Weekly

 Student of the week. There are a lot of kids at our school pining for that distinction. Every Friday we announce which kids have been selected by their classroom teacher to receive the cardstock certificate, suitable for hanging on most refrigerators. There are also a lot of kids who are not pining for this distinction.

Some of them are blissfully unaware that their behavior and classroom participation have anything to do with the awards we pass out each week. These are the ones who are genuinely surprised when their name is announced. As they make their way to the front of the assembled Horace Manners, they carry a look of shock and disbelief as their certificate is handed to them, and often need to be reminded to stick around long enough for all the winners to be announced before they return back to the fold.

And the picture is taken. 

Each week, a staff member comes over to get a photo of the group, smiling and sharing that warm glow of achievement. This inevitably takes a few tries, since the distractions are many and concentration is limited on a good day. Everyone looking in the same direction and holding their awards right-side-up is pretty much the standard. Then we release them back into the wild with the hope that they will take this honor and spend at least the next few hours showing off whatever traits their teacher sought fit to recognize. 

Then there are those who are awarded the prize for being Student of the week as a seed of encouragement. The might have struggled all week, all month, or all year, but something suggested a breakthrough. Maybe it was an act of kindness, or getting to school on time five days in a row: improved attendance. Or perhaps just keeping their collective hands to themselves: respectful. 

Ultimately, the hope is that every student earns the chance to stand up in front of the school to be acknowledged for whatever shining quality they may have exemplified. Much in the same way that putting dry erase marks on a white board for points is perhaps the lowest level of appreciation for scholarship, taking the time to scribble a name and a date on a pre-printed half-sheet of tagboard is still a chance to catch kids doing their best. 

Or reminding that their best is still to come.