Mission.Recently, North Peace Secondary School sent out a notice saying that they would be getting rid of awards for academic achievement and the year-end award ceremony. They are eradicating the ceremony due to “poor attendance by students and families, phone calls asking ‘What award is my child getting? If it is just Honour Roll we aren’t coming’, and parents leaving the ceremony after their child received an award without staying to the end.” Their frustration with these issues is, of course, understandable. It takes a lot of work to make an event like this happen, and it can be disheartening to have it dampered by the rudeness of certain people. That being said, Awards Night can be an especially meaningful event for youths being recognised for their academic achievement. There are many students at NPSS that work hard all year and are honoured to be recognized with awards for being the top student of the year in any given subject. These awards are very difficult to achieve, and are something to be proud of! To replace the Academic Awards, “(t)eachers will be handing out one award in each and every class, both semesters, to a deserving student. It could be based on achievement, work ethic, overcoming odds, etc.” Certificates are not going to be given out for class awards. Though this replacement gives many more kids the chance to win an award, the award itself is not as meaningful or appreciated, and can’t be used the same way on the ‘academic achievements’ category of applications for programs, scholarships, universities, resumes, etc. Instead of abandoning the NPSS Year-End Award Ceremony all together, we have to find an alternative solution that would still give appreciation to academic achievers.
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Help Keep the Awards!
Sign the petition using the link below to help keep the academic awards:
The Original Email.
Dear Parents/Guardians
As we enter into the home stretch of this school year, another group of Grads are getting ready to head out into the world. Time flies! I am writing to inform you of a change in one of our traditional year end activities - Awards Night. Over the years it has become increasingly apparent that this event has run its course, and needs to be changed. We spent some time discussing this as a staff, and I brought the matter up with our Parent Advisory Committee as well. Some trends that we have noticed include: poor attendance by students and families, phone calls asking “What award is my child getting? If it is just Honour Roll we aren’t coming”, and parents leaving the ceremony after their child received an award without staying to the end. It is a busy time of year and time is precious so we understand! So we are going to try something new. Teachers will be handing out one award in each and every class, both semesters, to a deserving student. It could be based on achievement, work ethic, overcoming odds, etc. Every award will be a $10 iTunes gift card. Certificates will not be given for class awards. This new process will allow us to recognize the hard work of more students in a setting with their peers. We hope that this will be a better way to recognize the efforts and achievements of our students. Teachers will be handing out cards to students from their Semester 1 classes in the near future. On June 5, teachers will be handing out these awards in classes for Semester 2.
We will still be calculating the Honour Roll lists and will publish them wherever appropriate. Parents can request an electronic or paper copy of the Honour Roll certificate and we will be happy to supply that upon request. If you have any questions/concerns, feedback (constructive, please) please email me at [email protected]. For an Honour Roll certificate, please email Spring Nording ([email protected] and use the Subject line - Honour Roll Certificate).
Thanks
Randy Pauls
Principal
NPSS
As we enter into the home stretch of this school year, another group of Grads are getting ready to head out into the world. Time flies! I am writing to inform you of a change in one of our traditional year end activities - Awards Night. Over the years it has become increasingly apparent that this event has run its course, and needs to be changed. We spent some time discussing this as a staff, and I brought the matter up with our Parent Advisory Committee as well. Some trends that we have noticed include: poor attendance by students and families, phone calls asking “What award is my child getting? If it is just Honour Roll we aren’t coming”, and parents leaving the ceremony after their child received an award without staying to the end. It is a busy time of year and time is precious so we understand! So we are going to try something new. Teachers will be handing out one award in each and every class, both semesters, to a deserving student. It could be based on achievement, work ethic, overcoming odds, etc. Every award will be a $10 iTunes gift card. Certificates will not be given for class awards. This new process will allow us to recognize the hard work of more students in a setting with their peers. We hope that this will be a better way to recognize the efforts and achievements of our students. Teachers will be handing out cards to students from their Semester 1 classes in the near future. On June 5, teachers will be handing out these awards in classes for Semester 2.
We will still be calculating the Honour Roll lists and will publish them wherever appropriate. Parents can request an electronic or paper copy of the Honour Roll certificate and we will be happy to supply that upon request. If you have any questions/concerns, feedback (constructive, please) please email me at [email protected]. For an Honour Roll certificate, please email Spring Nording ([email protected] and use the Subject line - Honour Roll Certificate).
Thanks
Randy Pauls
Principal
NPSS