by Chris Wilson

At Buchholz High, varsity letters are not only reserved for those who exhibit talent on the field, court or baseball diamond. The best Bobcat students also can “letter” in academics. The special Scholar letters are reserved for students who receive nothing but A grades in every subject for an entire academic year.

In late October, 33 sophomores, 27 juniors and 29 seniors (89 students total) were awarded for their perfect final report cards of the 2006-07 school year.

“I’m so proud of all of you,”?Buchholz principal Vince Perez told the students and their families. “You make Buchholz the great school that it is. You set a great example.”

The varsity letters are bestowed upon sophomores and anybody who is receiving the award for the first time. If a student earns all A grades for a second year, they receive a gold bar to pin onto the letter. “I’ve lived in four different counties in Florida and this is the only school we’ve been where you can letter in academics,” says Buchholz PTSA president Judy Lundell. “It doesn’t matter if the student is in (Advanced Placement), honors or regular classes. If they get all As, they get a letter.”

Buchholz assistant principal David Shelnutt had the honor of announcing the names of the students receiving the awards. “This is one of the most exciting things at Buchholz to be a part of,” he told students.

In addition to the “Straight A Awards,” Buchholz bestowed awards upon its National Merit students. In order to receive the honor students must be ranked among the top 50,000 students nationwide who take the PSAT (about 1.5 million students take the test). Darryl Cannady received an award as an “Outstanding Participant” in the program, while 16 students were named “National Merit Commended” for finishing in the top two-thirds of the 50,000 recognized students. Twelve Bobcats were named “National Merit Semi-Finalists” for finishing among the top 16,000 in the country. “That is the most we’ve ever had finish that high from Buchholz,” says Shelnutt.

The program closed with a little motivation from Shelnutt. “I’d like to challenge our students to think about those individuals in your lives who have been a motivating factor for you,” he said. “I’d like you to go out of your way to thank them for that.”

Here is a list of all the award winners:

Current 10th Grade Straight A’s: James Boudreau, Matthew Baranyk, Bridgett Brown, Kristi Duncan, David Ehrlich, Wenqi Feng, Genevieve Frank, Elizabeth Gause, Gabrielle Jones, Bodi Karsono, Caitlin Koval, Ziang Lu, April Lundell, Dustin Miller, Natasha Moghadam, Kirsten Muir, Ann Musselman, Justin Peet, Bradley Phillips, Kyle Puente-Solis, Fadi Rouel, Alexander Shapiro, Sierra Solaun, Sarah Soltis, Alexander Soucek, Kirsten Soucek, Daniel Steffee, James Tan, Blake Thompson, Mariya Toneva, Shuyun Xue, Wendy Ye, Lucy Zhong.

Current 11th Grade Straight A’s: Lisa Avery, Charlotte Bolch, Harrison Brown, Kyle Carlisle, Eric Church, Juliana Clark, Blaire Colvin, Kayla Ditto, Mark Doss, Daniel Duncanson, Kevin Fan, Lauren Gardner, Amanda Hebert, Amanda Inman, Susan Johns, Ted Li, Samantha Martin, Jonathan Mei, Shiyi Pang, Derek Schanze, Mark Simon, Cody Starling, Vanessa Vogler, Louie Wu, Xiaotong Wu, Tessa Yelton, Joseph Young.

Current 12th Grade Straight A’s: Joseph Antonelli, Christina Briseno, Andrew Byrd, Conrad Chou, Zachary Clare-Salzer, Natasha Darre, Carissa Fleming, Brittany Gaspar, Scott Gulig, Todd Harris, Christopher Hawley, Katherine Howland, Katherine Krueger, Katherine Lynch, Blake Matson, Jongkun Park, Margaret Paxson, Inna Petrova, Anna Piatyszek, Christina Ren, Frank Sapienza, Nao Satoh, Ashley Skidmore, Katherine Soltis, Alexandra Velozo, April Wu, June Wu, Shu Zheng, Jimmy Wong.

Outstanding Participant in the National Achievement Program: Darryl F. Cannady

National Merit Commended: Keyton Benson, Eric Braseth, Benjamin Carr, Zhonsheng Chen, Conrad Chou, Margaret Doyle, Gail Fish, Christopher Hawley, Katherine Howland, Eric Jeffers, Wei Jia, Lee Kraft, Kelsey Markey, Margaret Paxson, Christina Ren, Artem Svetlov.

National Merit Semi-Finalists: Lisa Gardner, Edie H. Joseph, Katherine Lynch, Bo Ouyang, Anna Piatyszek, Nao Satoh, Jeffrey Shoucair, Katherine Soltis, Jimmy Wong, April Wu, June Wu, Shu Zheng.