The first Principal’s Breakfast took place in the Student Center Monday, Nov. 11. The event was divided into two periods: seventh graders, eighth graders and freshmen met during first period, and sophomores, juniors and seniors had theirs during second period. Parent volunteers helped serve breakfast to the students while they celebrated their academic accomplishments with peers.
The breakfast, previously called the High Honors Breakfast, has undergone a change in the qualifications required to attend. Previously, in order to qualify, students needed to have a weighted GPA of 4.33; however, this year, the requirement changed to having straight As.
So far, the reactions from the change of the requirement to qualify for the Principal’s Breakfast has been mixed. Some students support it, feeling that it values the students’ hard work, but others are against it due to neglect to the rigor of Advanced Placement classes.
Principal Mr. Rodriguez explained that one of the reasons for this change was that, previously, students who took multiple AP classes but received low grades, such as Cs or even Ds, would still qualify for the breakfast due to the GPA boost from AP classes. “Someone who has straight As has really earned their way here… Is it really a special event if you have kids with Cs coming here… or is it just an ordinary thing?” Mr. Rodruiguez said. The main reason for this change was to ensure equity rather than a strict sense of fairness. “The change was made for equity…Now, it is across the board equitable for all the kids.”
It was also pointed out that the previous system led to a very large number of students to qualify for the breakfast and this diminished its importance. “So many people qualified that it was impossible to keep… we had three fourths of the student population in the breakfast,” Dean Nolle said.
The price of the breakfasts took a small part in this modification, but as the school funds it, the expenses of the breakfasts were not a big aspect of administration’s decision.
Some students believe the new requirement is a positive change. “I think it’s smart because it gives you more pride when you get to breakfast now. This higher standard that was set in order to get in makes it more rewarding,” sophomore Hanna Lubowitz said.
This rule will continue throughout this entire school year, as stated in the handbook, and this change will ultimately be part of an ongoing discussion about what is the best way to celebrate and reward academic achievement.
Students check in for breakfast and line up to get their breakfast. The parent volunteers were giving out breakfast sandwiches, fruits, juices and glazed donuts. This year, there were no bagels. (Photos/Nina Vieira)
