By EMILY WALOS

Citrus Valley celebrates the class of 2020’s 3.5 through 3.99 GPA students on Jan. 31, 2020 at the Citrus Valley theater. (Ethan Dewri / Ethic Photo)

Academics at Citrus Valley High School are highly valued as each semester the campus holds a week of ceremonies for students that received a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. Between January 27 and January 31, the official week of the ceremonies recognized the first semester achievements of each grade.

Family and friends of the students were encouraged to come as, in preparation for the event, the school called families and sent home letters of notification. 

Ceremonies began at 11:25 a.m. and lasted around 20 minutes each. 

For all classes, the ceremony began with ASB members cheerfully greeting attendees at the doors of the Blackhawk Theater. From here, the students took their seats in the bottom half of the theater as families sat in the top half. 

Freshman Chaselyn Wheeler holds her academic letter with her certificate of Principal’s Honor Roll on Jan. 27, 2020. (Kelly Johnston / Ethic Photo)

Each ceremony was officially started by two ASB members who introduced the hosts of the event: principal Rhonda Bruce and assistant principal Doug McCasey. The hosts then gave a welcome speech and explained that there would be two groups taking the stage to receive their honors. The first group of students included those who earned a GPA of 3.5-3.99 and the second included those with a 4.0 or higher. All group sections concluded with a photo session for parents. 

On Monday, Jan. 27, the freshman received awards for the academic achievement of their first semester of high school. The students that made the Principal’s Honor Roll (GPA of 4.0 or higher) not only received their certificate, but also a CV letter patch that displays their achievement of high-point grades. 

The next ceremony took place on Wednesday, Jan. 29 and was presented by assistant principal Doug McCasey. The Principal’s Honor Roll student of this ceremony have already received their academic letter, which means from now on they will receive a pin at each annual ceremony until they graduate given that they stay on the Roll. 

Sophomore Eddie Barajas stands with his Principal’s Honor Roll certificate on Jan. 28, 2020. (Emily Walos / Ethic Photo)

Eddie Barajas, a sophmore and member of the Principal’s Honor Roll, stated, “It’s not really that hard being a Honors/AP student; it’s not that much work if you know what you are doing and are able to budget your time correctly. I recommend for everyone to at least try one out before they take general courses because if you find you are able to succeed in honors, you are one step farther than everyone else.” 

On Thursday, the school recognized its juniors. Here, a special award was presented to student Satwik Pattanaik by the Parent-Teacher Association president Christina Blomquist. The award recognized Pattanaik’s PTA Reflections Contest winning essay. The contest consisted of several different categories including video, essay and theatrical performances.