August Students of the Month
In the past, teachers would choose one boy and one girl from high school, and another boy and girl from 7th and 8th grade to be students of the month. This year, however, teachers choose one student from each grade. For the month of August, the students of the month are seventh grader Ryan Harding, eighth grader Kate Shimkus, freshman Jennifer McMahon, Sophomore Rekha Wijesuriya, junior Nolan Murphy, and Senior Susan Webber.
Ryan says that he must be, “doing something right,” in order to be a student of the month. He enjoys language and PE because “PE is fun and active, and English has a good teacher and I get to learn a lot.”
Kate states that being student of the month means that she has, “truly accomplished what it means to be an ACP student and to have the character and to really represent what ACP stands for.” She is in tutor club, STEM club, and the swim team. She was also on the cross country team last year and hopes to do so again. She says that she enjoys all of these by stating “they all focus on everyone, and I feel like being a part of something means I’m a part of what I want to be, and ACP is all about the community feel.” She likes social studies because she learns about “how the world has grown and what it has been and how it’s been impacted by different things but we still stay together.”
To Jennifer, being student of the month means that “teachers think you’ve done, as far as the class goes, the best at trying to succeed academically, being nice to people, and just be an overall good person.” She is one of the Chief Science officers for Erie, and she enjoys it because she loves science and, “science is so involved in everything that we do.” She also plays soccer, and she likes how, “it’s a very long time commitment, but it’s good because not only do you get to meet new people and improve your skill, but it’s a great way to just get active.” She enjoys language arts where she can have group discussions about opinions and make connections.
Rekha believes that being a student of the month means that she has, “worked hard enough to gain recognition for what I’ve put into my classes.” She plays basketball and does community work through her church. She likes athletic locker since “it’s just a fun class and yes, we do a lot of hard work and work up a sweat, and we come out all stinky, but it’s fun because we get loose and have random dance breaks.”
Nolan says that being student of the month means that, “my job that I have upon myself of being a good person around campus is being acknowledged and my ability to do good is helping other people, and it’s being noticed.” He is on the swim team and was in Open Mic Club. He likes both of them because he likes it for the people and “it’s such a great atmosphere, they’re all great.”
Current senior, Susan Webber, believes that student of the month, “isn’t supposed to be for a single good deed or for your recent school success. The award recognizes those who don’t strive for it, in other words, for students who do the best they can in all areas of life because they desire to do so, not because they want free food and a certificate.” She participates in a wide variety of clubs and activities, including Key Club, Model United Nations and NHS. She co-founded Tutor Club with Margaret Krenke and Ronin Komarnisky, and helped kick-start the Gay-Straight Alliance.
