Colton, CA—On December 10, 2023, Colton High held a holiday-themed Winter Awards ceremony for semester one recognition, located in the Whitmer Auditorium. It was an all-day event that lasted from 2nd-5th period and included all grade levels.

At the event students were presented certificates for either Student of the Month and/or a PBIS award. Medals of recognition for the first semester were also given to the highest achievers. 

“The purpose of the daytime awards ceremony is to recognize students for Student of the Month and PBIS awards in front of their peers since teachers were the ones who submitted names for recognition,” said Renaissance advisor Alexandra Buskirk.

Not only were awards handed out, but games were also played for the chance to win prizes. Some of the holiday-themed games included were “Head, shoulders, knees, present!” and another which required participants to throw presents into a basket.

Moments like these are important to students because receiving an academic award shows all the effort and dedication that students put into school and it’s given back to students at events like ceremonies.

For sophomore Darwin Gonzalez, “It was cool to get an award for doing well in one of my classes and getting to share that moment with my mom.”

The award recipients weren’t the only ones who showcased their hard work for the event. Renaissance hosted the event and put in a lot of effort to make sure it went smoothly. 

Buskirk explained the process for the school organization. “Renaissance prepared for this event by sending out a Google form to staff to collect names for award recipients, emailing and delivering invites to students, preparing decorations, setting up and cleaning up decorations, creating all the certificates, planning games for the ceremony, and working hard together to ensure each period was a successful award ceremony.”