It is a sign of Hawthorn’s values that our Virtue Recognition Awards lead the way at our All-School Awards Assemblies, held three times a year following report card distribution. ‘That’s better than getting gold’, as one student said after her silver-medal team was praised for their remarkably disciplined, respectful behaviour that stood out from other schools. Hawthorn is proud to name students who particularly embody important virtues that we nurture throughout our school. Through our character education programme, we aim to help our young women flourish in wellbeing, achievement, and the betterment of their communities and society, today and wherever their paths may take them in their future.
Congratulations to the following recipients of February’s Virtue Recognition Awards, whose merit was expressed through wonderful examples of their outstanding conduct:
Marianna: Charity – She tries to make excuses for others, and volunteers to help her classmates with their work in class if she sees that someone is struggling.
Anna: Spirit of Service – She is usually the one who would volunteer to assist in finding a student or relay a message from a teacher to another. One day, she saw a teacher holding a long mirror, and the teacher asked her where it belonged. She agreed to bring it back to its place in the US girls washroom, but when she got there, she realized that the hook was no longer there. She doesn’t leave tasks unfinished so she problem-solved and reinstalled the mirror.
Mary: Responsibility – She stays after class to clean up without being asked, and even cleans up after others. There have been challenges in completing a group project by the deadline. She doesn’t speak much in school, but she had the courage to approach the teacher outside of class to see how to resolve issues. After dialoguing with the teacher, she presented possible solutions to her group members.
Simona: Order and Cheerfulness – She has been working on keeping her agenda in class and organizing her own binders, so when she saw a friend in need, she found a way to help her friend organize her binders and locker as well. In class she reminds her classmates about homework and encourages them to see the positive side of things. She has been described as “sunshine” because she is so cheerful, positive and encouraging.
Rocio: Sportsmanship – In volleyball, she speaks up on behalf of teammates if they have some struggles, and she maintains a positive, encouraging attitude towards herself and others while on or off the court. She quickly shakes off mistakes and can refocus on the important things. During the student-parent/alumni volleyball game on Exhibition Night, she gave a chance to a less experienced player, and didn’t play very much herself as a consequence.
Ximena: Amiability – She tries to make volleyball practice a pleasant time for everyone, welcoming and praising her teammates as well as encouraging them when mistakes are made. She also gently and kindly corrects teammates when they’re out of position. She shows good leadership by listening attentively to any student who approaches her, and she always answers kindly.
Isabel: Positivity – She perseveres in coming out of her comfort zone by always participating in school spirit activities to the best of her ability. You can see her openness to improvement in volleyball. She asks for feedback and speaks up when she has questions about the game play and positioning. While she may be hard on herself, she tries her best to stay positive for the team, offering words of encouragement, and communicating on the court.
Hailey: Kindness – When we want a nice gift for an elderly person who we are visiting, she spends hours painting a masterpiece which the senior citizen frames on her wall and looks at for joy. We recently did a winter clothing drive, and all the bags of clothes were stored in an office. A teacher asked some students to help move the bags to the side entrance so they could later load them into the St. Vincent de Paul truck. Hailey purposely carried the larger bags so the teacher wouldn’t have to carry them, and she offered to carry two boxes so the teacher would carry less.
Victoria: Generosity – Since October, she has been generous in sharing her time and talent every week with two new LS students who had never played the violin. It was important for the two girls to get violin tutoring in order to participate fully in class because their classmates had been playing for two to three years. Now these girls know the basics, the technique, and music reading, and have fully caught up to their classmates.
Isabella: Wisdom – Yesterday the senior volleyball team was at the The Hanger playing against two other schools for the finals. After the first game, our team members all sat in a circle having lunch together off the court. One of the staff members of the facility came up to the teachers and said, “Over the years, I have seen many students from various schools but your students are different. Your students are so discipline and respectful. Other students when they’re off the court are sarcastic, silly, and fool around. Your students behave perfectly.” Yesterday, our team placed 2nd in the finals! Before we left the facility, I told what the man had said to some of our students, and one of them said, “That’s better than getting gold.”
Elia: Reliability – She does not need to be told to help set up or put away the volleyball net before or after practices. Although some of her other teammates do step up for the job, she has been the person to CONSISTENTLY help do BOTH tasks on the same day, until everything is ready to go or has been properly put away. Her willingness, reliability, and spirit of service made a difference and was greatly appreciated throughout the season.
Elaina: Leadership – The grade 8s have been planning an overnight trip for weeks. They wanted to make sure costs were down, so they decided to have a bake sale on Exhibition Night. Several grade 8s baked or bought something for the sale, but this student was involved with every aspect of the bake sale from baking to pricing and selling. She spent almost all of her time during Exhibition Night selling the baked goods, and even recruited her dad to help. The day after the bake sale, she was there counting all the money with some of her classmates and her teacher.
