Yesterday at Springman Middle School, on the basketball court at halftime between the Springman vs. Attea games, the school held a brief ceremony honoring Sammy. Sam’s eighth grade coach Alex Posner presided where he and Sam’s good friend and teammate Katie Klemke unveiled Sam’s framed #1 Springman Wildcat jersey. Her jersey and number are to be retired and hung in the lobby of the school.
During the two years Sam and Katie played for Springman, they compiled a record something like 35-1. Under coach Posner’s 8th grade team, they went undefeated.
Sam would have been so honored by this. Thank you District 34, Coach Posner, and everyone involved at Springman.
Below are the words spoken by Mr. Posner at the ceremony.
Today we are going to honor former Springman student and star basketball player Samantha Ann Cipolla... she was known to all of us as Sammy. Sammy was a member of the Springman family from 2000 to 2002. After that Sammy went on to become a star athlete at Glenbrook South High School. Then she attended Northern Illinois University. It was at Northern that Sammy was diagnosed with cancer. Over the two years following Sammy’s diagnosis, not only was her life profoundly changed, but the lives of many who followed her story were changed. We are not only honoring Sammy today for her contributions while here at Springman but more importantly because of what we learned from her during those two years of her battle with cancer. Sammy taught us to stand tough in the face of adversity. She taught us to appreciate things we might otherwise take for granted. She taught us an important message about love. She showed us how to be positive and use humor to get through tough times. Sammy’s message literally reached all the way around the world through her blog site, One Tough Cookie. We honor Sammy today, and thank her parents, Chris and Dolly, for sharing Sammy with us. Chris and Dolly, we would like you to accept this jersey with Sammy’s name and number she wore while playing at Springman. And, with your permission, we would like to display this jersey in Springman’s lobby, not only as a way of paying tribute to Sammy, but as a reminder of how precious life is and how wonderful Sammy’s message of hope and courage was.
5 comments:
Dear Chris, Dolly, Tony, Carisa and Alex,
I can't tell you what an honor and privilege it was to have played even a small part in Sammy's life. I have walked by Sammy's jersey numerous times on my journeys around school today....and, each time I have stopped to reflect on her extraordinary life...I hope that I will always have those thoughts, each and every time I walk past that jersey...again, thank you so much for sharing two years of Sammy's life with those of us at Springman.
Sincerely and with the wish of God's blessings to you,
Alex Posner
Wow, Sam was really special. Not that I didn't know that already. Well i should stop writing about Sam b/c I'm bout to break out in tears. I love you Sammy! YOU were the BEST!!!!! Love, Lexi
Thinking about you tonight, Tough Cookie. You are missed - we know you are an angel above now but you are still missed here on earth. RIP
Hi Sam,
To say I miss you is an understatement. I very often click on the link to your blog. Don't know I guess I'm hoping something new will be posted but mostly because it's as if I actually expect there will be a post written by you. I'm glad I can still come to this place to read your entries and see your pictures.
I love you,
Connie
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