FROM THE HEART • Spring 2015
Blendors Rock Disney
PE award recipients Fifth graders Julie Lyden, Justin Silva, Isabella Leite and Luke Losito have been selected to receive the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (NYSAHPERD) annual physical education award. The four were selected by their physical education teachers for demonstrating leadership, sportsmanship and good citizenship in physical education class. They will be recognized at a ceremony next month.
PTA ‘Reflections’ winners “The World Would Be a Better Place If …” was the theme of the 2015 National PTA Reflections Program that encourages student creativity in the areas of visual art, photography, music, dance, film and literature. Elementary students submitted original work to be judged on the school level. Winners are: Photography: Ava DiSalvo* (grade 5) photo titled “Happiness” Literature: Ava Raguso* (grade 2) writing piece titled “The World Would Be a Better Place If …” Jon Paul Cerone (grade 3), writing piece titled “My Solution, No More Pollution” Visual Arts: Gavin Malone (grade 3), drawing titled “Roller Coasters to School” Thomas Fiskaa* (grade 2), drawing titled “Protect Our Waters”
Back row: Kiera Torpie, Analisa Caso, Lauren Sugantino, Erika Pennini, Ryan Murphy, Kyle Empey, Joe Tagarelli, Aidan Glendon, Billy Reeves, Sophie Epstein, Katarina Maric, Stephanie Rizzo. Front row: Gabbi Lia, Katie Cullen, Lauren Martelli, Stanford Bennett, Martin Mundackal, Mark Lariosa, Mat O’Brien, Larry Gardner, Carina Papa, Olivia Schettino, Rina Manginelli and Liz Melito.
Music: Gianna Rotunno* (grade 5), composition titled “The New World.” Julia Ostroff (grade 2), composition titled “Together” Honorable mentions in Visual Arts went to: Giuliana Malaj (grade 1) and Jason Papini (kindergarten). * These students had their work go on to the next level of competition.
New Eagle Scout Senior Larry Gardner earned the rank of Eagle Scout this year with the Boy Scouts of America. A member of the Westlake Players theater group, Larry’s project benefitted Westlake High School’s thespian program through his construction of shelving Larry and stalls to organize and Gardner create easy access to the prop room and storage areas behind the stage.
Animal lovers and helpers Members of Westlake Middle School’s All Fours on Paws Club held a bake sale and raised over $100 for the Briarcliff SPCA. The club does various activities throughout the year to raise money and awareness of the importance of pet adoption. Earlier this year the club also held a blanket/toy drive for the animal shelter.
ALUMNI CORNER
Westlake’s select choral group Blendors placed second in the jazz choir category at Festival Disney, a national music competition held March 19-21 at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The Blendors garnered a “superior rating” from the judges for their performance of “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To,” The Way You Look Tonight,” and “Everybody’s Boppin.” After the competition, the group was treated to a vocal workshop with Delisa Dean, a Julliard trained singer and teaching artist who performs with The Voices of Liberty at EPCOT. The following day, the Blendors hit the recording studio and recorded two songs from Disney’s “The Lion King.” “The students performed well at the competition and represented Westlake both musically and as a terrific group of high school students,” said Blendors director Liz Melito.
2014 Kiersten Leone, a freshman at Towson University in Towson, Maryland, made the deans list for the first semester. Deans list at Towson requires a minimum GPA of 3.5. Kiersten has successfully completed 16 credits. Gerald Alfieri, a freshman at Keene State in New Hampshire and Conor Glendon, a freshman at Providence College in Rhode Island, achieved the rank of Eagle Scout at a ceremony held on January 4, at the Thornwood American Legion. For his Eagle project, Gerald used his appreciation of the arts to create a “Window of Intentions,” at Rosary Hill Home to promote art as a form of healing. Conor’s project to beautify the entrance at Stonegate Park in Valhalla included building a vehicle barrier and plantings.
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Hey alums! Will you be graduating college in May? Did you earn recognition at school or land a new job? Share your success with us! Send alumni information to efarrell@mtplcsd.org.
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