Fall Term Gryphon Award Winners

February 18, 2022

Academics

GNS

On February 9, the Middle School had a chance to celebrate the students who were awarded the Gryphon Award of Excellence for last term. The award is given each term to a student in each Grade that embodies the school motto “Do your best through truth and courage.”

The criteria staff consider when determining who will receive the award includes: reflecting on the spirit of our school motto; exhibiting a commitment to learning and striving to do their very best; demonstrating good manners and virtues such as respect, compassion, condience, enthusiasm, integrity, kindness and perseverance; participation in a wide range of activities at school and/or the outside community; and contribution to service as action in meaningful ways.

The recipients for the Fall Term were Lewis Weir ’26, Wynstan Hart ’28 and Claire Sangha ’27!

During assembly, the respective homeform teachers read a speech about each student who also received a certificate and a medal. Here is an excerpt from what was said about each of these Gryphons.

Wynstan: “Wynstan has embodied our motto “Do your best through truth and courage” in every action of every day. When describing Wynstan, the words “active participant” consistently come up, as Wynstan takes action to enrich his learning experiences and the experiences of those around him. In other words, he makes our community better and stronger. Wystan is an inquirer who is always ready to learn and is confident enough to ask for assistance or help his peers. One of the qualities of an IB Learner is the quality of balance. He understands the importance of his academics but is also very involved with the social dynamic of 6CD and in co-curricular activities.”

Claire: “Claire displays many of the IB Learner Profile attributes. The word ‘quit’ is not in her vocabulary. Setbacks, like a lower than expected score on an assignment, only make her work harder. The desire to know, understand, learn, and improve is what she is all about. Her high level of effort and perseverance is almost as impressive as her resilience. Knowing how busy she is with a LOT of extracurricular activities, Claire remains balanced by managing her time to get school work done and finding time to spend with friends and family.”

Lewis: “Lewis consistently exhibits tremendous effort as he strives to be successful within and beyond the classroom walls. Conscientious, hard working, and diligent in class, he is the embodiment of a strong student. He is a pleasure to teach, not because he always knows the answer, but because he always knows how to ask the right questions. A fearless self-advocate, he is adept at assessing his own strengths and weaknesses, and his teachers will all attest to the fact that he knows precisely how much help to ask for in any given situation.”

As part of being awarded the Gryphon Award of Excellence, the three students each have a chance to select a charity that the school will make a donation to in their name.

Congratulations Gryphons!