Riverhead drill team wins at tri-state meet

Riverhead High School cadets have marched their way to a top spot in the tri-state area.

The school's Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps drill team took first place last month among 14 schools at the North Rockland Drill Meet upstate. The 35-member team also won drill meets earlier this school year in Mattituck and Bethel, Md.

The team will compete against 12 others from the Northeast at the U.S. Navy's Junior ROTC Area Four Championship next month in Colts Neck, N.J.

"We've had a pretty good team the past few years," said Peter McCarthy, the school's NJROTC instructor. "It's not as visible as mainstream sports, but these kids are motivated and competitive. We have so many trophies now we're running out of room."

Each meet consists of a synchronized drill, naval science exams, physical fitness events and a battalion personnel inspection, McCarthy said.

Naval inspectors even use rulers to check that ribbons are properly hung on uniforms.

BOHEMIA

Daffodil fundraiser

The Connetquot Teachers Association recently raised nearly $3,500 for the American Cancer Society through a Daffodil Days fundraiser that included the sale of dozens of daffodils to students and staff at Connetquot High School.

Community members also donated $500 to fund the delivery of teddy bears and flowers to patients in local hospitals. The school's Helping Hands Club packaged the gifts.

COMMACK

Ex-Giants player's lesson

Ninth-graders at Commack High School recently received an inspirational visit from former New York Giants punter Sean Landeta as part of "Owning Up," the school's violence prevention program.

During the lecture Landeta - who won Super Bowls with the Giants in 1987 and 1991 - emphasized the importance of positive life choices and an optimistic attitude. He also let students try on his championship rings, school officials said.

SOUTH HUNTINGTON

Principal of the year

James Polansky, principal of Walt Whitman High School, has been named 2010 principal of the year by the School Administrators Association of New York State for "setting the pace, character and quality of education" in his school.

Polansky joined Walt Whitman eight years ago when the school was on the state's list of schools that "need improvement." It is now cited as a "high-performing" school.

WEST BABYLON

Oratorical winner

Danielle Haley, a sophomore at West Babylon High School, recently won first place in Suffolk County and took fourth place statewide last month in the 2009-10 High School Oratorical Contest sponsored by the American Legion. She received a $2,000 college scholarship.

The contest required teens to deliver brief speeches on the topic "How and Why the Constitution Was Written."

WEST ISLIP

Picturing school spirit

St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in West Islip is the winner of School Spirit Mania, an online photo contest sponsored by the MSG Varsity network. Sixty-four tri-state area schools submitted photos that best captured their school spirit, and more than 1.7 million people voted online.

For winning, the school received a Club Car golf cart for use on school grounds. MSG Varsity is owned by Cablevision, which owns Newsday.

COUNTYWIDE

History Day contenders

Thirty-five Long Island entries - some individuals, some teams - have advanced to 2010 New York State History Day competition this week in Cooperstown after winning at the regional level at Hofstra University. The program promotes the exploration of local history via interviews and research. Suffolk County students were:

Brentwood: Jessica Ferrara, Brianna Goode, Aaron Shabethea, Aramis Sostre and Xavier Thomas of North Middle School; Commack: Nicole Leon and Meaghan Mahoney of Commack Middle School; Hauppauge: Emily Kline of Hauppauge High School.

ISLANDWIDE

Achievement scholars

Fifteen seniors from Long Island were among 800 winners nationwide of $2,500 achievement scholarships for black students from the National Merit Scholarship Corp. Winners were:

Dix Hills: Victoria Baptiste, Kim Brazier, Rachelle Cadet, Sara Sodine, and Niesha Voigt of Half Hollow Hills High School West; Floral Park: Ketsia Saint-Armand of Sewanhaka High School; Huntington: Samuel Sainthil of Huntington High School; Middle Island: Chelsye Nelson of Longwood High School; New Hyde Park: Andrew Dugue of New Hyde Park Memorial High School; Plainview: Alyssa Reimer of Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School; Uniondale: Alisha Thompson of Kellenberg Memorial High School.

Other winners were Kristian Bailey of Westbury (Dalton School in Manhattan), Opraha Miles of Elmont (Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan), Iriane Narcisse of Roosevelt (Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire), and Jarrett Williams of Valley Stream (Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens).