Wantagh team named Students of the Year
A Wantagh High School team has taken the title in a local competition to raise money for blood cancer research. Pictured, left to right (front), are Kaitlyn Rochel, Olivia Pugliese, Ashley Reisert, Madison Boyle, and left right (back), Grace Massari, Haley Lerch, Joey Labo and Skyla Marchesi. Credit: Wantagh School District
A team of students from Wantagh High School, Chaminade High School in Mineola and Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead have won a local competition to fight cancer by raising more than $110,000.
The team raised the money as part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's 2021 Long Island Students of the Year campaign, which challenged participants to raise as much money as possible over a seven-week span. The competition is designed to foster professional skills such as marketing and entrepreneurship, while raising funds for the nonprofit.
The team, titled Warriors for a Cure, bested 23 others from across Long Island.
"You couldn't have a better group of students," Wantagh Principal Paul Guzzone said. "These young people are changing the world."
The team's fundraising efforts ranged from cookie dough sales to virtual lessons in which community volunteers taught topics such as cooking, dancing and yoga over Zoom. They also hosted raffles, "penny war" competitions to collect the most pennies, and merchandise sales in collaboration with the school's Key Club and Tri-Music Honor Society.
Team members were Madison Boyle, Joey Labo, Haley Lerch, Skyla Marchesi, Grace Massari, Olivia Pugliese and Kaitlyn Rochel of Wantagh High School. The team leaders were Ashley Reisert of Wantagh, Nicholas Bifone of Chaminade High School, and Haley Leimbach of Sacred Heart Academy.
"Although the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is known for funding groundbreaking cures for adults suffering from leukemia and lymphoma, we are happy that the money we raised will be going toward child initiatives," Reisert said.
Students in Mineola Middle School's TedEd Club recently presented their versions of TED Talks during a live WebEx event. Topics ranged from why homework is unnecessary to how COVID-19 can affect people mentally. Credit: Mineola School District
HERRICKS
Essay contest winner
Herricks Middle School seventh-grader Aarthi Palaniappan has won first place nationwide in the junior division of the 2021 Minoru Yasui Student Essay Contest coordinated by the Minoru Yasui Legacy Project, an organization that strives to defend civil rights and advance social justice. She received a $200 prize.
The contest, which featured the theme of "Refugee and Immigrant experiences," invited students in grades 6-12 to explore the topic through writing and incorporate the legacy of Yasui, who was a human rights leader.
In Levittown, kindergartners at Gardiners Avenue Elementary School participated last month in a teddy bear parade by transforming shoeboxes into "vehicles" to hold their animals as part of lessons in science, technology, engineering art and math, also known as STEAM. Pictured here is student Avery Caporale. Credit: Levittown School District
"Her hard work, dedication, and strong work ethic were apparent from the first day she decided to enter the contest," Herricks library media specialist Jodi Thompson said of Palaniappan.
COUNTYWIDE
Best music communities
Thirty-two Nassau County school districts are among 686 nationwide named Best Communities for Music Education by the NAMM Foundation. The designation recognizes efforts that demonstrate an "exceptionally high commitment and access to music education," the organization said.
Selected districts were Baldwin, Bellmore, Bethpage, Carle Place, East Meadow, East Rockaway, East Williston, Farmingdale, Freeport, Great Neck, Herricks, Hicksville, Island Trees, Jericho, Levittown, Locust Valley, Long Beach, Lynbrook, Malverne, Manhasset, Massapequa, Merrick, Mineola, North Shore, Plainedge, Plainview-Old Bethpage, Port Washington, Rockville Centre, Seaford, Syosset, Uniondale and Valley Stream Central.
ISLANDWIDE
National certification
Seven Long Island teachers are among 60 statewide to recently achieve national certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. To earn the designation, teachers must complete a rigorous performance-based peer-reviewed assessment process that includes videos, student work samples, and a review of teaching portfolios.
The certified educators and their school districts are: Shari Costello, William Floyd; Cynthia Galvin, Amagansett; Irina Kimyagarov, Sewanhaha; David Lazar, Oyster Bay-East Norwich; Tamara Rupertus, Plainedge; Alan Schorn, Great Neck; and Kathryn Shreck, Southampton.
"Through a process of introspection and enrichment, these passionate teachers elevate their efforts in the classroom and open a world of leadership and academic possibilities for themselves and their colleagues for whom they will serve as mentors," state Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa said.
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
