Rangers of Honor do much more then provide organization to FHC’s assemblies

With each assembly at FHC, it is customary to watch two chosen students tour the perimeter of the gym or wherever the assembly may be. While this started as a way to instill some organization in assemblies, these students symbolize greatness for the students and staff at FHC. 

“We were thinking about a way to begin and end our assemblies in a clean start and clean ending,” history teacher Brad Anderson said, “and it’s also always about including more people and bringing attention to the awesome students at Forest Hills Central. So, Rangers of Honor were selected students to honor the amazing things they have brought to FHC in front of the whole student body.” 

The Rangers of Honor start the assemblies by walking in with the FHC flag; then, the assemblies don’t end until they exit with the flag.

Anderson, who is responsible for leading the assemblies, said that choosing the Rangers of Honor is not taken lightly.

“Typically there are a handful of teachers who come together and we create a list of students we want to recognize throughout the year,” Anderson said. “We have our fall Rangers of Honor, winter Rangers of Honor, and spring Rangers of Honor. This fall, it’s [seniors] Crandall Quinn and Sarah Dunn. They are some of our student-athlete leaders. We feel like they represent the one hat philosophy and virtues, so they are great representations of our programs.”

Principal Steve Passinault certainly agrees with Anderson’s philosophy regarding the Rangers of Honor. He also hopes to showcase a variety of talented students through this position.

“We came up with this wanting to recognize individuals who have shown positive leadership in our school, and our goal was to try and recognize a variety of people,” Passinault said. “A diverse group of people [are chosen] who may not just be athletes, not just the students who are the scholars, it may not just be the club leaders, but really recognizing individuals who we think are not only people who are excelling in certain areas, but are people of good character.”

Sarah was excited about being chosen as one of the fall Rangers of Honor and thinks her selection stems from her involvement in various school activities.

“I think Crandall and I were chosen to be the Rangers of Honor because during the fall we are very active in school functions,” Sarah said. “Especially in sports which are a large part of fall activities.”

Sarah knows that in this leadership role, she represents FHC and all the morals such as the ‘One Hat’ theme.

“To me being a Ranger of Honor is a way of representing what our school stands for,” Sarah said. ”It is about displaying and embracing the culture that we have and continuing to distribute it throughout the school.”

This tradition does a lot for the student body at FHC. Not only do students chosen get to be involved in FHC’s assemblies and recognized for their accomplishments, but they serve as model characters for the younger students.

Sarah and Crandall were also part of the annual Ranger Rumble, an all-FHC assembly that includes middle school, 5/6th grade students, and elementary students who are years from high school. Anderson thinks this is crucial to promoting the Ranger mentality throughout all grades.

“We want the freshmen to see that this is what you want to be like,” Anderson said. “When we are at the Ranger Rumble, we want the elementary kids to see these are our great examples of leadership, and our ‘One Hat’ philosophy personified. It’s not only about high school and the seniors and the juniors, it’s about the younger generations seeing what we want them to be like.” 

Anderson chooses the best of the best of the senior class to show all of the younger students just what FHC encourages them to be like.

“They embody character, integrity, humility,” Anderson said, “and they are accountable for their actions and their teammates’ actions, they are respectful, and they are committed to Ranger Country through either athletics or fine arts or academics.”

They embody character, integrity, humility, and they are accountable for their actions and their teammates actions, they are respectful, and they are committed to Ranger Country through either athletics or fine arts or academics.

— Anderson

Even FHC’s principal knows just how important and impactful these upstanding students are at the school, and how important it is to give them the recognition they deserve.

“I think it’s important because having students who are excelling in certain areas but also show good leadership and good character is what we are trying to promote as a school,” Passinault said. “So, when we celebrate those people, it is public recognition of these people, telling our student body that we are proud.“