PTSA holds Student Recognition ceremony

unspecified-11 — Students hold up their awards at the PSTA Student Recognition. Dr. Dale had just presented them with the awards, along with a gift certificate.

By Sophie Hefter

Circulation Editor

Mira Costa held its triannual Parent Teacher Student Association Student Recognition award ceremony on Feb. 8 at lunch in the small theater.

During the event, teachers and staff awarded students they believe went above and beyond both inside and outside of school. Teachers recognize these students’ positive accomplishments, scholarly behavior, and leadership and recommend them for the award, English teacher Matt Wheeler said.

“Typically, I look for a student who may not necessarily receive recognition in the academic classroom but has a good behavior and willingness to help others,” Wheeler said. “I believe that that sort of stuff deserves to be recognized and not necessarily just good grades.”

Photos from the awards ceremony

The selected students were each personally addressed by Mira Costa Principal Dr. Ben Dale and presented with a certificate for their achievement in the award ceremony.

“Most of the time, we talk about how teachers inspire students, but this award often is a student who inspires a teacher, which is pretty cool,” Dale said. “It’s all about the human things [such as] if the student is a hard worker, is helpful to others, or has overcome challenges.”

Invited family members and friends of the award winners attended the event. The small theater was about half full with guests who clapped to show support for each winner.

“It’s always good to feel honored by one of your teachers because it tells you that they notice the efforts that you’re putting out in class,” award winner and sophomore Allie Smythe said.

Click here for more information about the event

During the event, Dale read a few sentences about each student, written by their teachers, to share why each was chosen. It allowed students to feel a sense of accomplishment, not only for their grades but for being an all around good person, Dale said.

“There was a student I wrote about a couple years back who didn’t have the best grades per say, but on his own he went up to a student who had just arrived from Russia and asked him if he needed help finding his classes or anything,” Wheeler said. “That kind of stuff, to me, is what deserves to be recognized,not necessarily just a high GPA.”

Each student was given a paper certificate addressed his or her name as well as a coffee bean gift card for his or her accomplishment.

“It was an honor to be recognized by our principal and it felt awesome to be noticed in front of all of those parents and kids who do similar things as me,” Smythe said. “It was a pretty cool experience.”