Matter of the Heart ceremony 2018
Renton High School staff show their appreciation to members of RHS.
Will Gaspar, senior and ASB president, speaking at the event.
December 13, 2018
A timely breakfast celebration where staff and students expressed their gratitude towards each other, “Matter of the Heart” was an event that took place in the early morning of December 7, 2018.
The event required teachers and staff to pick an honorary student to eat breakfast with them. Students were picked for their great community skills, good sportsmanship, high efforts, and for constantly being on track.
The event was held inside of Renton High School’s commons room. It was decorated in honor of this celebratory event, with holiday lights hung around poles and pillars, golden balloons floating in the air, and numerous green tables with eating utensils and hand-made centerpieces set on it. Everything was organized and set up beautifully by leadership and multiple Renton staff.
After the welcoming introduction that the leadership team had for the audience, tables were released one-by-one to grab their breakfast that was prepared by the Essence of Renton culinary club. Staff and students proceeded to enjoy their first meal, in anticipation of the rest of their day.
Mr. Dyson’s band class played some songs as the guests were eating. Afterward, they played soothing Christmas music in the background.
Mr. Lim’s choir class then followed up with 3 beautifully performed songs.
While eating, staff and students chatted away, communicating their endless appreciation with these hardworking students and determined teachers.
The room was packed with students and staff members; they watched a slide show filled with many familiar student faces followed by descriptions of why they were picked for the event. On each slide, it listed the students’ accomplishments, their great efforts, and overachieving actions.
Many people seemed to be enjoying the breakfast foods, created by Ms. Hasson’s culinary class. The day before, her class had prepared the food after school, until 7 pm. Early on the morning of the 7th, these students entered the school at 4:30 in the morning, to cook up the breakfast that was served during the celebration. Regardless of their tiredness and busy schedules, these students had gone out of their way to produce a breakfast that would keep the select students and staff energized for the rest of the day.
A student said that he had felt so tired, that after he served the food, he took a nap in his culinary class.
“I felt that the experience was fun, but a tiring event because arriving there early and staying there so late while still having to do homework was a handful. But besides the fact, I had a lot of fun cooking with the people in culinary for the guests. I was so tired though. I even took a nap in the culinary room after the occasion,†explained culinary student, Thien Nguyen.
Starbucks coffee and water were served as beverages. As for the foods, there were countless varieties of dishes, such as: chocolate muffins, pumpkin whoopie pies, parfaits, fried bacon, scrambled eggs, vegan apple muffins, and refreshing fruits.
Near the end, ASB ran an activity that required standing up, singing, and holiday spirit. They were doing a sing-along; the guests were split in half and were requested to sing a holiday song that was played on the projector.
The Voices of the Students
Not all students elected showed up and missed out on a lot. But the ones that did had a lot of positivity to share.
Emma Austin, a junior at Renton High School, was one of the students, among dozens, that was chosen to eat with her teacher, Mr. Lindsey. She reviewed the breakfast celebration.
“The breakfast was great, very well put together, and full of Christmas spirit. I think for me and my fellow nominees, it’s refreshing to feel appreciated for all the hard work and dedication we put into this school… Though the event should be a dinner, so we don’t have to wake up so early!†she added on jokingly.
A student that was nominated by Ms. Paulson that goes by Christian Molina had a few words to share as well.
“I had a great experience and had a lot of fun with Ms. Paulson. I am truly thankful, I was able to bond more with my teacher and I hope it was the same for my selected peers,†Molina shared.
Delaney Connell is a photojournalist who was a student selected by Ms. DiAsio. She attended the event with a camera; she intended on taking pictures while having some fun. She took pictures non-stop and seemed to be very entertained by the activities. She has a lot of things she would like to share.
“Sometimes students who do what they are told feel forgotten when teachers focus on students who don’t do what they’re told, so this event reminds them that the teachers do see them. It’s also nice to be appreciated for going above and beyond as these students do. And overall, it was very heartwarming. I thought it was nice for the students to be able to sit with the teachers who invited them and bond over breakfast, and it was nice to see how much effort was put into this event, from the tasty food to the hand-crafted centerpieces. It makes you feel like the people of this school really do care about you. It was also nice for each student to have their own little moment where they were praised and everyone focused on them,†shared Connell.
Brief but meaningful
Matter of the Heart encourages students to continue working hard. The event allows students to be recognized and know that their hard work has already been acknowledged by their teachers. It’s not every day that students contain the privilege to enjoy a meal with their teachers. And it is not every day that teachers spend a portion of their morning showing their thankfulness to individual students. It is important that students and staff cherish the small and special moments to show kindness and appreciation to each other.
A+ for effort
A quick shout out to all of the people who worked hard behind the scenes to prepare this. Thank you ASB for spending a load of time the day before to set up for the occasion. Shout out to Ms. Neuschwander & Ms. Hasson for working restlessly with chair setups and foods. And shout out to all the other students who helped make it possible, thank you.
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