William Floyd High students elected to leadership posts at New York State YMCA Youth & Government Conference
Students from William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach were elected to 11 of 12 leadership positions at the New York State YMCA Youth & Government Conference in Albany. Credit: William Floyd School District
William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach has continued its dominance at a state conference that challenges students to serve as part of a model government.
Members of the school's Youth & Government Club were elected to 11 of 12 leadership positions at the 87th annual New York State YMCA Youth & Government Conference in Albany, which consisted of approximately 520 students statewide. Participants debated original legislation and argued appellate cases in the state's legislative chambers.
William Floyd junior Nikolas DelVecchio earned the top spot of governor, taking over the position from senior Jae Kim, who was elected to the role last year.
"These amazing performances are a testament to the time, preparation, dedication and intelligence of our students and their advisors," said William Floyd School District Superintendent Kevin Coster.
Other William Floyd students elected to leadership positions were: Mary Duenzl, chief justice; Riley Bent, attorney general; Alice Chen, public defender; Rafay Cheema, Assembly speaker; Joshua Schultzer, Assembly speaker; Matthew Reis, Assembly deputy speaker; Jason Alexopoulos, Assembly deputy speaker; Olivia Phillips, Senate pro-tempore; Olivia Pustelnik, Senate deputy pro-tempore; Victoria Basharina, Senate deputy pro-tempore.
The school has taken a majority of the conference's leadership posts in recent years —including seven in 2018, nine in 2019 and 2020, and 10 in 2022.
CARLE PLACE
Cherry Lane Elementary
Cherry Lane Elementary School has unveiled a new communication board to support students who are nonspeaking or have limited verbalization, and require alternative technology to express themselves.
The board, which is located near the school's playground, features nearly 50 picture communication symbols developed by Mayer-Johnson, which is a company that provides symbol-adapted special education software for individuals with disabilities. The symbols represent words such as "drink," “push" and "run."
"Our students and staff could interact using these symbols without the burden of carrying and accessing their devices while at play," said the school's speech language pathologist Rebecca Murrell.
ROCKY POINT
Rocky Point Middle School
Dawn Meyers has been appointed principal of Rocky Point Middle School. She previously held the position on an interim basis replacing James Moeller, who is now principal of Rocky Point High School.
Meyers, who has worked in the school district since 2001, has been the middle school's assistant principal. She has also been a math teacher in the district.
"I look forward to serving the community and district in this capacity for many years," Meyers said. "Together with a terrific staff, I hope to maintain a safe and nurturing environment where our students can thrive."
SYOSSET/SETAUKET
Syosset High School/P.J. Gelinas Junior High School
Teams from Syosset High School and P.J. Gelinas Junior High School in Setauket have taken the top spots at this year's New York State Science OIympiad state tournaments in Syracuse. Syosset bested 59 other high school teams statewide, while Paul J. Gelinas bested 39 other middle school teams statewide.
To reach the state level, Syosset placed first among 17 other high school teams this spring in the Nassau East Regional Science Olympiad, while P.J. Gelinas placed first among 27 other middle school teams in the Eastern Long Island Regional Science Olympiad.
The annual tournaments challenged teams of up to 15 students to demonstrate their knowledge in categories such as "Disease Detectives" and "Rocks and Minerals."
ISLANDWIDE
Best Communities for Music Education
Sixty-six Long Island school districts are among 830 nationwide named Best Communities for Music Education by the NAMM Foundation for demonstrating "exceptionally high commitment and access to music education," the organization said.
The selected districts are: Amityville, Bay Shore, Bayport-Blue Point, Bellmore, Bellmore-Merrick, Bethpage, Carle Place, Center Moriches, Cold Spring Harbor, Commack, Comsewogue, Connetquot, Deer Park, East Islip, East Meadow, East Rockaway, East Williston, Farmingdale, Floral Park-Bellerose, Franklin Square, Freeport, Garden City, Glen Cove, Great Neck, Half Hollow Hills, Hampton Bays, Harborfields, Hempstead, Herricks, Hewlett-Woodmere, Hicksville, Island Trees, Jericho, Levittown, Lindenhurst, Locust Valley, Long Beach, Longwood, Lynbrook, Malverne, Manhasset, Massapequa, Merrick, Miller Place, Mineola, New Hyde Park-Garden City Park, North Babylon, North Shore, Northport-East Northport, Oceanside, Plainedge, Plainview-Old Bethpage, Port Jefferson, Port Washington, Riverhead, Rockville Centre, Sayville, Seaford, Shoreham-Wading River, South Country, Southampton, Syosset, Valley Stream 13, Valley Stream Central, West Islip and William Floyd.
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.
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Diller case in court ... Move over law reminder ... More chemical drums found ... Isles sign LI native
