What a joy to attend not one, but two, school banquets this past month! Given the recent experience of having celebrations of major milestones taken away, both occasions reminded me of how important it is to celebrate our students’ achievements, big or small. We tend to get lost in the day to day minutia and forget how the small, incremental progress leads to big growth at the end of the year.
For students, the ability to participate in extracurriculars is a primary motivator to meeting academic requirements. When presenting certificates at the Falling Creek Middle School sports banquet, the basketball coach shared how one young man told him, “I got straight As, Coach!” As the coach handed him his certificate, he said, “This is what a STUDENT-athlete looks like.” Our students can, and do, thrive when they gain access to school extracurriculars. The short-term gain (playing basketball) students receive by participating in extracurriculars propels them to achieve the long-term goal of academic progress.
At the John Rolfe Middle School banquet, student-athletes and musicians were recognized for their achievements over the school year. With five (5) undefeated teams, there was a lot to celebrate! While everyone received accolades, the greatest went to the male and female athlete with the highest academic record. Not to be outdone, the music department established their chapter of a Music Honors Society. Out of a program with 67 students, nineteen(19) met the academic requirements of having a 3.0 or higher GPA in core classes AND a 4.0 or higher GPA in music classes. The Music Honors Society is off to a fantastic start!
A middle school sports banquet may seem pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things. But these are the moments students remember, parents photograph, and teachers applaud; these are the moments that build self-esteem in our students. By celebrating these achievements teachers and parents recognize the day to day grind that culminated in something special. And by recognizing this we show our youth that the day to day actions - going to school, completing homework, studying for the test - do in fact, make a difference.
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