Northport team wins moot court championship

A Northport High School team has been crowned champions of an annual competition that challenged them to demonstrate their knowledge of constitutional law.

The Long Island Mentor Moot Court Competition asked participating teams to role-play as mock lawyers and present arguments about a fictional lawsuit, with real-life judges questioning them as they would in an actual court proceeding. The championship round was held at the federal courthouse in Central Islip in December.

In the final round, Northport defeated a team from Massapequa High School, which won last year’s title. To reach the finals, Northport defeated another team from Northport High School, as the two ranked first and second out of 16 teams across Suffolk County.

“I just knew they were primed well beyond what you normally see, and no one was going to beat them,” said Bill Slagle, who co-advises the team with Brandon Karp. “The fact that we had two such strong teams made it easier, because they worked each other hard.”

This year’s fictional case involved whether a student could be disciplined under a school district policy prohibiting campaign-related speech for student elections. A second issue involved whether the student was afforded due process since a faculty member who accused her of wrongdoing was also one of the panelists deciding potential punishment.

Northport’s winning team members are Kailey Ciszek, Donovan Fischer, Sabrina Martino, Caitlyn Murphy and Andrew Smith — the latter of whom won the competition’s Best Oralist Award.

EAST HAMPTON/SYOSSET

Disney Dreamers

Syosset High School senior Derek Chen and Nettie Rattray of East Hampton, who attends Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, are among 100 students nationwide chosen to participate in a five-day mentoring program next month at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

The teens are part of this year’s class of the Disney Dreamers Academy, which strives to empower students from diverse communities by encouraging them to engage in tasks ranging from addressing food insecurity to developing new technology. They were selected from thousands of applicants who answered essay questions about their life and future dreams.

“We are thrilled to spark new possibilities and provide these future leaders with the tools they need to chase their dreams,” Walt Disney World Ambassador Shannon Smith-Conrad said in a statement.

FREEPORT

New principal

Manouchka Daniel is the new principal of Archer Street Elementary School. She replaced Paula Lein, who retired.

Daniel was assistant principal of Bellport Middle School, and before that was an assistant principal at Powells Lane Elementary School in Westbury and a lead teacher at Leadership Preparatory Brownsville Charter School in Brooklyn.

“I am honored to join the Archer Street School community and work alongside the talented faculty, staff and families,” said Daniel. “Together, we will continue to foster a culture of achievement, inclusivity and joy in learning for all our students.”

PATCHOGUE

‘Brookhaven Recycles’

Students from the Patchogue-Medford School District won three of five grade categories in an inaugural recycling-themed poster contest coordinated by Brookhaven Town. The contest, “Brookhaven Recycles,” was open to students throughout the town and received more than 300 submissions.

The winners, their schools and grade categories are: Alex Alleyne, Patchogue-Medford High School, grades 9-12; Angeles Villa, Oregon Middle School in Medford, grades 6-8; Michelle Wardhana, Edna Louise Spear Elementary School in Port Jefferson, grades 3-5; and Austin Callegari, South Street Elementary School in Manorville, grades K-2. Patchogue-Medford senior LeeAndrea Williams-Campbell won the special education category.

Brookhaven’s Town Council selected the winners.

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.