In the cafeteria on Jan. 19, principal Mrs. Debra Hawkins addresses students honored for their academic performance during the first semester. Photo by KAVYA PATHAK

With a break from first block and a free breakfast, 225 students earned recognition in the cafeteria Jan. 19 at the annual academic breakfast.

Based on non-weighted academic GPA, the list of honorees included students with top grades from all four grade levels. Students received invitations Jan. 17 in their afternoon classes and knew they’d be getting out of class but didn’t know what all they might receive. According to activities director Mr. Jason Feuerbach, the school received more than $5,000 in donations toward this year’s event. Students received free Kings tickets, a sports bag and coupons from various academic departments to redeem for homework credit or bonus points.

The breakfast included brief comments from principal Mrs. Debra Hawkins and head counselor Mrs. Julie Poe, congratulating students on their academic achievements. While students ate assorted muffins and their fruit choice of bananas or tangerines, Feuerbach announced raffle winners and leadership students distributed prizes such as a free prom ticket and gift certificates for services like manicures, martial arts and coupons for free meals at restaurants like In ‘N Out.

Here’s what four students had to say about the experience:

SYDNEY ZACHARIAS: “I feel like all of my hard work has paid off, and it motivates me to keep the hard work going. The best item (we received today at the breakfast) is probably the homework passes, because we all have those days where we are out of it and we forget something or didn’t study. It’s great to have as a backup.”

ANDREA LICATA: “My favorite part was eating my muffin. I feel special because there are only like 200 people and it makes me wanna get good grades this semester.”

ROXY AZAR: “I spend about seven hours studying per night because I want to get into Stanford. My GPA is 4.7. It’s really an honor to be in the top 225 and it’s nice to get out of class to get food. The food was pretty good considering the budget crisis, but there wasn’t much choice.”

ELLA SELTZER: “The best part about the academic breakfast was getting out of class to be with friends and eating a muffin for a while.”