Award Ceremony

As the semester moves ahead, a number of students have climbed the academic ladder at Queens Preparatory Academy. At QPA, a Grammy, an Emmy or even an Oscar have no meaning. However,  being on the honor roll or Principal’s Honor Roll is a big deal, as well as earning perfect attendance or the newly introduced leadership award—especially since these achievements represent QPA’s mission statement: where excellence is the standard, not the exception.

So far this  year, hard-working students have been honored at an award ceremony for each marking period. However, the recognition ceremony for Marking Period 4 was a bit different from the rest. Although these community gatherings have become part of the culture of Queens Preparatory Academy, this particular ceremony had many surprising moments. During the event held on Wednesday, March 29, members of the QPA community had a ball as a significant number of names were called to receive the Principal’s Honor Roll award.

Supporting Academic Success 

At the beginning of the event, QPA guidance counselor Ms. Edwards reminded students that they’ve been provided with the tools they need to succeed: teachers are available daily after 2:30 to provide extra tutoring, and students can make up missing work to earn the best grade possible. From the beginning of the school year, the administration and teachers at Queens Preparatory Academy have pushed students to have better grades and even better attendance. So as the finish line comes closer, it’s time to recognize the students who put in the hard work  and encourage others to join them. 

According to QPA senior Blair Vales, “Having an award ceremony every marking period is really to show the students’ progress.” Vales, who is also an award recipient, felt “amazing” and “ecstatic” as he recounts hearing his name called for an award. Ms. Fitz, QPA English teacher, shares the same feeling by stating that “students get their recognition.” She also believes the addition of the leadership award, “shows the whole picture of students.” 

What it Takes to Succeed

QPA sophomore Nicole Cunanan, recipient of both the Principal’s Honor Roll and  leadership awards felt “very accomplished and recognized” when she was presented with her award certificates. She also stated that getting to that point took a lot of effort, and included many “sleepless nights and anxious mornings” but realized “it was all worth it in the end.” 

QPA freshman Nathaniel Seatts is another student who tries to do his best.  During the first marking period, Seatts was on the honor roll. However, he was able to improve and earn the Principal’s Honor Roll award for the second, third, and fourth marking periods. Seatts declared that in order to achieve such an accomplishment, he had to study hard and attend office hours after school. A piece of advice he has for students who have yet to be on the honor roll or Principal’s Honor Roll is to “keep pushing forward and make sure you come to school everyday.”

It also takes a self-discipline to be successful,   so in order to be a recipient of an award Seatts had to have what Ms. Piil, QPA Science teacher, described as an “awesome” work ethic. It also takes the support of teachers to help students succeed. Seatts shared that Ms. Piil and Ms. K. Robinson are two of the teachers who assist him in his studies. Additionally, Ms. Piil also wants to encourage more students to attend office hours and practice, which will lead to success in the classroom and upcoming regents exams. 

Students must realize that it is teachers like Ms. Piil, and Ms. K. Robinson who help students likes Seatts, Cunanan and Vales among others, succeed in the classroom. They must also remember that awards ceremonies shouldn’t be just for student recognition. They also provides students with the opportunity to thank teachers for their hard work in helping them succeed.

Though the event went smoothly, some aspects of the ceremony must be addressed. At the award ceremony for marking period 3, recipients were gifted with QPA hoodies or QPA sweatpants. However, this time around, the awardees didn’t receive anything other than the certificate. So one may wonder; does Principal Haywood have some other surprise planned? 

Principal’s Honor Roll

It must also be noted that the most surprising part of the ceremony was the Principal’s Honor Roll. Many people, including awardees Cunanan and Vales were shocked at the increase in the number of recipients of that prestigious award for marking period 4. Cunanan declared, “I’m happy that so many people are choosing to be their best selves!” She also advises those who are not a part of this hardworking group to “try your best and pick apart what you need to improve on the most, and work on that.”

The award recipients received praise from the school administration. Principal Haywood said she was “very happy” to see the amount of students who received the Principal’s Honor Roll increase compared to the last marking period. Guidance counselor Ms. Edwards said she was “filled with joy.” Both Haywood and Edwards can agree that they expect to see even more students receiving awards at  the next ceremony. Edwards expects more students to be on the honor roll, and students who were on the honor roll to be on the Principal’s Honor Roll.

Respecting our School

On another note, one issue that was addressed at the ceremony was student behavior during the event. During the ceremony, some students were seen having side conversations which can be described as disrespectful and inappropriate toward both the occasion and those in attendance.  QPA Assistant Principal Mr. Richardson made it clear that he expects the behavior in the auditorium during school events to improve.  Mrs. Yucht, QPA history teacher, supports Richardson’s remarks by claiming that getting an award is a major achievement for some students and “it would just be nice if people can be more respectful of others.” 

Another issue that was briefly discussed during the event, is the need for better attendance among scholars as the award for most improved attendance was announced. AP Richardson also runs the Attendance Mentoring Program, a new push implemented to help improve student attendance. Students are assigned teacher mentors who monitor their attendance in order to support their learning. Ms. Yucht, history teacher and attendance mentor declares, “A lot of students want someone at the school to be there for them.” She has confidence in the Attendance Mentoring Program and claims that “if students see the good in the effort the administration is making to support them, their attendance will improve.” As she sees it, a collaboration between students and teachers will be a big factor in students’ improvement. Hopefully, this change will be seen during our next award ceremony. 

Moreover, AP Richardson had a different perspective on the awards. Though he is happy student performance is improving, he believes “it’s hard to be excited for something they are supposed to do.” Especially since academic excellence is always expected from QPA scholars. 

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