The Centralia High School Renaissance Committee hosted the annual Academic Pep Assembly in Trout Arena on Friday, honoring students and teachers for outstanding achievement throughout the school year. Over three hundred students received awards by teacher nomination or for maintaining academic excellence as athletes or performers. The
Spirit Awards are presented to William Ballantini and Meredith May.
Renaissance Committee, made up of volunteer CHS faculty and staff members, has a stated mission of promoting educational achievements through a process of reinforcement, recognition, and reward.
Principal Reid Shipley granted the Principal’s Award to Logan Meier, recognizing his effort and success as a basketball player. He gave a speech about hard work, highlighting the work Meier put in throughout the season while more broadly describing the importance of a strong work ethic to personal success.
“(Meier’s) skills came down to nothing more than hard work and effort, which is what I admire most about this young man. We all control our own effort in everything we do. Your effort is solely on you. This individual used his to the fullest of ability, and for me, that was the reason it was a joy to watch him play.”
JaLea Shered and Cruz Harlan received the Athlete of the Year awards.
Teachers are nominated each year for the Making a Difference award by students who feel that a teacher has had an especially positive effect on their school experience. The three recipients of the award this year are math teacher Tommy Baro (nominated by sophomore Mackenzie Perez), science teacher Rebecca Becker (nominated by senior Manuela Maco), and coach and teacher Lee Bennett (nominated by freshman Michael Organ).
The Athlete of the Year awards, recognizing athletic achievement, were given to Cruz Harlan and JaLea Shered. The CHS Spirit Awards, recognizing school spirit and student engagement, were given to Williiam Ballantini and Meredith May.
The assembly also featured live performances from student performers between the awards for each class. The Advanced Choir sang “Time After Time” by Cindi Lauper, Ella Draege sang “At Last” by Etta James, and a group of students performed a humorous dance mix wearing masks of faces of CHS faculty.
