Homer Junior High Presents Virtual Awards To Students

Press release from the Homer Community Consolidated School District 33C:

July 10, 2020

Homer Jr. High presented a virtual Awards Night on May 20. Some awards are based on performance during the two years at HJH. Others are reflective of accomplishments from current school year. Many awards represent performance in the classroom and in clubs, while some awards represent intangible, such as leadership qualities and attitudes.

Mrs. Browning presented the Honor Club Awards. Honor Club is an 8th grade organization dedicated to providing service to Homer Jr. High, the Homer community, and surrounding communities. These 37 students must maintain honor roll status during 8th grade year, attend monthly meetings, and exhibit excellent behavior. This year, Honor Club held a treat sale to raise money to TLC and Andrew Wisher Foundation, a toy collection for toy for tots, partnered with Natural Helpers to collect socks for the Sock-It-To-Kindness Initiative, and collected pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House

Language Arts teacher Mr. Mitchell presented the Outstanding Achievement in Language Arts Awards for 7th grade. A student was chosen from each Language Arts class. The 7th grade winners are: Gabriella Jay, Gina Quintana, Elizabeth Kostecki, Alex Hareza, Jake Cruz, Anthony Kosi, Mia Fontanetta, Grace DeSchaaf. These students’ outstanding achievements placed them at top of their class.

Mrs. Browning presented the 8th grade Language Arts Awards. The following students have demonstrated excellence in their Language Arts classes, achieved high standards in work ethic, peer collaboration, and academic achievement. They are also hard working, responsible, and demonstrate a love of language arts and contribute positively to our school community. The 8th grade winners are: Kavin Chandarana, Sarah Lane, Megan Consigny, Ava Kies, Ava Castellano, Georgia Dykstra, Payton Holzhauser, Corinne Nowak, and Kyla Zuromskas

Rachel Ellingston, Director of Enrollment at Providence Catholic High Schools, presented the
Providence Catholic High School Awards. The first award was the “Celtic Excellence Award”, given to those students who performed exceptionally on placement exam. The Celtic Excellence Award winners are Joe Ciaccia and Andrew Litke. The Veritas Award is given to incoming students who embody what it is to be a Providence Catholic student. The following students received the Veritas Award: Joe Ciaccia, Pete Conser, Ethan Ganz, and Claire Hall.

The last award was the Legacy Scholarship, given to a student those parent or grandparent graduated from Providence. Ethan Ganz, Gavin Hall, Elaina Utz, and Hailey Ward were recipients of the Legacy Scholarship.

Mr. Button presented the Physical Education Awards, given to one male and female from 7th and 8th grade who have gone above and beyond the expectations and demonstrate exceptional effort and advocacy in exercise and wellness. The Homer Jr. High PE Department is proud to present the following winners: Bryce Flood (7th grade), Mykenzie Marusarz (7th grade), Joshua Bluhm (8th grade), and Brooke Keltner (8th grade).

Homer Jr. High Athletic Director Mrs. Fojtik presented the Des Plaines Valley Conference Scholastic Awards, given to the 8th grade male and female athlete that has the highest GPA. The male winner is Daniel Shafiabady and the female winner is Abigail Mack. Mrs. Fojtik also presented the IESA Scholar Awards. Students are nominated by their teachers and coaches based on sportsmanship, attitude, and grade. The winner this year is Charles Nelson.

Mrs. Dornbos, art teacher at Homer Jr. high, presented the Artist of the Year Awards. These awards go to two 8th grade students who have demonstrated exemplary skill and creativity in art class. The students go above and beyond what is expected of them and take pride in creating beautiful finished artwork. This year’s winners are Leah Muska and Zoe Cocke.

Mrs. Pullara presented the Chorus Awards. The first award was the Director’s Award, given to choral students who strive for excellence in chorus through their work ethic and willingness to participate in every aspect of chorus. These students lead by example by always being prepared for chorus class, learning their music quickly, and seeing that they set the highest levels of respect for themselves, the music, and their classmates. The recipients of the Director’s Award are Allison McNulty and Joseph Ciaccia.

Mrs. Pullara also presented the Quincy Jones Musicianship Award. This award is given to choral students who strive for and demonstrate excellence through their singing and participation in chorus class. They are the leaders in their choral section, have achieved a high level of musicianship, and apply this to their everyday rehearsals and as well as all of their performances. This year’s winners are Haley McManis and Samuel Alvarado.

The Show Choir Award was presented next. This award is given to show choir students who are dynamic performers and are dedicated to making each and every performance one for the audience to remember. The following students were receivers of the Show Choir Award: Payton Holzhauser, Brayden Miller, and Moira Sagon.

The last choir award was the National Choral Award, given to those students who have achieved a very high level of musicianship in chorus class. These students study voice privately and continuously strive for personal and choral excellence in rehearsals and performances. They are also the leaders in their chorus classes and act as a mentor for other students in their vocal section. The 2019-2020 National Choir Award recipients are Julie Perretta, Graham Carlson, and Abigail Sanford.

Mrs. Garrison presented the Discovery Awards. All Around Student Award, presented to both a 7th and 8th grade Discovery student who demonstrates exceptional achievement in all content area. The Discovery Award was presented to Cheyenne Klimkiewicz (7th) and Allison McNulty (8th).
The Discovery Math Award, given to students that go above and beyond expectations on a daily basis was presented to Michael Dierkes (7th grade), Nathan Landig (8th grade).

The Language Arts Award, given to students who demonstrate a broad, comprehensive knowledge of the English Language Arts curriculum, was presented to Bryce Flood (7th grade) and Abigail Mack (8th grade),

The last Discovery Award was the Excellence in Reading Award. This award is earned through an independent reading challenge. Due to our circumstances this year, we are only able to announce the 8th grade recipient, Allyson Stedman. The 7th grade recipient will be announced at the start of the 2020-2021 school year.

STEAM lab gives students the chance to problem solve, collaborate, and create projects using various technologies. Given to students who demonstrate skills to explore, ask questions, plan, design, build, and to reflect and improve on student-led project ideas. Mrs. Moore presented Kaila Zuromskas and Benjamin Krysinski with the STEAM Award.

Mrs. Collins presented the Spanish Awards, The Spanish 1A Award was offered to students that excelled in their first year of language studies, and have embraced Spanish language and culture with a positivity and curiosity that sets them apart. Grace DeSachaaf and Arabella Simmons were recipients of the Spanish 1A Award. Spanish 1B Award was presented to students that possess impressive focus, superior language skills and constant enthusiasm. This year’s winners are Georgia Dykstra and Isabella Pannarale.

Mrs. Collins presented the Natural Leaders Awards. Members are selected by their peers for being trustworthy, their ability to lead and assist others. Peer Leaders are Joshua Bluhm and Victoria DalPonte.

Social Studies Department annually recognizes outstanding achievement in history. Ms. Sierros presented the History/Geography Awards. Congratulations to Catherine Holman and Nathan Powley (8th), Natalie Zodrow, Kaila Zuromskas (8th), Aidan Tucker, Caleb Lenz (7th), Arabella Simmons and Alex Milker (7th).

This year, Student Council hosted a Veterans Day Breakfast, held a food drive for the Lockport FSH Food Pantry, and ran their very own Homer Jr. High school store. The 2020-2021 Student Council officers are: Julie Perretta (President), Mia Fontanetta (Vice President), and Payton Holzhauser (Secretary).

Mrs, Collins presented the Math Awards, which recognizes exceptional students with the highest overall average in their math classes. These students also demonstrate great leadership skills, strong work ethic, and positive attitudes.

Congratulations to the 2019-2020 Math Award winners: Christopher Ripley, Tiffany Giannese, Lukas Leimonas, Wikoria Mormol, Mohammad Abuhasna, Elin Lappin (7th grade), Georgia Dykstra, Dana Mantooth, Ava Kies, Kaila Zuromskas, Zachary Stephensen, Colin Dorian (8th grade).

The Mustang Award, presented by HJH principal Mr. Mitchell, is a prestigious award in which recipients are nominated by students and staff members based upon the following qualities: leadership, well-roundedness, responsible, reliable, and respectful. They make wise choices and are natural leaders as they assist teachers and fellow students unconditionally.

The following students are Mustang Award recipents: Adeline Chmielewski, Megan Chorley, Anna Eagan, Taylor Elder, Ava Fox, Madilyn Lopez, Arabella Simmons, Kyle Conne, Nathan Dunlap, Nathan Gorecki, Anthony Kosi, Mahmoud Nofal, Christopher Ripley, Troy Seibert, Benjamin Sochacki (7th grade), Sarah Lane, Corinne Nowak, Hannah Roede, Moira Sagon, Samantha Sitterly, Maddisen Wattenberg, Jackson Abdel-Razik, Joshua Bluhm, Andrew Burak-Tomko, Joseph Ciaccia, Brent Paller, Drew Piper, Cameron Valcich, and Jack Bogdan (8th grade). The 8th grade overall winners are Isabel Collins and Payton Holzhauser (tied) and Joshua Bluhm.

This Awards Night also honored 7th grade and 8th honor students and graduates. Those that finished with an A- or above during the first 3 quarters have achieved first honors recognition for this school year and those with a B+ average have achieved 2nd honors for this school year.

This press release was produced by the Homer Community Consolidated School District 33C. The views expressed here are the author's own.