Green Vale trio in national rocket contest

In Old Brookville, Green Vale School students rocketed their way to a national stage.

A three-student team from the independent day school was among 100 teams nationwide -- and the sole team from Long Island -- to qualify for the Team American Rocketry Challenge in Virginia on May 14. More than 600 teams attempted to qualify this past winter.

The competition requires student teams to design and build a rocket that will lift off to an altitude of exactly 750 feet during a 40- to 45-second flight. The rocket must carry a raw egg, which has to be returned to the ground, undamaged, by parachute.

"We were over the moon to make it," said Peter Zaloom, a Green Vale science teacher and mentor of the school's rocketry club. "One of my professional goals as a teacher was to get a team in this competition."

To reach the national finals, the Green Vale team -- eighth-graders Stark Johnson, Clarence Bonebrake and Koroosh Leibowitz -- flew its rocket to a height of 760 feet in 43 seconds during an official trial in February. Their three-foot- long plastic rocket used a series of "tube fins" that caught air and prevented it from flying too high, Zaloom said.

The team will vie for more than $60,000 in college scholarships and prizes as well as the chance to attend the International Paris Air Show in June.

"This challenge pushes kids to use their brains," said Johnson, the team's captain. "We put a lot of hard work into this, and hard work brings results. We got the results."

The challenge is sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Association of Rocketry.

GLEN COVE

Principal of the year

Anael Alston, principal of Finley Middle School, has received the Middle School Principal of the Year Award from the School Administrators Association of New York State.

He was honored based on his school's academic achievements -- including being one of five middle schools named a 2011 Breakthrough School by the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

WESTBURY

New appointment

David Zimbler has been named principal of Westbury Middle School replacing Dennis Hinson, who filled the position on an interim basis since August. Zimbler served as principal of Riverhead High School since 2007 and before that was principal of Howard T. Herber Middle School in Malverne.

COUNTYWIDE

Science finalists

Thirty-two students from Nassau County are among more than 1,600 high schoolers from 65 countries selected to participate this week in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles. To qualify, they were top winners this winter in the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair held at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury.

Bellmore: Bilal Siddiqui of Mepham High School; Greg Manis of John F. Kennedy High School; Garden City: Jan Gong and Alina Ranjbaran of Garden City High School; Great Neck: Jonathan Goldman and Samantha Phillips of Great Neck South High School; Herricks: Neil Pathak and Shyam Venkateswaran of Herricks High School; Jericho: Justine Li, Neil Mehta, Sagar Rambhia, Sahir Raoof and Serife Uzun of Jericho High School; Lawrence: Abraham Killanin of Lawrence High School; Nathan Akhavan and Ben Goldman of Rambam Mesivta High School; Long Beach: Hannah Berkowitz, Jacqueline Bokor, Elan Heller, Arianne Papa, Eric Rubin and Jane Smyth of Long Beach High School; Lynbrook: Dan Kramer of Lynbrook High School; Manhasset: Shaunak Bakshi of Manhasset High School; Merrick: Elise Meade of Calhoun High School; Oceanside: Blake Smith of Oceanside High School; Old Westbury: Alan Czemerinski and Tom Wang of The Wheatley School; Rockville Centre: Kelsey McKenna of South Side High School; Roslyn: Sarah Pak and Evan Schneider of Roslyn High School; Syosset: Karan Sikka of Syosset High School.

ISLANDWIDE

Scholarship winners

Seven students from Long Island were among 1,000 high school seniors nationwide to win corporate-sponsored college scholarships ranging from $500 to $10,000 annually last month from the National Merit Scholarship Corp. They were selected based on academic excellence, SAT scores and teacher recommendations.

Brentwood: Norman Cao of Brentwood High School; Floral Park: Allison Bostrow of Floral Park High School; Lindenhurst: Andrew Astore of Lindenhurst High School; Manhasset: Christopher Lobello of Manhasset High School; Merrick: Benjamin Dickstein of Calhoun High School; Smithtown: Julia Apoznanski of Smithtown High School West; Port Washington: Kristin Yu of Schreiber High School.