Levittown student Zachary Lyons wins Long Island Youth Summit

A Levittown student has been named the top overall winner of this year's Long Island Youth Summit.

Zachary Lyons, a senior at MacArthur High School, bested 160 finalists to win "best overall project" at the annual summit, which challenged students to develop solutions to environmental, socio-medical and socio-economic issues. It was held at St. Joseph's University in Patchogue.

Lyons' 4,600-word research paper addressed how film portrayals of psychologists influence adolescents' attitudes towards seeking psychological help. He won $1,000.

"What was notable this year is how many outstanding submissions we received on the topic of 'teen mental health, self-esteem, and well-being,'" said the summit's co-chair, Nathalia Rogers. "More than a third of all submissions were projects on this topic."

The summit's other "overall" winners were: Natalia Pszeniczny, MacArthur High School, best overall research paper; Ashgan Chowdhury, Westbury High School, best overall art project; and Preston Bowman, Sydney Brewer, Tara Brown and Sophie Clancy, John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore, best overall video.

Other category winners and their high schools were: Kalei Grant, Amityville; Rylie Levine, John F. Kennedy; Jessica Bogdan, Clare Gayer, Benjamin Isaacson, Nathaniel Perez and Laura Verrelli, Eastport-South Manor; Ava Middleton and Aanya Rawal, Hicksville; Renee Aquino and Pranav Jothivel, MacArthur; Skyla Azeharie and Toniann Guerreiro, Mineola; Gianna Gallo, Paige Herrmann, Thorston Knatz, Lesli Reinoso, Michelle Rocono, Sophia Salamone and Kylie Smith, Patchogue-Medford; Madeleine Graham, Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead; Talia Cohen, Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls in Hewlett; and Skylar Belcher and Samiha Khan, Westbury.

BALDWIN/FREEPORT

Baldwin Middle School, Meadow Elementary, Caroline G. Atkinson Intermediate and Freeport High

Baldwin and Freeport students were among the winners of a state competition coordinated by the New York Future Problem Solving Program, which is a nonprofit dedicated to providing youth with creative problem-solving skills.

Teams from Baldwin Middle School and Meadow Elementary School in Baldwin won the middle and junior divisions, respectively, in the "community problem solving" category, which is a project-based contest that asked students to tackle issues in their communities. Meadow Elementary also won the junior divisions in the "scenario writing" and "presentation of action plan" categories.

A team from Caroline G. Atkinson Intermediate School in Freeport won the "global issues problem solving" category, which focused on the application of a problem-solving method to case studies, while a Freeport High School team won the senior division in the "presentation of action plan" category.

FLORAL PARK

Sewanhaka Central High School District

Thomas Dolan has been appointed interim superintendent of the Sewanhaka Central High School District, effective July 1. He will replace the retiring James Grossane.

Dolan was most recently interim superintendent of the North Shore School District in Glen Head. Before that, he was acting superintendent of the Locust Valley School District and served six years as superintendent of the Great Neck School District.

"I'm honored and excited to be given a chance to serve all the communities that make up the district," Dolan said.

MORICHES

William Floyd Middle School

Camelle Person has been appointed principal of William Floyd Middle School, effective July 1. She will replace Matthew Sanders, who will become the district's assistant superintendent for human resources.

Person served the past six years as assistant principal of the William Floyd Learning Center, which is an alternative elementary school for students who require a more intensive building-wide management system. Before that, she was a teacher, dean and assistant principal over a 14-year period at P.S. 199X The Shakespeare School in the Bronx.

"By setting clear expectations, it will help to unlock the genius that exists in all of us," Person said. "I am truly excited for this new chapter in my educational journey and eager to roll up my sleeves and continue my work here at William Floyd."

SUFFOLK COUNTY

First Annual Suffolk County High School Media Competition

Four Suffolk County students have been named winners of the First Annual Suffolk County High School Media Competition, coordinated by Suffolk County Community College's Radio & Television Production Program.

The winners, their high schools and categories were: Nicholas Friedlander, Shoreham-Wading River, best feature; Jack So, Northport, best trailer; Julianna Vazquez, Sachem North in Lake Ronkonkoma, best event package; and Tyler Wenczl, Half Hollow Hills East in Dix Hills, best public service announcement and best news podcast.

The inaugural competition received over 40 submissions from 19 schools countywide.

ISLANDWIDE

New York State Science and Engineering Fair winners

Ten Long Island teens were among 15 statewide named top students at the New York State Science and Engineering Fair, which consisted of a virtual video presentation and a lightning round held at the New York Hall of Science in Queens. The fair is a program of the nonprofit Society for Science.

The local winners and their high schools were: Julia Cherchever, Garden City; Emma Maliar, Amit Saha and Xinyi Zhang, Great Neck South; Jason Wu, Half Hollow Hills East in Dix Hills; Ellis Eisenberg, Half Hollow Hills West in Dix Hills; Alexandre Tourneux, Hewlett; Emily Kim, Jericho; Maggie Wang, Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy; and Alex Wang, Syosset.

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.