News & Events

Dozens of Upper School students received honors on April 27 in the annual Encaenia Awards.

Encaenia was an annual academic ceremony in medieval England centering on the reciting of poems, essays, and the conferring of awards. Norfolk Academy's ceremony highlights citizenship and academic honors.

The honorees at Encaenia:

NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM: In October 2021, Norfolk Academy's current senior class took the PSAT in competition for a National Merit Scholarship. A student may be a Commendation Winner, a Semifinalist, a Finalist, or a winner of a Merit Scholarship. The following students, as Commendation Winners, have been recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program as among the top 5% of the 1.4 million participants in the program.

• ANTONIA BAUDOIN
• MICAH BAUM
• HARRISON BROWN
• BELLA BURR
• QUINN CARROLL
• ANNABELLE DYER
• JESSE FINE
• RUBY GARRISON
• RYLAN GOSS
• NOAH HOWELL
• OWEN JOHNSON
• KADYN JOHNSON-SMITH
• MITCHELL MOORE
• DAVIS OTTINGER
• CALLA PARVIN
• LIBBY PIERCE
• ALDEN ROBERTS
• ANNAMARIE RUSSELL
• JAMES SAVAGE
• REBECCA SCHILL
• SYDNEY VEST
• FRED WARD
• WILL WARD
• MATTHEW WARSAW
• JEN YUAN

FINALISTS are those seniors who scored in the top l/2 of l% nationally, and who have met the various requirements of the College Board for inclusion in the competition for a National Merit Scholarship:

• HENRY ALLGEIER
• MACKENZIE SAVAGE

The NATIONAL HISPANIC RECOGNITION PROGRAM (NHRP) identifies nearly 5,000 outstanding Hispanic/Latino students each year. Although the NHRP does not provide a financial reward, being named is an important academic recognition. The program sends a list of all recognized students to subscribing colleges and universities that are particularly interested in academically outstanding seniors of Hispanic/Latino heritage:

• ANTONIA BAUDOIN

The ADVANCED PLACEMENT SCHOLAR AWARD is granted to students who received a score of 3 or higher on three or more AP examinations:

• RYLAN GOSS
• SRIVARUN HATHWAR
• KRISTIN HOUSTON
• KATE LITTLEJOHN
• LOGAN MANN
• ANNALEE MARLING
• MACKENZIE PETERSON
• SYDNEY VEST
• FRED WARD
• WILL WARD
• JEN YUAN

The ADVANCED PLACEMENT SCHOLAR WITH HONOR AWARD is granted to students who received an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken and a score of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams:

• VIGNESH AKKINA
• ANTONIA BAUDOIN
• MICAH BAUM
• BELLA BURR
• SIENNA FREDERIC
• LOGAN GALIOTOS
• LUKE IACOBUCCI
• MITCHELL MOORE
• MACKENZIE SAVAGE

The ADVANCED PLACEMENT SCHOLAR WITH DISTINCTION AWARD is granted to students who received an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and a score of 3 or higher on five or more exams:

• HENRY ALLGEIER
• QUINN CARROLL
• JESSE FINE
• NOAH HOWELL
• OWEN JOHNSON
• TANAY PATEL
• ALDEN ROBERTS

THE PRINCETON BOOK AWARD is given by the Princeton Club of South Hampton Roads to a student demonstrating exceptional talent, competence, and leadership in both academic and non-academic pursuits, while displaying concern for the opinions of others. Only 10 students were selected for this honor throughout the Hampton Roads area and this year Norfolk Academy has two recipients:

• LIZZIE ADAMS
• AREEN SYED

THE HARVARD BOOK AWARD is presented by the Harvard Alumni Association to an outstanding student in the junior class who displays excellence in scholarship and high character, combined with achievements in other fields:

• VAN DEANS

THE YALE BOOK AWARD is presented by the Yale Alumni Association to a member of the junior class for their outstanding personal character and intellectual promise:

• GRETCHEN SCOTT

THE JEFFERSON BOOK AWARD is given to a junior who best represents the Jeffersonian qualities of leadership, scholarship, and citizenship:

• ZOË JONES

THE WILLIAM & MARY LEADERSHIP AWARD is presented to a student who exemplifies the spirit of Norfolk Academy through inspirational leadership, outstanding scholarship, and unwavering loyalty to his or her high school and community:

• LILY STOCKWELL

THE BOWDOIN BOOK AWARD for Serving the Common Good is given each year to the high school junior demonstrating strong leadership in community service:

• BROOKE BETTENCOURT

THE SMITH BOOK AWARD is presented to an outstanding junior who exemplifies academic achievement, especially in the sciences. This student also has leadership qualities and concern for others that characterize the thousands of women who have graduated from Smith College:

• KATE JARVIS

THE TULANE BOOK AWARD is given to a junior in recognition of excellence in academics, leadership, and public service:

• JOE BAKKAR

THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT CITIZEN SCHOLAR BOOK AWARD is awarded to a deserving junior who has demonstrated both outstanding dedication to scholarship inside the classroom and impressive duty to citizenship and activism outside the classroom:

• NATALIE TAJAN

THE VMI BOOK AWARD is given to a student who has demonstrated outstanding honor, leadership, and responsibility at Norfolk Academy:

• JACK COPELAND

THE SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE BOOK AWARD is new this year and is awarded to a junior girl in recognition of her leadership skills and academic achievement. Also, a student who is independently minded, community driven, intellectually curious, and fiercely determined to set and achieve goals:

• ANN GRAY GOLPIRA

THE HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY BOOK AWARD is presented to a sophomore who models a growth mindset and who demonstrates excellence and service in and out of the classroom. This student leads by her example of service and has a desire to make a difference in her community:

• TAYLOR PURCELL

THE WILLIAM PERRY MOORE IV AWARD is given annually to a 10th grade girl or boy in honor of Perry Moore '90, whose love of film, language, and literature led him on an incomparable journey of the imagination throughout his life:

• XANDER DUKAS

THE STATESMAN AWARD is presented to the senior with the greatest potential for outstanding leadership and service in public affairs, government, and the promotion of the common good:

• SAOIRSE DOWD

The ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN PSYCHOLOGY AWARD is given by The American Psychological Association of Teachers of Psychology to a senior for excellence in the study of psychology:

• LIBBY PIERCE

THE AMERICAN CLASSICAL LEAGUE BOOK AWARD is presented for outstanding performance on the National Latin Examination over multiple years. This year, two students that have won a Gold Medal on the National Latin Exam for five years and are receiving a copy of the Oxford Companion to Classical Literature in recognition of this prestigious accomplishment:

• MICAH BAUM
• RACHAEL BUCHANAN

GOVERNOR'S SCHOOL: The following students have been accepted to the Governor's School for the summer of 2023:

• JACK COPELAND, Summer Residential World Language Academy in Spanish
• ANNE EARP, Summer Residential World Language Academy in German

THE RENSSELAER MEDAL is given to a rising senior for academic excellence in math and science. A minimum $30,000 per year scholarship will be awarded to this student should he pursue study in architecture, engineering, management, science, or the humanities and social sciences at Rensselaer:

• SRIVARUN HATHWAR

The Technology Student Association (TSA), a national, non-profit association dedicated to students interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, sponsors an annual national Test of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science—better known as the TEAMS competition. This year, Norfolk Academy’s team members learned about topics including electronics, illumination, bridges, and flight.

This year the TEAMS competition consisted of a single division for grades 9-12 with only the top 20% of teams in the nation qualifying for the national TEAMS competition. The Upper School was represented by six teams this year, two teams of four students for each grade.

Five of Norfolk Academy's six teams qualified for the national competition. Those same teams also earned the top five scores in the entire state.

• Seniors: VIGNESH AKKINA, MICAH BAUM, BELLA BURR, QUINN CARROLL, NOAH HOWELL, LEE MCELLIGOTT, MITCHELL MOORE, JEN YUAN
• Juniors: SAM BIBEAU, JULIAN BURKE, ANN GRAY GOLPIRA, SRIVARUN HATHWAR, ZOË JONES, GRETCHEN SCOTT, MARIN SODERBERG, AREEN SYED
• Sophomores: ALEXANDER DUSA, LINCOLN HATCH, ANNA IACOBUCCI, AYA MUSSELMANI, AASHI PATEL, TAYLOR PURCELL, LEO TANG, RAY WANG

THE G.S. HOBBS JR. SERVICE AWARD honors Tunstall organizations that have enhanced the life of the community through selfless service.

This year’s winner is the Girl Up Club. The President is Jane Stewart and David Kidd is the sponsor.