LI high school journalists celebrate Press Day 2015 at Adelphi University

Student journalists at high schools in Nassau and Suffolk counties and Queens turned out at Adelphi University last month for Press Day 2015, a celebration of their talent and an opportunity for them to connect with each other and with professionals in the field.

Attendance was the highest in Press Day's 15-year history, and the event culminated with the handing out of 2015 Quill Awards in 15 categories.

"The caliber of the entries this year was top-notch, and the competition was quite tough," said Paul Thaler, event moderator and chairman of Adelphi's Communications Department.

First-place winners were: The Wildcat of The Wheatley School in Old Westbury, Most Outstanding Newspaper; Guide Post of Great Neck North High School, Most Outstanding Newspaper and Best Layout; Bianca Buffamonte of Wantagh High School, Most Outstanding Reporter; Jimmy Bie of Hauppauge High School, Best News Article; Alanna Levine and Rachel Hoffman of Jericho High School, Best Feature Article; Pavithran Ravindran of W. Tresper Clarke High School in Westbury, Best Editorial; Grace Tague of Wantagh High School, Best Opinion Piece; Taylor Kang of Jericho High School, Best Arts Review; James Colgan of New Hyde Park Memorial High School, Best Sports Story/ Column; Max Hechtman of East Meadow High School, Best Photo; Soren Olsen of Valley Stream South High School, Best Illustration/ Cartoon; JerEcho of Jericho High School, Best Online Newspaper; Dan Maron of Hebrew Academy of Five Towns & Rockaway, Best Online Writing; and Yitzchak Carroll of Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School for Boys in Woodmere, Best Freelance Work.

FLORAL PARK: Heart for Fashion

Floral Park Memorial High School has raised more than $12,000 with a fashion show, titled "Heart for Fashion 2," in which teens modeled prom wear in the school gymnasium.

Funds went to the Pediatric Heart Center at Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York and the nonprofit Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy.

The second annual event was coordinated by the Class of 2015 and Marilyn Bird, a Floral Park graduate.

GLEN COVE: Ready, set, cook

Geoffrey DeCoster and Kyle Muzante, seniors at Glen Cove High School and culinary students at Nassau BOCES' Joseph M. Barry Career & Technical Education Center in Westbury, placed first in a "Ready, Set, Cook" competition hosted by the American Culinary Federation's Long Island Chapter.

They won special chef jackets and scholarships to Monroe College in New Rochelle.

Participants were asked to create a meal within a specific time frame under a coach's direction. Decoster's and Muzante's winning entry was pork loin with apple-mushroom demi-glace, sauteed potatoes, a vegetable medley and pan-fried spinach eggs.

CENTER MORICHES: Maglev Contest

Students from Center Moriches Middle School won six of 21 trophies — the most of any school — in the 25th Annual Middle School Maglev Contest held at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Robert Moses Middle School in North Babylon and West Babylon Junior High School took home five and four trophies, respectively.

More than 100 students from six local middle schools participated in last month's contest, which challenged teams to design magnetic levitation, or maglev, vehicles. Judging was based on speed, efficiency, appearance and the teams' written design process.

EAST ISLIP: National Youth Orchestra

Michael Stevens, a sophomore at East Islip High School, is one of six horn players nationwide — and the only Long Island student — selected for Carnegie Hall's National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America.

Members of the orchestra will have a two-week training residency and a summer tour that includes seven concerts in China. They will be led by Charles Dutoit, principal conductor and artistic director of London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

"Not only am I proud to represent the USA, I am proud to represent my high school and my hometown," said Stevens, 16, who plays French horn.

ISLANDWIDE: Shakespeare Festival

Students from eight local schools participated in the 66th Annual Shakespeare Festival at Hofstra University.

The two-day event last month included workshops on stage combat, improvisation, and voice and speech, as well as competitions in which students performed Shakespearean scenes for a faculty panel from Hofstra's Department of Drama and Dance.

Award winners were: Isaac Cruz of Valley Stream Central High School and Robert Gallo of Sanford H. Calhoun High School in Merrick, Best Actor Award; Marcia Aracena of Walter G. O'Connell Copiague High School, Best Actress Award; Cold Spring Harbor High School and Wantagh High School, Best Ensemble Award; Isaiah Chan and Anastacia Pereira of Valley Stream Central High School, and Becca Lewis and Holden Smith of Calhoun High School, all awarded Best Costume Design and Best Set Design.