Redondo Beach USD Students of the Year awarded
Students of the Year, seated, Kyle Bowers, Michelle Ho, Katie Bracewell, Naoki Yogi, Kali Achong, Madison Laster, and Nick Webb. Standing, Mayor Mike Webb, students of the year Stephen Songer, Austin Pritzkat, Michelle Hough, Bo Henderson, Erin Sagisi, Hayes Honea, and Superintendent Steven Keller.
Among the 13 Students of the Year honorees recognized by the Redondo Beach Coordinating Council at a luncheon Monday, nearly all were ardent volunteers, many were musicians, several were talented scholar athletes, and a few were artists. Each has a bright future: one girl aspires be a writer, one boy a musician/policeman, and another boy aims to be president of the United States.
The awards ceremony, held at the Beach Cities Health District, highlighted the accomplishments of students from every campus at the Redondo Beach Unified School District.
Adams Middle School sixth grader Erin Sagisi was recognized as the number one student in her class who possesses a gift for critical thinking and natural leadership abilities. She was a straight-A student who also participated in band and was the MVP of the girl’s volleyball team. But beyond her accomplishments, teacher Jennifer Wimer said Sagisi stood out for her kindness and her interest in helping other students achieve, as well.
“She’s just a great person, “Wimer said. “As well as being the number one student academically, she is the first one to explain her work to classmates, and the first one to ask questions,” Wimer said.
Alta Vista Principal Anthony Taranto praised student Bo Henderson not only for his academic achievements and his athletic accomplishments (he’s an all-star baseball player and an elite soccer player) but for his social maturity and ability to care for others. Taranto noted that Henderson had befriended a special needs student, and every day he finds the other boy and takes him to the playground, making sure he has a good recess.
“This is a special person….” Taranto said. “He has a lot of compassion.”
Beryl Heights Elementary Principal Karen Mohr recalled student Naoki Yogi’s buoyantly positive attitude, kindness, and thoughtfulness, and noted her astonishing array of activities. As well as being an award-winning student, she attends daily Japanese school, studies ballet, plays the piano, dances, and is learning abacus. Teacher Pam Cadena noted that Yogi this year somehow found the extra time to use one of talents – origami – to launch a drive in which students and staff made 200 orgami cranes that were sold to benefit earthquake victims in Japan.
“She sets the highest standard for herself, and she meets it,” Cadena said. “….Naoki is a student who makes teaching truly a joy.”
Birney Elementary Principal Jackie O’Sullivan said student Kali Achong is an accomplished student, a leader, a gifted athlete, a clarinet player, and a Safe Schools Ambassador. Achong, who intends to be an entrepreneur, also somehow manages to lift the spirits of all those around her, O’Sullivan said.
“There is a generosity about Kali,” she said. “She makes you want to smile every time you see her.”
Jefferson Elementary sixth grader Michelle Ho is another young woman with an astonishing array of talents and interests: she designed a poster about child abuse that was recognized throughout LA County, gave speeches within the school aimed at raising awareness for the issue of homelessness, and worked as a “Happy Helper” mediating disputes among younger students. She also plays the French horn, makes origami, is a Girl Scout, and was a student leader in recycling. Jefferson Principal Karen Hinrich praised Ho’s “kind, humble, caring” nature.
Beach Cities Health District CEO Susan Burden praised Ho’s work ethic. “I think those of us who are a little older know that will take you a long ways – the willingness to work,” Burden said.
Lincoln Elementary fifth-grader Kyle Bowers is likewise a young man of many accomplishments. He plays saxophone, piano, and guitar, is a practitioner of magic and card tricks, an excellent student, and both helps his mother cook and care for his special-needs older brother.
“He’s just a great person,” said teacher Kim Caywood. “You want to be around him.”
Madison Elementary fifth grader Katie Bracewell was recognized by her teachers as a star student who emerged as a leader at the school, working as a Safe School Ambassador to resolve conflicts, organizing volunteers for a recycling program, and helping spearhead the school’s charity Jog-A-Thon. “Not only is she bright, but she is always willing and able to help the community,” said teacher Maria Johnson. “She has learned how to collaborate, cooperate, and share her knowledge with all those around her.”
Parras Middle School eighth-grader Hayes Honea achieved a perfect 4.0 grade point average and achieved much outside the classroom. She was a star club volleyball player, Associated Student Body vice president, and helped lead a school effort that raised $2,300 at the Richstone Pier-to_Pier Walkathon this year. “She has really spent a lot of time helping others,” said Paras Principal Lars Nygren.
Redondo Union High School senior Michelle Hough scored an above-perfect G.P.A., 4.32, while somehow finding time to become a young leader within the community – as a supervisor for Music ‘n Motion, a children’s art instructor, ASB president, a mentor, a member of Model UN, and as an Amnesty International volunteer. Principal Mary Little described Hough as perhaps the most active student on campus.
“She is involved in all aspects of the school, she is involved in her community, and she is a pleasure and inspiration to have at RUHS,” Little wrote in the awards pamphlet. “But Michelle is more than that. She is student who is driven to find her place in society. She wants to make a difference and doesn’t mind making waves for the good of her community. She is more than just a student at Redondo Union; she is an asset to our community.”
Fellow RUHS senior Austin Pritzkat scored a 4.42 G.P.A. while serving as a writer and editor of the school paper, The High Tide, as co-president for the Amnesty International Club (organizing a successful fundraising drive for the Congo), volunteering with Heal the Bay, and playing water polo and swimming for the school teams. Little called him a “natural leader” with a broad view of the world and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. He and Hough have attended school together since kindergarten at Tulita Elementary and are both attending UC Berkley.
“He makes me proud to be a principal,” Little said.
Redondo Shores senior Stephen Songer took what Principal Steve Edmonds called a “circuitous” route towards graduation. He moved to Redondo from Portland, Oregon due to health issues in his family, and took on a lot of responsibility helping his mother, a single mother. Attending classes early on in his high school career was not always a priority, Edmonds noted, but once he arrived at Shores he brought his G.P.A. up from below 2.0 to above 3.0. He is a guitar player and singer who is about to release a CD and who hopes to become a policeman.
“At Shores, it clicked,” Edmonds said. “…He has an inquiring mind.”
Washington Elementary’s Madison Laster won nearly every academic award within her reach – the Silver Quill, the Good Character Award, and a Math Award – and scored a perfect 600 on her California Standards math test. She was a a Safe School Ambassador, a swimmer, and raised money for the American Cancer Society in honor of her grandmother. She is a gifted writer whose teachers praise for her “mature voice,” one the many believe will be heard from far and wide in the future.
“We just met,” said Burden. “But I want you to know, this child is scary smart.”
Tulita Elementary student Nick Webb is a civically minded and academically gifted student who takes it upon himself to “prevent acts of mistreatment” among other students, according to principal Danielle Allphin. Teachers noticed that he befriended a special needs student who he finds every day for lunch and then plays basketball with, making sure he has fun at recess every day. Webb, the son of City Attorney Mike Webb, served as a lawyer in a mock trial at a GATE class this year and started a school recycling program.
“It was his idea, and he came to me with a plan, and said, ‘Let’s make it happen,” Allphin said, nothing that Webb has political aspirations. “If it’s up to him, and all goes as planned, it will be as U.S. President.”
Webb worked the room before the awards ceremony, hobnobbing with Mayor Mike Gin and Superintendent Steven Keller. As he received his award, he pointed discreetly at Keller and mouthed the words, “Nice hair.”
“Now he’s just taunting me,” said Keller.
Pat Dreizler, the head of local coordinating council, noted that the organization had been organized in Los Angeles County in 1933 and in Redondo Breach in 1933 in order to encourage the potential of students.
“Now,” she told the students, “you are a part of history.”