The past couple of months have been rather hectic. It almost feels like JHS has had more snow days than school days so far in the second semester, and a lot of people seemed to agree that last year’s holiday season was just kind of “meh.” So it’s unfortunate, albeit understandable, that some stories here at the Crimson J got shuffled under the rug and haven’t quite returned from their proverbial carpeted exile. And while topics like the “polar vortex” and the Grammys are rather old news at this point, it would be a shame to forget about a tradition that this school has upheld for nearly 10 years: the You Make a Difference Award.
The rules of You Make a Difference are simple. To win the award, a teacher has to, of course, suit the title. The honor is given to those teachers who go above and beyond to act as a positive influence on those around them, students and staff alike, and then whoever is granted the award gets to choose who wins it next. The only real specification is that Math teachers can’t pass it on to Math teachers, English teachers can’t pass it on to English teachers, and so on and so forth.
So when it came time for November’s recipient, the Art Department’s own Ms. Powell, to select a new winner, she looked to a subject that is often considered an antithesis to her own. The award went to someone who, according to Powell, is “always trying to improve things.” A teacher who never stops working to help her students or enhance her own teaching. December’s award was given to none other than Ms. Arnold of the Math Department.
Arnold, expectably, was “surprised and honored” to receive the award. She noted that a common tradition is for the previous recipient to spend a few moments explaining why they chose the person they did, without actually revealing their decision until he end. This tends to leave the teachers guessing, although Ms. Arnold did admit that she had begun to catch on by the time Ms. Powell made the reveal.
The You Make a Difference award is given out each month at the monthly faculty meeting, generally held on the first Thursday of the month. It is a long-standing JHS tradition which was begun in 2005. The first-ever award was bestowed upon Mr. McCoy, an English teacher who has since retired, and 2014 marks its 9th consecutive year.