Students were met in the library with cookies, a complimentary treat as they entered the library during fourth block.
The quarter two Panther Pride Award Ceremony was held on Thursday, Jan. 29, after being rescheduled from the snow day on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
After each marking period, a committee of faculty and administrators organize a ceremony to celebrate and acknowledge students at Haven that have shown growth, perseverance, character or other traits. Teachers can select one student per quarter to nominate them for the recognition theme, depending on the marking period.
School administrators read out a personalized recognition and hand out certificates to recognized students.
“It’s just to recognize the work that they (students) are doing,” math teacher Mrs. Kelly Minguez said.
Minguez is a member of a quarterly recognition faculty team that aims to improve social and emotional learning for students at the high school. The team is new this school year, where they are still working towards student and teacher involvement.
“We’re trying to celebrate and reward the positive behavior that we’re seeing to hopefully encourage more of it,” Minguez said. “More and more people are becoming more aware of it.”
Sophomore Alex Tejada was nominated by two of his teachers. He notes that the ceremony recognizes the hard work and dedication throughout the quarter.
“I think I [try] my very hardest in all my classes,” Tejada said. “I think it’s good to be recognized that your work is (being) paid off.”
Junior Leah Reece was grateful that she was nominated for the ceremony. She agrees that the ceremony is an incentive for classmates to get recognized on the same level as their peers, and to keep respect alive.
“I dedicate so much of my time to my extracurriculars, and I definitely feel very grateful to have been recognized in the first place for something important,” Reece said. “It is a big motivator for the students to respect the teachers and faculty and also to respect each other as a community.”
In addition to the ceremony, students who were recognized for the first time received Strath Haven t-shirts, and those who were recognized a second time were given Haven-themed crew socks.
“You should always try your hardest to get recognized,” Tejada said.
