Seniors Earn and Give Big

Seniors Earn and Give Big

By: Riley Simpson

Every year right before the seniors officially graduate they come back to Central for one last hoorah. The Honors Day assembly includes presentations of many awards and honors, monetary and religious. This year’s graduating class earned 2.6 million dollars in scholarship money, that is equivalent to what Normal Community West received, and they are quadruple the size. The Honors Day assembly also gives the school and senior class an opportunity to officially donate to their class charity.

The Honors Day Assembly commemorates academic excellence, leadership, and faith. This year over one hundred students, almost one third of Central, won the President’s Award for Academic Excellence. We also recognize leadership through a variety of extracurriculars such as the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution Award, Boys and Girls State, HOBY, Illinois Leadership Seminar and the Principal’s Leadership Award. Lastly we acknowledge and applaud those who demonstrate exemplary faith and service. The students who signify these Christian works receive honors such as the St. Maximilian Kolbe Award, St. Philip Neri Award, Chaplin Award, Pope St. John Paul II Award, Cardinal Newman Award, Saint of the Year and the Sedes Sapientiae Award.

On another note, at the Honors day assembly we find out as a school how much money we have raised for the senior class charity. This year the seniors chose St. Jude Hospital as their charity. St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital provides medical care to children with cancer and other deadly diseases. This year Central Catholic raised over 10,000 dollars! This donation will be a huge help to the hospital.

For the underclassmen the Honors Day Assembly shows them how much their hard work will pay off in the future. Being a good student, being a leader, and demonstrating how to live as a good Catholic with be rewarding for you in the end. After the assembly I had a chance to ask Ben Hoscheidt what he thought of the assembly. He responded, “ It was encouraging to see how much money and scholarships were given to the seniors.”

Special Olympics

On May 8th this year during the seniors' final day at Central, they honor the Special Olympics. This year is the third year the seniors had held the Special Olympics at Central Catholic. The reason for holding the Special Olympics is just simply for a good cause.  The best moment for sure at the Special Olympics is when all the kids go around the school and are honored by the students, receiving high fives and applause. The seniors take the participants around to play certain games and most importantly have some fun. The seniors used to have the Special Olympics as their annual charity, but now it is just simply for a good cause. When asked about how the experience of Special Olympics Katie Clark said, “Special Olympics was such a great experience, and I am so glad that I got to spend my last day of senior year with all of those little kids.”

We always look forward to the end of year to see all these little kids get together and have fun. Special Olympics is a big part of the seniors' last day at Central; they get to contribute to the community one last time as CCHS Saints.