April Melanson My name is April Melanson. I

am 13 years old and in 8th grade. I live in Massachusetts and I'm in the LEAP program at Sky View Middle School. I have one brother, Colin. I was born in Leominster on January 15th, 1999 at 5:55 and I was 8lbs. My name was originally suppose to be Ally or Paige. My mom, Marie, really wanted to name me Ally, because it was the star of her favorite TV show, but my dad, Robert, thought Ally in the TV show was annoying and he didn’t like it. So, somehow my name ended up being April!

By: April Melanson

DanceDance. I don’t even know where to

begin! I started dancing when I was 4 at Sterling Academy! When I was 5 I was asked to start competition teams. I switched to Miss Tanya's School Of Dance when I was six years old! My biggest accomplishment though was being asked to train in Germany on the United States Dance Team! I have even won a national title at ADA in Orlando, Florida! To this day I still love dance! Recently I have been training with Matt Parello in ballet jazz and technique! He was the prince in the Boston ballets nutcracker, a protégé at pulse on tour, recently made it on So You Think You Can Dance and has his own company DCW.

Entertainment

I don’t usually like to read but I have read some good books. My favorite book is The Giver by Louis Lowry. I read it last year in ELA with Ms.Corriea. I loved it! Every month I have a team bonding night with my dance team and we get together and watch movies. My favorite movies I have watched with my team are, Footlose, The Last House on the Left, Step up 1,2,3, and 4 and we always find ourselves watching The Last Song and The Time Travelers Wife which are also good

movies.

FamilyI have a big family! I have one favorite thing to do with my family though.

Every year on July 18th my family including my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins take a big trip to a beach in Canada. We play around in the water and make sand sculptures. We have so many memories. We always finish our beach day by going down to a small part of the beach that my grandmother owns, and we roast marshmallows as a family and watch fireworks!

GemmaGemma Grace Smith is my niece. She was born July 18th, 2011. When

Gemma was born she had down syndrome. It has changed my life and my families for the better. We have all benefited and looked at it in a positive way. Also when Gemma was born my whole family put in an effort to learn sign language and we did. It has definitely brought us closer together. She is always smiling and can put a smile on my face any day! Gemma and I definitely have bonding time and our favorite things to do are look at ourselves in the mirror, read books, and climb stairs!

JuneThis year I am looking forward to June. In June we are going to be going to Washington D.C and then we are getting out of school!

In June summer starts and I get to spend time with my friends and family and I don’t have to get up early! I love to go to the beach with friends and my family, we always have great memories at Hampton Beach. In June my family and I will be taking a vacation to Sweden too! In June I will probably start thinking about high school. I am a little scared to go to high school because I will probably get lost. I am not so afraid of the people but the decisions some people make.

Leominster High School

Leominster Blue Devil Logo

Hampton Beach

Karlie AllenKarlie Allen is my best friend. Karlie and I have known each other since

she was 4 and I was 6. We have been extremely close since. Today, she is on my dance team. We always have the best times and we have so many memories together. We always go to the beach during the summer, and whenever we go shopping we never go without each other. I don’t know what I would do without her, she's like a little sister to me.

Karlie and I at Cherry Hill summer 2012Mackenzie, Karlie and I before snowboarding

Karlie and I drew this at Hampton Beach summer 2012

Mackenzie BattenMackenzie Batten is another one of my best friends. I have been friends with

Mackenzie for 6 years. I do everything with Mackenzie! I go over Mackenzie's house every weekend, all day, and everyday. We are practically sisters. We go shopping together in Natick, we go snowboarding together at Watchussett Mountain, we dance together at Miss Tanya's School of Dance and Dance Company Worcester, we go on vacations together and do the craziest things together! Over the summer Mackenzie and I went to Maine for two weeks. We had a blast! If I was with anyone else I probably wouldn’t have been able to spend two straight weeks with them unless it was Mackenzie. Also Mackenzie, her mom, and I are going to Fort Myers Beach, Florida for February vacation. I cant wait to spend time in Florida with me best friend!

Mackenzie school picture 2012

Mackenzie and I summer 2012 Maine, at Funtown Splashtown

Mackenzie and I summer 2012 OOB

New York CityNew York City is my favorite place on earth. Of all the places I've been, New

York is still my favorite place. I love driving into the city and seeing all the sights. I go to New York City very often because my uncle is a dentist in New York. He is a huge dentist and does all the movie stars teeth. He also has a TV show that is filmed in New York. My family and I are huge New York Islanders, and Rangers fans, mostly because my uncle is there dentist, and we love to go to their games. My favorite things to do in New York are go shopping on Fifth Ave. go to Jeckel and Hyde's Restaurant, go to Radio City, go to Broadway shows and most of all just walk around in the big city of New York.

NY Islanders logo

NY rangers logo

Time Square

Jeckyll and Hyde’s

PetsI have one pet. I have a dog named Kayko. She is 8 months old and she is a

Shipoo, a mix of a shitzu and a poodle. I got her over the summer on July 4th. I love to play with her and take her for walks. She's so soft and cute and I love to cuddle with her.

Kayko laying on my bedroom floor

Kayko and I in the car

Kayko laying on my living room floor

QuoteMy two favorite quotes are “ I dance because there’s no greater feeling

in the world than moving to a piece of music and letting the rest of the world disappear” and “People dance because dance can change things. One move can bring people together. One move can make you believe like there's something more. One move can set a whole generation free.” I like these quotes because they express who I am. I love going to the dance studio on a Saturday, playing music, and just dancing with no one watching, the whole world really does disappear. Dance makes you strive to be better and makes you believe there's something more. Dance can change the world.

St. Anna's Catholic SchoolSt. Anna's Catholic School was my first school. I only went there for

pre-k and kindergarten. At St. Anna’s I had a ton of friends. My two best friends were Amelia Leblanc, and Nicole Kowesky. St. Anna’s was even where I met Joe Sanborn. Being in a uniform all day I can remember aggravated me. My favorite part of St. Anna's was getting to school early in the morning and having morning recess.

Kindergarten 2005 show and tellFirst day of preschool 2004

Uncle Tom

I have a very special uncle in my life. My Uncle Tom has been there for me from the beginning. When I was 7 my dad left my family and moved to Canada. When he left I had to move with my aunt and my uncle. Therefore my uncle is pretty much my father. He treats me like one of his own kids and even calls me a “Connelly”. I love when my uncle takes my cousins and I on gator rides around the neighborhood. My Uncle and I occasionally have dance battles too, those are my favorite! My uncle has been away a lot lately though. He's a cosmetic dentist for movie stars in New York and has his own TV show, so he's rarely home but I still love to bond with my Uncle Tom as much as I can. He’s a great role model and the best father figure in my life.

Uncle Tom photo-shoot 2012 My uncle Tom playing hockey 2011

VacationVacation! These are my all time favorite times of the year. I love to go

on vacations. My favorite place to go is Florida. I have been to Orlando, Stewart, Palm Beach, and Fort Myers Beach. My favorite Florida Vacation though was my family vacation to Palm Beach. I went there February vacation 2011. We stayed at a resort on the beach and had a blast! My cousin and I got our nails done and hair done, we spent a ton of time on the beach and at the pool, we went shopping, went to a carnival downtown, and ate a lot of Mexican food! Vacations are a great time to take a break and spend time with your friends and family and that’s why I love them.

My Family and I in Orlando Florida

Beach in Fort Myers, Florida

Year

One year that was very important to me was 2012. This year was important to me because it was the year my nephew Tobin Smith was born. Tobin was born April 6, 2012. He was 6lbs. 5oz. Tobin has had a huge impact on my life. Tobin is most definitely the happiest baby I’ve ever met, and his laugh is so funny it makes me laugh and tear up. My favorite thing to do with Tobin is watch blues clues and eat Oreos. I love Tobin to death and he means so much to me!

Tobin 6 monthsTobin walking on my chest, 7 months Tobin 6 months