“It’s a big world out there, and this event helps our kids see beyond Faith, N.C.”

— Denita Dowell-Reavis, principal of Faith Elementary School, which invited veterans to tell about their military service during a Veterans Day observance Thursday

“It is important to us as Americans to exercise our right. If you can vote, you should vote.”

— Monique Young, a Livingstone College student who was casting her ballot Tuesday at the West Ward III precinct in Salisbury

“It’s your civic duty. I don’t discuss politics with people. I do my talking in there.”

— Zack Willett, as he approached the polling station in China Grove on Tuesday to mark his ballot in Tuesday’s midterm elections

“You don’t know what it’s like until you try it. … It’s better to try something new, because it might just be great.”

— Jeremiah Wallace, whose fifth-grade class at Isenberg Elementary School tried baked duck with noodles and vegetables to get a taste of China in a meal organized by teacher Anthony Johnson, who visited China last year as part of a professional development program

“If you start with what the student needs, you will succeed every time. If you start with what to
report to the state, you will not succeed.”

— John Tanner, a consultant leading a discussion on building policy based on the student perspective at a retreat for the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education last week

“Man, it’s good to be on the left side of the win-loss column.”

— Daryl Williams, head football coach at Livingstone College, after a 20-9 win over Johnson C. Smith last weekend to give the Blue Bears a 3-6 season record

“It’s fun, and you get to help people and wear a uniform.”

— Zoey Harvey, whose kindergarten class at Overton Elementary School learned about firefighting and fire safety when a crew from the Salisbury Fire Department visited recently