Forty-six Spring Branch ISD students proved that character really does count when they paraded across the auditorium stage at Northbrook High School during the sixth annual Character Without Question Award ceremony.
To accommodate families, the regular monthly meeting of the SBISD Board of Trustees on March 23 was moved to the high school auditorium at #1 Raider Circle. One by one, the student honorees paraded across the decorated event stage, shook hands with the seven Trustees, and then received a flower and a commemorative star to mark the special occasion.
Students receiving the award were chosen as outstanding persons of character who reflect a depth of character and a caring for others. Students such as these make a difference in our community and in the lives of others by extending themselves to do something for no expectation of rewards.
Chosen by campus committees based on student and teacher nominations, students may earn this award for a variety of individual and group traits, including honesty, integrity, responsibility, dependability, respect, perseverance, effort, courage, caring, kindness, citizenship and civic virtue.
Inside the student group were wonderful family stores and one-of-a-kind experiences.
A few examples of these Character Without Question Awards winners:
• Shadow Oaks Elementary fifth-grader Orlando Martinez joined his fourth-grade brother, Javier, who won the very same honor at Shadow Oaks Elementary a year ago, and had his picture taken with his award-winning brother and mother, Alma Ortiz. School counselor Lorilee Wilson reports that Orlando was nominated for many of the same reasons as his younger brother – incredible integrity, kindness to others and high academic achievement. “They are both extraordinary students, and Orlando is a stellar young man. His classmates who were also nominated for the Character Without Question Award all said that Orlando was their hero,” she said.
• Claudia Yanez, a cosmetology student at The Guthrie Center, was nominated for taking brave actions to save the life of a choking restaurant patron. In December 2008, Claudia put her CPR training from her cosmetology class to work when a man choking on a gumball walked into the Pizza Patron on Long Point. The local chapter of the American Red Cross has nominated the Spring Woods High senior for using the CPR abdominal thrust maneuver to help a seriously choking individual. In February, she earned the Red Cross chapter’s “Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action” for her timely response and action.
This year’s full list of award recipients and their campuses:
Prekindergarten/Schools for Early Learning: Aneisha Jones, Bear Blvd.; Lion Lane, Isabella d’Aubuisson; Lucy Rios, Panda Path; Jacqueline Cruz, Tiger Trail’ Yomayry Mata, Wildcat Way.
Elementary Schools: Nora Perez, Buffalo Creek; Henry Adams, Bunker Hill; Leslye Torres, Cedar Brook; Jairo Garcia, Edgewood; Nicholas Frey, Frostwood; Catherine Oropeza, Hollibrook; Samuel Reyes, Housman; Arabella Benavides, Hunters Creek; Sini Lehtinen, Meadow Wood; Brooke Hoepfl, Memorial Drive; Caroline Weir, Nottingham; Karah Welch, Pine Shadows; Madeline DeCarlo, Ridgecrest; Natalie Raley, Rummel Creek; Orlando Martinez, Shadow Oaks; Frumencio Camacho, Sherwood; Christopher Martinez, Spring Branch; Frankie Chavarria, Spring Shadows; Joshua Molina, Terrace; Miranda Miller, Thornwood; Juan M. Domingo, Treasure Forest; Anniston Hill, Valley Oaks; Sandra Serrano, Westwood; Ashton Bates, Wilchester; Rene Escamilla, Woodview.
Middle Schools: Madison De Luca, Cornerstone; Jesse Gonzales, Landrum; Grace Palmer, Memorial; Sandra Lara, Northbrook; Sarah Jane Russell, Spring Branch; Stephen Martinez, Spring Forest; Wendy Castillo, Spring Oaks; Render Villalta, Spring Woods; Crystal Wilson, Westchester Academy for International Studies.
High Schools: Claudia Yanez, Guthrie Center; Grant Andrews, Memorial; Jacqueline Garcia, Northbrook; Juana Sanchez, School of Choice; Lizbeth Perez, Spring Woods; Sarah Villasenor, Stratford; Tillan Mbindyo, Westchester Academy.
In a letter to all honorees, Superintendent of Schools Duncan F. Klussmann, Ed.D., praised them and called their awards “unique and special.”
“You truly make a difference in your school, your community and in the lives of others,” Dr. Klussmann said. “One of the highest goals of education is to help students achieve their social and academic potential. Your positive actions demonstrate how much you have achieved by being dependable, respectful and honest.
This year’s ceremony was organized by SBISD Social Emotional Learning Coordinator Jerona Williams. She was assisted at the podium during the ceremony by Housman Elementary Principal Mary Lou Davalos, who provided Spanish language interpretation.