School Notebook: Sachem N. enviro honor

For the seventh consecutive year, a team from Sachem North High School in Lake Ronkonkoma won first place among Suffolk County schools last month at the Long Island Regional Envirothon.

The annual competition consisted of written exams and outdoor challenges in the topics of aquatics, forestry, soil and wildlife, as well as an oral presentation on estuaries -- each worth up to 25 points -- at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration. A total of 225 students from 35 Long Island schools competed.

For winning, the team will vie for $100,000 in scholarship prizes at the state level in upstate Geneva on Wednesday and Thursday.

"Our team worked really well together and had a passion to win," said Jaime Bhalla, a science research teacher who advised the team along with earth science teacher Tracy Kellerman. "The older students taught the younger ones, and they all did a lot of research on their own."

Chaminade High School in Mineola had the best overall score with 122.21 total points, and their team will represent Nassau County at the state level. Sachem North's final score was 116.60, which was just ahead of Mount Sinai High School's score of 112.67 among Suffolk County schools.

For reaching the state level, Sachem North's team members -- Peter Amato, Kimberly Kanakos, Sharon Luebs, Jessica McGlinchey and Ruchi Shah -- each received a $500 college scholarship and a digital camera from Canon. The school received a Canon printer/copier. The alternate team member was Jasmine Lam.

"I think part of the reason we were able to do well is we're all passionate about environmental science, so Envirothon interests us," said McGlinchey. "Also, three out of the five of us have older siblings who have been on the team in the past, so we always have plenty of resources to study from."

The event was coordinated by Nassau and Suffolk's Soil & Water Conservation Districts.

CENTERPORT

$20,000 donation

Washington Drive Elementary School recently raised about $20,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation through an annual "Walk for a Wish" event held at the outdoor track of Harborfields High School. The funds were used to send a 3-year-old girl from Bay Shore who suffers from chronic lung disease -- along with 12 other special-needs children -- to Disney World last month.

Additional funds were raised by students doing paid chores at home and running lemonade stands, school officials said.

EAST SETAUKET

Press winners

Ward Melville High School is one of four schools nationwide to recently receive a Pacemaker Award from the National Scholastic Press Association. The award, which recognizes the school's 2010 DVD yearbook supplement, was announced last month at the National High School Journalism Convention in Anaheim, Calif. Ward Melville is the first Long Island school to ever receive the association's Pacemaker Award, school officials said.

SELDEN

Composing a win

Victor LaBozzetta, an eighth-grader at Selden Middle School, was the K-8 winner last month of the 2011 Student Composers Competition coordinated by MENC: The National Association for Music Education. For winning, his piece titled "Time Travel" will be performed next month by the U.S. Army Band at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

COUNTYWIDE

Scholarship winners

Nine Suffolk County students were among 2,500 nationwide named winners this month of $2,500 college scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corp. They were judged on academic excellence, teacher recommendations and community involvement.

Commack: Matt Katz, Erica Portnoy and Arpon Raksit of Commack High School; Dix Hills: Dan Cho and Dianna Hu of Half Hollow Hills High School West; Hauppauge: Lauren McGarry of Hauppauge High School; Islip: Alda Yuan of Islip High School; Northport: Celia Bever and Eliza Brine of Northport High School.

ISLANDWIDE

Best music communities

Eighteen Long Island school districts were among 179 nationwide recently named "Best Communities for Music Education" by the NAMM Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to advance participation in music. To get selected, districts answered surveys about their funding for music programs, graduation requirements, and participation in music classes.

Winning districts were Amityville, Bay Shore, Commack, Connetquot, East Meadow, Great Neck, Half Hollow Hills, Herricks, Long Beach, Longwood, Manhasset, Massapequa, Mineola, North Babylon, Oceanside, Port Jefferson, South Huntington and Syosset.