Comments

Valid email addresses are required to post comments. If your comment is not posted, I will send you an email with an explanation.







Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Hard Earned Victories

The Heatly School of Green Island has been notified that both of our varsity basketball teams are being recognized for their outstanding accomplishments in the classroom. The boys and the girls squads have each qualified as a Scholar Athlete team by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association for achieving high academic performance based on the collective grade point average of team members.

This honor is notable on several counts. First, maintaining excellent grades is a difficult challenge in itself, but considering that these scholar athletes were able to reach this pinnacle while devoting considerable amounts of time to team responsibilities makes the award even more distinguished. This is particularly true in basketball because it is a sport with a long season that spans Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday breaks, with a number of games that far exceeds the total regular season contests in other sports. Second, both teams experienced great success in the classroom and on the basketball court. Each group earned playoff berths, and subsequent victories, with the girls acknowledged as the top seed in their tournament.

I have made reference in earlier Blog entries of the strong correlation between participation in extra-curricular activities and success in the classroom. These scholar athletes certainly reinforce the research on the issue. The self discipline, goal orientation, cooperation, and practice that serve to produce success in sports are the same qualities that greatly contribute to success in academics. Of special note is the fact that the girls who comprise the basketball team are largely the same group of girls who also received the Scholar Athlete Team honor as a soccer team this fall. We are hoping that the girls can continue their spectacular year by garnering the same honor as a softball team as well. Additionally, we wish good luck for the boys' baseball team in the classroom too. (Now, if the weather will only cooperate so the softball and baseball teams can actually play a game...)

Congratulations to these dedicated young men and women who have consistently displayed a commitment to excellence. Their hard work and sacrifices have been a positive reflection on our school and community.

2 comments:

  1. Simply phenomenal! Congrats to these Scholar Athletes and those they learn from.

    ReplyDelete
  2. From one of their biggest fans ~ I'm incredibly proud of both squads!

    ReplyDelete