Superintendent’s Spotlight: David Pineda Pinzon

The Warwick Valley Central School District recently highlighted the achievements of student David Pineda Pinzon as part of its “Superintendent’s Spotlight” series. Pinzon was described as “a perfect example of PAWS behavior at Sanfordville Elementary School.” PAWS is an acronym for Polite Actions, Accountable Actions, Wise Choices, and Safety First Actions.

According to the school district, Pinzon is not only dedicated to learning, he is also dedicated to growth and making sure that he is always doing better. He is passionate about science where he participates in various experiments and learns different scientific terminology. His second favorite subject is math because he likes visiting the math center and completing Math Mysteries.

“He has really shown PAWS behavior, above and beyond. Anytime, anyone needs help, David is always the first one to lend a hand. Whether it’s something somebody dropped or something that needs more cleaning up, he’s always there,” said teacher Sherry Wishnia.

“When one student needs help, David is the first one ready to lend a hand. Whether he helps clean up a spill or he explains the assignment to someone who was out of the room, he is always willing to volunteer to help out,” said Wishnia.

Pinzon was also described as a determined learner who always pushes himself to do his best.

“He had to write a book review for a class project and David was reading a longer book than other students, but he continued to push along and finish the book review even though it took a little while,” Wishnia said.

As a result of his hard work, Pinzon has gotten a lot of Bear Hugs — tickets that students get when they are demonstrating exemplary PAWS behavior. Any staff member can fill out a Bear Hug ticket and every Friday students go to the office and get a bracelet.

Outside of school, Pinzon loves playing with his toy cars and even played baseball with Little Leagues, where his team won the championship.

Of course, everyone encounters tough times, but Pinzon has a strategy for whenever he encounters a difficulty.

“Sometimes I keep trying and I motivate myself. I think of ways I can remember things,” he said. “When we had our seven times tables – I really like football, and it was seven times to seven and there’s a football team called the 49ers and that was the answer to the equation. So I just remembered the 49ers.”

As someone who is doing an excellent job in school, Pinzon has some great goals of his own. “I want to get better and understand more math and math equations. I also want to work efficiently, and increase my reading pace and understanding.”

David, whose family is Colombian, is also bilingual and sometimes he tries to help his peers speak Spanish: “Sometimes they have trouble rolling their Rs,” he said laughing. “But it’s okay because that’s hard.”

Being an ethical and global citizen and a life-long learner are important traits. An ethical citizen acts with integrity and is community-minded. A life-long learner is someone who is dedicated to understanding themselves and their world more and more over time. Pinzon is demonstrating these Portrait of a Graduate characteristics and making strides on the road to success.