I am a student at Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School, explaining the impact of moving our Academic Awards Ceremony from evening to daytime. For years, the excitement associated with this event was tied not only to the recognition of academic excellence but also to the unique gathering it staged. The ceremony allows the Spartan family to stay connected. Being held in the evening, the ceremony was a recognition of student achievement, a gathering point for parents, peers, and past graduates—a collective celebration of Spartan excellence.

The evening schedule allows parents and students alike to be able to find the time in their busy schedules to attend the awards. A Canada-wide Study by Statista in 2020 shows that parents attending school engagements significantly impacts the motivation of students and their academic achievement. This result has been found by other studies also, including: American Psychological Association (2019), National Literacy Trust (2007), and The Journal of Educational Research (2010).

However, the sudden shift of this ceremony to daytime diminishes these opportunities. The adjusted timing means parents cannot attend, peer recognition is diminished as the students are forced to attend the awards at an assembly during the school day, and past graduates lose the chance to reconnect with their alma mater. Parents and graduates are not invited to participate in the planned daytime ceremony this year. 

The school should be focused on academics, and that should always be the center of the school's focus. The athletes of the school have an athletic award night, as well as individual sport's celebrations, but the students that achieve high grades get minimal recognition. It is not fair that sports and clubs get their own recognition, but that success in academics have only the one celebration, and that is now being degraded to a one-day assembly.

In light of the above, we call on the decision-makers at Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School to return the Academic Awards Ceremony to its rightful place in the evening, where we can come together as the Spartan community to cheer on our academic successes. Sign this petition to advocate for the reinstatement of the evening academic awards ceremony at Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School.