The first month of the new school year has flown by in the proverbial blink of an eye at Washington Primary School. It took only minutes for the more than 400 youngsters studying in the building to settle into their classroom routines, roll up their sleeves and get down to the tasks at hand.
Washington is a happy place. Need proof? Walk around and see all the smiling faces. Students disembark their bus each morning and make a beeline for the front doors of the school. They greet Principal Marsha Neville, teachers and support staff members along the way as they head down the hall to their respective room.
Washington students have shown an almost mythical degree of loyalty to the school since it opened in September 1954. They simply love the place and retain fond memories of school there long after they move on with their lives.
Last week, Mrs. Neville presented awards to a large group of students who were cited for their exceptional efforts throughout September. The honorees were announced over the building’s public address system. One by one they walked down to the main lobby and were given a handsome certificate. The group then went outside and posed for a commemorative photo with the principal.
The Washington Ways Award recipients include Amber Murtaza, Edwin Lopez, Alessandra Bennett, Gabriella Hitt, Isabella Torres-Maldonado, Je’Talia Nelson-Cambry, Artturi Landau, Fintan Hackett-Johnson, Madelyn Falk, Gemma Bedell, Isabella Holland, Ezra Oddoye, Sofia Vias, Chelsea Gordon, Heileen Torres, Brandon Canas, Paola Lopez Flores, Roodes Similien, Maggie O’Toole, Parker Hepworth and Valerie Ferreira.
The entire classes of teachers Peri Alfano and Miriam Engle were recognized as September’s Blue Ticket Award honorees.
Here’s how the Washington Ways program works:
White tickets are awarded weekly for good behaviors and actions in the classroom. White ticket winners are honored with special recognition in their classroom at the end of each week and their names are announced every Monday morning.
Red tickets are presented to individuals for notable good behavior outside of classrooms, including in hallways, buses, the playground and cafeteria, etc. At the end of the month, the student in each class with the greatest number of red tickets is recognized with a special certificate.
Entire classes can earn blue tickets for positive group behavior out-of-the-classroom. Blue tickets are also awarded to the two classes within the building with the most tickets overall.