#b#Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards for WW-P Girl Scouts#/b#
Parents, siblings, dignitaries, and troop leaders gathered at Grover Middle School to celebrate recent leadership projects done by Girl Scouts who earned the Gold, Silver, or Bronze Award, in recognition for their successful projects. The awards are the highest awards a Girl Scout can earn. Seven Girl Scouts received their gold award, four girls received their silver award, and eight the bronze award.
Dignitaries at the award ceremony included Linda Greenstein, New Jersey State Senator and a Plainsboro resident; Daniel Benson, New Jersey State Assemblyman; Shing Fu Hsueh, Mayor of West Windsor; Nuran Nabi, Plainsboro committeeman; Anthony Fleres, president of WW-P School Board; and Andrea Miller, director of community engagement and outreach, Girl Scouts of Central and Southern New Jersey.
The Gold Award, the highest overall award for any Girl Scout, is completed during the course of a girl’s high school career and must be done individually. Girl Scouts who received their Gold Awards included:
Radhika Gupta, Troop 70216, “Travel Club at Hamilton Continuing Care.” Her leaders are Kate Henkel, May Rowland, and Minal Patel. Her adviser is Kate Henkel, and her mentors are Gregory Matt and Diane Hurley. Gupta created a presentation that allowed senior citizens at Hamilton Continuing Care Center to travel virtually through tours, ethnic food, dances, music, and more. Many of the senior citizens are in a wheelchair or bedridden at this nursing home and are not able to travel the world.
Nithilam V. Subbaian, Troop 70217, “Empowering Girls to a Future in STEM.” Her leaders are Tracey Walters and Puja Mittal. Her adviser is Dr. Anjali Shah, and her mentor is Robert Krech. Subbaian’s project addressed the issue of lower employments and wages for women in jobs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. She presented hands-on science experiments at West Windsor Library to inspire curiosity in engineering, astronomy, the human body, and physics.
Shanti Proctor, Troop 70245, “Being Healthy Can Be Fun.” Her leaders are Amira Scurato and Mary Mak. Her advisor is Amira Scurato, and her mentor is Wendy Schutzer. Proctor created a book filled with fun and simple recipes, games, and activities for the children at the Cherry Tree Club. Every child received one of the books in the holiday baskets that the Cherry Tree Club gives out.
Katherine Scurato, Troop 70245, “The Highs and Lows of Diabetes.” Her leaders are Amira Scurato and Mary Mak. Her advisor is Mary Mak and her mentor is Sadie Davis. Scurato’s project involves spreading awareness about the differences between type one diabetes and type two diabetes. She created a blog with more than 250 followers, a booklet for children, and a petition on Change.org. She also created comfort kits of backpacks filled with stuffed animals, books, and activities for children hospitalized with serious illnesses.
Nikita Deshpande, Troop 70676, “Kid-Proofing a Pediatric Ward.” Her leader and adviser is Lynn Mahmood, and her mentor is Katrina Pfeiffer. Deshpande redecorated the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro’s pediatric ward with removable stickers, and donated admission bags and new toys. To help children easily access DVDs, she also categorized the movie titles and created a DVD inventory. She also created books to help children understand medical procedures.
Mansi Panse, Troop 71607, “Keep It Moving.” Her leaders are Louisa Ho, Praveena Saksena, Shashi Ganjoo, and Padmaja Kondeti. Her advisor is Louisa Ho, and her mentor is Christina Sylvain. Panse’s project addressed the health of rehab and senior citizen residents at Merwick Center. She bought and installed a Wii for the residents to play. Panse was at the facility almost daily for several months last summer. She also received the Distinguished Girl Scout Service award.
Rachel Erin Huselid, Troop 71612, “Teen Vaccines.” Her leader is Rebecca Farmer Huselid. Her advisor is Kate Henkel, and her mentor is Judith Grandjean. Huselid’s project raised awareness about vaccinations recommended for teenagers through community events, flyers, and social media. She collected data on immunization rates and practices in area private schools and surveyed area parents about their choices and attitudes about various vaccinations.
The Silver Award is the highest award that a Cadette can earn. This project completed in small groups or individually, allows the girl(s) to run this project more independently with minimum assistance from adults. Silver Award recipients were:
Troop 70165 with leader Sharon Rajarao assisted Amy Elizabeth Kuriakose, and Thanmayee Maddipatti for “A Taste of Green.”
Troop 70684, led by Satyalakshmi Badeti and Rajini Ragavan, assisted Shreya Ragavan with “Water Conservation.”
Troop 71615, led by Kim Garron and Andrea Crossey, assisted Samantha Hasan with “Art for All.”
The Bronze Award, the highest award that a junior can earn, typically involves troop leader and adult supervision. Bronze Award recipients included:
Troop 71608 with leaders Suchetha Premchan and Kate Silvester performed community service at Cherry Tree Club. Award recipients include Sanjana Chimaladinne, Smitha Hamsala, Rithika Iyengar, Rahi Premchan, Shriya Sharma, Riley Silvester, Janani Srinivas, and Padmini Srinivasan.
If you are interested in joining Girl Scouts, as a girl or adult volunteer, in West Windsor and Plainsboro, send an E-mail to girlscoutswwp@verizon.net, or call Louisa Ho at 609-371-2119.
#b#Students and Chemistry Rule#/b#
Frick Chemistry Laboratory at Princeton University was humming with scientific dialogue on June 13 during the poster portion of the 13th annual Chemagination high school competition, sponsored by the Princeton and Trenton Sections of American Chemistry Society. Fifty-nine students from four schools in central New Jersey were part of “Chemagination.” Teams of two to three students research alternate energy, new materials, environment, or medicine and health to create an idea that would improve people’s lives 25 years in the future.
“Fostering scientific teamwork, the competition asks the teams to brainstorm, develop ideas, and formulate a feature article and cover design for ChemMatters, a high school science magazine,” says Barbara Ameer, chair and coordinator for the event. “The second phase was the poster preparation for the Princeton event where the teams defended the science underlying their innovation during interviews with three judges.”
First place winners may compete in a regional competition in 2016, at the Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting of the ACS on the campus of the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, New York.
Winning teams at the Princeton University event include a first place award in medicine and health for Rishiraj Tripathy, Jiwon Kim, and Soham Sathay from High School South. They created “Robotics and Radioactivity: Track your Treatment.”
Second place awards went to High School South teams for alternate energy with Eileen Hu, Nithilam Subbaian, and Priyanka Tiwari, who created “Revving to Recharge;” and environment with Ashritha Bheemidi, Keshav Ramesh, and Sarah Wu who created “The ZAAC Filter.”
Cindy Jaworsky, the teacher advisor from High School South, was recognized at the awards ceremony for her contributions.
#b#Hall of Honor#/b#
The inductees for the High School South 2015 Hall of Honor have been announced. “The Hall of Honor gives us an opportunity to recognize those individuals who have brought honor to the school through their achievements, accomplishments, and/or contributions to the school and/or community,” says Dennis Lepold, principal of South. The Hall of Honor pays tribute to individuals in categories of Alumni Achiever Award, Student Achiever Award, School Service Award, and Inspiration Award.
The inductees include: Leslie Fisher, longtime guidance counselor, Inspiration Award: Anthony Pappalardo, longtime band teacher, Service Award. Amy Mansue and Sami Elmansoury receive Alumni Achiever awards. Cathy Tantum, Dolly Chugh, Jim Renna, and David Suarez will receive Student Achiever awards.
The Induction Ceremony will be held on Saturday, November 14, at 5:30 p.m. in Commons I at High School South.
#b#Li Named to Travel Physics Team#/b#
Kevin Q. Li, a student at High School South, is one of five students who have been selected from among 20 team members to represent the U.S. Physics Team as the 2015 Traveling Team at the 46th International Physics Olympiad, a competition for high school physics students. The event will be held July 5 to 12 in Mumbai.
“The selection of the travelers was extremely difficult,” said Paul Stanley, the team’s academic director. “These five team members will represent the U.S. Physics Team and the United States very well, keeping with the tradition of bringing home medals and honoring the teams of the past 29 years.”
The students attended a rigorous training camp at the University of Maryland and George Washington University, where they were coached on physics concepts and took a series of exams.
#b#Teacher Award#/b#
Sunila Sharma, a teacher at High School South, has been selected to receive the 2015 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Inspirational Teacher Award. She is one of nine teachers from around the country to receive the prestigious award.
MIT students nominate high school teachers who inspired them through dedicated and motivating teaching. Sharma was nominated by Alexander Clifton, a 2013 graduate of High School South.
Clifton’s letter to MIT officials follows:
“Thank you [Dr. Sharma] for supporting all the students of High School South Science Club and your dedication to teaching us in our advanced chemistry classes. Without you stepping up to not only lead one, but both teams, we would have never been able to continue reaching for academic excellence. The collaborative environment that you fostered provided many rewarding experiences. I know that it must not have been easy to put in all the hours after school, but I hope we made you proud. Even when my memories of Science Bowl fade, I will never forget the work ethic and humility that you instilled in me.”
MIT officials stated, “We are grateful to you for inspiring your brightest students to become our students. Your inspiring work has contributed to the success of your students and, through them, to the success of our Institute, and to the future of our world.”
#b#Arts Education Awards#/b#
More than 100 students and education leaders were honored at the 35th annual Governor’s Awards in Arts Education at the Patriots Theater in the War Memorial in Trenton on May 27.
National and statewide organizations selected the students for their exemplary work in creative writing, speech, dance, music, theater, and visual art. Education and arts professionals were chosen for their exceptional commitment and contribution to arts education.
Student award winners include Soyeong Park, a violinist with the All-State Orchestra and a new graduate of High School North; and Julia Weingaertner of West Windsor, a new graduate of Stuart Country Day School, was recognized for prose interpretation speech and debate.
Larry Capo, president & CEO of Young Audiences/New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania, based in Plainsboro, was recognized for an outstanding lifetime contribution to arts education.
#b#Private School#/b#
The Pennington School: Niral Ramesh of West Windsor was the valedictorian of the Class of 2015. Inducted into the Cum Laude Society last fall, at commencement he received the award for the senior excelling in science and shared the award for the senior excelling in mathematics. He will attend Rice University next year. Other graduates from West Windsor include Brett Schenkman and Margaret A. Slonaker.
Notre Dame High School: Julliette Garcia-Flahaut of West Windsor was valedictorian of the Class of 2015. A member of both the National Honor Society and the Spanish Honor Society, she earned various academic awards throughout her high school career.
Garcia-Flahaut has dedicated much of her time to the performing arts and various clubs, is a member of concert band, jazz band, pit orchestra, and chamber orchestra, and has danced in the intermediate dance group for three years. She participated in Model United Nations since her freshman year and served as an officer in her senior year.
Outside of school, she spends a majority of her time ballet dancing and volunteering. She has been dancing for about 10 years and is a member of the professional training program at her studio. Garcia-Flahaut enjoyed dancing in showcases that helped raise money for causes such as finding a cure for breast cancer and helping war veterans. Her most memorable volunteering experience was helping out at HomeFront’s Camp Mercer over the summer.
She will attend the University of Notre Dame in the Fall. Her older sister, Camille Garcia-Flahaut, graduated from Notre Dame in 2013. They are the daughters of Catherine Flahaut and Luis Garcia-Pinto.
#b#In College#/b#
Boston University: Brendan A. Evans of Plainsboro received a Juris Doctor in Law. West Windsor residents on the dean’s list include Michelle H. Grbic, Shannon M. MacKay, Sridevi Suresh, and Samantha L. Woo. Maya Inozemtseva of Plainsboro is also on the dean’s list.
Georgia Institute of Technology: Graduates include Jonathan Ting of Plainsboro with a bachelor of science in electrical engineering, and Teresa Hu of West Windsor with a bachelor of science in computer science. West Windsor residents Abhijit Ravindran and Siddarth Senthilkumar earned faculty honors. Students on the dean’s list include Plainsboro residents Raghav Gupta and Vijayeetha Ramesh.
Hamilton College: Vincent J. DiCindio II of West Windsor is on the dean’s list. He also graduated with a degree in world politics.
University of Hartford: Marc Steinberg of Plainsboro is on the dean’s list.
Hofstra University: Colby Hussong of West Windsor is on the dean’s list.
Lehigh University: Matthew Sheffield of West Windsor was named one of the Eureka Ventures Competition winners. The award recognizes outstanding student entrepreneurs who made a positive impact through their pursuit of innovative thinking and sustainable business models.
University of Mary Washington: Cassandra Grace Sciortino of West Windsor graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts in philosophy and English. She received the Philosophy and Law Prize and departmental honors in philosophy.
Rowan University: Students on the dean’s list include Linda T. Gosselin of West Windsor, a senior majoring in marketing; Mikaela A. Langdon of Plainsboro, a junior majoring in writing arts; and Jaclyn M. Wemple of Plainsboro, a junior majoring in elementary education.
Tufts University: Jennifer Rabbino of West Windsor is on the dean’s list. A rising senior, she is majoring in cognitive and brain sciences. She graduated from High School South in 2012.
Wake Forest University: Students on the dean’s list include Akosua Tuffuor of Plainsboro and West Windsor residents Garrett Erickson and Jessica Luttrell.
Widener University: Graduates include West Windsor residents Andrew Orsini with a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering, Khara Schenker with a master of education in human sexuality studies, and Reshma Stafford with a doctor of psychology in clinical psychology. Students on the dean’s list include Nicole Crossey of Plainsboro and West Windsor residents Brittany Irizarry, Brae McQuade, and Andrew Orsini.
