The Education Advisory Board is calling for nominations for its annual Awards of Excellence, which recognize students who demonstrate exceptional dedication, leadership and service and make a positive impact on their school environment and beyond.
Students may be nominated in 10 categories. An educator may be nominated for Teacher of the Year.
Winners will be announced at a ceremony to be held in the spring.
Candidates -- students in the fifth, eighth and 12th grades -- and educators must live or work in Miami Lakes or attend a school in town to be eligible.
The deadline to file paperwork is April 7.
From the town’s description of categories:
• Athletics Where a student showed leadership and contributed to individual and team sports within the school or community by coaching, assisting with recreation programs and other athletic activities that provide well-being to the community.
• Business A nominee should have entrepreneurial plans and experience in accounting, marketing or consumer education. Students should belong to clubs such as Future Business Leaders of America or Distributive Education Clubs of America and have used technology to administer business studies for the welfare of the community.
• Community Hero Outstanding student volunteers whose service benefits classmates, their school or community through a school project, community program or selfless act.
• English and Literature For students who show a deeper appreciation and knowledge of the English language. The award is for students who inspire individual expression through scripted communication, serving as a reading tutor or cultivating a passion for reading.
• Fine Arts The nominee may be in visual or performing arts and can express creative abilities through drawing; painting; graphic design; photography; acting; directing; composing original scripts or music; performance in both vocal and instrumental music; dance and assisting with productions … which concentrates on community matters or encourages admiration for the visual or performing arts.
• Journalism Students may express their skills in writing, reporting, editing and/or photography published in a newspaper, magazine or on an electronic media site … and assists individuals in a school; church or civic organization.
• Local Advocacy Students who have knowledge of current events, history, civics and political science to benefit others. She or he is active in student government and advocates for local, state and federal government issues. Students participate in debates; organize public forums or volunteer for social service organizations or health and human services agencies.
• Science Students who demonstrate dedication to the concepts of biology; physics; physiology; earth and space sciences; chemistry; botany and additional specific areas that inspire study in the category.
• Mathematics Students who are pursuing advanced mathematics and furthering mathematical comprehension and research to benefit the community who show exceptional analytical thinking and problem-solving when it comes to mathematical challenges.
• Digital Arts/Media Students who create a product that is digitally shared and work with the others in the community to create a digital product or by generating a new original product/creation through the internet; text; pictures; video; animation; sound, and/or additional technical skills for the community.
• Teacher of the Year Teachers who demonstrate leadership; exceptional teaching practices in the classroom; provide innovative or consistently outstanding support and/or service and go above and beyond the requirements of his or her job description in both the community and at school.
The application form can be found at https://bit.ly/41YaupM.