It is that time of the year where students everywhere are getting those year end awards for attendance, achievements, honor rolls, and character.  I had a chance today to attend one of those at O.J. De Jonge Middle School in Ludington, Michigan.  Needless to say that this one was pretty special to me.

I was told by my sister that the principal of De Jonge called to let her know that my nephew would be receiving a very honorable award and that it would be presented at a surprise assembly (this sounds very familiar….).  So I headed up to Ludington this morning and was able to see my nephew, Kaden, get called onto stage as he received the 6th grade Citizen of the Year Award!   And to top that off, he also received the Character Counts Award for “demonstration of strong character traits such as honesty, kindness, helpfulness, strong work ethic, positive attitude, and integrity”.  An aunt could not be more proud!

As I watched him and other kids go up to get their awards, I couldn’t help but notice the smiles of pride on their teachers’ faces.  This is what we love – to celebrate success, to build children of strong character and values, and to of course have them pass those year end exams with flying colors showing that they remembered everything we taught them!

Congratulations to Kaden and all the students who did their best this year, and whether you received an award for something or not, know that we teachers are proud of you and know you can accomplish great things!