Lafayette, Eureka Students to be Honored

The following and High School students will be honored Thursday evening at a special awards ceremony conducted by the board of education directors and hosted by Superintendent Bruce Borchers. The ceremony will be held at Crestview Middle School in Ellisville.

Eureka High National Merit Semifinalists:
Christopher Dieckhaus, James Huang, Brandon Sprenger and Connor Tinen

Lafayette High National Merit Semifinalists:
Elizabeth Denn, Danielle Lamar, Richard Lu, Christopher Moody, Eric Moser, Dallin Robinson, Tyler Romero, Brandon Sinanan, Deck Slone, Jessica Zadoks, Paroma Zaman and Jacob Zerr

Eureka National Merit Commended Scholars:
Jeanne Alexander, Kaitlyn Alsup, Chelsea Cook, Katie Engsberg, Jakob Jackson, Kelsey Peterson, Dillon Sandhu, Lauren Schultz and Mallory Weise

Lafayette National Merit Commended Scholars:
Vanessa Alexander, Brian Catanzaro, Kelsey Clayman, Abigail Davis, Curtis Gill, Andrew Higgins, Jacob Lee, Williams McAndrew, Jean-Luc Panchot, Mihir Parthasarathy, Amanda Rightler, Joshua Scala and Maxton Thoman

Eureka's attendees at Missouri Scholars Academy, an intensive summer academic program for 330 of Missouri's gifted students:
Christopher Colletti, Kasey Hancock, Brendan Marsh and Matthew Tucker

Lafayette's attendees at Missouri Scholars Academy, an intensive summer academic program for 330 of Missouri's gifted students:
Zach Murphy, Nicholas Hakmiller, Andrew Boal, David Wang, Devin Powell and Seth Ludwig

Eureka's attendees at the Missouri Fine Arts Academy, an intensive summer program designed to provide outstanding students in the arts an opportunity for in‐depth study in a chosen arts discipline:
Monique Mullen, Mindy Thompson and Lindsay Weinrich

Three Rockwood students are the only students in Missouri to earn the State AP Scholar Award through the College Board, and Christina Schmidt attending Lafayette High School was one of the three. Note:  Schmidt is one of 117 students nationwide to receive this award, which is based on their outstanding performance on the 2011 Advanced Placement exams. This award is granted to the top students that score a 3 or higher on the greatest number of AP exams, and then the highest average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken.

Eureka ACT Scholar:
Connor Tinen at Eureka achieved a perfect score of 36 on the ACT test. ACT test scores are accepted by all major U.S. colleges, and exceptional scores of 36 provide colleges with evidence of student readiness for the academic rigors that lie ahead.

Lafayette Athletics and Activities:

• Richard Lu was selected as a member of the 2012 National High School Honor Orchestra. He is one of only 40 violins in the nation to make this orchestra.
• Girls Volleyball earned first place in the 2011 State Volleyball Championships.
• Girls Field Hockey earned first place in the 2011 State Field Hockey Championships.
• The Lafayette Lancer Regiment placed first in its class at the Greater St. Louis Marching Band Festival. This is a competition of all the top bands in the area.
• Boys Swimming placed second in the 2011 State Swimming Championships. The 400 yard freestyle swimming relay team earned a first place finish: Jon Glaser, Patrick Vega, Lucas Bruder and Jeffrey Morgan. Patrick Vega also earned a second place finish in the 200 yard freestyle.

Seventeen Rockwood schools are among the 235 schools nationwide to receive a 2011 Promising Practices Award from the Character Education Partnership. The Promising Practices program recognizes schools and districts that have developed specific, unique, and effective educational practices that promote character development. The schools from Eureka and Wildwood among this group include:

, Socks to the Rescue
, Young Learners' Conference
, New Student Breakfast
, WEB Lunches

Rockwood's Department of Communications received the Gold Medallion Award from the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) for its Public Engagement/Parent Involvement — Guiding Change FY12 Budget Process. The Gold Medallion is NSPRA's top program award, recognizing superior educational public relations programs. The Department also earned the eSchool of the Month award by eSchool News. This award recognizes Rockwood’s eBackpack as a model for effectively integrating technology into the educational and administrative process.

Editor's Note:  Rockwood School District athletes who place first and second place in state championships are honored with a board of education award at this type of ceremony. Third and fourth place finishes are honored at the students' respective schools with a superintendent certificate.