Making the Grade: Bethpage High team wins Long Island High School Ethics Bowl

A Bethpage High School team has won the 2024 Long Island High School Ethics Bowl.

Bethpage’s team — Sara Bashker, Caitlyn Filardi, Daniyal Khambagti, Saif Khalafan, Stavros Markopoulos and Alisha Siddiqui — bested 23 others in the bowl, which challenged participants to analyze real-life ethical issues and participate in civil discussions in February at Hofstra University in Hempstead.

The second-place team was from Oceanside High School, while teams from Roslyn High School and The Stony Brook School tied for third.

This year’s ethical issues included whether it is morally permissible to alter an author’s words so they do not offend certain populations and the moral responsibility social media platforms and news organizations have to prevent the spread of misinformation.

Bethpage will now advance to the National High School Ethics Bowl at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from April 12-14.

“Ethics is not simply about deciding who is right and wrong. It’s about peeling back the layers of a situation and analyzing the foundation of human behavior,” said Bethpage’s coach, Wendy Way. “In today’s complex world, this ability to think through moral decisions is one that every student should be exposed to.”

The bowl was sponsored by the Squire Family Foundation in East Northport.

BELLMORE

STEM School of Excellence

John F. Kennedy High School was one of 35 schools worldwide named a 2024 STEM School of Excellence by the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math.

Selected schools provided detailed documentation that demonstrated a “commitment to providing a robust integrative experience” through STEM programs, the association said. At John F. Kennedy, STEM efforts included having students design adaptive technology to assist teens with disabilities.

“Kennedy High School is a hub of STEM excellence in the district, and we are so proud to have earned this high honor,” said the school’s principal, Gerard Owenburg.

BRENTWOOD

Quill Awards

Brentwood High School won five first-place Quill Awards — the most of any school on Long Island — in February during Adelphi University’s Press Day, which recognizes aspiring journalists for their outstanding work.

Brentwood won in the following categories: Farah Alzafarani and Zohia Tahir, best opinion piece; Karla Chica, best news article; Mia Espinal, best sports story or column; Maham Siddiqi, best feature article; and Brentwood High School’s Pow Wow News for most outstanding newspaper.

Other first-place winners, their high schools and categories were Bianca Gulotta, Hewlett, best layout; Michelle Paszek, Kellenberg in Uniondale, most outstanding reporter; Linda Cheung, New Hyde Park, best visual; and Elysa Corso and Cali Krause, Shoreham-Wading River, best arts review.

ISLANDWIDE

Symposium winners

Five students were named regional delegates in February at this year’s Long Island Junior Science and Humanities Symposium and are now invited to attend the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium in Albuquerque from May 1-4. To participate, students submitted research papers for evaluation by a panel of judges, with the best selected for presentation at the symposium.

Regional delegates and their high schools were Stella Fratti, Hewlett; Kate Santoli, Lynbrook; Dylan Yoon, Manhasset; and Tessla Chan and Cayden Shen, Roslyn.

In addition, eight students were first-place winners of various categories at the Long Island symposium. First-place winners, their high schools and categories were Fiona Wong, Sanford H. Calhoun in Merrick, chemistry; Madeline Rong, The Wheatley School in Old Westbury, medicine and health; Natasha Kulviwat, Jericho, biomedical sciences; Kate Santoli, Lynbrook, life and behavioral sciences; Tej Parekh, Paul D. Schreiber in Port Washington, environmental science; Tessla Chan, Roslyn, mathematics and computer sciences; Cayden Shen, Roslyn, physical sciences; and Sean Skinner, Ward Melville in East Setauket, engineering and technology.

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

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.