Awards, Biscuit Nougat

I’ve just returned from the second awards event in the past week. Last
week, the athletic banquet (we did not stay to the end); tonight, academic
awards. Ph. collected a Certificate of Academic Achievement in, of all
things, English. He was one of four who were nominated by a particular teacher.
I have many thoughts about all of this, but the main one: Way to go!

Tonight’s gathering in the high school auditorium included:

  1. The senior class’s top fifteen students seated in rank order on the
    stage for the entire event. Lower ranked students sat behind them.
  2. When the valedictorian was announced, also introduced were his recent
    valedictorian older brother and his grandmother, who was valedictorian of
    her class in 1934. For this, a standing ovation.
  3. An aside: Standing ovations sort of sweep you up so that it is never an
    option to remain seated or hands-in-lap.
  4. A super-efficient run-through of the 28-page program in a mere hour and
    twenty minutes. I was deeply dispirited when I saw the thickness of the
    program, the hundreds of names listed for various awards. Next we said the
    pledge of allegiance and they started rattling off the names at the pace of
    morning attendance.
  5. Four students in the current senior class have GPA’s above 100.0.
    They’re better than perfect, in other words, so I suppose it makes sense
    that they are going off to Yale, Penn, Columbia, and Smith.

On the subject of Ph., his school year is grinding to a halt (any sort of
academic year that, without interruption, reaches into June is unkind). He
has a project in Spanish due at the end of the week: translate a recipe, carry
it out, bring the foodstuff to class, and read the recipe to the class.
Also, the recipe must include an image of the thing. It’s not the best
food photography ever (no Petunia Woodbridge Food Photography Award for you!);
nevertheless, here is the "South American Biscuit Nougat" concoction he decided
to share with the class in a couple of days (sugar, coconut, orange juice,
cinnamon, more sugar).

And now I must pack my bags for an early morning jetplane ride so I will have proper comforts for
the next couple of days, which I will spend here:

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