Quinn Shibayama, Scholar of Month; Anne Marie Florida - Artist of Month; and Chelsea Callis - Student-Athlete of the Month were recently selected and honored in chapel with the August monthly awards for their work in academics, arts and athletics.

“Today marks the first of many occasions this year that we will present awards to highlight the good work that you, the students, have worked for in academics, the arts, and athletics,” said Dean of Academics and Arts Nicole Taucare during chapel. “We want to celebrate those who embody the spirit of excellence, specifically in how that relates to the Enduring Understandings and the mission of The Webb School.”

The academic and artist awards’ purpose is to celebrate those outstanding scholars who embody academic excellence and live the values of the six Enduring Understandings. Selection is made based on the following attributes: hard working, intellectually curious, best effort on all assignments, service to the community, enthusiasm about learning gains, self-agency, integrity in all actions and also participation in extracurricular activities. 

The student-athlete award celebrates those students who maintain an academic standard of 3.0 GPA or above; show respect for coaches, teammates, officials, teachers, other students and family; show enthusiasm and a positive attitude; display altruism and help teammates improve; display commitment to practice, games, and personal skill development; maintain honesty and play by the rules; and have high moral character.

Quinn Shibayama and Kevin Finn

Quinn Shibayama

Buck Smith, Teacher

“Quinn Shibayama was chosen by the English Department as this month’s scholar of the month because we were inspired by her effort throughout 9th and 10th grade and by the English scholar she has now become in 11th grade. She has attended extra help more than any other student during the last two years. She has made insightful comments while analyzing texts rhetorically this quarter. Quinn is a scholar in the fullest sense of the word. It is not just about the high grades she earns. This student works extremely hard to push herself to be better at English, and as a result, she has succeeded marvelously in English and even grown more confident and assertive in character.”

Jena Jones, Advisor

“Quinn is undoubtedly one of the hardest-working students on our campus.  She is not only dedicated to her work but dedicated to the why behind the work. She takes the time to ask additional clarifying questions, read further into a topic, and find hands-on ways to experience the learning. Quinn is very deserving of this honor.” 

Anne Marie Florida and Ruth Cordell

Anne Marie Florida

Ruth Cordell, Teacher

“Every director - high school, university, or professional repertory director - is inspired by the growth, the measurable growth of their company of individual artists, as a company, on the stage and behind the scenes. In recent years, performances of Webb artists have won them placement in professional companies sometimes even before graduation and certainly afterward. I am thrilled with the growth of this young performer especially this last year and especially as I sat proudly in the audience at The Governor’s School at MTSU, where many of my professional performance colleagues are now working as instructors... We all agree, Anne Marie Florida is deserving of this recognition.”

Kevin Finn, Advisor

“Though Anne Marie had been my advisee for more than a year at that point, last year during Webb’s production of Harvey, when she first made her entrance and began her lines, I didn’t even recognize her. Not, I hope, because I was a bad advisor, but because she had so fully committed to the role that she had become her character. From the slideshows about the musical stylings of Cody Fry she’d create for advisory back when she was a freshman to her time at Governor’s School for theater this summer which just so happened to coincide with her efforts to teach herself the cello (!), that’s Anne Marie:  fully committed to the arts.  What a worthy pick for Artist of the Month!  

Chelsea Callis and Jena Jones

Chelsea Callis

Nicole Taucare, Teacher

Chelsea is a great choice for the Student-Athlete Award. She works hard on the field and in the classroom. I think she was an obvious choice for captain on the girls’ soccer team. Her work ethic is second to none, and she leads by example, digging deep during the tough games. One of the things that regularly amazes me about Chelsea is that she comes off the field smiling no matter the result, perhaps because she knows she’s put her best effort forward and left it all on the field. 

Jason Gregory, Coach

“Chelsea serves as one of our captains this season and has been a calm and encouraging leader. She has the respect of all her teammates and is the first person to speak up to lift up her teammates after a tough play or outcome. She brings an upbeat attitude to every practice and game.”