GCSC banquet honors students' cumulative effort

Students receiving honors at the banquet, in alphabetical order, were Reilly Anderson, Hannah Beaman, Logan Beck, Bailey Berish, Ely Bordt, Paige Bragg, Hannah Brattain, Elizabeth Brush, Bethanie Burgeson, Rachel Chadd, Hannah Cunningham, Colin Dombrowski, Dalton Evans, Matthew Fajt, Madison Fauvergue, Cecily Girton, Marley Haltom, Megan Haltom, Justin Hartman, Emma Hiigel, Bailey Hudson, Jonas Jimenez, Hillary Johnson, Kenlee Johnson, Jacob Kessler, Katerina King, Jacob Lewis, Joshua Liming, Tyler Long, Cory Lyon, Mallary Meyer, Alexandra Newlin, Cory O'Neal, Katie Rose Parsons, Cassidy Pridemore, Hayden Rector, Jessica Roberts, Corrine Romer, Samuel Savage, Mattia Seaman, Alyssa Seeman, Amelia Smith, Macie Snowden, Lily Spencer, Kendra Sutherlin, Lydia Tharp, Abigail Wainman, Allisa White, Zachary Wilkerson, Riley Wilson and Bailey Zapp. (Courtesy photo)

The month of February marked Greencastle High School's annual Cumulative Honors Banquet which featured a staggering 51 seniors who, through their seventh semester, have an unweighted, average GPA of 3.778.

Principal Russ Hesler, who spoke at the ceremony, said the banquet was a "great evening of fun and food with a whole room of great-looking, talented and smart kiddos."

"We have such a smart group of students who work very hard and aren't afraid to give back and pay it forward," Hesler said. "We could not have done this without the support of our elementary and middle schools, as well as the tremendous support, backing and leadership from our staff and administration."

In addition to the 51 honorees, a total of eight students received a second honor of receiving a "Golden-B" award -- given to any student who never earned a letter grade lower than an "A."

Bailey Berish, Hannah Cunningham, Josh Liming, Katie Rose Parsons, Jessica Roberts, Lilly Spencer, Allison White and Zach Wilkerson each received a commemorative letter B to take home.

"To say the GHS class of 2016 is 'academically impressive' would be an understatement," Hesler said. "This class has been strong since they were freshmen -- after their first year there were 18 (students) tied for number one.

"This year we have one of the largest numbers of Golden-Bs to hand out (that we've had) in many years," Hesler added.

Of the Golden B recipients: five have been selected to the Academic All-State team; six of the eight recipients are Putnam County Lilly Foundation semifinalists; three are members of the National Academic Soccer Team; two are National Merit finalists; and two are Commended Scholars. Additionally, those in the top-10 percent have an average-weighted GPA of 4.08.

Mark Jedele, a 2007 Greencastle graduate, was the event's special guest speaker.