Point Pleasant School District Unveils New Academic Hall Of Fame

A walk down the main hallway reveals the pictures of esteemed borough alumni and staff ever to have been inducted into the Point Pleasant Foundation for Excellence in Education’s Hall of Fame, since its 1998 founding. The hallway bordering the gymnasium is adorned with plaques and display cases commemorating the students who have earned acclaim for their athletic performance, through participation in one of the school’s many co-curricular athletic programs.

Banners in the gymnasium and trophies in a display cases located near the school’s main entrance also honor the teams, throughout the high school’s history, who have achieved championship, sectional and state titles.

Aligning the performing arts wing’s hallway walls, there’s a retrospective of playbills from every musical ever performed at the high school, which were hand-painted on the walls by art teacher Sheila Soyster, paying special tribute to the cast and crew who have worked to make the school’s musical productions extraordinary over the last 45 years. Inset display cases near the band room feature plaques and awards earned by the school’s band and chorus, further celebrating performing arts achievement.

And scattered throughout the senior hallway, near the art rooms, exists a veritable gallery of students’ visual artwork, featuring everything from their photography and painting to sculpture and craftwork.

Beginning each winter, the area aligning the Guidance department, which until recently was known as the Guidance Hallway, is transformed, wallpapered over by pennants that depict the names of the school’s seniors and the respective colleges to which they have been accepted.

But besides a single art display case, the hallway walls were largely bare, especially during the early part of the school year, before college acceptances begin rolling in.

That all changed, however, with the addition of 10 new wall display cases, constructed as part of a new initiative spearheaded by Principal Kurt Karcich, to acknowledge and applaud students’ academic achievement.

“The idea for the Academic Wall of Fame arose from discussions with my Principal’s Advisory Committee,” said Karcich.

The Principal’s Advisory Committee, one of the first in a series of advisory committees created by Principal Karcich last year, is comprised of 15 students with diverse interests, representing all grade levels, who work collaboratively with the administration to develop ideas and initiatives to affect positive changes school-wide.

The Committee also provides the Principal with valuable student-generated feedback on school policies and procedures, giving the principal a direct line into the thoughts and feelings of his student body.

“At one of our meetings, a number of the students expressed their perception that although the school does a great job recognizing co-curricular and artistic achievement, there existed few programs to honor academic achievement,” Principal Karcich said. “After further discussion with the Committee and conversations between myself and Central Administration, the plan for the Academic Wall of Fame began to take shape.”

Criteria for the Academic Hall of Fame:

The 2000 Club, which recognizes any student who achieves a combined SAT score of 2000 or higher; Merit Commended Scholars, honoring students who score in the top fifth percentile, nationwide, on the PSAT; AP Scholars, acknowledging students who score a three or higher in three or more Advanced Placement classes; AP Achievement, a series of seven plaques, broken down by class subject, listing the names of students who achieve a score of three or higher on their AP exams as well as their score and corresponding subject area; Valedictorians and Salutatorians; and the school’s “Students of the Month, another new initiative that honors students from each grade level, based on their demonstrations of leadership, service, talent and skills within the school and the greater community.