Mt. Hope High School students Justin Pacheco and Gabrielle Greenslade were both surprised Wednesday morning when assistant principal Rosemary Burns called them down to the office to give them a some news — they’re the Mt. Hope Students of the Month for January.

“What’d I do?” Justin joked just before Dr. Burns gave him the news.

Gabrielle, a 10th grader, was nominated by teachers Brian Latessa and Maureen Gauthier.

She “never ceases to challenge herself,” Dr. Burns said.

“She is the first person to ask, ‘What’s next and what can I do?’” added Mr. Latessa.

Gabrielle is adept at technology, particularly in website design and marketing, and led her class n developing the Husky News Network (HNN) website. She also created Mt. Hope’s mobile app, and “takes her responsibilities with all seriousness and does everything with integrity,” Dr. Burns added.

Justin Pacheco, a ninth grader, is also drawn to technology and is the school administration team’s technical support go-to buy, Dr. Burns said.

“He devotes his morning time to HNN announcements each day, helps classmates in class, steps up when he’s honest ysruggling in class and perseveres until the problem is solved. Justin asks great questions.”

Each student received a certificate for their recognition, as well as a $75 check from the Bristol Elks.