Over 400 students were recognized at an awards ceremony at J.A. Williams High School on Sept. 29.
"Not enough," said school principal Terry Moghrabi of the number, explaining that he is happy, but the goal is for all 520 students to receive an award.
This is the first time the high school gave out academic, athletic and arts awards in one daytime ceremony. One of the reasons this was done is for more exposure, Moghrabi said.
"We want more students to see other students celebrating success, we want to see staff be part of the celebration of success," he said.
The school gave out a number of scholarships and monetary awards, including totals of $50,000 in Alexander Rutherford Scholarships and of $13,500 for students who earned more than the minimum required amount of credits to graduate.
"We want to expose … how to earn more credits and how to make more money earning credits," said Moghrabi as another reason for the combined assembly.
The other reason the school wanted a bigger ceremony is to encourage students, said teacher and counsellor Alyson Nowicki.
"I'm hoping that some of the students who are not working as well as they can will take this as an incentive to work harder to get some of the money that's available,” she said.
Goal-setting is what Moghrabi said he wants students to get out of the assembly.
"Most what I want from this is — regardless of whether it's in the athletics or in the arts or in the academics — is that you set a goal and you go to achieve or exceed that goal," he said.
