GHS students received Renaissance cards and prizes to reward academics and good behavior at a kickoff assembly Sept. 8 in the auditorium.

The GHS Drum Corps welcomed the audience by playing cadences at the beginning of the assembly. Members consist of Nick Adams, Dale Brauer, Kyle Duling, David Falkin, Lucas Gorentz, Will Holt, Chris Patterson, and Saralyn Westhoff.
Proceedings began with Principal Blaise Bauer introducing a skit written by nine seniors to explain criteria for earning Renaissance cards. The students wrote the skit under the direction of the English Department.
Seniors who wrote the skit included Taylor Batson, Natalie Blair, Jordan Garbin, Alvin Jackson, Canese Jarboe, Jeanine Kunshek, Starr McLeod, Macon McNair, and Whitney Southard.
In the skit, model students, played by instructors Steve Taylor, Rob Massa, and Christen Jackson, dressed in glasses, tidy bow ties, and pigtails. Troubled students, played by instructors Nicole Meyer, Matthew Logue, and Terry Wunder, wore cutoff sleeves, crooked bow ties, and popped collars while instructor Amy Gray portrayed “Vanna.”
The teams competed in a game show hosted by Macon McNair and Peter Onelio, portraying Blaise Bauer and Tom Stegman, respectively.
Principal Bauer, along with Asst. Principal Tom Stegman, Resource Officer Bryan Burks, and instructors Amy Gray, Robyn O’Malley, and Kayla Pruitt, drew the names of recipients of prizes donated by local businesses and distributed the prizes to students.
Prizes included anything from cash, T-shirts, hats, and key chains to a $50 gas certificate from Speedy’s.
Businesses donating included ALCO, Body Waves, Breneman Auto Parts, Brumback Service Center, Buck’s One Stop, Call’s Service, Community National Bank, Dollar General, El Cabritos Mexican Restaurant, Exchange State Bank, First National Bank of Girard, Girard National Bank, The Jagged Edge, Lou’s Sporting Goods (Mike Ashbacher), Mini Stop, NAPA Auto Parts, Peppermill Grill, Pizza Hut, Sonic, Speedy’s, and Attorney Tim Fielder.
Regarding these donations, Principal Bauer said, “On behalf of Girard High School, I would like to sincerely thank all the businesses who donated prizes for our Renaissance kickoff assembly. It is important for the students to know that our community supports them in their efforts to achieve high academic and behavioral goals.”
The Renaissance program also donated T-shirts as prizes.
    After the assembly, cardholders were dismissed first, followed by remaining students.
    As students exited, instructors Debra Brodbeck, Mary Jane Dent , Terry Johnson, and library aide Edna Waldren distributed Popsicles to all from a stand set up outside the auditorium by custodial staff members Phil Perrin and Butch Williams.
Cafeteria Director Mary Twarog ordered the Popsicles.