Principal’s Honor Roll Students Ride to Lunch in Style
Making the Principal’s Honor Roll can be tough work, but for the eight straight-A students who made the most recent list at Bel Air Elementary School, the title comes with more than just the traditional academic rewards. These stellar students got to ride to lunch in style as Principal Bruce Leiby hired a limousine to take the group to a congratulatory feast at Old Country Buffet last week.
“I’ve never been in a limo before. This was the best experience of my life,” said fourth-grader Jaime Maldonado as he munched on french fries at the restaurant.
According to guidance counselor Rebecca Marshall, who went to lunch with the students and Principal Leiby, Jaime was not the only one who was excited. “They were really all over the place,” says Marshall. “They talked about how cool it was that they were the only ones who got to do this.”
Joining Jaime at the Principal’s Honor Roll lunch were third-grader Sean Rastatter; fourth-graders Joseph Knepper, John Leinenbach, Brenda Machuca, and Kimberly Null; and fifth-graders Emily Novack and Brett Rastatter.
Sean and Brett are brothers and their father, Joe Rastatter, was at the school with a camera to proudly send his boys off. Mr. Rastatter talked about how he was never an honor 
student himself and is thrilled to see that his sons are doing so well. This is Sean’s first time on the Principal’s Honor Roll, and Brett, who has made the grade before, is already registered for the IB Program when he moves to Godwin Middle School next year.
Rastatter shakes his head in amazement and says, “School is a lot harder now than when I was a kid. The teachers they have had have been great and this is a fantastic school. Both boys have been pushing themselves, and I think they inspire each other.”
This is not the first time that top students have gone to lunch with the principal, but it is the first time that a limo was brought in to chauffer the group. According to Leiby, the change was just spontaneous. “We decided to kick it up a notch, make it a little special. This is a great group of kids and we just wanted to do something different.”
During lunch, Principal Leiby let the students eat and talk amongst themselves, but jokingly reminded them “eat what you want but I will not be signing any early dismissals for stomachaches today.” On the ride back to school, the principal took some time to tell the kids how proud he was of their achievements, and how much everyone at Bel Air appreciates the work they do each day.
As a final surprise, Leiby had the limo driver stop at the houses of each student who had parents at home. “It was such a cool moment, seeing those parents come out of the houses with camcorders and cameras,” says Marshall. “They were so excited for their children and the kids were just beaming.”
The students did share some tips for making the Principal’s Honor Roll. Brenda tells us that success comes when you listen to the teacher and don’t get distracted by others. John shares that his secret is working hard and never giving up. Kimberly says that you should study really hard and do your best every day. And Joseph shares that the best advice he ever got actually came from his parents.
“They said work real hard and never give up. Who knows, one day I might be the president,” says Joey. “I could get used to that limousine.”
3/23/06
