Pirate Players
High School South student performers have recently presented educational shows to assemblies at Dutch Neck School. “The Big Ears,” a show about being considerate, accepting diversity, and welcoming new students to school, was performed for second grade students. They also watched, “I Heard It Through the Beanstalk,” about using words in a positive way. Third grade students were presented with “Dottie’s Splotches,” a show about peer pressure and saying no.
Sophomore Kelly Nigh directed “The Big Ears.” Actors include Emily Bostrom, Amanda Fox, Stephanie Halperin, Jennifer Lee, Miki Leong, and Kelly Nigh.
“I Heard it Through the Beanstalk” was directed by junior Shreya Durvasula. Actors are Dana Bongiovanni, Keerthi Chandrasekaran, Axexa Hoyne, Keerti Kanchinadam, Emily Laermer, Lauren Silvey, Boone Wheeler, and Brian Zhao.
“Dottie’s Splotches” was written and directed by seniors Kate Guthrie and Joanna Yang. Actors include Jon Amira, Jess Bellusci, Phoebe, Getzow, Melike Harfouche, Brian Lee, Florence Lee, Sarah Lee, Noelle Petri, Milagros Simon, Victoria Vaynbert, and Caitlyn Wisser.
The Pirate Players advisor is Donald Gilpin, language arts teacher at South. His assistant is West Windsor-Plainsboro graduate Kyla Mostello.
Math Olympiad
Daniel Le and Taktin Oey have qualified for the United States of America Mathematics Olympiad (USAMO). Lee is a junior from High School South and Oey is a senior at High School North.
The USAMO is a six-question, two-day, nine-hour essay/proof examination in which all problems can be solved with pre-calculus methods. Over 250 of the top scoring participants in the American Mathematics Competitions participate in the event held on April 27 and 28. The top 12 scoring students are invited to a two-day Olympiad Awards Ceremony in Washington, DC. Six of those students comprise the United States team that competes in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).
Journalism Winners
Seven students from the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District had winning entries in the High School Journalism Contest sponsored by the Professional Writers Alliance of Mercer County. High School North students Megan Castellano, Matthew Haas, Preetika Rao, and Jonathan Malankar; and High School South students Hema Sundaresan, Shari Horowitz, and Matthew Lipka, will be honored at a reception on Saturday, May 8, at Ellarslie Museum in Trenton.
Castellano received the third place award in the News category for the sports story, “Blue Hole Construction Claims This Year’s Interact Volleyball Game.”
Haas tied for third place in the Features category with “San Francisco Reveals Its hidden Treat,” about life in San Francisco. Sundaresan received honorable mention for a two-part series that included an interview with a West Windsor-Plainsboro High School graduate, S. Mitra Kalita, author of “Suburban Sahibs: Three Immigrant Families and Their Passage from India to America, and a review of the book (The News, December 5, 2003).
The students claimed the first, second, and third place honors in the Editorial/Op-Ed category. Horowitz tied for first place for “The Blueberry Wins,” her story about the state legislature’s “brilliant” decision to choose a state fruit. Rio, the other first place winner, wrote about the international community’s lack of interest in the war in the Congo, “African Holocaust Death Toll Rises.”
Lipka took second place for “The Truest Patriot,” looking at patriotism in the wake of September 11. Malankar took third place for two op-eds, one about the impact of the Administration’s policies on the Appalachian Mountains, and one disputing arguments against same-sex marriages.
Teacher’s Honor
Amy Chanson of West Windsor was nominated Teacher of the Year at the Alfred Reed School, Mercer County Special Services School District. She has taught elementary special education there for seven years.
A graduate of William Paterson University, she received her master’s degree from Montclair State University. She has taught special education for over 20 years.
A resident of West Windsor for 16 years, she lives with her husband, Roy; and sons, Alex, a student at Grover Middle School, and Eric, a student at Middlesex Vo- Tech High School.
Chanson attended a Governor’s Teacher Recognition Program luncheon recognizing nominees throughout the state on April 30 at Educational Testing Services.
College Honors
Gettysburg College: Andrew White, West Windsor, freshman, dean’s list.
Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications: Michael Ladolcetta of West Windsor; and Kristin Morgan, Plainsboro, dean’s list. They are both juniors.
