my son and daughter go to different high schools. long story.
my point: Son is at TOP #1 public in the ( small midwest) state; lots of national merit kids, 57 kids out of 500 had 32+ on ACT, 23$million in scholarships, etc. My son did fine at school, but i was very concerned about going to honors night as he was not one of the big shots.
honors night was actually great. every kid who had a 3.5 or higher was listed in the program, and the announcer only read the first two or three achievements, and then said “and many more” as we’d look at the list. Got in and out of there in less than an hour. it was so simple, and not overdone.
OP, while its over now, perhaps you could mention to your school some ideas how to keep it shorter, as May is the busiest month for all. Have each kid be named, say the first award or two, and then say “and many more” for the rest. everyone is recognized, but not multiple times.
interesting; the valedictorian (2400 & 36act & MIT-bound) just had an award for highest honor roll. The awards listed were what the students submitted; she submitted nothing.