Academically achieving students lined the gymnasium floor Jan. 9 to receive letters for outstanding academic achievement. Two hundred and forty students from sophomores to seniors earned letters for finishing the 2016-17 school year with a 3.7 or higher GPA.

Junior Megan Heffernan earned an academic letter for the second time in her high school career, despite it being a difficult year for her with her involvement in AP Chemistry, AP Language and Composition and Pre-Calculus.

“This year, especially, my junior year, has been hard with all the AP courses,” Heffernan said. “It’s been hard to maintain [my GPA], but if you keep and good schedule and don’t slack off and procrastinate, [you can]. Staying on time is the key to maintaining it.”

Heffernan believes that the letter has a significance for students at DHS.

“I think it’s important because they [students] don’t always get noticed [for getting good grades],” Heffernan said. “It’s an excellent reward to receive.”

Senior Kay Craven earned the letter for the third time. She attended the recognition ceremony between boys’ and girls’ basketball games to receive her letter in front of an audience.

“They just had us line up in the hallway during fourth quarter [between games] and they introduced us,” Craven said. “We all walked on and surrounded the court. They said a couple things, and we waved to our families.”

Both Craven and Heffernan say they had to take steps to maintain their GPA and receive the award.

Heffernan says she earned her letter by “working hard and doing my homework.”

Craven joked that students with a high GPA “never sleep” to earn their grades.

For students not involved in athletics or extra-curricular activities, the academic letter is a way to have a physical decoration of their accomplishments.