Lewie Receives the CAPSS Award!

There are some moments in life when we are pleasantly surprised by something out of the ordinary...something completely unexpected and unknown.  For us, this happened to my husband and me when, out of the blue, Lewie's middle school principal called to tell us that Lewie received the Connecticut Association of Publis Schools Superintendents (CAPSS) Leadership Award!

In typical fashion, I missed the phone call, but my husband spoke to the principal and then called me immediately afterward.  "Guess what?" he asked excitedly, "I just got off the phone with Lewie's school principal."

At that moment, I wanted to be excited, but instead, I was worried.  "Oh no, what happened now?" I asked.  You see, this wasn't the first time the school principal called us.  Six months earlier, Lewie was holding the door for a group of students when he accidentally hit the school's fire alarm.  (I KNOW.  If you're thinking, how can that possibly happen, I thought the same thing.)  The alarm resulted in a fire drill with the volunteer fire department coming out.  Poor Lewie was mortified, and his principal called us to let us know about "the incident."  Lewie, of course, wasn't in trouble, but his principal wanted us to know that he gave Lewie some time in his office and the school media center to decompress as he was obviously very upset.

My husband chuckled at my worry.  "Oh no, it's not that.  It's something good.  Lewie received a leadership award at school, and we've been asked to attend an award banquet on December 12th at the Grassy Hill Country Club!"

I had a whole bunch of questions that my husband couldn't answer, but the principal's voicemail on my phone answered them.  Evidently, the CAPSS Award is given to two students from high school and two eighth graders from middle school each year.  In Lewie's case, his eighth-grade teachers voted for him to receive the honor because of being kind, hardworking, and an upstanding role model at school.  His "biography" in the program read, "Lewis is a very positive and genuine student who elevates anyone who sits around him. He always comes to school ready and willing to do his very best.  His behavior, academics, and social abilities are unquestioned." It ends with a list of his extracurricular activities, including his skills in programming, 3D art, graphic design, music, computer technology, and multimedia presentations.

The award ceremony itself couldn't have been more special. Lewie was honored with three other students from our region and 16 other students from other school districts.  The audience was comprised of these fine young students, their parents, their principals, their superintendents, and some of their teachers.  I could see that everyone was genuinely happy to be there to support the students, and their support was out of love and not out of obligation.

Another reason why the ceremony was special is because the other 8th-grade student to receive the award from our school district was Nora, Lewie's friend's sister!  The dinner conversation flowed easily because we already knew Nora's parents (having had their son over our house multiple times for pool parties, sleepovers, amusement park visits, and rollerskating outings).

At the end of the night, we took some final pictures in the foyer, which was festively decorated for the holidays.  Lewie hadn't been to a banquet hall since he was six-years-old (for his aunt's wedding)--an experience he hardly remembers.  Thus, for him, this award ceremony felt like his first formal banquet, and he admitted that it was actually fun to dress up for such a "fancy event."

Daddy Lew, Lewie, and I left the country club grinning ear-to-ear.  It was one of those magical moments we couldn't have ever anticipated--Lewie receiving an award just for being authentically Lewie.  What an honor to be his mom!