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STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
2007- 2008 School Year

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	TZHS SENIOR CHOSEN AS STUDENT AMBASSADOR TO AUSTRALIA TZHS Senior Farwah S. has been chosen to serve as a student ambassador to Australia.  She was nominated and then selected along with 34 other delegates, from the People to People Ambassador Program.   On July 12, Farwah will leave New York for Los Angeles where she will catch a connecting flight to Australia.  The group will not be staying in any one location, but will move within Australia visiting the cities of Darwin, Sydney, Canberra, and Cairns.  Activities will include a trip to the Great Barrier Reef, Australia’s New Parliament House and will bring together the study of Australia’s system of government and political history.  The Ambassadors will go to to Mayallaluk, home to the Jawoyn people, and learn about Bush tucker and traditional bush medicines.  Their trip will also offer a guided orientation of the Sydney Opera House complex, and the opportunity to learn more about Australia's amazing history during a harbor cruise.  One of the highlights of the trip will be a "home stay" with an Australian family to learn about their lives and culture. The People to People Ambassador Program was founded in 1956 by Dwight D. Eisenhower who believed “ordinary citizens of different nations, if able to communicate directly, would solve their differences and find a way to live in peace."  Farwah will return from Australia on July 29.

	TZHS SENIOR BRINGS HOME ALL-AMERICAN HONORS At the Nike Outdoor National Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, TZHS Senior Emma Rose B. earned ALL-AMERICAN honors by finishing fourth in the nation in the 2000 meter steeplechase. Her time of 6:55.74 is a new school record and ranks # 3 all time in Section 1. This is the second time in her career that Emma has earned ALL-AMERICAN honors. Sara G. finished 12th in 7:18.84. The girls 3200 meter relay team of Jacqueline P., Caile K., Sara G. and Emma Rose B. finished 14th in the country and set a school record in a time of 9:22.19.

	SOMS National Junior Honor Society Inducts 127 On June 9, 2008, the National Junior Honor Society Induction Ceremony took place at the Tappan Zee High School.  Over 400 guests were in attendance to see the induction of 127 seventh grade students into the Honor Society.  The ceremony pays tribute to students for their successes both in and out of the classroom.  The students were honored for possessing the qualities of a National Junior Honor Society member – leadership, scholarship, citizenship, character, and service.  Each of the new inductees will fulfill important and challenging jobs in the upcoming school year in both the school and the community.

 

	FOUR PERFECT NYSSMA SCORES FOR TAPPAN ZEE HIGH SCHOOL MUSIC STUDENTS On May 16th and 17th TZHS students participated in the NYSSMA Solo Festival held in Monticello, New York. Participants are required to prepare scales, a solo piece, and sight read in a private hearing before an accredited adjudicator who scores the performance on numerous musical criteria.  Students wishing to compete for a chair in an All-State ensemble must prepare a level 6 solo (the highest degree of difficulty) and only students receiving a score of 100 have a chance of acceptance.  Thousands of students across the entire state of New York vie for a limited number of openings making competition intense. This year, four students from TZHS received perfect scores for their All-State auditions.  A perfect All-State score reflects not only a high degree of talent, but also a thorough and disciplined preparation process on the part of the students who practiced their solos for six months to a year.  Ellen L. – 10 gr. (violin),  Vivian L. – 10 gr. (viola), Nikitas T. – 10 gr. (viola), and  Esther J. – 11 gr. (trumpet) are all members of the TZHS Concert Orchestra and Wind Ensemble.  If accepted they will be traveling to Rochester, NY in November where they will rehearse with guest conductors from around the country and perform in the Eastman Theater which is one of the premier concert halls in the United States.

	AAA Traffic Safety Poster and PSA Contest Gianina Y. has been chosen for a Third Place award in the annual AAA Traffic Safety Poster and PSA contest.  A national panel of judges selected her design from nearly 800 entries.  As a winner of this award, Gianina will receive a $100 gift check and a Third Place plaque.

 

	TZHS Student Garners First Place in Rockland Family Shelter Art Competition Tappan Zee High School Junior Yoo S., has won First Prize in the Rockland Family Shelter’s Fifth Annual “Ending Violence Against Women and Girls” Art Competition.  Classmate Jacqueline C., received an Honorable Mention.   The purpose of the contest was to raise awareness of violence against women. Students were asked to design artwork in any medium that could be used to promote communities of peace and respect.  Students county-wide were invited to participate..   All the work submitted will be on display at a reception to honor the artists and the winners, their families, friends and school faculty. The reception will be hosted by the law firm of Mandel, Katz & Brosnan on Monday, June 9th at 6PM at the Law Building, 210 Route 303 Valley Cottage, New York.  The first place winning student, Yoo S. will receive a check for $500. Jacqueline C. as one of the four Honorable Mentions, will receive $100 and Tappan Zee High School, as the winning school, will be presented with a check for $250.  The contest was the idea of Ms. Tracy Brosnan and the law firm has made the prize money available each year.

	COTTAGE LANE BRINGS HOME THE GOLD IN WORDMASTER CHALLENGE Two of Cottage Lane's 4th graders recently won top honors in this year's WordMasters Challenge.  Competing in the Gold Division, both students earned perfect scores.  With the support of their coach, teacher Kerri McBride, David A. and Marisa C. won in their division which was held in April.  Other 4th grade Cottage Lane students who also earned outstanding scores were: Alex G., Skylar K., Cara K., and Amy Z. along with 5th graders Ben B., Jack J. and William S.  The WordMasters Challenge, a national language arts competition entered by over 230,000 students annually, consists of three separate meets held at intervals during the school year.

	TZHS Student Named Semifinalist in Presidential Scholars Program   Tappan Zee High School senior, Christina Hughes, has been named one of approximately 560 semifinalists in the 2008 Presidential Scholars Program. The semifinalists were selected from more than 3000 candidates on the basis of superior achievements, leadership qualities, personal character, and involvement in community and school activities.  Winners will be announced within the next few weeks.

	and the WINNER is.....................   My American Life written by TZHS Intermediate ESL English class under the direction of teacher Liz Fearen.  As one of four original plays chosen to be performed at Riverspace on May 18 by and about teens, My American Life, written by, Miguel B., Kate K., Marco M., Edwin M., and Uri S., was awarded first prize after a reading of each of the entries by local actors.  A $100. prize was given for being one of the four semifinalists, and an additional $400 was given to the group for winning the contest. "First they wrote out their thoughts in their journals," said Ms. Fearen.  "Then they recorded it on their ipods and spent the rest of the month sitting in a group and discussing the plot and characters until they were satisfied with the end result.  We can't believe we won!" she said, still slightly stunned by the entire enterprise.

	SOCSD STUDENTS BRING HOME HONORS FROM ROCKLAND COUNTY SCIENCE INVENTION AND TECHNOLOGY FAIR At the Rockland County Science Invention and Technology Fair held at North Rockland HS on Sunday, April 13th.  Tappan Zee HS, SOMS and Cottage Lane were represented and came home with honors.  SOCSD winners were:  Rohan R., 9th grade, representing TZHS with his project which was judged in the Environment category.  He won the first place for 9th & 10th grade levels. The title of his project was “Green Earth Biodegradable Plastics: Is Polylactic Acid a solution?". This was continuation of his work from last year where he had won first place in the same category with his project on Global Warming. Shruti R. also participated in the Fair.  She is a 8th grader representing SOMS and won first place in the category of medicine, 7 - 8th grade level.   Four Cottage Lane students were entrants in the Fair.  Ben B. received an Exhibition Award - $50. U.S. Savings Bond.  The other three students were: Shawn S., Luke G., and Jessa C.

	Foreign Language Journal Mural Contest Winner! Senior, Olivia H. won the Foreign Language Journal mural contest.  Soon her work will grace the new C Hallway at Tappan Zee High School.

	News from the Math Department The Tappan Zee Math Team finished in First Place in Rockland County in the New York Math League competitions this year. Four TZ students qualified to compete on the Rockland team at the 2008 NYSML (New York State Math League) State Meet this past Saturday in Victor, NY (a suburb of Rochester).  Seniors are Andy C, and Natasha M., Sophomore Ted K., and Freshman Min J. Of the top 15 students in the Southern Division of the Rockland County Math League this season, Tappan Zee High School placed an amazing SEVEN.  (The other five high schools combined had the other eight top scorers). The TZ high scorers were Seniors Andy C., Natasha M., and Dennis Y.;  Junior Andy C.;  Sophomores Ted K. and Nikitas T.; and Freshman Min J. Two separate Tappan Zee teams entered the 2008 Moody's Mega Math Challenge.   Teams from the Northeast (New Hampshire to Delaware) entered, and of the 253 teams, only 58 solutions were considered strong enough to advance to the next round of judging.  BOTH of Tappan Zee's teams made that cut last week. (Alas, both teams were informed that they did not survive the next round of judging -- still they were two of only 58). The 5-member teams were: Seniors Andy C., Chad M., Dillen R., Dennis Y., and Jack Y. and B)  Seniors Natasha M., Michael C., and Ruby Z. and Juniors Andy C. and Alyson F.

	Two First Place Finishes in History Day Competition In the 2008 Regional History Day Competition, the theme was Conflict and Compromise.  Tahira A., Caroline A., Jessica L., and Eunice P. won first place in the Regional Competition for their group performance titled " An Introspective Examination of the Civil War".  Ricky A., Erik H., and Joseph S. won first place in the Regional Competition for their group documentary titled "4.4.68 From Kingdom to Kingless". Both groups will be competing in the New York State History Day Competition in May.

 

	TZHS Senior Wins Journal News Athlete of the Week Honors The Journal News Rockland Scholar-Athlete of the Week program honors students for their academic, athletic and community achievements. Each week a winner is selected from the nominees submitted by athletic directors. Only seniors can be nominated and the award can be won only once. This week's winner was TZHS senior Brittni A. who maintains a 97.5 grade-point-average and is currently taking advanced placement classes in psychology, physics and calculus. She is a two-sport star in softball and volleyball, and has been class president every year since she was a freshman. This spring, Alexander will look to carry over her leadership duties to the softball diamond, especially on the base paths.  Alexander stole 26 bases last season, one short of the state record. "Sports and school, I feel go hand in hand," Alexander said. "It's like a personal attitude to keep them up.  One balances out the other and keeps them going." Notre Dame, Boston College, and Virginia are on Alexander's list of top college choices, and she is hoping to be a pre-med student in the fall.

	TZ Math Team places First in Rockland County The Tappan Zee Math Team completed their 2007-08 New York Math League season, securing a FIRST PLACE FINISH in Rockland County for the first time in several years. Four-year veteran senior Jack Y. and freshman Min J. each scored a perfect 6 for 6, while sophomore Ted K. and freshman Chris T. got 5. This has been an exceptional year for the Math Team, and with so many underclassmen performing at such a high level success is assured for years to come. Congratulations to the students and to the TZ Math Department!

 

	SOMS Science Olympiad Team Places Second in Regionals On Saturday, March 8th The SOMS Science Olympiad Team took SECOND place out of 20 schools at Regionals.  The team will now advance to the State Championships, April 11-12, at SUNY New Paltz!  Results at Regionals were: Neal P. and Nora T. earned FIRST place in Car of Tomorrow Louis C. and Joval M. earned FIRST place in Ecology Nick P. and Louis C. earned SECOND place in Mystery Architecture John M. and Neal P. earned SECOND place in the Anatomy event Kevin F. and Nick P. earned SECOND place in Shock Value Joval M. and Neal P. earned SECOND place in Oceanography and THIRD place in Crave the Wave Neal P. and Saeun Y. earned THIRD place in Rocks and Minerals Saeun Y. and Nora T. earned FOURTH place in Amphibians and Reptiles, and FOURTH place in Reach for the Stars Joval and John M. earned FOURTH place in Road Scholar Shruti R. and Louis C. earned FOURTH place in Simple Machines Avani and Akta P. earned FIFTH place in the Tower competition   Coaches for the team were: Mrs. April Biggs, Mrs. Mei Yip-Chen, and Ms. Deena Bollinger

	Cottage Lane Music Students Receive Top Honors at Intermediate All-County Orchestra Festival On Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8, five students from SOCSDs Cottage Lane Elementary School participated in the RCMEA (Rockland County Music Educators Association) Intermediate All – County Orchestra Festival at Suffern High School. The students were: Christine C. (violin – 5th gr.) Leonardo K. (cello – 4th gr) Andrew L. (cello – 5th gr.) Cordelia M.(violin – 4th gr.) Alice T.(violin – 4th gr.) The students selected for this orchestra are 4th, 5th, and 6th graders from elementary schools throughout Rockland County. They were chosen by a committee of music educators who, based on NYSSMA scores and teacher recommendations, selected the most advanced instrumentalists from the county. The students rehearsed for three hours on Friday and five hours on Saturday and culminated with a performance by the orchestra as well as the all-county band and chorus. The outstanding quality of playing and singing in these groups reflects a very high level of talent, discipline and dedication as demonstrated by all of the students.  Very special congratulations go to Cordelia Mutter and Christine Choe who were both awarded principal chairs of their sections after extensive seating auditions on Friday. This continues a trend in S. Orangetown in which many students from Elementary through High school have competed for and won top chairs in Major ensembles in both RCMEA All-County groups and NYSSMA All – State and Area All –State ensembles. These students are dedicated and committed to the rigors of their performance requirements as is clearly evidenced by these results.

	Tappan Zee Math Team Dominates the Southern Division The Tappan Zee Math Team completed their 2007-08 Rockland County Math League season on Monday, March 3.  The top 15 individual students representing six high schools were awarded.  Seven of the 15 students were Tappan Zee high school students.  The other 8 students came from the five other schools represented. The TZ high scorers were: Seniors: Andy C., Natasha M., and Dennis Y. Junior:  Andy C. Sophomores: Ted K. and Nikitas T. Freshman: Min J. Congratulations to the students and to the TZ Math Department!

 

 

Tappan Zee High School Senior, Holly D. , has been named a finalist in the 2008 National Merit Scholarship Program.

 

A Great Week for the Dutchman! - submitted 2/10/08 Gymnastics wins third straight Division title followed by second straight Section One crown. Wrestling Coach Rich Blauvelt (TZ '64) enters the Rockland County Coaches Association Century Club with his 100th coaching victory. Girls Basketball Coach Reid Hoffer is elected to the Rockland County Sports Hall of Fame. Girls JV Basketball team finishes undefeated season (20-0) by winning JV County Title. Basketball player Ryan S. becomes only the 2nd TZ boy (7th player overall) to score 1,000 points.

 

TZHS Students Medal in Science Olympiad The TZHS Science Olympiad Team won 6 medals at the February 2nd, 2008 Westchester-Rockland Science Olympiad.  Medals were won in the  Robotics Competition,  Circuit Analysis and Rock & Mineral Identification.  Winners were Dennis Y. and  Dillen R. for Circuit Lab, Carin I. and Shiela K. for Rocks & Minerals.  Pat R. and Bruce J.  competed and medaled in the Robot Ramble, with robot-building help from Conner D. and Zac C.   Thirteen TZHS students competed in the 16 Science Olympiad events this year.

 

Two TZHS Seniors Named as Candidates for Presidential Scholars Program Yonji K. and Christina H., both seniors at Tappan Zee HS, have been selected as candidates for the Presidential Scholars Program.  The US Presidential Scholars Program, established in 1964 by Executive Order of the President, recognizes and honors some of the Nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors.  Each year up to 141 students are named as Presidential Scholars representing excellence in education.  Students have the opportunity to become Presidential Scholars based on two paths of accomplishment.  The majority of the Scholars are selected on the basis of broad academic achievement.  Approximately twenty additional students are selected on the basis of their academic and artistic scholarship in the visual arts, the performing arts, or creative writing.  Application is by invitation only based on strict academic and artistic criteria.  Therefore, students may not apply to the Program individually, nor may their schools nominate them.  The selection of about 2,600 academic students and 50 arts students are then reviewed by committee.  Approximately, 500 candidates are named as semi-finalists and forwarded to the Commission for further review.  In April, the Commission on Presidential Scholars selects up to 121 academic and 20 arts scholars.  All scholars are honored for their accomplishments during National Recognition Week, held in June, in Washington, DC.  To commemorate their achievement, the Scholars are awarded the Presidential Scholars medallion at a ceremony sponsored by the White House.

 

TZHS SENIOR PARTICIPATES IN youngARTS WEEK   Tappan Zee High School senior Christina H. was one of 142 young artists chosen nationwide from almost 8,000 applicants to participate in the 2008 youngARTS Week in Miami. YoungARTS Week, which took place this year January 7-13, is a program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.  Christina is one of the 21 music winners in the instrumental category.    Selected by panels of professional artists in nine disciplines, (cinematic arts, dance, jazz, music, photography, theater, visual arts, voice and writing), the up-and-coming artists will be flown to Miami, where they will participate in an all-expense paid week of master classes, showcases, and performances.   They will be mentored by some of the top artists in the country including Jacques D’Amboise, Rachel Moore, Neil Folberg, Patrick De Bokay, Ken Washington, Meade Anderson, Ingo Titze, David Lee, and Mitch Kaplan.   YoungARTS Week was the subject of a 2007 Academy Award-nominated documentary, “Rehearsing a Dream,” which was aired nationwide on HBO this fall.  The week culminated on January 12th with An Affair of the Arts Performance and Gala that will take place at Miami’s Soho Studios in the Wynwood Arts District's Wynwood Convention Center.

TZHS Music Students Receive First Chair Placements at All-State This year the Tappan Zee High School music department is proud to report that two of its students were accepted into the New York All-State Music Conference. Holly D. (senior) performed in the All-State Symphonic orchestra as one of only four flute players and Andy C. (Junior) performed in the All-State Band on clarinet. The conference, held in Rochester, NY from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2, culminated with performances at the Eastman Theater, one of the premier concert halls in the country. Of the thousands of eligible students in the entire State of New York who audition in the extremely competitive All-States every year, only 350 are accepted into the various ensembles. Both Holly and Andy performed level VI works (the highest level of difficultly) and received perfect scores of 100. Of all the students who receive a score of 100 across the State of New York, only those who receive a personal recommendation by the adjudicator at the audition are considered for placement. As an additional honor both Holly and Andy were awarded first chair placements in their sections after seating auditions were held the first day of rehearsal.

TZHS Italian Club and Honor Society Brings Home Columbus Day Honors At this year's annual Columbus Day Parade held in Haverstraw, the Tappan Zee High School Italian Club and Honor Society marched in and, for the second year in a row, was awarded the distinction of  "Best Ethnic Group"  by the Columbus Day Parade Committee.  Sponsored by the Rockland County Columbus Association, the 1.6 mile parade route started in the Village of Haverstraw at the Knights of Columbus on Broad Street and finished in the parking lot of the Italian American Social Club in the Village of West Haverstraw. The award was presented to the group at the award dinner.

60 SOMS Music Students Selected for 2008 All-County Music Ensembles SOMS Music Department proudly announces the selection of 60 students to the Intermediate (grades 5 & 6) and Junior (grades 7, 8 & 9) All County Music Ensembles for 2008.  The selection process relies heavily on NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) solo ratings from spring of 2007.  This is the highest number of SOCSD students ever selected in one year for ensembles at these levels.  Band students are under the instruction of Janice Tocco and Charles Yassky, Vocal students are students of Priscilla Pena-Carney and the orchestra students are under the direction of Mary Bish.  Congratulations to all of these highly achieving students and their teachers.

 

TZHS MUSIC STUDENTS HIT A "HIGH C" AT AREA ALL-STATE   Tappan Zee High School was well represented at this year’s Area All-State Music Festival which took place at Monroe-Woodbury High School on November 16 & 17. Andy C. (clarinet – 11th grade), Ted K. (violin – 10th grade), Ellen L. (violin-10th grade, Vivian L. (viola – 10th grade), Celeste M. (cello – 12th grade), Ellen M. (violin - 10th grade), and Nikitas T. (viola – 10th grade) participated in the Symphonic Orchestra. Amanda R. (voice – 12th grade) participated in the Mixed Chorus. Melissa D. (voice – 11th grade) and Ellen K. (voice – 10th grade) participated in the Women’s Chorale. Participants are chosen from the highest rated music students in Rockland County and five nearby counties based on NYSSMA competition scores held each year. Competition is very intense and generally students must have received scores of 100 or 99 to be accepted. This year, students set a new record for TZHS. As a reflection of their hard work and determination and after full rounds of seating auditions for each section of the Symphonic Orchestra, Vivian L. was awarded principal viola. Ellen M. was awarded principal second violin. Ellen L. was awarded Concert Master (principal first violin). And Andy C. was appointed principal clarinet based on his perfect NYSSMA All-State score of 100.

Athletic News! Eight of the nine Fall varsity SOCSD teams qualified as NYS Scholar Teams.  In order to qualify, the teams academic average for the season must be 90% or higher.  We truly have Student athletes, says Director of Athletics, Liam Frawley.

The 2007 Halfmoon Yearbook "Prime Time" won the Gold Award in the ESSPA Competition (Empire State Scholastic Publication Association Awards)   Amy C., 2007's Halfmoon Editor in Chief also won a Silver Award for Theme Presentation along with Honorable Mention Awards for Divider Pages and Student Life Spread!   Congratulations to Amy, now graduated and the Halfmoon Staff!

Tappan Zee High School AP Scholar Awards 76 students and alumnae 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. Students took AP Exams in May 2007 after completing challenging college-level courses. The College Board recognized several levels of achievement based on students’ performance on AP Exams. 18 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. 18 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. 18 students qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams. 40 students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP Exams, with grades of 3 or higher. TZHS Brings Home the Literary Gold, Silver AND Bronze TZHS' Literary magazine, Tones, had another exceptional year at the Empire State Scholastic Press Awards (ESSPA) sponsored by Syracuse University.  Awards are given as Gold, Silver, Bronze and Honorable Mentions. TZHS had winners in the following categories: Fiction Bronze:  “White Man’s Guilt” Honorable Mention:  “The Ardent Consummation of My Ardor” Non-Fiction Gold:  “My Buddy” Poetry Bronze:  "Regicide” Honorable Mention: Emily Aitken (Class of 2007), “Untitled I: I love to feel when all I feel is this...”   Use of the Image Silver: “Life Through Hands” Honorable Mention:  “Same As You” Most Improved Publication Gold: Staff, Tones

TZHS Scores Big at Rockland County Math League Meet In the first meeting of the Rockland County Math League held at Ramapo HS on October 15, 2007, the TZHS Math Team started off the 2007-08 year with an impressive performance.  The only perfect score of 6 was achieved by TZHS Freshman Min J.  Sophomore Ted K. tied for 2nd place with a 5.  Seniors Michael C., Natasha M. and Jack Y. each scored a 4 placing them on the high scoring list.