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2009-2010 Student/Staff Archive
2007-2008 Student/Staff Archive

STUDENT/STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS
2008 - 2009 School Year

Senior Awards Booklet Class of 2009

	TZHS Senior Wins National Merit Scholarship Tappan Zee HS Senior Ricky Arietta has been named winner of a National Merit Scholarship. Arietta was one in a field of four finalists at TZHS in competition for the 2009 award.

	TZHS Bowler Goes All American TZHS Sr. Jacqueline Carbonetto of Blauvelt, NY, a bowler on the TZHS Team, has been selected as a High School All-American by the United States Bowling Congress. She is one of only five females to have been selected nationwide. Carbonetto will be honored by the USBC on July 17th in Indianapolis, IN.

	TZHS's Jillian Hudson Qualifies for Junior Olympic National Team On May 15th, TZHS Jr. Jillian Hudson competed at the USA Gymnastics Level 10 Junior Olympic Championships in Seattle, WA. Hudson competed against the country's top gymnasts in her age group. Her 4th Place finish All Around qualifies her for the Junior Olympic National Team which is made up of the top four competitors in each age group. The entire Team has been invited to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Co. during the week of June 19th - 23rd.

	TZHS Wins Rockland Family Shelter's Annual Poster Contest An art exhibition and reception was held on Tuesday, May 26th at the Law Office of Madel, Katz and Brosnan in Congers, NY to recognize high school students who participated in the 6th Annual “Ending Violence Against Women and Girls” Art Poster Contest. This year entries were received from these high schools:  Clarkstown North, Tappan Zee, Pearl River, Spring Valley, North Rockland, and Suffern. Once again, Tappan Zee High School is the winning school of the Art Poster Competition. Howard Kyong, a student of Ms. Barbara LaBrake is the first prize winner and received a check for $500. Frankie Caruana, Mr. Yu Bong Ko's student received Honorable Mention and was presented with a check for $100.00. Tappan Zee High School as the winning school received $250. On a related note, art poster created by Taylor Jo Gillen, a ninth grader at Tappan Zee High School, has been awarded first place in the New York State Dental Association "Keeping Smiles Brighter" contest. Taylor Jo received first place locally through the Ninth District Dental Association, and her entry went on to win at the state level for her age category. She received $50 and $100 gift cards. The contest was held in conjunction with Children's Dental Health Month in February 2009 as part of the Media Arts class assignment.  Click on image to right to enlarge.

	HOW DO YOU GET TO CARNEGIE HALL...? Just become a member of Ms. Lisa Kahn's Cottage Lane Recorder Club. Ms. Kahn's group of twenty-one Cottage Lane students received the distinction of being invited to perform with the Orchestra of St. Lukes on the stage of Carnegie Hall. The group was selected as part of Carnegie Hall's LinkUP! program. The program culminates a year-long study program for students from throughout New York City and the Tri-State area teaching them to sing and play the recorder. The Cottage Lane musicians will perform on Wednesday, May 27th playing four pieces with the Orchestra. Their repertoire will include: America, Simple Gifts, When the Saints Go Marching In, and A Simple Melody.

	TZHS MEDALS IN NYS NATIONAL HISTORY COMPETITION On Friday, May 1, 2009, five students from Tappan Zee High School's History Honor Society participated in the New York State Competition for National History Day in Cooperstown, New York. The New York State History Day Competition involved over 420 students from 11 different regions in New York State. This year's theme was "The Individual in History: Action and Legacies". In the category of Senior Individual Research Paper, Sinead Casey wrote Through the Eyes of the Lion…Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy, the Individual. In the category of Senior Group Documentary, Ricky Arietta, Erik Hinrichsen, Michael Kraus, and Bradley Silverman entered a documentary entitled Crooked about Richard Nixon and finished in 3rd place out of all competitors from New York State.

	TZHS Math TEAM Scores BIG at NYS Math League Competition Four Tappan Zee HS juniors represented Rockland County at the Thirty-Seventh Annual NYS Mathematics League (NYSML) Championship Meet held on April 25th at John Jay HS in Hopewell Junction, NY. Nikitas Tampakis and Jack Davison won MVP Plaques as the top individual scorers on the 15-member Rockland A and Rockland B teams, respectively. Kevin Qian and Sal Rinchiera also competed for Rockland. The April 25th competition was the culmination of the competition earlier in the month that placed the TZHS Math Team in first position in Rockland County for the second consecutive year.

	SOMS Students ACE NYS Math League Contest On February 24, the SOMS Math Team competed in the New York State Mathematics League Contest. Students were divided by grade and answered questions that were grade level appropriate. The SOMS team competed, at each level, against over 145 schools in New York State. Top five scorers from each grade level then formed a team for that grade. SOMS 6th grade team placed 2nd in the region and tied for 13th place in New York State. SOMS 7th grade team placed 3rd in the region and tied for 21st place in New York State. SOMS 8th grade team placed 1st in the region and 9th in New York State. Additionally, SOMS 8th grade student Hyo J. tied for 2nd place in the region while 8th grader Emily R. placed 1st in the region and 6th out of the thousands of students competing in New York State.

	Jacob Tanenbaum SOCSD's Teacher At Sea To Be Honored in DC On Thursday, May 14th at 5:30 pm, the Rayburn House Office Building on Capital Hill in Washington, DC will set the stage as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) celebrates the voyages of Jacob Tanenbaum, NOAA Teacher at Sea. Tanenbaum has been affiliated with the program for a number of years and has taken voyages aboard NOAA vessels to carry out experiments he worked on with students from Cottage Lane Elementary. Accompanying Mr. Tanenbaum will be Ms. Kottie Christie-Blick and her entire 4th grade homeroom class who worked with Mr. Tanenbaum this year and blogged with him while he was at sea. NOAA has arranged for them to have private tours of The Capitol and the new ocean ecosystem exhibit at the Smithsonian and a visit to the White House is possible. They will also be visiting the National Mall, the war memorials, and the Lincoln Memorial. About 150 people are expected at the reception - mostly congressmen and women, senators, and members of NOAA. After Congressman Eliot Engel and the representative from NOAA give speeches, Mr. Tanenbaum will give a speech and the Cottage Lane students will make a presentation.

	SOMS Students Win I Have a Dream Essay Contest Two 7th grade SOMS students were selected to receive honors for their entries in the "I Have a Dream" essay contest sponsored by the Rockland County Commission on Human Rights. Students were given about one month to write and submit their essay. Submissions were judged by a volunteer group from Rockland's Human Rights Commission and the winners were decided upon and notified. There were six winners from four schools in the County.  SOMS ELA Teacher Stephanie Coronesi's two students, John L. and Stephanie B. were each presented with an award certificate by County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef in a ceremony at the County Executive's office on April 1st. Pictured are John, Stephanie, ELA teacher Stephanie Coronei and County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef.

	TZHS Medals in National History Day Competition On Saturday, March 21, 2008 students from Tappan Zee High School's History Honor Society participated  in the Regional Competition of National History Day at Saint Thomas Aquinas College.  TZHS students took second place in two of the categories qualifying them for the State Competition in Cooperstown, New York on May 1, 2009.    In the category of Senior Group Documentary, Ricky Arietta, Erik Hinrichsen, Michael Kraus, and Bradley Silverman created a documentary entitled Crooked about Richard Nixon.  In the category of Senior Individual Research Paper, Sinead Casey wrote Through the Eyes of the Lion…Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy, the Individual.   Students in Ms. Sorensen's project based class created projects on Billie Jean King, John Lennon, King Henry VIII, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, and Richard Nixon. The National History Day Contest is an educational program devoted to improving the teaching and learning of history projects in schools.  NHD is a meaningful way for students to study historical issues, ideas, people and events by engaging in historical research.

	The Reflections Committee is Pleased to Announce...   SOCSD has one piece moving onto National PTA Competition and two that received an Award of Merit at the State Level Competition.   Please take time to view all of the wonderful artwork submitted this year at the Board of Education Gallery space in the SOMS main hallway.   Award of Excellence and moving onto National PTA Competition   Intermediate Level Visual Arts:   Lian C. from Cottage Lane Elementary   Award of Merit and inclusion in the display at the State PTA Convention:   Intermediate Level Dance: Heyli C.-F. from Cottage Lane Elementary   Intermediate Level Music: Shaan G. from Cottage Lane Elementary   Congratulations to each of you.   Lenora Mesibov, Michele Balm, Stefanie Chisholm and Barbara Noyes SOCSD Reflections Committee

	TZHS Team Competes in the Science Olympiad   On Saturday, February 14th, 2009, 15 students from Tappan Zee High School competed in the Westchester/Rockland Regional Tournament of the Science Olympiad. The Science Olympiad is a local, state and national competition giving students the opportunity to compete in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, Technology and general science events including laboratory competitions, building projects, academic tests and science applications.  There were 30 teams from Rockland and Westchester competing this year.   South Orangetown brought home First place medals awarded to Nick Tampakis and Neal Patel for the Earth Science competition “Dynamic Planet”.  Second place medals went Sheila Krishnan and Yurim Lee for the “Disease Detectives” competition.  Fifth place medals were awarded to Sal Rinchiera and Nick Tampakis for the clock-building competition “Its About Time”, and to Sal Rinciera and Kevin Qian for “Technical Problem Solving”.  The top 4 teams went on to West Point for the N.Y. State championship.  Winners from that competition then go on to compete at the national level.

	TZHS's Jillian Hudson Vaults Her Way to Two State Titles At Saturday's New York State Gymnastics Championships, held at Shaker High School, TZHS junior, Jillian Hudson won two State titles.  She won the individual State Championship in Vault and then went on to pick up the title for the All-Around title.  Her performance made her the first State Champion in the history of Tappan Zee gymnastics.

	Seventy-Eight TZHS Students Win AP Scholar Awards Seventy-eight students at Tappan Zee High School have earned the designation of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program (AP) Exams. 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. Students took AP Exams in May 2008 after completing college-level courses. The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on student performance on AP Exams. Twenty-five students qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. These students are: Brittni Alexander, Janine Bautista, Andrew Choi, Nicole Corey, Michael Cunningham, Holly Druckman, Caroline Iosso, Yonji Kim, Natalie Korman, Clara Lee, Kevin Lynch, Daniel Lynn, Natasha Marks, Chad Milando, Emma Rose Miller-Bedell, Eunice Park, Amanda Rossi, Charles Schaub, Michelle Starikovsky, Brian Velasco, Dennis Yanga, Jeanwoo Yoo, Helen Yuan, Jack Yuan, and Ruby Zucker. Fifteen students qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of a least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams. These students are: Theodora Andriotis, Allyson Furcick, Olivia Hall, David Howard, Nicole Kropp, Sarah Lewarn, Kaitlin Mallon, Jenna Maresco, Ruchi Purani, Benjamin Riley, Pasquale Rocchio, Dillen Roggensinger, Katherine Unger, Chae Yu, and Priya Zachariah. Thirty-eight students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP Examinations, with grades of 3 or higher. The AP Scholars are: Tahira Abdullah, Stanley Abraham, Lizett Alvarez, Ricky Arietta, Jennifer Bondulich, Chloe Cannon, Anthony Chen, Wonyoung Chung, Barbara Delo, Marion Distante, Frank Ferramosca, Ryan Fitzsimmons, Fiona Gordon, Oliver Graney, Jeffrey Grossbard, Erik Hinrichsen, Bruce Jensen, Esther Jeung, Annjela John, Benjamin Kalman, Daniel Kane, Peter Kingston, Ellen Knapp, Michael Kraus, Jessica Li, Kyle McNee, James McQuade, Celeste Morton, Esther Pak, Tina Philip, Anastasia Psaras, Charles Rightmyer, Matthew Rudnitsky, Keeler Sandhaus, Bradley Silverman, Allwyn Thomas, Suehyun Yoo, and Devin Young.

	For SOMS Math Team - It All Adds Up To GOLD The SOMS Math Counts Team brought home a 1st place finish in the county division competition held at Felix Festa Middle School. Additionally, an individual 1st place title went to team member Hyo Jeong. The team, consisting of members, Hyo J., Emily R., Changseob L., David R., and alternates Amit K. and Michael V. put in many hours of practice and preparation time with their teachers and Math Olympiad coaches. The team will now compete at the State Level on March 14th against 60 other teams from around the State. The top three finishers will go on to Nationals which will be held in Orlando.

	South Orangetown Students Honored With Black Achievement Awards   Six South Orangetown CSD students were selected by Rockland Community College to receive Black Achievement Awards.  The Award is given to 6th, 8th and 11th grade students in the Black/African community who have maintained a scholastic average of 92% and have demonstrated leadership in the community.  Honorable mention was given to one student who met the 85% and above average and has shown evidence of personal achievement in community service, artistic expression, athletic ability and/or leadership activity.  Students who received the award are:  SOMS (Grade 6): Katrina C. and Desiree S.  SOMS (Grade 8): Kendra A. and Erika D.  TZHS ( Grade 11) Ajah H. and Kristopher C.  Honorable Mention was given to SOMS Hailey W.

 

	FOUR TZHS SENIORS NAMED NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP FINALISTS The National Merit Scholarship Program has announced its 2009 Finalists drawn from the list of 16,000 Semifinalists named in September 2008.  The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955.  High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test which serves as an initial screen of approximately 1.5 million entrants each year.  They must also meet strict published program entry/participation requirements.  This year, four Tappan Zee HS seniors were included in the list of Finalists.  Ricky Arietta, Michael Kraus, Daniel Lynn and Bradley Silverman each received notification and were given Certificates of Merit.   In March, NMSC will begin mailing scholarship offers to winners.

	TZHS Spanish Honor Society Inducts 59 On Thursday, February 12th, 59 TZHS students were inducted into the National Spanish Honor Society - Tito Puente Chapter. Now in its 7th year as part of the National Honor Society, TZHS students must meet strict criteria in order to qualify for induction. They are required to maintain an average of 90% or above in their Spanish studies and an overall average of 85% or above in all other classes. In addition, they must show outstanding citizenship qualities. Honorary guests for the evening included Audrey Puente, a TZHS graduate and daughter of the late Tito Puente, and Gilbert Lopez, composer, pianist, arranger and member of the original Tito Puente Band. Music was provided by the TZHS Spanish Honor Society All-Star Band and a Salsa performance was offered by SHS and TZHS Alumnae Stephanie Costa and Olivia Hall. After the candle lighting ceremony the Oath of Initiation was given by SHS Advisors Elise Moloney and Peter Burgos. Students were then officially inducted into the Honor Society.

 

	TZHS Students Participate in Model UN Expo The Columbia Model United Nations Conference and Exposition is an annual four-day international affairs conference for high school students. Held in New York City, at Columbia University, CMUNCE has quickly grown into one of the most successful and unique Model UN experiences in the country. CMUNCE is known for its original committees and intense crisis simulations. Five out of the ten participating TZHS students received awards for their presentations. They were:   Outstanding Delegate – Harris T. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Position: Islamic Republic of Iran Honorable Mention – Ted K. Convention for a Democratic South Africa Position: South African Communist Party Honorable Mention – Ben R. San Remo Conference, 1920 Position: Ibn Saud, Standard Oil of California Honorable Mention – Sinead C. White House Senior Staff Position: Ainsley Hayes, Assoc. White House Counsel Verbal Commendation - Jack D. World Food Summit Position: Pakistan

	SOMS Brings Home Nine Medals at the Science Olympiad Members of the 2008-2009 SOMS Science Olympiad Team have just completed their first competition at the RCS Middle School Invitational. For the event, students competed against top teams from all over New York State. SOMS entrants received a total of nine medals. Awards went to: Chris S. and Nick P. - fourth place in SumoBots; Nick P. and Kevin F. - fourth place in Physical Science Lab; Patrick F., Louis C., and Rouhin G. - fourth place in Experimental Design; Louis C. and Andrew H. - third place in RoboCross; and Ross K. first place in the Dynamic Planet event. Coaches for the Science Olympiad are Mrs. April Biggs, Mrs. Deena Kramarczyk and Mrs. Mei Yip-Chen. The next level of competition for the Science Olympiad Team will be the Regional competition which will be held at Scarsdale Middle School on March 7th. The Regional completion involves middle schools from the Lower Hudson Valley Region primarily Rockland and Westchester counties.

 

	SOCSD BOE President Rosemary Pitruzzella Receives NYSSBA's Highest Award The New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) has announced South Orangetown's Board of Education President Rosemary Pitruzzella has earned both the Master of Boardsmanship and the Leadership in Governance Award. These awards are bestowed in acknowledgement of dedication to excellence. The Master of Boardsmanship Award is NYSSBA's highest honor through their Leadership Development Recognition Program. The Leadership in Governance Award is awarded to those individuals who have successfully completed the series of eight rigorous NYSSBA School Board Institute (SBI) courses. These awards acknowledge the unending amount of time, effort and commitment required of board members in a continuous effort to raise their awareness of education as well as their proficiency in school district governance.

	SOMS Student Gets Published Congratulations to Leon Z.!  He was featured in Creative Kids magazine this past fall.  Last year in Mrs. McBride's problem solving class, students solved a variety of Mensa puzzles.  All students were encouraged to create their own.  Leon chose to develop an original "Missing Letter Scramble" puzzle.  His work was submitted and selected by the magazine.  See Leon's Puzzle

	TZHS Teacher Accepted As PBS "Teacher Leader" The Public Broadcasting Service has announced TZHS teacher Sarah McMane has been accepted as one of the first PBS Teacher Leaders and a member of the Teacher Leader Advisory Council.  In this role, she will not only contribute to the online discussions happening on PBS Teachers, but, as an inaugural Teacher Leader, she will also have the opportunity to assist in preparing a format for the Teacher Leader program.

	TZHS Qualifies Nine Varsity Teams As NYS Scholar Teams SOCSD has announced that each of their nine 2008 TZHS Fall Varsity athletic teams has qualified as New York State Scholar Teams. An in-season team GPA of 90% or better is required before consideration as a scholar team can be given.  The SOCSD and TZHS congratulates Boy's Soccer, Girl's Soccer, Football, Girl's Swimming, Volleyball, Girl's Tennis, Boy's Cross Country, Girl's Cross Country and Cheerleading.

	TZHS Social Studies Teacher Receives 2008 Award Stephen Sherman, a Tappan Zee HS social studies teacher, has been selected as the recipient of the 2008 Outstanding High School Social Studies Teacher Award by the Westchester-Lower Hudson Council for Social Studies. In a letter to TZHS Assistant Principal, Juliet Gevargis, Council President Steven A. Goldberg announced the award. Ms. Gevargis nominated Mr. Sherman in October 2008 citing his abilities in the classroom as well as his dedication to student achievement. In her letter, Ms. Gevargis identified Mr. Sherman's valuable strengths to include his firm commitment that students use technology as a tool to enhance their learning. She also pointed out he maintains a current, interactive class website, has students participate in web quests, creates PowerPoint projects and is a regular user of Smart Board technology. The award will be presented to Mr. Sherman during breakfast at the Annual Conference of WLHCSS on Friday, December 12 at the Crowne Plaza in White Plains. The breakfast begins at 8:00 AM.

	Tappan Zee High School's literary magazine, Tones garnered 7 awards in six categories at this year's Empire State Scholastic Press Awards (ESSPA), sponsored by Syracuse University.  Tones advisors Donna Grasso (art) and Sarah McMane (literature) announced the winners in the following categories:  FICTION - Gold went to Kate R. for “Mac”;  NON-FICTION - Gold went to Caroline L. for "17 Years" and Silver was awarded to Barbara D. for "Semicolon",  POETRY - Honorable Mention went to Natalie K. for "Only God Can Wake the Sleeping"; ARTWORK - Honorable Mention went to Elizabeth O., USE OF TYPE/IMAGE - Silver went to Elizabeth O'. and Lisa B. for "Winter Wood"; OVERALL PUBLICATION took a Silver awarded to the staff of Tones.

 

	TZHS Music Department Sends Three Top Performers to All-State The TZHS music department has announced that three of its students were accepted into this year’s New York All State Music Ensembles. Esther J. (senior) will be participating in the All-State Wind Ensemble on trumpet, Ellen K. (Junior) will be in the All-State Women’s Chorus singing alto, and Vivian L. (junior) will be in the String Orchestra on viola. These students each represent the three major performing ensembles of the Tappan Zee High School Music Department; Concert Band, Concert Choir, and Concert Orchestra. Auditions for All-State ensembles take place every year and are extremely competitive. Of the many thousands of students that audition across the entire state of New York, only 350 are accepted into the various ensembles. Esther J., Ellen K., and Vivian L. all performed level VI works (the highest level of difficultly) and received top scores. In addition to a solo piece, each student is asked to play various scales and sight-read. Andy C. (clarinet), Ellen L. (violin), and Nikitas T. (viola) also received perfect scores of 100 and were chosen as alternates. The students will be traveling to Rochester, New York on December 4th where they will be rehearsing up to eight hours a day for three days. The final performances on December 7 will take place at the Eastman Theater which is one of the premier performing halls in the country.