The hallways sound with spirit each month as the students of the month receive congratulations for their accomplishments.
“The students of the month are based on the future-ready traits that all Virginia Beach City Public School (VBCPS) students attain to have coming out of high school,” assistant principal Jenna Filipowicz said.
For example, freshman Penelope Aujero received student of the month for being a “culturally competent citizen,” which was the theme for December. Not only is the achievement a source of pride for themselves, but also for their entire school community.
“When I received student of the month, I felt really, really happy, but very surprised at the same time,” Penelope said. “My friends were very proud of me and happy that my efforts were seen.”
Eight students were chosen as “culturally competant citizens”: Penelope Aujero, Arianna Watson, Nicole Nanocchio, Charlotte Strunk, Aarna Aithani, Sarah Talur, Vihaan Shah and Emilia Fiorentine, according to Filipowicz, who is the Students of the Month organizer and supervisor. Two SCA students also help organize the recognition of each student: juniors Raizel Dino and Bennett Von St Paul.
“Our goal is really just to recognize the hard work that so many Dolphins put in each and every day and to encourage everyone to follow their example so that the Ocean Lakes community continues to thrive,” Bennett said.
Every month, eight students–one zoned student and one academy student from each grade–are chosen to model a trait from the VBCPS Future-Ready Learners Profile.
“We encourage both teachers and students [to nominate]. When people are awarded students of the month, they get a celebration in front of their peers and a goodie bag,” Filipowicz said.
For the month of January, the focus was toward “responsible leaders,” and for February, the focus was “collaborative communicators,” two of the sixtraits from the Future-Ready Learners Profile. March will focus on students who are “lifelong learners.” Use the posters around the school to nominate students each month. Anyone can nominate using this link: bit.ly/SOTM25-26.
“The students of the month exemplify positive behaviors not just academic achievement,” Filipowicz said. “This recognition motivates students to set goals, take pride in their actions, and model future-ready skills.”
