CHESTERTOWN — As he joined the clinking of glasses in a celebratory toast of Shirley Temples, Anthony Kaehler subtly used his free hand to keep the water goblet of one of his younger luncheon companions from being knocked over.
What Anthony did when no one was watching was way more than just good table manners.
It was a testament to his character, which is what brought the recent Galena Elementary School alum to The Kitchen at The Imperial for lunch as Horizons’ six-week summer program was coming to an end.
Arriving by a chauffeur-driven luxury SUV, Anthony, 11, and three other Horizons of Kent and Queen Anne’s students were feted at the downtown Chestertown restaurant on Monday, July 29. They were accompanied by Horizons site directors Kristin O’Neil (Kent School, Chestertown) and Patrick Hopkins (The Gunston School, Centreville).
Staff and students were asked to pick one male and one female from each site who stood out for their kindness and thoughtfulness.
The honorees were Anthony, who is headed to Kent County Middle School this fall; Ariana Hutchins of Rock Hall Elementary School; Joslyn Reeves of Sudlersville Elementary School; and Jase Mercer of Sudlersville Middle School.
Horizons of Kent and Queen Anne’s offers a tuition-free academic and enrichment program for elementary and middle school students living in under-resourced communities.
This year’s program ran from June 24 to July 31.
“Horizons places emphasis not only on academics but also character. This award incentivizes all of our students to treat each other with kindness and rewards the four students who are most deserving,” Executive Director Emily Murphy wrote in an email to The Evening Enterprise.
Horizons of Kent County was established in 1995, one of the very first Horizons National affiliates.
The program expanded to Queen Anne’s County in 2014.
About 230 students enrolled at the two sites this summer.
Historically, Horizons of Kent and Queen Anne’s sets aside one day to honor its biggest champion, Lauralea T. “L.T.” Goodall, who was known for her kindness and grace. In the past this has been a day of games and fun presentations.
According to Murphy, this year the focus of LT Day was more about acknowledging students for their manners, kindness and displays of appreciation.
“The staff were told at the beginning of the program to look out for two students [from each site] deserving of the reward, a limo ride and lunch,” Murphy said in the email. “The students were not made aware of the prize because the staff wanted their behavior to be genuine and organic, not forced just to win.”
The honorees were not notified of their selection until July 26.
O’Neil, who has been the site director for Kent County for 10 years, said Horizons is always looking for students who display great character both in and out of the program.
In an email, she told The Evening Enterprise, “These students have shown not only kindness, but respect and perseverance throughout the summer. This fits in with our mission to prevent the summer slide because these students are showing that they are working hard to achieve not only maintenance of knowledge, but growth as well. Their determination and good character helps to aid in their successes. We are hoping that this good character becomes contagious in the students and they strive to potentially be our L.T. kids in the future!”
Ariana, 9, who just completed the third grade at RHES, has attended Horizons’ summer program since pre-kindergarten.
As she waited for the limo on July 29, she was still a little fuzzy on the details of why she was being honored.
When asked what it means to be kind, she told The Evening Enterprise that it involved “helping people when they need help.”
She also said following directions and showing good character were important.
This was Anthony’s first summer with Horizons.
“I didn’t know anyone here,” he said.
One of the ways he made friends, and caught the attention of staff, was he “taught some kids how to do math.”
On the big day, a luxury car provided by Prince Limousine picked up Joslyn and Jase at The Gunston School at 11:30 a.m. and then picked up Ariana and Anthony at Kent School — along with their site director escorts — before heading to The Kitchen, where they were greeted by head chef and owner Steve Quigg.
The affable Quigg posed for a photo with the special guests, who had the prized table with the High Street view, and then told them to order whatever they wanted — on the house.
“This looks fancy,” Anthony said as he studied the menu.
Ultimately, “kid-friendly” choices won out — cheeseburgers, grilled cheese and a chicken sandwich.
They started out with two plates of sriracha fries as an appetizer and a round of Shirley Temples.
Homemade ice cream was dessert, with mint cookies and cream the preferred choice. It was a collective “Yum” at the first spoonful.
“This was such a cool experience for not only the kids but me, too! We stayed there a lot longer than we anticipated just enjoying each other’s company. I think it was almost 2:00 when we left,” O’Neil wrote in the email.
She added: “Not only did we get the opportunity to take them out to a fancy lunch and dress up a little more than our typical ‘summer camp’ attire, but we got to know them all a little better on different levels. We learned things about them in a more personal way and I think they learned the same about us.
“It makes us seem more ‘human’ to them and helps them realize that maybe we’re a little more like them than they might think.
“Making connections with kids isn’t always easy so this helped take it just a step further.”
