Good  News  from  around  the  District

ENVIROTHON

On April 30th, twenty members of Hastings high School’s Environmental club participated in the Hudson Valley Regional Envirothon.  Out of 42 teams from 22 high schools in Westchester, Putnam, Columbia, Ulster, Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, and Dutchess counties, HHS placed fifth overall.  Their highest scores in the Current Issues and Problem Solving categories, which were both focused on this year’s theme of biodiversity.

===================================================================================

HHS production of RENT nominated for 7 awards!

This is the 12th year of The Metropolitan High School Theater Awards, aka The Metros, which honors high school musical theater productions in Westchester, Rockland and Bergen (NJ) counties. The Metros are sponsored by the Helen Hayes Youth Theatre in Nyack, NY and were formally known as the Helen Hayes High School Theater Awards or The Helens.

On May 18th, nominations for the 2009 Metros Awards were announced. Congratulations to the cast and crew of this year’s HHS musical production of “RENT: school edition” for receiving a total of 7 nominations:

Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role - Niko Gelfars (Mark)
Last year, Niko took home the award for ‘Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role’ for his portrayals of Buddy/Irving in “City of Angels”. (Winners of this year’s Actor and Actress in a leading role will advance to the National High School Musical Theater Awards, produced by Nederlander Presentations and the Pittsburgh CLO.)

Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role - Zoey Hart (Maureen)

Outstanding Production Number - “La Vie Boheme”

Outstanding Duet - “Rent”, Alex Walton (Roger) & Niko Gelfars (Mark)
Last year, Alex Walton was nominated for ‘Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role’ for his portrayal of Stone in “City of Angels”.

Costuming Achievement - Penny Margeotes
This is Penny’s second nomination in this category.

Outstanding Musical Direction - Remy Kurs

Outstanding Graphic Design – (poster) Emma Altman, Emy Ettinger, Alden Freed, Zeisha Lyn, Allison Schorr, Christopher Spinozzi; (program) David Hayes
This is David’s second nomination in this category.

The Metros awards ceremony will take place on Monday, June 8, 2009 at 7:30pm at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Peekskill, NY.

===================================================================================

PIONEER  AWARDS

Two teachers at Hillside Elementary School were among this year’s Pioneer Award winners honored for their commitment to education and their ability to successfully integrate technology into the curriculum.

The initiative, in its 16th year, is an opportunity for the Lower Hudson Regional Information Center (LHRIC) to recognize leaders at all levels and to encourage the winners to continually share their vision with other educators throughout the region.

Congratulations to teachers Nate Morgan (Art) and Jeff Rosof (4th Grade). Out of a field of twenty applicants, they were chosen for their collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on a three-part webinar course titled “Connecting Portraits: Colonial to Contemporary.” Students had the opportunity to use live chat, video, audio, whiteboard tools, and PowerPoint slides as part of this innovative distance learning course.

Mr. Morgan was also singled out for the award because of his efforts to build upon the critical thinking skills of students. He frequently encourages children to embrace the technological tools available to them, such as posting their work on websites like Artsonia.com, a children’s online museum, and Voicethread.com, a web-based digital storytelling application that allows students to share their images with others.

The “deep, rich educational experience that the Hastings School District has created for students and its efforts to embrace the arts as a core component of the educational experience of students” is noteworthy, said Mr. Morgan, who was also recognized for sharing his online learning ideas with other teachers in the district and through the professional development conferences he coordinates at the state level.

Mr. Rosof was equally gratified to receive the Pioneer Award for his work with the Met, an experience he described as “enriching for me and for my students.” A certified Smartboard user, Mr. Rosof weaves a variety of technological tools into his daily lessons. Brent Harrington, the district’s instructional technology coordinator, who recommended him for the award, cited Mr. Rosof’s use of the Smart document camera to display real-time images on the Smartboard, and his use of Senteo, the interactive response system.

“Everyday, technology is changing,” said LHRIC Director Jim O’Brien in his remarks to approximately 85 local school district representatives attending the May 8 event at the Edith Macy Center in Briarcliff. “What’s pioneering today might be old hat tomorrow; how it is implemented and the difference it makes in the lives of students is most important.”

===================================================================================

WORLD  LANGUAGE  NATIONAL  EXAM  RESULTS

Congratulations to world language students from Hastings High School who attained national recognition for excellent performance on the 2009 National Spanish Examination; “Le Grand Concours,” a national French examination; and the National Latin Examination.

They have a long history of high achievement on these exams, and a remarkable 17 students have challenged themselves by studying more than one language and doing extremely well on not one, but two national tests. Members of the World Languages Department teaching at the high school include Spanish teachers Marilyn DeRubeis (Chair), Leesa Zissu, and Ken Barrios; French teachers Lenore Kaufman, and Liliane Tanzer; and French and Latin teacher Gail Wegner.

SPANISH
On the National Spanish Exam, students earned a total of one gold, five silver and six bronze medals along with twenty-three honorable mentions. First place winner Andrea Stephens, will be attending an award ceremony to receive her prize and award on May 16th in New York City.
Level 1
Christopher Spinozzi - Honorable Mention
Level 2
Talia Abreu - Silver
Honorable Mention
Vassilis Roussochatzakis
Ian Cloutier
Michael DeVito
Matthew Ocana
Mareva Raclyn
Level 3
Sujata Bajracharya - Silver
Bronze
Jesse Brotter
Marissa Linkowski
Arsen Mustafaj
Emily Polstein
Jonathan Paradise
Honorable Mention
Michael Stein
Emmet Lewis
Rebecca Rubin
Harrison Zhu
Tori Singer
Monica Malarczyk
Eliza Blum
Jared Scharf
Maya Neria
Kendra Ivy
Kaela Sanborn-Hum
Eleanor Erickson
Level 4
Silver
Nicolee Spiller
Gaelle Feliz
Honorable Mention
David Sassoon
Evan Heckman
Level 5
Andrea Stephens - Gold (outside experience)
Diana Bouhassira - Silver
Amelia Steinman - Bronze
Honorable Mention
Michael Ocana
Edward Heckman
Marguerite Stern
Laura Sanchez

FRENCH
On “Le Grand Concours”, ten Hastings High School students ranked in the top ten nationally and fourteen ranked in the top ten on the regional level, with student Jacques Tiktin achieving the rank of second in the nation.
(N)=National Rank...(W)=Westchester Rank
Level 2A
Hannah Heyman - 9(N), 8(W)
Alicia Fine - 10(N), 9(W)
Level 2B (outside experience)
Jacques Tiktin - 2(N), 2(W)
Level 3A
Andrea Stephens - 5(N), 2(W)
Julia Salinaro - 6(N), 3(W)
Sarah Koch - 7(N), 4(W)
Julia Hogan - 10(N), 7(W)
Eddie Nolan - 10(N), 7(W)
Kyla Van Buren - 8(W)
Lucia Bernard - 10(W)
Stephanie Chalmers - 10(W)
Level 4A
Irene Zanolli - 7(N)
Eva kalikoff - 9(W)
Level 5A
Allison Hopkins - 6(N), 4(W)
School Recognition
Level 1A
Alima Lindsey - 13(N)
Level 2A
Sarah Madigan - 11(N)
Silvie Kalikoff - 11(W)
Hannah Street - 15(W)
Level 3A
Claire Filipek - 12(N)
Katherine Goodwin - 14(N)
Lucy Killian - 14(N)
Joshua Manson - 11(N)
Jacob Nordlinger - 13(N)
Level 4
Emily Bernstein
Niko Gelfars
Adam Lang
Lena Street

LATIN
Many students from Latin I, II, and III competed in the National Latin Exam. Of those who took the exam, one scored a Perfect Paper, fifteen achieved the highest level of Gold Summa Cum Laude, fifteen scored at the level of Silver Maxima Cum Laude, two at the level of Magna Cum Laude and seven at the level of Cum Laude.
Latin I
Gold Summa Cum Laude
Benjamin Hirschfeld - Perfect Paper!
Alexandra Berman
Alexandra Lefevre
Gavriele Berger
Orion Perenyi
Sarah Madigan
Silver Maxima Cum Laude
Jeffrey Nassar
Emily Polstein
Brent Shaeffer
Maija Honig
Naomi Feliz
Lauren Wilt
Magna Cum Laude
Hannah Heyman
James Cazzoli
Cum Laude
Matthew DiMona
Eva Kalikoff
Lena Trager
Ari Shaps
Latin II
Gold Summa Cum Laude
Julia Salinaro
John DiBello
Dylan Smith
Morgan Smith
Niko Gelfars
David Sassoon
Lucia Bernard
Silver Maxima Cum Laude
Sujata Bajracharya
Benyamin Elias
Kyla Van Buren
Nicholas Wetherell
Nicholas Claps
Kaela Sanborn-Hum
Lucy Killian
Cum Laude
Eleanor Erickson
Emma Sander
Claire Filipek
Latin III
Gold Summa Cum Laude
Edward Heckman
Irene Zanolli
Esther Brot
Silver Maxima Cum Laude
Eleanor McQuistion
Gaelle Feliz

===================================================================================

NATIONAL  ART  HONOR  SOCIETY  INDUCTIONS

At a ceremony held on Thursday, May 7th, Fourteen Hastings High School students were inducted into the National Art Honor Society. Congratulations to: Eliza Blum, Jesse Brotter, Dexter Dine, Claire Filipek, Scyanne Fuller, Julia Hogan, Lucy Killian, Sarah Koch, Rebecca Rubin, Hannah Slater, Dylan Smith, Morgan Smith, Ryan Smith, Michael Stein.

The NAHS program was established for the purpose of inspiring and recognizing those students who have shown an outstanding ability in art. At Hastings High School, inductees are selected through credit requirements and a portfolio review. Students that have maintained a GPA of 90 or better in the equivalent of at least 2 full years of art credits are invited to create and submit a portfolio of their strongest work which showcases both their concrete skills and artistic vision.

===================================================================================

SUMMER  SEMINAR - GREG  SMITH

Congratulations to Greg Smith, Hastings High School Social Studies teacher and Director of the Hastings Alternative School Program. Greg was selected to participate in a prestigious summer seminar at the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in New York City entitled, “America’s Moral Crisis: Politics and Culture in the 1850s.” This seminar is designed to strengthen a participant’s commitment to high quality history teaching and to provide intellectual stimulation and a collaborative context for developing practical resources and strategies to take back to the classroom.

===================================================================================

SUMMER  SEMINAR - JOHN  BUCHANAN

Congratulations to Hastings High School Social Studies teacher and Department Chair, John Buchanan. John is one of only 15 educators from around the country selected to participate in a 5-week Summer Seminar entitled, “The Dutch Republic and Britain: The Making of Modern Society and a European World Economy.” This seminar is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and its purpose will be to investigate how a region of northwest Europe, centered on the North Sea, acquired the characteristics that historians have labeled modern. While at the Institute for Historical Research at the University of London and the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies in Wassenaar (near The Hague), John will study how the economy of the Dutch Republic rose to dominance in the new European world-economy of the seventeenth century, how Britain acquired this supremacy in the eighteenth century, and how it transformed itself to become the first industrial nation. So Congratulations once again to John for obtaining this most prestigious honor, and congratulations in advance to all of next year’s AP European History students that will benefit the most from John’s experience this summer.

===================================================================================

NYS  SCHOLASTIC  CHESS  TOURNAMENT

Members of the High School Chess team represented Hastings at the 2009 New York State Scholastic Chess Tournament held in Saratoga Springs during the weekend of February 27th. Out of a field of ten teams and 94 players, the Hastings High School team placed Third overall. Individual honors include Graham Kerr placing First in the under 1200 class; Noah Selzer placing First in the under 1400 class; and Justin Warren, who placed 10th, and Ezra Skolnik who placed 14th, in the open section. But perhaps the highlight of the weekend was the inspired match play of Danny Guiney, who won three of his games, one of which included the tournament’s biggest upset against a player with a rating over 1800.

===================================================================================

SCHOLAR  ATHLETE  TEAMS

Three Winter sports teams were recognized as a “Scholar Athlete Team” by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. The teams were: Girls Indoor Track, Boys Indoor Track and Girls Basketball. In total, 46 students qualified for this prestigious award, which is given to a team that has a composite academic grade average of 90 or above.

===================================================================================

AMERICAN  MATHEMATICS  COMPETITION

On Tuesday, February 10th, Hastings High School participated in the 60th running of the American Mathematics Competition. In total, 134 students, three of which are only in eighth grade, sat for this nationwide exam with questions emphasizing abstract thinking, problem solving and range. The test was a major departure from the types of the problems worked on day-to-day in the classrooms, and this was the largest group of students we’ve ever had take the test. Congratulations to all and I look forward to announcing the results at a future Board meeting.

The school winners of the AMC 12 are Al Indig and Nityan Nair (tied for first), and Katie Tiedritch and Noah Selzer (tied for third).  The three seniors will be honored at the senior awards night, and Noah will get a certificate at the end of the year from his classroom teacher. The AMC 10 competition, given to underclassmen, was won by a middle school student, Haris Nair (Nityan's younger brother).

===================================================================================

NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FINALISTS

All five of Hastings High School semifinalists are now Finalists in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Competition. They are Edward Heckman, Rebecca Merton, Michael Ocana, Sarina Spector, and Amelia Steinman. There are about 15,000 finalists across the country and beginning in March, approximately 8,200 of those finalists will be selected to receive a Merit Scholarship award. Merit Scholar designees are chosen based on their abilities, skills, accomplishments, academic record, information about the school's curricula and grading system, two sets of test scores, school official's written recommendation, information about the student's activities and leadership, and the finalist's own essay.

===================================================================================

THE  CHALLENGE  CONTINUES. . .

Members of Hastings High School’s academic challenge team went up against Westlake High School in the first round of The Challenge, an academic TV quiz show testing high school students’ knowledge of history, arts and literature, science and math. With a final score of 260-to-195, the Hastings team defeated Westlake and will now meet Horace Greeley High School in Round Two, which is scheduled to air later this spring.

===================================================================================

INTEL  SCIENCE  TALENT  SEARCH  PROGRAM

Congratulations to Hastings High School senior Nityan Nair and teacher Melissa Shandroff. In addition to placing third in the nation and receiving a $40,000 scholarship in the 2008 Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology, Nityan was recently named a semifinalist in the 2009 Intel Science Talent Search Program, while Mrs. Shandroff received recognition as a “Teacher of Merit”.

Nityan was one of only 300 students chosen from among 1,608 entrants representing 495 high schools in 36 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and five international schools. As a semifinalist, he received a $1,000 scholarship with a matching $1,000 award going to Hastings High School.

Nityan’s research project was entitled, “Diffraction with a twist: Forming fractional optical vortices using spiral zone plates”. He was able to conduct his research as part of an internship with the Simons Summer Research Program for high school students at SUNY Stony Brook. He secured this internship as part of the new HHS course entitled, Scientific Research, a two-year elective taught by Mrs. Shandroff in which students engage in research at a science lab during the summer of their junior year.

===================================================================================

GEOGRAPHY  BEE

On January 16th, seventh-grader Jesse Litvin won the FMS school-level competition of the National Geographic Bee and now has a chance to win a $25,000.00 college scholarship. The contest is designed to encourage teachers to include geography in their classrooms, spark student interest in the subject, and increase public awareness about geography. The school winners, including Jesse, will now take a written test for the chance to compete in the state-level geography bee in April. Second Place went to Lucy Keleman; Third Place went to Tommy Gelfars and the five remaining Finalists were Celia Murray, Sam Osband, Liana Sameth, Josh Shin and Adam Willson.

===================================================================================

PENNY  HARVEST

Congratulations to Hillside Elementary School for raising over $1,300 for charity. And even more impressive is that they did it one penny at a time. In the fall, students became Penny Harvesters and collected over 130,000 pennies which filled 22 sacks and altogether weighed over 700 pounds. The money will be donated in the form of grants to non-profit organizations that Hillside student leaders select. From helping the elderly and protecting the environment, to over a thousand other worthy charities, the students make the call to where the money goes, and all along the way are learning the value of working together, sharing and contributing to society.

===================================================================================

RESCUE  ANIMALS

Farragut Middle School students in Shauna Walsh’s 9th period Rescue Animals Enrichment Class held a Bookmark/Bracelet/Bake sale and raised $361 for the Yonkers Animal Shelter. Ali Berman, a representative from the shelter, and incidentally a graduate of Hastings High School, was surprised with the donation after facilitating a class discussion on the topics of animal testing, stem cell research and animal dissection in high school science classes.

===================================================================================

CHESS  SUCCESS

Congratulations to Danny Guiney, Graham Kerr, Josh Bass, Noah Selzer, Ezra Skolnik, and Justin Warren. They represented Hastings High School by competing individually, and as a team, at the National Scholastic K-12 Chess Championship in Orlando on the weekend of December 13th.

Noah Selzer placed 1st and Ezra Skolnik placed 3rd in the under-1400 section, and the team took 4th place overall. For most of these 11th-graders, this was their first experience competing in a national tournament and they are looking forward to competing in the New York State Chess Championships this February.

===================================================================================

ADOPT-A-PET

Members of Farragut Middle School’s Environmental Club held a bake sale and raised over $100 to adopt an ameer leopard through the World Wildlife Fund. The kids named their Siberian pal Amber, and in the coming weeks will decorate her habitat and make educational posters with facts about the species, such as “Did you know there are only 14 ameer leopards left in existence?”

===================================================================================

HHS student places third in the nation, wins $40,000 scholarship

Congratulations to Nityan Nair for placing 3rd in the nation and winning a $40,000 scholarship at the 2008 Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology. At the National Finals on December 7th, Nityan presented the findings of his summer science internship research project - Diffraction with a twist: Forming fractional optical vortices using spiral zone plates. [for more information, please see below.] Nityan is a senior at Hastings High School and is currently the Secretary General of the Westchester Model United Nations Conference and the president of the school’s math club. Two of his essays have been selected for publication by the American History Summer Institute. He plays the xylophone and varsity tennis, and is an active member of “Cyberseniors,” a technology group that teaches senior citizens how to use computers. Nityan plans to study Physics or Engineering in college and hopes to become a research scientist.

===================================================================================

FALL  SPORTS  HONORS

Congratulations to Erika Hinman on being named the Fall 2008 “Field Hockey Player of the Year” by the Rivertowns Enterprise.  In this low-scoring game, Erika had a hand in a remarkable 64% of the 25 goals scored by the team this year.  She also received an Honorable Mention in the recent listing of Fall All-Star Athletes compiled by the Journal News.  The Journal News also named boys soccer player Savi Tuber to the Second Team, and soccer players Andrea Stephens and Cameron McNeil also received an Honorable Mention.

In addition, 6 Fall sports teams were recognized as a “Scholar Athlete Team” by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. The teams are Girls Cross Country Track, Boys Cross Country Track, Field Hockey, Girls Soccer, Girls Tennis and Girls Volleyball.  In total, 76 students qualified for this prestigious award, which is given to a team that has a composite academic grade average of 90 or above.

===================================================================================

16th  ANNUAL  HARVEST  MOON  BALL

On November 22, approximately 200 guests danced the night away during the 16th Annual Harvest Moon Ball.  Both the Hastings High School Jazz Ensemble and Madrigal Choir performed a variety of styles including Count Basie standards, sizzling Latin favorites and hard-hitting funk and blues.  Trophies went home with the following contest winners:
    “Name That Tune”: Sherry and Glenn Sundel
    Lindy-Hop:  Margo and Howard Lorber
    Merengue:  Natalie Mazur and Juan Quispe
    Mambo:  Donna and Michael Ingram
    Twist:  Rainya Jernigan and Niko Gelfars
    Waltz:  Katy Brittenham and Adam Laing

===================================================================================

AREA ALL-STATE

Each spring, thousands of sophomores and juniors register through their school music programs to attend NYSSMA Evaluation Festivals where they are adjudicated. At each festival, students perform scales, a solo or ensemble piece of their choice from the designated NYSSMA repertoire, as well as sight reading. The judges score and comment on the students’ performances according to defined guidelines set by NYSSMA. The grade sheets are then certified and sent to the music departments at the individual schools to be distributed to the students.

This year, five Hastings High School students were selected to perform at the New York State Music Association’s Westchester County Area All-State Music Festival on November 13th. They were Alec Berman (violin), Perry Berman (flute), Eliza Blum (Violin), Erica Hinman (trumpet) and Nicholas Wetherell (cello).

===================================================================================

National Finalist in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology

On October 27th, Hastings High School senior, Nityan Nair, was one of only 96 students throughout the nation named as a Regional Finalist for this year’s Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology.  Nityan then went head-to-head with other Regional Finalists, presenting his research with peers across the nation. He represented Hastings at the Regional Finals hosted by Carnegie Mellon University on November 14-15.  Nityan has been named a National Finalist and will compete at the National Finals at New York University on December 5-8, 2008.

Nityan was recognized for the research he conducted as part of an internship with the Simons Summer Research Program for high school students at SUNY Stony Brook. He secured this internship as part of the new HHS course entitled, Scientific Research, a two-year elective taught by Melissa Shandroff in which students engage in research at a science lab during the summer of their junior year. Offering a mix of both classroom instruction and laboratory time, the goal of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to learn what real scientists do through developing relationships with local research scientists and participating in authentic science research.

Nityan’s project aimed to create optical vortices using spiral zone plates, rather than the traditional Fresnel zone plate. An optical vortex is a line singularity embedded within a laser beam, and optical vortices are used in optical tweezers, to trap and work on nano-sized particles. He worked mainly on creating fractional order optical vortices; and to create the fractional order zone plates, a Fresnel zone plate was modified with a spiral pattern by producing photo-reducing printed patterns calculated with Mathematica. The vortices were created by lighting the plates with a helium-neon laser, and then studied with a specialized camera. “The ultimate goal is to be able to have more particles worked on at once, without having to use a stronger laser, which can damage the body,” Nityan explained.

The Siemens Competition – a signature program of the Siemens Foundation, the national leader in supporting STEM education with contributions surpassing $7 million each year – is the nation’s premier science research competition for high school students. The annual competition, administered by the College Board, awards college scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $100,000 in individual and team categories.

===================================================================================

FALL 2008 NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY INDUCTIONS

At a ceremony held on November 13th, nine Hastings High School students were inducted into the National Honor Society. They were: Analena Alcabes, Suhayl Chettih, Brian Jung, Sarah Mankoff, Michael Ocana, Julian Ordman, Amber Ryan, Jessica Volpe and Matthew Wiener.

Students in 11th and 12th grade are eligible for membership and are selected by a faculty committee. They must have an academic average of 88 and above, and meet other membership criteria including character, service and leadership.

===================================================================================

2008  ADVANCED  PLACEMENT  SCHOLARS

Katherine Allyn, Benjamin Andersen, Christopher Bolger, Elizabeth Bolick, Daniel D’Agustino, Samuel Dresser, Cora Engelbrecht, Emily Felber, Elizabeth Goodwin, Max Guerrero, Lindsay Hammons, Christophe Hollocou, Sarah Howe, Ashley Kera, Jennifer Langione, Malcolm Macrae-Gibson, Sarah Mankoff, Ethan Meigs, Molly Murphy, Julia Pilowsky, Therese Rice, Gil Sunshine and Michael Xenakis.

The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program offers students the opportunity to take challenging college-level courses while still in high school, and to receive college credit, advanced placement, or both for successful performance on the AP Exams. About 17 percent of the more than one million high school students worldwide who took AP Exams performed at a sufficiently high level to merit the recognition of AP Scholar.

===================================================================================

2009  NATIONAL  MERIT  SCHOLARSHIP  PROGRAM

Five Hastings High School students have been named “Semi-finalists” in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program Competition, as determined by results of the 2007 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.  They are:  Edward  Heckman, Rebecca Merton, Michael Ocana, Sarina Spector and Amelia Steinman.  Only 16,000 students nationally are selected as semi-finalists so congratulations on this tremendous recognition.

 In addition, Akinola Orederu was named a “Semi-finalist” in the 2009 National Achievement Scholarship Competition.  This academic competition was established in 1964 to provide recognition for outstanding Black American high school students.  Remarkably, Akinola is one of only 1,600 high-scoring participants in each year's National Achievement Scholarship Program to be designated as a Semifinalist.

Ten Hastings High School students were recognized as a “Commended Student” in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program. They are: Analena Alcabes, Remy Bernstein, Diana Bouhassira, Suhayl Chettih, Edward Cimino, Priya Khurana, Nityan Nair, Ariana Samuelson, Carter Smith and Samuel Walker.  Only 34,000 students nation-wide are recognized for their exceptional academic promise, so congratulations to these ten individuals for placing among the top 5 percent of the more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2009 scholarship competition.

===================================================================================

WESTCHESTER  TRIATHLON

Congratulations to Jesse Merchant, the District’s Athletic Director and Physical Education teacher at Farragut Middle School. On Sunday, September 21st, Jesse participated in the Jarden Westchester Triathlon as a member of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training. Along with 1,200 other athletes, Jesse swam nine-tenths of a mile in the Long Island Sound; biked 25 miles through the residential neighborhoods of Rye, Port Chester, Harrison and Greenwich, CT; and ran 6.2 miles run through the streets of Rye, including the famous Rye Playland Boardwalk. Jesse raised $2,300 and the entire Team in Training raised more than $92,000 for Sunday’s effort.

===================================================================================

ART  TEACHER  OF  THE  YEAR!!

Congratulations to Art Department Chair Martin Merchant on being named the New York State Art Teacher’s Association Art Teacher of the Year for Region Seven, which includes Duchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester Counties.  “Marty is an exceptional art educator who has shown his ability to further the field of art education, while providing his students with an excellent classroom experience,” commented Robert Shaps, Superintendent of Schools.  “His dedication and vision in the field of art education has set Marty apart from his peers.”  Marty is now placed in a pool of ten applicants, one of which will be chosen the 2009 New York State Art Educator of the Year at the annual conference in November so we wish Marty the best of luck.