purdy.
“It means everything to me, and it’s really fun,” said Labore, “Like I said we have amazing teachers, and without BETA it would just be a wreck.”
These students said BETA encourages them to pursue their dreams and with help from the community they hope to continue to impact the lives of others.
To support these students as well as their educators, the school is asking the community to donate at their GoFundMe page by clicking here.
