#b#High End Theatrics at South#/b#
High School South’s production of “A Chorus Line” (cast pictured above), has been nominated for several Rising Star Awards by the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn. The statewide competition of New Jersey high school musicals was established in 1996 and is modeled after Broadway’s Tony Awards. Evaluators — theater professionals, performing artists, designers, and educators — view 100 student productions.
Emma Kothari, who played Diana Morales, has been nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. “It was an honor to be let into her heart, which she clearly put every piece of into this performance,” reviewers noted. “Charming and believable from start to finish.”
Eric Judson, who played Paul, was nominated for Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role and was hailed by reviewers as “one of the highlights of the show.”
Director Marilyn Mangone Stoddard was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography and Staging. “It was clearly the execution of the heart and soul of the emotional core of this show that elevated it beyond the typical high school production,” reviewers wrote. “This production was breathtaking and the choreography was a huge contributing factor. A Chorus Line is a very challenging piece for most professional theaters to pull off, but High School South did it with ease.”
The show also received honorable mentions in the categories Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical, Outstanding Performance by a Chorus, Outstanding Achievement by Teacher or Outside Director, and Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction.
Students nominated in the lead and supporting acting categories win a scholarship to Paper Mill Playhouse’s competitive Summer Musical Theater Conservatory, a professional training program.
#b#Poster Contest#/b#
Faith Falkowitz, a sixth grader at Grover Middle School, won the New Jersey K-12 Kids Safe Online Poster Contest. The competition was to create an original poster illustrating safe use of the internet and/or mobile devices. Falkowitz created her poster during her class’ unit on cyber safety. She will receive a certificate of achievement from the state.
#b#Alumna of the Year#/b#
Jessica Cortese, a Plainsboro resident and 2008 graduate of Middlesex County College, was named the 2016 Alumna of the Year for Contributions to the College, its Alumni Association, or its Foundation. The award was presented during the college’s annual Celebration Day.
Cortese was a student in Project Connections, a program that provides college-able students with learning disabilities with academic and other support. She moved on to the College of New Jersey, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English and women and gender studies and a master’s degree in English.
She is now assistant to the director of the Plainsboro Township Recreation Department. She also teaches yoga and serves as treasurer of Plainsboro’s Human Relations Council.
“My gratitude and involvement with MCC never faltered,” Cortese said as she accepted the award. “I worked in the First-Year Experience Department, in the Foundation Office, I was an adjunct English and Student Success instructor, I was invited back to speak to Project Connections students, and I am on the Alumni Association Board, which gives me ample opportunities to volunteer with the people who inspired and continue to inspire me.”
#b#Debate Duo#/b#
High School South sophomores Shreyas Srinivasan and Neal Singal won first place in the Princeton Moot Court competition held by Princeton University on April 29 and 30. Competitors work in pairs to represent sides in a fictional court case, with the finals judged by a panel of nine judges in a simulation of the U.S. Supreme Court.
#b#In College#/b#
Aditya Parikh of Plainsboro was inducted into Rutgers University’s Matthew Leydt Society in a ceremony at the home of Rutgers president Robert Barchi just before graduation on May 15.
The society recognizes students ranked in the top 2 percent academically for their achievements in the classroom, laboratory, and the arts.
Parikh majored in physics and astrophysics with a minor in mathematics. His focus was on research in the fields of high-energy and nuclear physics.
Parikh began work in heavy ion physics after being invited to the Aresty Summer Science Research Program as a freshman. He also spent two summer in Geneva at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
As a junior Parikh received a Barry Goldwater Scholarship, which recognizes excellence in mathematics, science, and engineering, and covers up to $7,500 of educational expenses.
Parikh’s next stop is Harvard University, where he will pursue a doctorate in theoretical high-energy physics.
Leland Richardson, a 2008 graduate of High School South, earned his masters of science in nutritional metabolic biology from Columbia University. As a member of South’s tennis team Richardson won 99 singles matches and earned first team all-state honors in 2007. He also played tennis at Lehigh University, Class of 2012.
Richardson holds a post-baccalaureate degree in health studies from Cornell University and will attend Harvard University in the fall to begin a masters of medical science in immunology.
Elianna Wydra, a 2013 graduate of High School South and current student at the University of Delaware, was honored with the Major John D. DeMartini Scholarship at the school orchestra’s spring concert. The scholarship is awarded to a music major who demonstrates “humanitarianism, professionalism, integrity, and unselfishness.”
Wydra, a music performance major, is the principal cellist in the chamber orchestra and assistant principal cellist in the symphony orchestra. She is also a teaching assistant for music theory and coordinates tutoring labs for undergraduate music theory and ear training courses. She studies cello with Dr. Lawrence Stomberg of the Serafin String Quartet.
Julian Richardson, a 2010 graduate of High School South, earned a bachelor of arts in East Asian studies with a concentration in economics from Columbia University in 2014. Currently employed by J.P. Morgan in New York City, Richardson is a global trade, export finance aviation and infrastructure analyst, specializing in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, on assignment in London through 2017.
Tori Dalcourt of Plainsboro received a bachelor of arts degree from the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C. She graduated cum laude with a dual degree in law & society and history, and a minor in economics. She will attend George Washington Law School in the fall. She is a 2012 graduate of High School North.
Allison Frullo, a 2012 graduate of High School South, graduated magna cum laude from Ohio University with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education. Frullo was awarded a teaching fellowship that will allow her to teach part time while pursuing a master’s degree in reading education with a reading endorsement from the Patton College of Education at Ohio University.
#b#YingHua Students Excel at Speech Contest#/b#
Three students from YingHua International School won awards at the Tzu Chi Cup Chinese Speech Contest on April 30. The contest, now in its 10th year, asked students nominated by their schools to speak in Mandarin on one of five topics — perseverance, helping others, environmental protection, love, or giving — before a panel of six judges.
Madeline Epstein of West Windsor earned first place for her speech about shoveling snow for neighbors who had not yet moved into their home. Lucia Marcogliese was second, and Rebecca Sorensen of West Windsor was fourth. All three were competing in the Chinese as a Second Language category.
#b#History Day Winners#/b#
A number of students from the WW-P district advanced from the state competition to the national level of the National History Day competition.
Anika Kapoor, Grover Middle School, Individual Documentary, Junior Division: “The Wizard of Menlo Park Casts a Spell Upon Our Ears: Thomas Edison’s Phonograph and the Evolution of Sound.”
Aarthi Katakam, Grover Middle School, Individual Performance, Junior Division: “A Legacy of Love: How the Mattachine Created a Radically Gay Nation.”
Alexander Li, Community Middle School, Paper, Junior Division: “The Race to Discover the Structure of DNA: Fortuitous and Fractious Encounters and the Role of Scientific Exchange.”
Bhavishya Banda, High School North, Individual Exhibit, Senior Division: “Louis Braille: Banishing Darkness with the Light of Knowledge.”
Allison Chen, High School South: Individual Documentary, Senior Division: “A Wonder Drug: The Thalidomide Tragedy and How It Sparked the Modernization of Pharmaceutical Regulation.”
Shreyasvi Gowda and Isha Patlola, High School North, Group Documentary, Senior Division: “The Lusitania: The Boat That Changed Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange Between the U.S. and Germany Forever.”
Virginia Jiang, High School South, Individual Paper, Senior Division: “All-American Indians: Exploration, Encounter and Exchange Transforms a Game, a Nation, and an Identity.”
Margaret Ma, High School North, Individual Web Site, Senior Division: “Japan and the West: A Conversation in Art.”
Catherine Wang, High School North, Individual Web Site, Senior Division: “Jacob Riis: Exposing Living Conditions Through Photography.”
#b#Chess Champions#/b#
Princeton Day School’s team of fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students tied for second place at the National Elementary School Chess Championship, held May 7 and 8 in Tennessee. Members of the team include sixth graders Kai Shah of Plainsboro and Albert Ming of West Windsor.
