A little over 300 of the 1,007-strong student body population at Sadie Curtis Primary School were recognized for their academic achievements as well as their positive behavior, at the school's recent annual awards ceremony.
Leading the way among the list of honorees were second grade students Steven Bain and Kamran Rolle, and third grade student Perrell Cooper, who were named to the Principal's List with 3.8 grade point averages (GPA).  To make the Principal's List, students must have GPAs between 3.8 and 4.0.  They also have to be reading two or more grades above their current grade level.
Another 23 students were named to the honor roll, for which students had to earn a GPA of at least a 3.5 to 3.79 and had to be reading at least one grade above their current level.  A slew of other students, 145 in total, were named to the Merit List. Those students must have grades between 3.00 and 3.49, and must be reading at least one grade above their current level.  In a twist, 70 students were also recognized for their exemplary behavior or leadership skills even if they did not make honors status.
Whether they were being recognized for their academic ability or positive conduct, the awardees at Sadie Curtis' annual award ceremony were shining examples of greatness in action.
For Perrell, seven, it was a proud moment to walk across the stage as one of the three students who made the lofty Principal's List.
"It makes me feel very jubilant and happy to get an award," said the third grader.  "I felt excited that I did better than many of my friends because we all work hard to do well.  I work hard all year long and I am happy to get a prize.  I hope to do even better next time and get a 4.00 GPA."
Kamran was also excited to be recognized for his hard work and believes listening to his teachers and doing his work on time really paid off.  He said he's now more encouraged to always do well so he can be awarded every year from now on.
The ceremony, which inspires achievers to continue their good work, is also meant to encourage those students who didn't make the mark to keep on trying so they too can have a moment of glory.
In-school ceremonies are a small way to encourage students to continue to strive for excellence," said organizer and fifth grade teacher, Shantell Paul. She says it is more important to point out the good in students rather than negative.
"We have the award ceremonies to recognize students who do exceptionally well academically and we also highlight those students who do well in other areas.  We want the kids to see that good work and behavior pays off," she said.  "We don't want to only tell students when they do poorly, but we want to pay more attention to when they do good things.  We always like to focus on the good so the students can gravitate toward these things, rather than making a bigger deal about the bad.  We hope these ceremonies really encourage them and push them to do better every year."
At Sadie Curtis Primary they not only acknowledge academic excellence, but promote good behavior and positive attitudes, which is why over 50 students were recognized for exemplary behavior.
Ten-year-old Arshantae Knowles, a sixth grade student, was happy to receive an award for good behavior even though she didn't make the honor roll.
"I was really happy I got an award.  I know I didn't do as well as I should to get on the honor roll, but my teachers saw that I behaved well and still worked hard in class, so I guess that's why I got an award," she said.  "I like that if you do well and listen to the teacher and really try, you can still get a prize.  I will try harder next time to get an award for my grades too."
Paul says it is important to also encourage students in other ways as well, as not all students will be academically inclined, but they can still aim to be good students when it comes to morals and behavior.
"You want to highlight the students in all aspects of what they do.  We don't just want to say good grades are everything," said the teacher.  "It's about the whole child too.  We promote good behavior at the school and having a special award for this reason encourages students to not only be competitive academically, but also be on their best behavior at all times.  I think it's a great way to encourage students to be better citizens."

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