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Some of the outstanding accomplishments of
our Roslyn students & staff
2006-07
East Hills Principal Dr. Edward A. Salina, Jr. addresses the graduates and their families at the Moving-Up Ceremony on June 18 at Roslyn High School.
Harbor Hill Principal Mary Liguori congratulates students at their Moving-Up Ceremony on June 20 at Roslyn High School.
Roslyn Middle School students celebrate at their graduation ceremony on June 21 at Hofstra University.
Roslyn High School's Class of 2007 celebrated the school's 101st commencement at the Tilles Center on June 23.
Click here to see the program from the 101st Commencement of Roslyn High School held on Saturday, June 23, 2007. The program includes all the awards and honors earned by the members of the graduating class.
Where are they headed? See the next story...
In a year widely acknowledged to be perhaps the most competitive ever for college admissions, Roslyn seniors have been accepted in large numbers at many outstanding colleges and universities. These strong admissions results indicate that Roslyn High School graduates continue to be among the most sought-after students by college admissions officers.
These are the schools that members of the graduating class plan to attend in the fall of 2007:
Adelphi University
American University
University of Arizona
Barnard College
Baruch College
Berkeley College of NYC
Boston University
Brown University
Bucknell University
University of California/Berkeley
California Baptist University
University of Central Florida
City University
Columbia University
Cornell University
University of Delaware
Duke University
Emerson College
Emory University
Fordham University
The George Washington University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Goucher College
University of Hartford
Hofstra University
Hunter College
Indiana University
Institute of Audio Research
Ithaca College
Johns Hopkins University
LaGuardia Community College of the CUNY
Lake Tahoe Community College
Lehigh University
Lynn University
Manhattanville College
Marist College
University of Maryland/College Park
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of Massachusetts/Amherst
McGill University
Miami University
University of Miami
University of Michigan
Moravian College
Muhlenberg College
Nassau Community College
New York Institute of Technology
New York University
University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill
Northeastern University
Oberlin College
The Ohio State University
Pace University
Parsons School of Design
University of Pennsylvania
Plattsburgh State University
Princeton University
Providence College
Queens College
Queensborough Community College
Quinnipiac University
University of Rhode Island
University of San Francisco
Skidmore College
University of Southern California
St. JohnÕs University
SUNY Albany
SUNY Binghamton
SUNY Buffalo
SUNY Buffalo State
SUNY College at Cobleskill
SUNY College at Cortland
SUNY College at Geneseo
SUNY Morrisville
SUNY College at Old Westbury
SUNY College at Oneonta
SUNY Delhi
SUNY at Farmingdale
SUNY Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome
SUNY Oswego
SUNY Stony Brook
Syracuse University
University of Texas/Austin
Union College
Vanderbilt University
Vassar College
Washington University in St. Louis
West Virginia University
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Dhruv Vasishtha of Roslyn High School has been honored for his exemplary volunteer service with a President's Volunteer Service Award. The award, which recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country, was presented by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program on behalf of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. Dhruv participated in the Spirit of Community program this year as a representative of Roslyn High School, and earned his award by volunteering and teaching at a school in a rural, impoverished province of India two summers ago. He implemented a Socratic Humanities program and reformed Health Policies, Educational Curriculum, and Teacher/Student relationships at the Delhi Public School in the province of Rewari, India.
Sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program recognizes young people across America for outstanding community service activities. More than 200,000 young people across America have been considered for these awards since the program began in 1995.
Thirty-four Roslyn students from Roslyn Middle School and Roslyn High School won medals at the Long Island Math Fair held at Hofstra University on April 27. The eighth grade winners from Roslyn Middle School were Jacob Benatar, Gold; Scott Gladstone, Gold; Arjun Kumar, Gold; Paige Mintz, Silver; Sarah Pak, Silver; Kevin Sherwin, Bronze; Andrew Tack, Silver; and Bobby Yeturu, Gold.
The Roslyn High School ninth grade medal winners were: Alexa D'Ambra, Bronze; Lara Elowsky, Silver; Nikola Hadzibabic, Silver; Samantha Halpern, Gold; Brian Jeong, Bronze; Sharona Khaneyan, Silver; Andrew Kim, Silver; Jennifer Kim, Silver; Aaron Levine, Silver; Lindsay Mandel, Silver; Joshua Mayourian, Bronze; Zach Reisner, Bronze; and Max Rubin, Gold.
The tenth grade medal winners were: Samantha Batel, Gold; Thomas Pfrang, Silver; Justin Shapiro, Silver; Jourdan Urbach, Gold; Stephanie Wang, Gold; and Kevin Xu, Gold.
The eleventh grade medal winner was Jennifer Batel, Gold.
The twelfe grade medal winners were Lindsay DerAris, Bronze; Alan Feldman, Bronze; Steven Fletcher, Gold; Jacqueline, Goldman, Silver; Spencer Levy, Bronze; and Jake Novick, Bronze.
Three Roslyn Middle School students were the top winners in the annual Americanism Essay Contest sponsored by the BPO Elks Lodge. The top three winners were Jennifer Studley, first place; Claudia Arnoldo, second place; and Drew Miller, third place. The students were honored at an awards breakfast held on May 5. The essay theme this year was "Why I Am Proud to be an American." The eighth grade students are in Mrs. Kanis' social studies class at the Roslyn Middle School.
Mrs. Kanis and Mrs. Manzone's eighth grade students from the Roslyn Middle School participated in The Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County annual contest. The topic was "Unknown Heroes of the Holocaust: Ordinary People Who Made a Difference." Contestants could submit pieces in either art or literature form. Bryan Villaman, Andrew Cohen and Jennifer Studley were honored for their artwork and Melissa Edelblum for a literary piece.
Roslyn High School junior Alec Doherty received the second place award in poetry in the recent Barnes and Noble Writing Contest. Alec created his first draft of the winning poem in Mrs. Arnold's Creative Writing class.
Roslyn High School junior Brian Sherwin has been accepted to the Telluride Summer Program, a scholarship program for worthy high school students. Brian, an English Independent Study student mentored by Daniel Jamieson, was chosen from over 870 candidates. He will be attending a six-week humanities-based program at Cornell University taught by English and Romance Studies faculty members.
Roslyn High School sophomore Jourdan Urbach was named a National Winner of the prestigious Prudential Spirit of Community Award. The award represents the United States' largest youth recognition program based on humanitarian service to America. Jourdan was nominated by the Juilliard School, where he is a student in the Pre-College Division, for his national music and humanitarian endeavors and was chosen from among 20,000 nominees. The award included an $11,000 scholarship, $5,000 of which will be donated to the charity of his choice.
Jourdan has raised over 1.3 million dollars for medical organizations and research involved with neurological disease through his benefit performances at major concert venues across the nation. All proceeds from Jourdan's concerts have been donated to such medical organizations as: The National 
Multiple Sclerosis Society: Long Island Chapter, Greater New Jersey Chapter, Upstate New York Chapter, Lone Star Chapter, Rochester Chapter, The Children's Hearing Institute, the Institute for Music and Neurological Function, Beth Israel Medical Center's Hyman-Newman Institute for Neurology and Neuroscience, and Mott Children's Hospital at University of Michigan's Medical Center.
The National Prudential Spirit Award is only one of a number of honors Jourdan received this year, including winning the Gold Medal at Math Fair for his 4th consecutive year and winning first place in the Rohm Haas Science Competition in the category of Biology. Jourdan was also National First Place Winner of the NASA Explorer Video Podcast Competition: Space Telemedicine in Our Future; First Place Winner of the New York State March of Dimes Essay Competition; winner of Best Project in Optics Engineering at NYSSEF; was published in Teen Ink; and was invited to become a member of the National Society of High School Scholars.
Pictured: Jourdan Urbach with Senator Hillary Clinton in Washington, DC where he received the Prudential Spirit of Community Award.
Four Roslyn High School students in the Class of 2007 have been selected to receive a National Merit Scholarship. The students are Erica Berck, Alexander Czik, Samantha Fishbein, and Max Golden. They are among 2,500 winners of $2,500 scholarship out of 1.4 million eligible students nationwide. In addition to the four scholarship winners, two other Roslyn seniors were previously named as finalists in the National Merit Scholarship program, Brianne Karten and Michael Schneider.
The Roslyn High School Chapter of the National Honor Society inducted 71 new members into its ranks this year in a special induction ceremony on April 19, 2007. The students are Alex Abedine, Rachel Abeles, Marcel Afrahim, Evan Babazadeh, Parisa Bagheri, Jennifer Batel, Melanie Beatus, Hallie Bendell, Austin Bernhardt, Pooja Bhardwaj, Lauren Borowick, Andrew Catalano, Lisa Cervia, David Chase, Samantha Cheirif, Sarah Chung, Bradley Cohn, Rebecca Cooper, Robert D'Ambra, Dona Danialzadeh, Yun Deng, Alexander Daniels, Alison Farber, Allan Feldman, Scott Floam, Brandon Florio, Alexandra Foukalas, Madeline Friedman, Arielle Gajer, Elyssa Goldberg, Alex Goldklang, Rachel Golian,
Elizabeth Greenwald, Adam Ilowite, Eric Imperato, Jenna Kahn, Brittany Katz, Ilana Kersch, Raymond Kim, Samantha Krieger, Margot Leeds, Samantha Lefland, Rebecca Lomazow, Brittany Marshak, Jocelyn Meng, Samantha Merker, Jee Min, Pegah Moosazadeh, Jennifer Nauheim, Elyssa Nemetzsky, Rachel Park, Alexander Pascale, Bari Pelton, Ana Perlstein, Sam Radutzky, Amy Ramirez, Marvi Rizwan, Alexis Shaw, Amanda Rosales, Melissa Rubin, Brian Sherwin, Aaron Shipper, Sarah Sincoff, Alysia Siegel, Jacqueline Slatky, David Sloane, Lauren Slutsky, Sara Tazari, Jessica Thaler, Jonathan White and Bo Young Yoon. The faculty advisors are Jean Bishop and Constantine Stamidis.
Roslyn students won the Best Delegation Award at the Columbia University Model Congress on Saturday, March 31. The Best Delegation honor goes to the school whose students were the best prepared and who spoke best during the tournament. Prior to the conference, each Roslyn student researched and wrote a piece of legislation. Topics ranged from militarizing the U.S.-Mexico border to signing the Kyoto Protocol to banning abstinence-only sex education. At the congress, students argued their bills in topic-specific committees (e.g., Foreign Affairs, Health and Education). The bills that passed through committee were then debated in full sessions of the House or Senate.
A number of Roslyn students garnered awards for their speaking prowess. In full session, freshman Kevin Xu was named the Best Speaker and junior Nissa Ostroff-Moskowitz received an Honorable Mention. In their respective committees, juniors Austin Bernhardt and Nissa Ostroff-Moskowitz and freshman Geetika Rudra all earned the Best Speaker award. Honorable Mentions were awarded to juniors David Hollander and Ben Wasserman, while sophomores Samantha Dorin and Sam Vitello received Verbal Commendations.
Roslyn High School senior Jessica Nussbaum was a second place winner in the Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The award carries a $35,000 scholarship.
Ten finalists from each of six U.S. regions were invited to Washington, DC the weekend of April 14 to present their research. Roslyn had two students participate in the final round of competition, as senior Michael Schneider was also a finalist. Both Roslyn finalists were mentored by Dr. Allyson Weseley, Roslyn's Coordinator of Secondary Research.
Roslyn also had three of this year's semifinalists: Samantha Fishbein, Samantha Goldstein, and Jordan Meltzer. Over 700 students submitted papers to this contest this year; the top 60 were named finalists and the next 60 were named semifinalists.
Roslyn High School is no stranger to success in this competition. In 2005, Jessica Cohen took home one of the $50,000 first prizes and last year Erica Berck was a national finalist, winning a $15,000 prize.
Board of Education Trustee Meryl Waxman Ben-Levy was selected as one of the honorees for the Town of North Hempstead's 2007 May W. Newburger Women's Roll of Honor. Ms. Ben-Levy (second from right) is pictured accepting congratulations from Supervisor Jon Kaiman, Town Clerk Michelle Schimel, and Councilman Tom Dwyer at the Women's Roll of Honor breakfast held March 22.
Jenna Kahn, a junior at Roslyn High School, has won a First Place Award in the Medicine and Health category of the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair (LISEF) and will compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) which will be held in Albuquerque, NM this May. LISEF is one of Long Island's most competitive science fairs; only 32 students out of over 400 students who competed made it to ISEF. Jenna's behavioral medicine study is entitled "When the Third Degree Is Necessary: Do Pediatricians Obtain Enough Information to Detect Patients At Risk for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM)?".
The top one-quarter of projects at LISEF receive Grand Awards, and 5 other Roslyn students also were among them. Fangfei Shen garnered a 2nd Place Award in the Earth and Space Science Category. In the Behavioral Science Category, Raymond Kim and Lucas Neill earned Third Place Awards, and Jessica Nussbaum received an Honorable Mention. In the Team Category, Dhruv Vasishtha and Brian Lee of Manhasset also received an Honorable Mention. In addition, a number of Roslyn students earned awards given by various associations and organizations. These students were: Evan Babazadeh, Jessica Nussbaum, Amy Ramirez, and Fangfei Shen.
Roslyn High School's Distributive Education Club of America (DECA) students won accolades in the 2007 New York State DECA competition held in Rochester March 7-9. The students and their categories placed as follows: Rikki Studley, Business and Marketing Law, Third place in New York State, Top 10 for test, Top 10 roleplay 1, Top 10 roleplay 2, and Top 10 overall; Julie Goldman, Career and Finance, Third place in New York State, Top 10 for test, Top 10 roleplay 1, Top 10 roleplay 2, Top 10 overall; Michael Kleinman, Wholesale Selling, Top 10 overall; Jacob Shulman, Business Services Marketing, Top 10 roleplay 2; Nancy Rosenblum, Apparel and Accessories Marketing, Top 10 for test; Aaron Levine and Sam Heyman, Travel and Tourism Management team, Top 10 roleplay 1; Top 10 overall; and Remi Kent, Hotel and Lodging Management, Top 10 roleplay 1, and Top 10 overall.
Science Chairperson William Esner has been announced as the winner of the March of Dimes New York State Chapter Teachers Award Project grant. Mr. Esner worked with Roslyn High School sophomore Jourdan Urbach to prepare a proposal for developing a project to educate students in advanced biomedical sciences as they relate to preventing birth defects and infant mortality. The project, titled "The Face of Birth Defects," will involve guiding students to write and develop a filmed documentary to serve as an experiential learning project for 9th and 10th graders. Mr. Esner and Jourdan were recognized for their proposal at the March of Dimes Nelson Rosenthal Convocation at New York University on March 13.
Roslyn High School senior Fang Fei Shen is one of 200 nationwide semi-finalists chosen for the 2007 United States Physics Team based upon her performance on a preliminary exam administered by physics teacher Irena Tsarevsky. This is the first time Ms. Tsarevsky has guided a Physics Olympiad team which has achieved such great success. After an upcoming exam, Fang Fei may be selected to become one of 24 students selected to form our national team. The U.S. Physics Team is a group sponsored by the American Association of Physics Teachers of the American Institute of Physics.
Roslyn High School seniors Erica Berck and Michael Shores were awarded first place in their respective categories at the Long Island Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) held March 2 at Adelphi University. Students from across Long Island were invited to submit their research papers to the JSHS. Adelphi professors reviewed the papers and selected approximately half the group to attend the symposium. At the conference, students presented their research in subject-specific groups, which ranged from math to psychology to genetics. Erica was named the winner in the Psychology section, and Michael garnered first place in the Education category.
Erica investigated factors that predict sexual permissiveness in adolescents. She surveyed Roslyn High School students and found that their perceptions of their peers' attitudes were the best predictor of their own attitudes. Interestingly, Erica also found that distant relationships with their fathers predicted permissiveness but that closeness to their mothers was unrelated to sexual permissiveness.
Michael conducted an experiment to see whether teachers' political views could impact teachers' evaluation of their students' written work. College and high school educators from across the country participated in the study via the Internet. They were randomly assigned to read and grade either a liberal or conservative version of an essay about the re-election of George Bush. Michael found that educators tend to give higher grades to essays that agreed with their own political views. This tendency was more pronounced among conservative educators, and was not curbed by the use of a rubric.
Both Erica and Michael did their work in-house at Roslyn High School with Dr. Allyson Weseley as their mentor.
The Concerned Citizens for Roslyn Youth, Inc. celebrated Black History Month on February 24 by honoring Vanessa Grey, Roslyn High School Guidance Counselor and Coordinator of the Roslyn High School Bridging the Gap Mentor program. Janice Miles, Executive Director of Concerned Citizens for Roslyn Youth, Inc, presented Vanessa Grey with a Citation from the Town of North Hempstead/Nassau County on her organization's behalf honoring Ms. Grey for her commitment to Bridging the Gap Mentor Program students. Pictured (left to right) are Dominique Ingram, Courtney Maitland, Janice Miles, Vanessa Grey, and Tarek Shalaby.
Roslyn High School hosted an induction ceremony of the Tri-M Music Honor Society on February 8. The new inductees are Samantha Batel, Sarah Chung, Samantha Dorin, Alison Farber, Zack Fiddle, Katie Goldman, Zach Goldsmith, Brandon Greenberg, Esther Ha, Samantha Halpern, Jonathan Hwang, Anouva Karla-Lall, James Kim, Rachel Korsen, Michelle Lee, Christian Leung, Michael Liepper, Grant Margolin, Lindsay Meyer, Jee-Hong Min, Ariel Pick, Austen Rabbie, Brandon Rabbie, Devin Rossinsky, Max Rubin, Jenna Winston, Sam Vitello, Kevin Xu, and Bo-Young Yoon. Faculty advisor Michael Coffey presided over the ceremony which also included performances by students and a reception following.
Three Roslyn High School students were selected to receive the Young Women of Achievement Award from the Long Island National Organization for Women. They are Samantha Fishbein, Lindsay Der Aris, and Jacqueline Goldman. These young women will be honored at a ceremony and brunch on April 15. The National Organization for Women believes that these young women are not only a testament to their own commitment and hard work, but also to the principals, counselors, coaches and teachers in Nassau County.
Roslyn High School math students performed well in the Nassau County Interscholastic Mathematics League competition on February 2 at SUNY Old Westbury. More than 50 schools and hundreds of students participated. Roslyn math teams placed 6th and 10th in the upper division. The following students placed in the top ten individual scores for each grade level: 12th Grade - Steven Fletcher, 6th Place; 11th Grade - David Herzka, 5th Place; 10th Grade - Stephanie Wang, 6th Place and Ching-Yao Chou, 7th Place; 9th Grade - Zach Goldsmith, 8th Place and Jeanne Park, 10th Place. The faculty advisor is Iftimie Simion.
Members of the East Hills School fourth grade chorus performed for the Board of Education, parents and community members at the January 18 Work Session of the Board of Education held at East Hills School. This was the second in a series of Board meetings been held in the district's schools in order to provide each school with an opportunity to highlight some of its recent program innovations.
The presentations included a PowerPoint show given by Principal Dr. Edward Salina, "A Day in the Life of an East Hills Student", updates on school-wide and grade level Cultural Arts events and activities given by Assistant Principal Nichole Lewis, information about the Special Education Program including the Continuum of Services and the new Cluster Program given by Teacher Victoria Schnittger. Other speakers included teachers addressing the many areas of the curriculum that provide School-Wide Enrichment including Art, Shari Wexler; Library, Nancy Boyd; Science, Ellen Haas; Physical Education, Andrew Demakopoulos, Technology, Kimberly Murphy; and Music, Joanne Santodonato, Frank Cifali and Iris Ziporkin.
In addition to the fourth grade chorus, directed by Ms. Santodonato, the East Hills Orchestra also performed, led by Mr. Cifali, to the delight of the standing-room only audience.
Forty-four students from the Roslyn School District performed in the 2007 All County Student Festivals that took place in January at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts.
From East Hills School:
Joshua Goldenberg, Chorus;
Anvit Kalra-Lall, Viola, Orchestra;
Olivia Kung, Flute, Band;
Eric Liu, Violin, Orchestra; and
Daniel Rich, Chorus.
From Harbor Hill School:
Emilia Bunich, Chorus;
Amy Jung, Flute, Band;
Samantha Moon, Clarinet, Band;
Julius Noya, Violin, Orchestra; and
Anastasia Tsolis, Chorus.
From Roslyn Middle School:
Adam Bendell, Baritone, Chorus;
Jonathan Goldberg, Chorus;
Melissa Goldstein, Chorus;
Benjamin Kim, Cello, Orchestra;
Michelle Kung, Clarinet, Band;
Nancy Liu, Viola, Orchestra;
Katelyn McNelis, Soprano, Chorus;
Alanna Schaffer, Chorus;
Michael Song, Clarinet, Band;
Isabel Strobing, Oboe, Band;
Nicole Sweet, Chorus;
Justin Tepper, Tenor Saxophone, Band;
Meera Vasishtha, Soprano, Chorus; and
Dulcie Xue, Flute, Band.
From Roslyn High School:
Andrew Catalano, Tenor, Mixed Chorus;
Alec Cohen, Clarinet, Orchestra;
Alex Czik, Bass, Mixed Chorus;
Robert D'Ambra, Trumpet, Band;
Thomas Eyerman, Bass, Chorus;
Matt Gold Viola, Orchestra;
Alex Goldklang, Alto Saxophone, Jazz Band;
Jacqueline Goldman, Flute, Band;
Zachary Goldsmith, Trumpet, Band;
Emily Hauser, Alto, Mixed Chorus;
Sasha Hiller, Soprano, Womens Chorus;
Anouva Kalra-Lall, Viola Orchestra;
Michelle Lee, Alto, Chorus;
Lindsay Meyer, Alto, Chorus;
Melody Noya, Violin 2, Orchestra;
Trisha Nussbaum, Alto, Chorus;
Max Rubin, Tenor, Chorus;
James Rubinowitz, Bass, Chorus;
Fangfei Shen, Violin 1, Orchestra; and
Bo-Young Yoon, Cello, Orchestra.
The music teachers are
Frank Cifali,
Joanne Santodonato and
Iris Ziporkin from East Hills School;
Kathleen Miller and
Theresa Nardo from Harbor Hill School;
Tammy Breitman,
Robert Gazzo,
Steven Malinofsky and
Jacqueline Martin from Roslyn Middle School; and
Michael Coffey,
Brad Frey and
Patrick Patterson
Samantha's project, "When Don't Means Do: The Impact of Antismoking Advertising on Students" is the culmination of two years of work, all of it conducted at at Roslyn High School where she was mentored by Dr. Weseley. Her study revealed that students exposed to an actual anti-smoking advertisement reported more positive attitudes toward smoking than students who did not view an advertisement. While unfortunate, this finding is not surprising due to a phenomenon known as psychological reactance.
Roslyn High School has had at least one semifinalist in this competition in 26 of the last 27 years. As an Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist, Samantha will receive a $1000 scholarship.
These students were winners in their categories:
The following students received Honorable Mentions in their categories:
The faculty advisor for DECA is Phyllis Granat.
Advisor Jeri Malloy is very proud of the team which on December 9, at the Speech Tournament at Baldwin High School, brought home a third place Sweepstakes Trophy and had two second place winners, Max Todd and Anna Ceraulo-Jalazo. There were also three third place winners, Tom Roccotagliata, Pegah Moosazadeh and Susie Jeong, and an eighth place finalist, Samantha Schwartz.
PICTURED: Team members Seyi Akinboboye and Danielle Arouty, along with Head Coach Marc Hattem, Assistant Coach Andy Demakopoulos and Athletic Director Dr. Mira Martincich, came to the Board of Education meeting on February 1 to thank the Board for its support of the team.
It was an educational trip for the students, as well, as they visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, which includes the Ebenezer Baptist Church, and other sites during their visit.
The trip to Atlanta capped an extraordinary season for the marching band — click here to read more.
Students have been accepted into Barnard College, Boston University, Brown University, Bucknell University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Duke University, Emory University, George Washington University, Lehigh University, University of Miami, New York University, Oberlin College, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, Skidmore College, Syracuse University, Union College, Washington University in St. Louis, West Virginia University and Yale University.
The number of students accepted into college will grow in the coming weeks and months as the high school is notified of additional admissions decisions. Typically, well over 90 percent of Roslyn's graduates are accepted into college through both early and regular admissions procedures which are completed in the spring of each year.
This remarkable achievement was celebrated at the Fall Sports Awards dinner on December 4, where the accomplishments of all of Roslyn High School's fall athletes and their teams were recognized. Several hundred students, parents, coaches and other staff members attended the dinner in the high school cafeteria.
Some highlights of the fall season include:
This year's the conductor was Steven Melillo, a world-reknowned composer who rehearsed and performed three of his new works with the All-State band. Alec also plays clarinet in the Nassau-Suffolk Honor Wind Symphony, the Nassau All County Orchestra, as well as first chair clarinet in the Roslyn Wind Ensemble. He is also the president of the Roslyn Marching Band.
The Scholarship Committee's first Achievement Award was presented by Chairperson Minnie Gibbs to Melissa Cisco, a past scholarship recipient who is now a successful attorney (pictured below).
In addition, there was a memorial tribute for the late Rev. Philip Mann, who was tragically killed last spring. Rev. Mann had been an award recipient, presenter and guest speaker at this event over the years. His sister, Asenath Anderson, accepted a special citation from Henry Simpson on behalf of their family (pictured below). Fay Leavy, who died earlier this year, was also remembered as a long-time supporter of the Scholarship Fund who was regularly in attendance at the annual dinner.
Pictured (top left): Members of the Marching Bulldogs proudly displayed their second place plaque at the Board of Education meeting on December 14. The students thanked the district for its support of the program and described their upcoming trip to Atlanta where they will perform in the Peach Bowl festivities over the holiday recess. (PHOTO COURTESY OF JOE BATEL)
Pictured (middle right): The Marching Bulldogs in the Homecoming parade on September 16.
For more information about the band, go to www.roslynband.com.
Of this year's award recipients at Roslyn High School, 59 were still juniors. These students have at least one more year in which to complete college-level work, and possibly earn another AP Scholar Award.
Pictured with Superintendent of Schools Gerard W. Dempsey (left) and Roslyn High School Principal Kevin Scanlon (right) are the six semifinalists: Samantha Fishbein, Alexander Czik, Max Golden, Michael Schneider, Brianne Karten and Erica Berck.
In addition to the four monetary awards given out, the APF/TOPSS awarded two students Honorable Mention recognitions. Both of these students are from Roslyn High School, also members of the Class of 2006: Andrew Forrest and Amy Lee.
Roslyn High School's psychology students have enjoyed considerable success in this contest in previous years, with one of the four national winners a Roslyn student ever since 2000.
At the Speech/Congress Tournament at Hofstra University on Saturday, January 20, Tom Roccotagliata came in second in Drama Interpretation and received a 1/2 qualification. This plus the 1/2 qualification he received a few weeks ago make him eligible to go to Albany in April to compete in the New York State Forensic Tournament along with Anna Ceraulo-Jalapo and Max Todd, who qualified earlier this month. Also, Samantha Schwartz came out number one in Oral Interpretation. She also received a 1/2 qualification. At the next tournament on Feb. 3, Speech Eliminations, all students have the opportunity to receive full qualifications and go on to state championships.
Roslyn High School senior Samantha Fishbein was named a semifinalist in the 66th Intel Science Talent Search. Three hundred semifinalists were selected from over 1700 entrants nationwide in this prestigious competition. "It's very rewarding to have my work result in being a semifinalist. Everyone works very hard on their projects; I feel really lucky," said Samantha. Dr. Allyson J. Weseley, Roslyn's Coordinator of Secondary Research, echoed these sentiments. "It's a great honor, and I'm so happy for Sami. I'm also extremely pleased with and proud of the efforts of all our other entrants."
The website of the Marching Bulldogs, created by Band Director Pat Patterson, is being featured in the month of January on the Showcase of Notes at schoolnotes.com. The website's address is roslynband.com.
Roslyn High School's Distributive Educational Club of America (DECA) participated in the Regional DECA Competition at Nassau Community College on Saturday, January 6, 2007. The winners from this contest will be going on to the state competition in Rochester.
Nancy Rosenblum, Apparel and Accessories Marketing
Seth Levine and Jacob Shulman, Business Services Marketing
Tracey Kitaeff, Food Marketing Associate Level
Emily Seyburn, Food Marketing Management Level
Remi Kent and Sydney Berger, Hotel and Lodging Management Services
Jeff Baxt, Sports and Entertainment Marketing
Jake Lisogorsky and Andrew Sherman, Sports and Entertainment Management Team Decision
Aaron Levine and Sam Heyman, Travel and Tourism Management Team Decision
Dara Bernstein and Amanda Ryman, Job Interview
Scott Floam, Michael Kleinman, Katie Goldman and Amanda Katlowitz, Wholesale Selling
Sam Barach, Apparel and Accessories Marketing
Spencer Schwartz, Business Services Marketing
Ruby Yip, Retail Merchandising Associate Level
Ben Mayo and Jordan Richman, Buying and Merchandising Management
Matthew Bernstein, Job Interview
Roslyn High School's Forensic Speech students participated in the Chaminade Invitational Speech Tournament, an extremely prestigious and difficult competition, on January 6, 2007. The finest schools on Long Island and New York City participated and the competition was strong. Two students, Max Todd and Anna Ceraulo-Jalazo qualified in the Duo Interpretation category to compete in Albany in April in the New York State Speech Tournament. Najia Hussain and Jennifer Batel received Honorable Mention in their categories of Dramatic Interpretation and Oral Interpretation.
Roslyn High School's P.A.C. (Principal's Advisory Council for Preventing Prejudice) received a $6,000 grant from the Anti-Defamation League. Twenty-five students were given the opportunity to participate in a three-day training program led by A World Of Difference Institute. P.A.C. invited students from Bridging the Gap and the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) to join in this experience. The students were taught many exercises and strategies that deal with bias issues. Every student now understands that they have the power to change our community in hopes of creating a better and more peaceful environment. Pictured: Facilitators Mamie Thompson and Denise Ham with students during a training session in January.
The Roslyn High School Girls' Varsity Basketball Team enjoyed a first-ever Holiday Basketball Tournament in the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida from December 26-31 during the holiday recess. The team was sponsored in large part by the Roslyn Booster Basketball Club and the generosity of donors. The girls placed second in their competitive bracket during the tournament, playing schools from Oklahoma, Florida, Connecticut and Virginia. The team was led by coaches Andrew Demakopoulos and Timothy Dumpson, who commended our student-athletes for their competitive spirit, camaraderie, and total cooperation and respect for everyone they came in contact with during the week. Our thanks are also extended to the Roslyn parents who voluntarily accompanied the team to serve as additional chaperones.
During the recent holiday recess, the Roslyn High School Marching Bulldogs under the leadership of band director Pat Patterson, traveled to Atlanta to perform in the Chick-fil-A Bowl (formerly known as the Peach Bowl) festivities. The band played "Firestar" and "On Broadway" as they marched through the streets of Atlanta to the cheers of tens of thousands of Virginia Tech and University of Georgia fans lining the parade route. Along with 2,000 other high school musicians from around the country, our students were cheered on by 72,000 fans in the Georgia Bowl during the pre-game and half-time shows.
At least 46 high school seniors have been notified that they have been accepted into college by early decision or early action single choice, continuing Roslyn students' outstanding record of college admissions, announced Roslyn High School in December.
Every varsity team attained the Scholar/Athlete Team Award this fall: boys' cross country, girls' cross country, football, boys' golf, boys' soccer, girls' soccer, girls' tennis and girls' volleyball. In addition, 165 individual students achieved the designation of Scholar Athlete.
Roslyn High Schools Christopher Dembia and Danielle Arouty have been honored with a nomination for the prestigious Wendy's High School Heisman Award. The program, awarded in conjunction with the collegiate Heisman, celebrates the achievements of the nation's top high school seniors both in and out of the classroom. Principal Kevin Scanlon nominated these two promising leaders for their academic aptitude, athletic talent and exceptional commitment to their school and communities. "At Roslyn High School, we prepare our students for success by encouraging them to develop in all areas of their lives. Wendy's High School Heisman is the ultimate award we can bestow on our students for their achievements throughout high school," said Mr. Scanlon.
Jourdan Urbach, a sophomore at Roslyn High School, has won first place in the NASA National 21st Century Explorer Pod-cast Competition for his original video pod-cast and script entitled, "The Future of Telemedicine." There were 1,000 submissions by high school science students across the nation. Jourdan's independent science research advisor is Science Teacher Irena Tsarevsky. Jourdan thanks Ms. Tsarevsky and Roslyn High School Science Department Chairman William Esner for their support.
Alec Cohen, a senior at Roslyn High School, was selected to perform in the All State Symphonic Band. This prestigious group performed at the Eastman Theater in Rochester on Sunday, December 3. The band comprises 175 students who were selected out of 8,500 who auditioned. The All State ensembles perform each year and are selected based on NYSSMA solo scores from the previous spring.
Fourth and fifth-grade students at the Harbor Hill School performed for the Board of Education and members of the community at the Board's Work Session on November 30 at Harbor Hill. The Board is holding some of its meetings in the various schools in order to provide each school with an opportunity to highlight some of its recent program innovations for the benefit of the Board and community. The performance was part of a presentation that included updates on the third-grade research and parent research library, presented by Suzanne Gerbosi, the school librarian; fourth and fifth-grade enrichment, presented by teacher Suzanne Falcone; and new computers and internet safety, presented by teacher Amy Braunstein. The chorus was directed by Theresa Nardo. Members of the faculty were introduced by Principal Mary Liguori and Assistant Principal Maureen Berman. The Board will next visit the East Hills School, where it will hold its scheduled work session on January 18.
The 17th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Dinner was at the Swan Club on November 8. In addition to raising several thousand dollars for the second-year scholarship fund, the Scholarship Committee also honored several individuals who have dedicated many years of their lives to the youth of Roslyn. Pictured below (from top left): Asenath Anderson presented an award to Toni Liebman; Norma Perlman introduced honoree Cathleen Mealing; Dick Adelman presented an award to Richard Roth.
Roslyn High School's Marching Bulldogs won 2nd Place in their class at the New York State Field Band Annual Championships at the Syracuse Carrier Dome on the weekend of October 28-29, finishing ahead of 10 of the best bands from all around New York State. The band achieved an unprecedented jump from their last place position at last year's State Championships to their second position this year. This year's Marching Bulldogs also became the largest band in their class, Small School 3, with 123 members, nearly double the size of the 66-member band of two years ago. Over 150 parents and family members from Roslyn made the trek to Syracuse to cheer on the band. Congratulations to the entire band, director Pat Patterson, the Band Fans parent group, and the marching band staff on this incredible achievent.
It had already been a busy and award-winning fall season for the Roslyn High School Marching Bulldogs. On Wednesday evening, October 18, the Band performed this year's program, "The Piano Lesson", for the Newsday Festival at Hofstra Stadium. The Band has wowed local crowds during halftime all season long, including at the winning football game on Saturday afternoon, October 21, after which they went directly off to the Mineola competition at Senator Tully Park on Saturday evening. At that event, the Marching Bulldogs proudly received a very respectable third place award in a competition that included some of the best marching bands of their class in the state. Performances followed on Saturday, October 28 at Phoenix, New York and Sunday, October 29 at New York State Championships.
Roslyn High School student Dhruv Vasishtha was named a semifinalist in the 2006-2007 Siemens Math, Science, and Technology Competition. His faculty advisor is John Kranz.
One hundred and thirty-four current students and recent graduates at Roslyn 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) Examinations. 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 Examinations in May 2006. The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on student's performance on AP exams.
Fourteen Roslyn High School students have been named Commended Students in the 2007 National Merit Scholarship Program. The students are Cole Charnas, Austin Cohen, Alison Cohn, Steven Fletcher, Abbe Goldberg, Jacqueline Goldman, Elizabeth Jacobs, Bobak Moallemi, Tracy Naviasky, Adam Rubin, Fangfei Shen, Jonathan Steinman, Dhruv Vasishtha and Adam Wagner. They are pictured here with Roslyn High School Principal Kevin Scanlon and Director of Guidance Art Mandel.
At a ceremony on September 21, the Roslyn Teacher Center was formally renamed in memory of Laura Adler, who died last spring after a long illness. Laura was a respected and dedicated special education teacher who was greatly admired by colleagues and parents and who made a difference in the lives of countless Roslyn students. She also served as the director of the Teacher Center for many years. Pictured with Center Co-Directors Gloria Daini and Mary Sweeney (front row) are members of Laura's family: her brother, Robert, her son Seth, her husband, Ed, and daughter Jessica.
The Roslyn High School Marching Bulldogs scored a triumphant second-place finish at the New York State Field Band Competition in Brentwood on September 17, their best showing ever in competition. The band finished behind only Malverne High School, which is one of the strongest bands in the state and region. The 123-member marching band is led by Pat Patterson.
Six Roslyn High School seniors were named as semifinalists in this year's National Merit Scholarship Program. These students are among 16,000 nationwide to be named semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors. More than 1.4 million juniors in nearly 21,000 U.S. high schools entered the 2007 National Merit Program by taking the 2005 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). These scholastically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,200 Merit Scholarship awards, worth $33 million, that will be offered next spring.
The high school yearbook, Harbor Hill Light, for 2006 received one of the highest awards from the publisher, Walsworth Publishing Company. The cover has been selected as among the best in the nation and will be showcased by the company on its website throughout the year. Jacob Hollander designed the cover of the 2006 yearbook, entitled "Eyes Wide Open," Brittany Lubman and Spencer Herman were the editors and the faculty advisor was Michael Swanson.
East Hills School Teacher Assistant Carmen Krauss has been designated as one of the "2006 Leaders of Distinction in East Hills" by Village of East Hills Mayor Michael Koblenz. She was among a number of residents "who have helped shape East Hills" honored at the ceremony opening the village's new park on September 4.
Recent graduate Samantha Unger was awarded the Kwik Goal-Andy Caruso Scholarship by the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL). The LIJSL Scholarship Committee presents 19 scholarships each year to the finest student athletes on Long Island. In addition to playing varsity soccer at Roslyn High School, Samantha played at the club level for the Garden City Park Soccer Club and the Albertson Soccer Club.
Christina Tu (Class of '06) tied for First Place in this year's American Psychological Foundation (APF)/Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) Excellence in High School Student Research Competition. The award includes a $1250 cash prize. Christina's project was entitled, "Is Math Just for Boys? Gender Differences in Dropout Rates and Attitudes of Advanced High School Mathematics Students." Dr. Allyson Weseley, Roslyn's Coordinator of Secondary Research, is Christina's mentor.
