If you’ve been around a public school lately, surely you have heard students and teachers alike discussing the upcoming TAKS, Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, test. The first portion will be administered next week on Tuesday, March 1st. The first portion to be tested in public schools all over Texas is the ELA, English and Language Arts. The exit level juniors will be asked to read selections and answer multiple choice questions and short essay questions over the stories. Then, they will be required to answer questions about punctuation and grammar, the revising and editing portion of the test. Finally, they will be asked to write a coherent two page essay on an assigned topic that shows they have command of the English language.

In order to prepare for the testing, Richland Springs High School sophomores and juniors have been honing their writing skills and attempting to predict what this year’s writing topic might be.

Following are two of the sophomore’s practice essays written on the topic, "Write an essay about a time someone encouraged you."

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Receiving encouragement from someone is a big deal. It can change someone and make them into a better person. Someone that has given me encouragement throughout half of my school years would be Coach Burkhart. Coach Burkhart has been here since I was in the 6

Almost all through junior high and high school, Coach Burkhart has encouraged me to get bigger and better. I have been getting stronger ever since. The main reason I’ve been getting stronger is from Coach encouraging me.

This past year, Coach has been putting God into our football program for encouragement. I would have to say it has worked out really well because I see God more clearly than I have ever before. It’s been really good this year during football because I feel like we’re all a team.

After we won our State Championship last year, off season began. The first week of off season after our Christmas break was really tiring and hard. At the start, Coach Burkhart had a word on the board.

The word was "leadership." After every work out, Coach Burkhart or Coach Brand would tell us a letter, and then they would say what word it is. The second letter in leadership was for encouragement. Coach Burkhart would then say a couple of quotes or meanings about the word.

Coach Burkhart told us about integrity, endurance, and loyalty, and how they all add up to leadership to encourage others. Coach always talks about being a role model to the younger kids and about being a good example to them. He speaks the truth.

We had a meeting about a month ago, and Coach told us that some of us needed to step up. He said that we needed to get bigger and quicker. That’s really the main reason why we’re working out so hard in off season.

I have high hopes for next year. I plan to achieve my goal by Coach encouraging me. I hope Coach stays here through all of my last school years. I think everyone will receive encouragement from Coach Burkhart. All in all, Coach Burkhart is a leader and will always encourage people.

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"Encouragement"

Encouragement is a very important part of a young adult’s life. Without encouragement, one would not have the drive to succeed. Encouragement given by a loved one is powerful. It helps one grow, and overcome fear.

I am sixteen, the baby of my family. My brother Jason is ten years older than I. The age difference is far enough apart, that we don’t fight. Jason and I share a bond unlike any other. He is there for me whenever I need him. Jason has encouraged me many times. There is one time I will never forget.

It was two years ago, and Jason wanted to take me hunting. We went to sleep at 8:00 P.M. We woke up the next morning on time. Jason grabbed us pop tarts, and we headed out the door.

We jumped in Jason’s red truck and decided we should have started it earlier. It felt like a freezer. It was a thirty minute drive to the hunting place. I didn’t say much on the ride. Jason could tell I was nervous. He assured me I would do fine.

We walked in the dark, across the sandy field to the deer stand. The deer stand was a dark green color, and Jason climbed in first. He set up the chairs and helped me in. We were there for thirty minutes, and finally we saw the sun rise.

The sun made the old rusty feeder visible across the field. We watched quietly and soon the feeder shot corn all around. Seconds later I saw horns above a bush, walking toward the corn. I glanced at Jason. The grin on his face let me know he had seen them also.

As the buck made his way to the clearing, Jason and I lost our breath. He looked at me and told me to get my gun up. I told him I couldn’t do it. I tried to talk him into shooting the enormous deer. He smiled and said, "Cheyenne, you are a Tharp. You can do this." I shook my head no again. He put his hand on my shaking arm and told me he believed in me.

I brought the gun up to the window. My heart was racing. I held my breath and pulled the trigger. The deer hit the ground. Jason and I walked out to find a huge ten point buck. I felt as if I was on top of the world. Jason picked me up and said, "I knew you could do it!" I smiled, looked up, and said, "I couldn’t have done it without you."

I would have never killed that deer without Jason to encourage me. I would not be the person I am today, if it wasn’t for all the times he encouraged me to pick my head up and keep going. He has encouraged me in life, school sports, and being a good person. Encouragement is easy to give, and can help one to be successful and overcome fear. I give thanks every day for having such an amazing brother to encourage me.

th grade. Coach Burkhart is an optimist that expects the best outcomes, and he will keep you up when you are down.st in order to be fully prepared for the ELA TAKS test. The long awaited testing day is upon us this next Tuesday. Please remember all children in all public Texas schools this coming Tuesday as they face the stress of testing.