irvington
Main Street School Names Spelling Bee Champions
Fourth and fifth graders competed to claim the title of Main Street School’s best spellers during the 13th annual Spelling Bee championship, held January 10.
Eighty-three fourth graders and 55 fifth graders participated in the pre-bee qualifying round. The top scorers from each grade – 21 fourth graders and 21 fifth graders – were named finalists and earned a spot in the schoolwide spelling bee competition.
“We recognize and congratulate all of the students who took a risk to try out for the Spelling Bee,” Principal Joyce Chapnick said. “We are very proud of all of the students who participated.”
After nine rounds, the fourth grade winning title went to Abigail Speis, while Layla DaCosta was named runner-up. The winner of the fifth grade spelling bee, which lasted for 10 rounds, was Zoe Lang, while Oonagh Brandon was named runner-up.
Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow
School of Excellence Named
John Paulding School has been named a 2019-2021 National PTA School of Excellence. To earn this designation, John Paulding, in partnership with the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns PTA, demonstrated it welcomed and empowered families to support student success and school improvements during the course of the 2018-2019 school year. The area of improvement John Paulding pursued was the arts.
The school was one of only 15 schools in New York to receive this designation for the 2019-2021 period, and it is the only School of Excellence named in Westchester County.
Hackley
Students Win Ethics Bowl
On January 19, four Hackley students represented Hackley at the New York City Regional Competition for the 2020 National High School Ethics Bowl and won first place.
Kiriann Fitzpatrick (11th), Greg Occhiogrosso (11th), Daniel Cai (10th), and Ava Lattimore (9th) represented Hackley at the event, which was Hackley’s first time participating in such a competition.
The Ethics Bowl has been around in the college world for some time, but has only recently developed a high school version of the program. The competition is a highly competitive and specialized deep dive into philosophical reasoning about ethical dilemmas.
The students’ accomplishment is particularly noteworthy given that they won the bowl without the benefit of class time or other forms of long-term preparation. The team only came together in mid-December and worked hard to prepare despite the limited time. The first-place win qualifies the team for playoff rounds that could see them traveling to the national competition in April at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Master’s School
Athletes Set Records in Track
A pair of indoor track school records were broken at the Ivy League Prep Schools Meet at the Armory Track & Field Center in New York City on January 13.
Camille Smith, Class of 2022, ran a blistering time of 7.82 seconds in the 55 meters, smashing the previous record that was set back in 2012. Smith finished fifth in the event overall.
Judah Francella, Class of 2020, meanwhile, clocked in with an impressive time of 8.11 seconds to secure a new record in the 55 meter hurdles. He took second overall in the event.
Additional Top 10 girls’ finishers:
- Camille Smith – 300 meters, 6th place, 46.31
Additional Top 10 boys’ finishers:
- Judah Francella – High jump, 3rd place, 5-06.00
- Sabian Grier ’20 – 600 meters, 5th place, 1:31.135
- Lance Leys ’22 – Shot put, 5th place, 31-05.25
- Dorian Gilmartin ’20 – 300 meters, 6th place, 37.81
- Aidan Lothian ’21 – 1600 meters, 10th place, 4:55.04
Dobbs Ferry
Springhurst Student Wins Cabbage Contest
Keric Roach, a third grade student at Springhurst Elementary School in the Dobbs Ferry School District, was named the New York State winner in the National Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program. Roach was randomly selected by the New York Agriculture Department after growing a large cabbage and will receive a $1,000 savings bond.
This year, more than one million third graders in the 48 contiguous states have gotten hands-on gardening experience, growing colossal cabbages with high hopes to win “best in state” and receive the accompanying prize.
In 1996, Bonnie Plants initiated the 3rd Grade Cabbage Program in and around headquarters in Union Springs, Alabama, with a mission to inspire a love of vegetable gardening in young people and continue to “grow” the next generation of gardeners. By 2002, the Cabbage Program became a national endeavor.
Read or leave a comment on this story...