There are Good Snakes in the World

Daniel’s middle school has an award called the Diamondback of the Month. It is basically a student of the month award and the diamondback part refers to the school mascot, the diamondback rattlesnake. Every month each teacher nominates one boy and one girl who are outstanding in terms of academics and citizenship. The nominees are compiled into a list and then the teachers vote. The boy and girl who receive the most votes are then selected as the Diamondback of the Month. Once each quarter they hold an assembly (by grade level, of course, because the school is way too big for all three grades to fit in the auditorium at once) where they announce the nominees (who receive a nice certificate) and then they announce who has won by reading a short biography of the winning students written by the parents. The winners are then given a nice plaque and a stuffed diamondback. The parents of the winners are invited to attend the assembly and a cookies and punch reception afterward. The school makes a really big deal out of the whole thing so all the kids know it is a huge honor. Out of approximately 500 kids in each grade, only a total of 27 will be honored in all three years at the middle school.

A few weeks ago I received an e-mail informing me that Daniel had been chosen as Diamondback of the Month for April. I was one proud mama. Kev, Malia and I headed over to the school before the assembly this morning and although we had trouble keeping Malia quiet (“There’s Daniel!”), Daniel did not know we were there and didn’t know he was a winner until they were reading his biography. When they finally announced his name, he stood up to cheers from his section (he was sitting with all his bandmates) and did a big fist pump. Funny kid!

In addition to his plaque and snake, each of his teachers wrote him a letter telling him why they had selected him. It was nice to hear all the ways he is doing well at school. We’re so proud that he is doing so well.

After the award ceremony, I joined my mom and my sisters Rachael and Esther for lunch and my first pedicure of the season. As always, it was delightful.

Kev worked from home so I could leave Malia here. She watched “Cinderella,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Tangled” and I came home to find “Tangled” running for a second time and Malia hanging out on the couch.

She got to watch princesses until she was too tired to stay awake. So it was a great day for all of us!