The Pavilion was filled at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, June 9th, as students, faculty, and parents gathered to celebrate the annual Achievement Awards Ceremony.   Stephanie Nakamura (12) welcomed the audience, and began the evening by leading the Pledge of Allegiance.  Mr. Egan then presented various awards, including the Community Service Award to Mrs. Simon, and to West High’s Adopt-A-School partner, Honda.   Honda donated many five hundred dollar scholarships to selected students of the evening.

With Emma Heeger (11) and Kayleigh Millet (12) acting as hosts throughout the ceremony, students were asked to line up on the east side of the Pavilion to prepare to mount the stage for recognition and to award the trophy, medal, and scholarship winners.  Each student was given a certificate for their accomplishments.  Between categories, seniors who had received scholarships and awards would be called to the stage based upon their counselor, and their accomplishments and college they will be attending were announced.  The 2009-2010 Teacher of the Year, Mr. Roulette, was declared as well to thunderous applause.  Tony Liu (12) believes that the evening “was really good.”

There were a few changes made to this event to create an even more successful night.  One was that a new award given this year.   These were medals, and were presented to freshmen, sophomores, and juniors in certain academic categories with exceptional performance.  Another adjustment, according to Principal Egan, was that “This year we looked at trying to make it go smoothly without breaks.  We thought some people might be more entertained if it flowed better.” This modification did increase the general appreciation for the occasion, as stated by many parents and students.

After the ceremony concluded, refreshments supplied by NHS, were offered free to the audience.  Jun Soo Song (10) thought this was the best part of the event, and especially “the cream puffs.”  No matter which piece of the evening is favored, all agree that this ceremony was one of appreciation.