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School attendance is vital for academic success, and it is really serious business at Humphries Elementary School. On Friday, 96 students with perfect attendance, along with 131 more with no more than three absences during the first semester, were honored for their dedication to coming to school.
During the hour-long ceremony, students received a certificate and were treated to
Christmas cookies and apple cider, while teenage rapper Que 9 made a surprise appearance and performed his hit single “Red Light, Green Light.” Parents who were winners of a lottery drawing received their gift – a $50 American Express gift card – and CIGNA Healthcare executives Helen Glenn, Thomas Hunter-James and Reggie White gave words of encouragement.
CIGNA Healthcare is one of Humphries Elementary’s community partners, and provided the school with funding to purchase one Christmas present for all 227 students with perfect or near-perfect attendance.
“At some point I hope it will become intrinsic,” said Humphries Elementary Principal Melanie Mitchell. “When they leave and go to middle school [attendance] may not be celebrated as large, I hope they remember the message that it is important to be in school every day. When you show up and you are accountable, that’s a skill that we all need.”