Our school invites the NMSF kids to a pizza lunch with the principle where they explain the National Merit process. They have a group picture taken and this is posted on the school web page. I think a blurb may be in the local paper but not sure about this (we don’t get the local paper). All the names of NMF are engraved in plaque on the wall in the front of the building. NMSF/NMF are also listed during the presentation at Senior Award night at the end of the year.
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Commended students also get a group picture on the web page and are also recognized at the Senior Award night.
Just wondering if other schools make a big deal out of NMSF as well. @Mayspond mentioned a breakfast that includes parents that I thought sounded neat!
The school recognizes the finalists (and scholars, if already known) on Senior Awards Night, and finalists are also noted in the program at graduation.
The district publishes the names of the finalists, and subsequently, any scholars, in their weekly news report on their website.
Our district put out a press release (they do a batch of releases most weekdays). This year, they didn’t take a photo at any of the schools. One of the student names was incorrect – they used the name of the student’s younger sister.
NMF are called to office, names on school and distruct website and announced at end of year awards assembly. 33 last year at his school and 33 again this year.
No recognition at our school. Zippo. The school’s official announcement of the scheduling of this year’s PSAT makes it optional for Juniors and doesn’t even advise people that it is the NMSQT. All in all, it appears that football and homecoming dances are the principal function of our school rather than encouraging academic excellence.
It appears that our school does nothing - son is either the first ever NMSF at our school, or the second (depending on what teachers can recall) so I don’t think there is any history or tradition since it is so rare. My guess is that it will probably be mentioned at the senior awards next June though. My son would have really liked a free breakfast or pizza…
No recognition. It’s a small, somewhat experimental K–12 public school, though, which means that (a) all the students know each other’s business anyway, and (b) any student (or any parent of a student) who would really want that kind of big-announcement recognition would have probably self-selected out and gone to one of the regular high schools before it was an issue.
Us, we stay there in great part precisely because nobody makes a big deal out of stuff like that.
@dfbdfb I appreciate your view on not making a big deal out of stuff like that… I do agree, too much public recognition for accomplishments is not necessary. However @wandlmink does make a point about their high school which I think applies to our school as well…sports and popular special events get more attention. Period. I feel strongly that acknowledging a student’s hard work, dedication, and achieving something academically at a national level shouldn’t be ignored or minimized just because the student didn’t score the winning goal in last Friday’s football game. I don’t want my son to feel that an academic accomplishment is so much less than an accomplishment in something else such as sports. Everyone should be acknowledged and celebrated for their strengths (equally!), no matter what they happen to be!
(Well, I guess I should add another datapoint: Part of the experimental-ness of the school includes no sports teams—so it’s not like this is a football-over-academics sort of thing. It really is a hippie-culture-50-years-too-late sort of place.)
Local school apparently does nothing for Semi-Finalists. Not even a mention in school during daily announcements. We have no idea if any students other than our son made NMSF here. In the past the district has occasionally created a press release for Finalists, and the NM kids are often mentioned in the senior awards roundup at the end of the year banquet.
Initially, we had nothing. It was ironic given how much football tweets and emails had gone out that week. We had 71 NMSFs announced in our district, 54 in one school. The superintendent went to take a picture at that school with that huge group of students. At our school, nothing was mentioned. Apparently, one of the mom’s called the school and complained. Now we have a breakfast scheduled to honor our students, which is pretty great. My son worked so hard studying grammar for this test, just a little recognition goes a long way. I thinks neat how some kids get their picture in the paper, I wish they did more of that. OTH, it is just one test on one day. NMF is more impressive to me.
Our school invites students (NMSF & commended) and families to a nice reception - light Hors d’Oeuvres and cake at a private setting after school.
They do make a point to honor academic excellence.
:-bd
Our school is finally doing something to honor the 43 students that made commended and up. An article with a picture was just made available and they were introduced at the last board meeting. Also, they are going to be announced at the next football game during halftime.
Our school recognized the NMSF at the school board meeting last week. Several of the kids couldn’t make it due to conflicts including my D but they put up two slides for each student one with their picture and a list of schools they were applying to and their ec’s and the other with the name of the elementary and middle schools attended and listed the most influential teachers for elementary, middle and high school years.
My d’s slide listed “home school” for elementary and middle school and “mom” as much influential teacher for both. I thought it was neat that the school board recognized her home school education.
