Beginning with an assembly on January 24, 197 Blendon Middle School students were recognized for their outstanding efforts during the second quarter. Each pupil received coupons from Dave & Busters, and Josie’s Yogurt, in addition to larger raffle prizes which included gift cards, OSU t–shirts, free admission passes from Skate Zone 71 and the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, string bags, homemade cookies, $10 in cash, and the grand prize of a digital camera. Local businesses and Blendon parents donated all the gifts. A fun afternoon of ice skating at The Chiller North capped off a perfect day, courtesy of the Blendon PTO.
The Blendon Renaissance Awards Program recognizes student achievement in five categories: Academics, Community Service, School Spirit, Attitude, and Attendance. Students must meet criteria in all five categories in order to qualify for the program. This year, Blendon added a new “wildcard” category of qualification, whereby teachers could nominate students who may not have met the criteria in all five categories, but demonstrated all the attributes and positive attitude championed by the awards program. The wildcard category strives to encourage those students to put forth the extra effort needed for full qualification.
Blendon is in its third year of the Renaissance Awards Program and has seen a steady increase each quarter in the number of qualifying students.
The school is grateful to the local businesses and parents who donated to the Renaissance Awards Program: Ann Dorne, City BBQ, Cold Stone Creamery, Columbus Crew, Darla Cossette, Donato’s Pizza, Dairy Queen, Dave & Buster’s, Fazoli’s Italian Restaurant, Firehouse Subs, Josie’s Yogurt, Kelley Femia, Little Caesar’s Pizza, Marie Scrambler’s, Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, Old Bag of Nails Restaurant, On The Mat Martial Arts, Westerville Pancake House, Pizza Primo, Skate Zone 71, and Tracy Davidson. Without these donors, the Blendon Renaissance Awards Program could not provide tangible rewards, which demonstrates to students that hard work really does pay off.