WEEKLY STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS
Written by Natalie Sandrock Photography by Darian Senn 5/28/19
Student of the Week is published each week in the Derrick
WEEKLY STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS
Written by Natalie Sandrock | Photography by Darian Senn| 5/28/19
Student of the Week is an award that recognizes students at Cranberry who have gone above and beyond what is expected of them.
All of the students know what the award is, but not many know what effect it has on students, nor what the award is really about.
Teachers must nominate a student in order for them to be chosen as Student of the Week.These students are chosen based on various outstanding qualities such as being exceptionally kind, responsible, respectful, etc. If a teacher sees any of these or any other admirable quality in a student, that student may be nominated.
Students at Cranberry seem to have many opinions on this award, and the opinions of students who have won are very different from those of students who have not.
Ninth grade student, Olivia Plummer, who was awarded Student of the Week during the week of January fourth, has said that she did not know she had been picked until Tuesday of that week. She said that the experience of being recognized made her feel “appreciated and noticed.” She also stated that “It’s nice to feel noticed by teachers for doing my best”.
According to many previous students who have been selected, one thing that comes along with winning is classmates recognizing them as Student of the Week.
The teacher who nominated the winning student writes a small paragraph complimenting the student and their efforts. The written paragraph is on the award the the students receive.
The names of students who have won throughout the year are also put into a drawing at the end of the school year. The student whose name is drawn wins a prize of five hundred dollars. Only one Cranberry student has ever won.
Students who have won the award greatly appreciate it, but those that have not won don’t seem to have the same opinion. To many, winning doesn't really matter or make a difference in anything. In the eyes of many students, this award seems good in theory, but they say it lacks in execution in that “they don’t do anything other than put your name on a piece of paper”.
Despite this, many students say they would like to win because it means that their hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed, and that what they are doing isn’t for nothing. Being recognized for everything that they have done seems to be the best part of winning to students. Having teachers point out the things that students are good at also seems to encourage students to do better, while continuing to impress their teachers.