When grades came out at the end of the first quarter recently, St. Matthew’s School staffers were taken by surprise.

Every one of the eighth-grade students had made the honor roll.

“We were all a little bit surprised by that,” Principal Joanna Eichner said. “But they’re great kids. They can do well.”

To land on the honor roll, the 13 eighth-graders had to earn a minimum grade-point average of 3.33. The average GPA of the class was 3.87, Eichner said.

One student had a perfect 4.0, but several others were close behind.

“Just an A- will give you a 3.98. There were quite a few in that category who I’m sure will have 4.0s next quarter,” she said.

St. Matthew’s eighth-graders are Lara Andenoro, Kody Butts, Grant Germann, Wyatt Germann, Sara Jensen, Steele Jochim, Keaton Johnson, Gabriel Leopold, Hannah Liss, Daniel Olszewski, Gavin Pirrie, Jessica Simmons and Jacob Welch.

Six of the students have been at St. Matthew’s as long as they’ve attended school. Four more came to the school in first grade.

Eichner said she suspects the eighth-graders are competing with one another for top grades.

“They want to work hard. They want to do well. They want to take it up a notch,” she said. “Everyone is rising to meet that in the group.”

Eichner speaks from experience; she taught many of the students as sixth-graders before taking over as principal last year. While that class has always been a smart group, Eichner said the recent top performance is a new development.

“They’ve definitely kind of come into their own,” she said. “They’re more driven, have higher goals.”

Even with St. Matthew’s small class sizes, having an entire grade level make the honor roll is an anomaly, Eichner said.

“This is the only time I’ve ever heard of it happening — but it would be great to be proven otherwise,” she said. “In the 10 years I’ve been here, it has never happened.”

Although the students were recognized for their achievement at Mass last week, there also was a more tangible benefit to their achievement.

“They have received a reward of doughnuts,” Eichner said, laughing.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or at [email protected].