Four software applications coded by local students have been named winners in the Congressional App Challenge.

The apps were among nearly 400 winners nationwide in the annual competition, which received more than 4,600 submissions and aims to inspire youth to pursue careers in computer science. It is an initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Long Island’s winners: Jason Lu and Angelina Zhang of The Stony Brook School for the app Fulltray; Samvath Karanam of Hauppauge High School for the app EarXam; Christine Chen of Hunter College High School in Manhattan, Michael Cole of Chaminade High School in Mineola, Emma Ding of Great Neck South High School and Caren Ye of Jericho High School for the app Healthbridge US; and Nicia Warren of Roosevelt High School for the app Find My Food Drive.

The apps were winners of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Congressional Districts, respectively.

“I am constantly amazed by the talent of our students and the creativity they bring to addressing real-world challenges through technology,” Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), who named the Healthbridge US app as his district’s winner, said in a statement.

Zhang and Lu’s Fulltray app aims to reduce food waste by facilitating donations of surplus food to nearby pantries, while Karanam’s EarXam app helps patients self-diagnose ear diseases by using “a fine-tuned image-classifying deep learning model,” according to competition officials.

Chen, Cole, Ding and Ye’s Healthbridge US app links underinsured people with affordable health care resources, while Warren’s Find My Food Drive app features a database of food drives in the Roosevelt area.

The winners are invited to showcase their apps in April at the #HouseOFCode festival in Washington, D.C.

PATCHOGUE

Life skillS CLASSROOM

The Patchogue-Medford School District recently held a ceremony to unveil a life skills apartment classroom at Saxton Middle School for special education students in the district’s Academic and Career Explorers program.

The classroom will assist students with daily life skills ranging from cooking to cleaning by providing them with opportunities to “actively build crucial skills to enhance their independence, residential and career experiences,” school officials said.

The new classroom “will provide our alternatively assessed students with meaningful, hands-on opportunities to develop and practice daily life skills in an authentic setting,” Patchogue-Medford Interim Superintendent Lori Cannetti said in a statement.

SUFFOLK

Book buddies

Eastern Suffolk BOCES has launched its Book Buddy Club designed to help children make new friends and improve communication.

The club will foster a sense of confidence and community while showing students how “exciting it can be to read with a partner,” ESBOCES officials said. One recent session included students from Sayville Elementary School and Masera Middle School in West Islip, who read winter-themed children’s books.

“The Book Buddy Club is a collaborative and inclusive peer reading program designed to connect students across our schools,” ESBOCES Speech Department lead teacher MaryKate Henry said in a statement.

ISLANDWIDE

Schools to Watch

Plainedge Middle School, Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School in Port Washington, Valley Stream Memorial Junior High School and Wantagh Middle School have been named Essential Elements: Schools to Watch for having “exemplary middle-level programs that address both the academic and personal development needs of young adolescents,” according to the program’s website.

The designations, which were based on an application and on-site evaluation by experienced educators, lasts for three years and then schools must reapply.

The program is hosted by the New York State Middle School Association in affiliation with the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform.

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.