Every community homeroom, the Padua community elects one or more students and one teacher for an award known as the Sparkle Award. This award is given to students and faculty members who show extreme kindness and always extend their hand to those in need. These individuals must be nominated by either students or teachers who send an email to the Sparkle Nominations email. One of the most recent winners for students, Emma Spadaccini, said, “It meant so much to me to win that award because it made me realize how much love there is in a community like Padua”.

By nominating people for this award, it is clear to see how much gratitude goes throughout the Padua community. Another winner was Padua’s newest student, sophomore Tingwei Shi. Sophomore, Olive Twum-Danso, was one of the many who nominated Ting for the Sparkle Award. She said, “I nominated Tingwei because she always has a huge smile on her face, and continues to say “Hey!” to me every time I pass her in the halls. Even though she is a new student, she puts everyone, especially the sophomore class, in a better mood when we see her”.

When someone wins that award, it makes them feel welcomed by their fellow students and good about their actions, knowing they are able to brighten someone else’s day. The organizer of this award, Mrs. Alinda, said, “As a staff member, I really appreciate the Sparkle Award.  It allows students to recognize one another, and while staff members often get to see how wonderful our students are, this process gives students a voice.  Nominations come from students (and sometimes staff) through the Sparkle email ([email protected]).  Students who are nominated are typically those who have gone above and beyond in some way, or who consistently behave in an exemplary way.  If anything, my least favorite part is that since there are so many awesome nominations, it’s hard to narrow things down to just a few winners”.

The faculty winner of the Sparkle Award was Dr. Scott. She said, “I would say that I felt a deep sense of gratitude to work with such kind and appreciative students and colleagues“.