SPRING 2019
From the Heart Mount Pleasant — The Heart of Westchester County
The Mount Pleasant Central School District Newsletter
Volume 18, Issue 3
Westlake High School is Next on the List for Upgrades As we approach the third summer after the approval of the $39.6 million bond, many are wondering what’s next on the agenda. While many of the recent upgrades might not be immediately visible to the casual observer, work has continued at a steady pace this year throughout the district. With warmer weather on the horizon and summer break just around the corner, the scope of work will increase dramatically. Once students depart for a well deserved April break, the facilities department will be busier than ever. The primary focus of activity in the coming months will be Westlake High School. In preparation for major changes, crews worked tirelessly over the fall and winter months completing a number of tasks. One such item was the installation of approximately 30 ventilation louvres on the exterior of the building. These louvers will connect to new unit ventilators (univents) slated to be installed in every instructional space in the high school. Installation of univents, which circulate fresh air and provide heat, will begin over spring break. Another area where work has been ongoing is behind the walls and in the ceilings. Crews have been installing multiple electrical feeder wires throughout the entire building in preparation for a new transformer and electrical panel upgrades. The 2000 amp transformer will more efficiently dissipate electricity from outside utilities and distribute the power to the new electrical panels throughout the school. Also housed in the electrical room is a new fire alarm panel. As mandated by NY State, the upgraded system incorporates visual alarms in the form of strobes. Additionally, carbon monoxide detectors will be integrated into the system. Moving forward, with no students on
Reminder: School Board Candidate Petitions Due April 22nd
Residents of the district who wish to run for two open seats on the Board of Education should fill out a nominating petition available at the District Clerk’s office. Completed petitions must be submitted to the District Clerk no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, April 22.
campus during spring break, workers will be able to begin more intrusive work. Four bathrooms will be demoed to prepare for complete replacement. Upgrades to these bathrooms, along with eight others, will continue throughout the summer. In the WHS gym, outdated air handling units will be removed from the ceiling and replaced with more efficient units to be housed on the roof. Steel workers will shore up the ceiling and roof to handle the additional weight. Finally, interior and exterior door and glass replacement will begin over break and continue throughout the summer. Wireglass in many of the windows throughout the school will be replaced with fire-rated glass, while multiple doors will be replaced and others made ADA compliant. A Look Ahead to Summer: While the commencement ceremony marks the official end of the school year at Westlake, it also marks the beginning of construction season. Once students and staff leave for the summer, crews will close down the school for major work. In addition to the work already planned (see sidebar for full list), approvals were recently recieved from the state to move ahead with site work at the Westlake campus. While the work will occur in phases over the next two summers, construction on new sidewalks from Westlake Drive to the front of school, as well as several parking areas, is anticipated to begin in July.
The list of improvements is long and the summer is short so crews will be working day and night to prepare for the opening of school in the fall. But in the end, we hope you will agree, all the hard work will be worth it.
Summer 2019 Construction Westlake High School
• Boiler replacements • HVAC upgrades in gym, auditorium and main office • Classroom unit ventilators • 12 bathroom renovations • Roof replacement • Electrical service and panel upgrades • Fire alarm upgrades • Ceiling, lighting and floors in select classrooms • Door and wire-glass replacements • Masonry repairs • Site work - sidewalks and parking areas
Columbus Elementary • Site lighting • Roof fan installation • Electrical panel upgrades • Fire alarm upgrades • Student bathroom upgrades • Ceiling, lighting and floors in select classrooms and hallways • Door and window replacements • Masonry repairs
FROM THE HEART • Spring 2019
We have much to be proud of!
Kurtis Kotes, Ed.D Superintendent
It is difficult to believe that we are racing towards the end of the 2018/2019 school year. As I had shared in previous communications surrounding my entrance plan with the district, we continue to stay focused on the instructional and professional goals that I had articulated to you in the fall. Our staff has been able to use professional development time to meet in vertical teams in grades K-5 and grades 6-12 working towards better aligning our instructional practices and sharing common best practices for instruction. These efforts will certainly help improve the academic program for the students in the district. It is at this time also that we begin to look to the new school year. Together, we will develop our areas of focus for improvement and share them with the community to better inform you of our district goals and objectives. The late winter and early spring months have also allowed us to celebrate wonderful accomplishments by all of our students. It has been a pleasure to visit students, families, and staff during all of our Celebrations of Learning. As a parent and an educator, it is fulfilling to see young people demonstrate the growth that they have made throughout the school year, sharing their work with their families and loved ones. The recent production of The Addams Family was a huge success and yet another demonstration of
the great talents of our students. Our athletic teams also have enjoyed great success through the winter and the spring, taking special note of our Cheerleading team who qualified to compete in the NYS Championships! Our student athletes continue to demonstrate excellence in competition and in the classroom. It is important that I provide you with an update on the capital improvement project approved by the community in 2016. While a great amount of work has been completed at Columbus Elementary School, there is a substantial amount of work scheduled to be completed this summer on the Westlake Campus and at Columbus Elementary. All of the work is in line with the original information shared with the community and will greatly improve the infrastructure of our facilities. The final phase of bond work will be completed during the summer of 2020. We have updated the facilities page of our website and provided some greater detail of the work in this version of From the Heart. I look forward to a successful end to the 20182019 school year and all of the excitement and satisfaction that comes along with this time of year. I remain grateful to all of you for your continued support of the Mount Pleasant Central School District!
STEAM Education:
A 21st Century Approach to Learning Math and science have long been part of the standard curriculum in elementary and secondary schools across the world, but the concept of linking the subjects together with other important disciplines is a newer phenomenon. The Tech Boom of the late 90’s and early 2000’s created opportunities and careers that weren’t previously available. Educating students to be prepared for these opportunities required a new kind of thinking, giving birth to the idea of STEAM.
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What is STEAM? STEAM is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math. It is an integrated approach to learning that encourages students to think more broadly about real-world problems. It helps students develop critical thinking skills, improve scientific literacy, and learn how to collaborate with others. While the initial focus was on the four disciplines of STEM, most educators agree that it is important to integrate the arts into the learning. According to the Rhode Island School of Design, who championed the STEM to STEAM initiative, “The goal is to foster the true innovation that comes with combining the mind of a scientist or technologist with that of an artist or designer.”
STEAM in Mount Pleasant The concept of providing a STEAM education, and setting our students up for future success, has been embraced in many ways in the Mount Pleasant CSD. From arts education, science fairs, math leagues and engineering clubs in the elementary schools, to robotics clubs, computer science and technology design classes in the middle school to a new STEAM pathway in the high school, students are being exposed to all aspects of STEAM throughout their education. The following pages provide some insight into what our students are accomplishing in and out of the classroom and how learning across disciplines helps fuel that success.
Once again, Westlake Science Research students are making history and have achieved incredible success in highly competitive science and engineering fairs this year. Months of hard work paid off when, in an historic first for Westlake HS, every single student won awards in the 19th Annual Regeneron - Westchester Science and Engineering Fair (WESEF). More than 670 students from 41 high schools competed in this “Superbowl of Science Fairs.” After conducting original research last summer under the guidance of individual mentors, the juniors and seniors then had to analyze their data
Science Olympiad
Congratulations to the high school and middle school Science Olympiad teams, led by Tom Hall and Raymond Szczerba, who competed this winter against area schools in the New York State Science Olympiad Regionals. The WHS team took home 20th place out of 50 teams. Teams compete in up to 23 events in subjects covering earth science, biology, chemistry, physics and engineering. They meet after school for several months leading up to competition to prepare for a day of rigorous testing.
The Westlake High School (top) and the Westlake Middle School Science Olympiad teams won awards in regional competitions this winter.
FROM THE HEART • Spring 2019
The Scientists of Tomorrow
and prepare paper, PowerPoint and McIntyre, this highly regarded local poster presentations, incorporating the competition attracts more than 400 art/design aspect of STEAM. students from across Westchester and The season continues with the Tri- Putnam counties. County Science & Technology Fair You can read more about the Science in April, and will culminate with the Research student projects and awards at Westlake Science Fair planned for June whs.mtplcsd.org/wesef_2019. 1st at Westlake High School. This will be the first opportunity for 10th grade students to present research posters in their chosen fields. The senior research students will finally be able to take a step back and use their expertise to serve as judges for this one-of-akind competition. Science Research students at the WESEF competition. Back Founded by row from left: Roman Raguso, Liam Naughton, Paul Gschneider, Cohen, Stephen Donato, Chris Bauco, Jake Szeszko, Kenny science research Lee Dronzek, Caleb Levitt and director Lawrence McIntyre Front: Olivia director Lawrence Eng, Nicole Musial, Colleen Bradley and Faith Summers
Young Scientists
Medal winners Middle School 6th place: David Green & Sterling Varga — Meteorology 8th place: Andrew Joseph & Kieran Mullin— Fossils High School 4th place: Olivia Eng & Olivia Cartano — Forensics 4th place: Paul Gschneidner & Caleb Levitt — Elastic Gliders 9th place: Matheus Louzada & Pranav Vadapalli - Sounds of Music 10th place: Elisabeth Carpinelli & Olivia Cartano - Herpetology
Science research begins early in Mount Pleasant. Each year the 5th Grade Science Fair allows students to merge their scientific knowledge with their problem solving skills and design abilities to create poster presentations highlighting an original experiment. This year, projects tested everything from the best brand of batteries to the best method for growing plants. Students were challenged to pose a question, come up with a hypothesis and conduct an experiment to test that hypothesis. Parents and teachers had the opportunity to vote on their favorite experiments in several categories: Most Surprising Result went to Anthony Ardis and Luke Gilbert for “Melon Heads: Which Helmut is Safest?” Most Useful Information went to Cate Cangialosi for “How Does the Texture of a Surface Affect Speed?” Top Overall Experiment went to Bridget Doherty and Elke Georgioudakis for “How Does Music Affect Blood Pressure?” Congratulations to all the budding scientists! Jillian Lyden tested which gum makes the best bubbles.
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FROM THE HEART • Spring 2019
Learning to Code
Minecraft. Angry Birds. Star Wars. What middle schooler wouldn’t love to spend time playing video games in school? But WMS students aren’t just playing games, they are learning how they are made. Beginning as early as 6th grade and continuing until the end of middle school, students take courses to introduce them to coding. In Ely Perry’s 6th grade Technology Education class, he teaches students object-oriented visual programming called Scratch. Using drag and drop technology, students learn how to move an object (a bird, for example) from one place to another (back into its nest). By the end of the semester, they are able to control multiple objects and eventually have them interact with each other.
Little Engineers
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Children are naturally curious. With huge imaginations and a love of creating things, it’s easy to encourage elementary students to learn about engineering, even if they have no idea that’s what they are doing! Dan Malone, a 1st grade teacher at HES and the K-2 curriculum director, strives to encourage that natural inquisitiveness in his students every day. With a strong interest in STEAM and engineering, he decided to establish an after school engineering club. Three times per week, he meets with small groups of students to explore new projects. Many of the lessons incorporate learning across the STEAM disciplines. Some of their interdisciplinary projects have included: • Building “Art-bots” which can draw pictures on their own (engineering and art)
Pathway to Success
Sixth grader Alex Loshigian enthused, “I like it because eventually you can create anything you want. It’s pretty fun.” The lessons continue in 7th grade Technology & Design (also taught by Mr. Perry) and then in 8th grade Explorations in Coding & Design taught by Mike Pezutti. By this point, students are introduced to Blockly, another visual programming language similar to Scratch. An added benefit of Blockly is that it can be directly translated from visual code to textbased code, a more complex language which allows more flexibility in design and function. Students who choose to continue with coding electives at the high school will have greater exposure to text-based coding. The future is here. Introducing students to the basics of coding at such a young age will spark their enthusiasm and create the innovators of tomorrow. • Building truss bridges to model the strength of triangles (engineering, mathematics and art) • Building and racing magnetic cars using opposite poles to push the cars (science and engineering) • Building race car ramps of various heights and surfaces to study friction and energy and then comparing distances as the elevations change (science, engineering and mathematics) • Using small DCI motors to build wind turbines, motorized cars and boats (technology and engineering) When asked what they liked about the class, 1st grader Vincent DiBenedetto summed it up best; “I learned that Mr. Malone is a great scientist and making electricity is fun!” By igniting that passion early, Mr. Malone is helping set these kids on the path to future success.
In an effort to keep the STEAM momentum building, high school students will now have four new classes to choose from beginning in the 2019-20 school year. And based on enrollment numbers, those students are excited! Computer Science In the 8th grade Explorations in Coding and Design Class, students were introduced to coding. The newly added Coding 2 will continue the study of object-oriented programing through various platforms. Students will use an innovative 3D programming environment that makes it easy to create animations for telling a story, playing an interactive game or a creating a video to share on the web. From Coding 2, students will be better prepared to take the already offered Computer Programming 1 and 2 courses. Often times, student’s education in this field ended there as the AP Computer Science course (which will still be offered) was a big leap from the basics. They now have the opportunity to bridge that gap with AP Computer Science Principles. While it is designed to be equivalent to a first semester introductory college computing course, it is exploratory in nature and strives to help students understand how computing and technology influence the world around them. Students will develop computational thinking skills vital for success across all disciplines. Engineering Engineers are responsible for the design of many products ranging from the toys we play with to the buildings we live in, to the machines we rely on for modern living. Two new courses will discuss what it takes to design products that are both aesthetically pleasing as well as functional. Principles of Engineering 1 and Design for Principles of Engineering 1 are two classes which must be taken simultaneously. Students will be introduced to various design software programs as they work in teams to find creative solutions to realworld problems. These new offerings go a long way in setting up students for success upon graduation. Whether they decide to continue their education in a formal setting or opt for on-the-job training, they will be well prepared.
Arts are Essential
By Lauralee Chambers As students grow through their elementary years, beginning in Kindergarten with play and exploration, a foundation of skills and understanding is being built to support future learning as they master greater skills, media, techniques and processes. Art development, knowledge, and appreciation grows within the lessons that challenge each grade level as students journey into their middle and high school years ready to apply their skills in new ways. Art is not taught to create studio artists, but to create strong, confident thinkers who can problem solve, reason, collaborate, fail productively and get back up and try something else. The impact of arts education is far reaching and an integral part of the development of each student. The premier organizations in the world today recognize that the human intellect “draws from many wells.” Arts education gives access to the deepest of those wells.
Kindergartners play with pastels.
Bryan Mesquita and Lauren DeMartino in “The Addams Family.” 2nd graders work with water colors.
3rd graders mold with clay.
5th graders create with oil pastels.
Media Arts Award Winners Congratulations to the WHS students who won awards at the 50th annual Lower Hudson Regional Media Arts Show. ‘Exemplary Awards’ are given to students whose work is deemed to have noteworthy content, a creative approach, attention to composition, a command of craft, and is visually and technically outstanding. To earn a ‘Presidents’ Award’ students are judged on their entire body of work. Those considered visually or technically outstanding win monetary awards. Congratulations to the following students from Claudia Abate and Lauren Morris’ classes:
Exemplary Awards – 2D Art: Ashley Alvarez Alyssa Bange Katelyn Buglione Alyssa Finck Juliette Galletti Alyssa Gutierrez Aimee Holland (Presidents’ Award) Nicholas Iacono
FROM THE HEART • Spring 2019
In the Theater
Dean Williams and Jean Gallettti perform in “Alladin.”
This year, the John S. Whearty Theater was home to two incredible shows performed by Westlake Middle School students and the Westlake Players of Westlake High School. In February, WMS performed “Alladin.” Toni and Mike Williams directed two separate casts for two successful nights of performances. In March, the Westlake Players presented “The Addams Family,” directed by Liz Melito. They played to sold out audiences in each of their five performances. Congratulations to all involved in the productions.
Firebender by Matthew Mynes
Cloaked in Foliage by Aimee Holland
Kristin Iannucci Ava Infantino Matthew Last Julia Liebowitz Sarah Lynch Alexandra Marini Abbey Martin Matthew Mynes (Presidents’ Award)
Denise Nguyen Nicole Pryor Stephanie Rosenberg Thomas Rubino Emily Salvi Elisabeth Schulze Emily Specht Lily Tobiasen
Surrealist Digital Image by Tom Rubino
Exemplary Awards – Video: Justin Avella - Dr. Kotes Interview Sydney Roell - The College Process Thomas Rubino - Director’s Reel, Mirrors (Presidents’ Award)
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FROM THE HEART • Spring 2019
During the 2018-19 school year, more than 70 Columbus Elementary students participated in the Continental Mathematics League for ten weeks. Teachers Lisa Fornara, Jennifer Rutledge and Lisa Giacomo worked with students of all abilities and interests every Wednesday after school to share strategies, collaborate with peers, and build problem-solving skills while working through a collection of challenging word problems. After months of preparation, students were able to participate in several math meets to test their skills. Meets consisted of six thought-provoking word
problems. Third graders participated in three meets, while fourth and fifth graders took part in five meets. Both meets and practices were designed to maximize student opportunities for developing perseverance when problem-solving. Students participated at their appropriate grade level and were encouraged to keep a positive attitude, as well as strive to achieve their personal best. At an end-of-season award ceremony, each student received a participation award. Those students who achieved a perfect score on at least one meet also received a certificate with distinction, while the top two scorers in each grade received medals. Congratulations to the following medal winners: 3rd Grade: 1st Place: Massimo Bucklin 2nd Place (tie): Duncan Force, Lucas Mooney and Jeffrey Sliss 4th Grade: 1st Place: Oliver Wu 2nd Place: Gavin Fitzpatrick 5th Grade: 1st Place: GianMarco Miraglia 2nd Place: James Sun
Seventeen students were inducted into the Math Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, on April 9th. Inductees must maintain an 85 overall GPA and have 90 average in math. Additionally, they must participate in the after school math league. Inductees are: Emma Bigley Colleen Bradley Samantha Castellano Peter Cavazzini Rebecca Cross Katherine DiLiberti Katelyn Jaime Samantha LaScala Bryan Mesquita
Nicole Musial Brian Mynes Denise Nguyen Kristin Pierce Elisabeth Schulze Tyler Tsiakaros Pranav Vadapalli Kaylee Zheng
Social Studies Honor Society inducts 21
Science Honor Society welcomes 17
Westlake High School’s chapter of Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society inducted twenty-one new members on March 13. Criteria for membership includes high honors in social studies with an overall GPA of 85 or better, community service and a completed community project. New members this year include:
Seventeen students were inducted into the Science Honor Society on March 20th. Inductees must maintain an 85 overall GPA and have taken at least one AP science course. Additionally, they must dedicate up to 40 hours of community service, be a part of Science Research or be an active member of Westlake’s Science Olympiad Team. Inductees are:
Julia Behring Emma Bigley Courtney Bonyai Amanda Bradley Colleen Bradley Samantha Castellano Juliana Colabatistto
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17 new members join the Math Honor Society
Rebecca Cross Kenneth Dronzek Kyra Earley Arianna Edwards Paul Gschneidner Nicole Izzo Samantha LaScala
Caleb Levitt Arianna Muratore Gabriella Muratore Giuliana Piazza Roman Raguso Emily Salvi Emily Specht
Julia Behring Amanda Bradley Colleen Bradley Samantha Castellano Julia Clark Lee Cohen
Kenneth Dronzek Paul Gschneidner Katelyn Jaime Caleb Levitt Nicole Musial Liam Naughton
Denise Nguyen Roman Raguso Jake Szeszko Pranav Vadapalli Kaylee Zheng
Lion’s Club Students of the titled Investigating Paleoclimate Through the Deposition of Ice Rafted Debris from the C o n g r a t u l a - Month Western Mid-Atlantic Ridge, uses several
Valedictorian/Salutatorian
tions to seniors Bryan Mesquita and Christopher Bauco for being named Valedictorian and Salutatorian respectively. These students ranked number one and number two in their class academically.
State Representatives
Congratulations to Riley Neglia for being nominated to attend Girls State and to Niko Dominguez, Caleb Levitt and Roman Ragusso who were nominated to attend Boys State. The programs, sponsored by the American Legion, are week-long immersive learning experiences where participants take part in a nonpartisan curriculum focusing on Americanism and the political process. It aims to give high school students leadership skills and an action-based understanding of the government process. Girls State will be held at The College of Brockport in July and Boys State will take place at SUNY Morrisville in June. Celebrating our Students Has your current student or Westlake graduate received a recognition or award? Let us know! Email details to awalsh@mtplcsd.org
Brian Mynes, Emily Pensabene and Stephen Donato have been chosen as Thornwood Lion’s Club “Student of the Month” for February, March and April respectively. The seniors were nominated by their teachers and guidance counselors for their exceptional service to their school and/or community. They were recognized at a Lion’s Club dinner on April 11th and received a plaque for their “service above self.”
Scholarship Winner
Sofia Catarino, President of the Spanish Honor Society, is the recipient of the $2000 Joseph Adams Senior Scholarship through the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP). She is one of only 12 students nationwide to to be chosen. Her nomination was made by Spanish teacher Maria Mittelmann on the basis of Sofia’s high achievement in Spanish throughout high school. Sofia had to submit a five minute conversational video and a 500 word essay discussing (in Spanish) what keeps her motivated to learn another language and how she will use her knowledge of Spanish to contribute to her community.
methods and techniques to study paleoceanography and paleoclimate focusing on historical connections between Earth’s oceans and climate.
Published Researchers
Congratulations to Science Research students Nicole Musial and Colleen Bradley. Their research, under mentor Dr. John Edwards of the New York Medical College in Valhalla, was chosen to be published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Journal. The FASEB Journal is highly cited and consistently ranks among the top biology journals globally. Their paper, Investigating the Impact of the Target Gene NOX4 on Mitochrondrial Function in Type II Diabetes-Induced Heart Failure, investigated how cellular defects in patients with Type2 diabetes can lead to heart failure.
FROM THE HEART • Spring 2019
And kudos to …
Award Winning Research
Christopher Bauco recently learned he was one of two 2018 Outstanding Student Paper Award winners for his presentation at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Conference. His research,
Teacher Grants Congratulations
to Denise Danzis, a 1st Grade teacher at Hawthorne, for receiving a $500 grant from the Teacher Center of Central Westchester Professional and Curriculum Development. The award is for her efforts in Support Shared Reading, an interactive reading experience where students join in the reading of a book while guided and supported by a teacher to practice fluency and comprehension. Mrs. Danzis will use the grant money to purchase oversize books for the classroom. She elaborates, “Big books are engaging. They allow everyone to feel confident reading as the children join in repeated readings of it.”
Nicole Musial and Colleen Bradley present their research at the Westchster Science and Engineering Fair.
Congratulations to WMS art teacher Susan Cowles-Dumitru for being one of only two art teachers nationwide awarded a $500 DIG (Design Interest Group) Dr. Martin Rayala Recognition Grant for her proposed project “Sustainable House in a Jiffy.” Her project will challenge students to work in small teams to research how to design temporary housing to address human needs in a natural disaster when permanent housing may be destroyed or totally lost. Research will also include how to make this shelter sustainable and healthy. Grants are awarded to dedicated art and design educators who develop, implement, and document meaningful design thinking projects or design-based learning challenges. 7
FROM THE HEART • Spring 2019
Mount Pleasant Central School District
Non-Profit Organization US Postage Paid White Plains, NY Permit No. 9415
West Lake Drive, Thornwood, NY 10594
Mark Your Calendar
Tuesday May 21st Budget Vote and School Board Elections 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. Westlake H.S. More information will be coming soon.
Board of Education Colleen Scaglione Neglia, President Laura Michalec Olszewski, Vice President Vincent Graci Michael Griffin Michael Horan Maria Jost Chris Pinchiaroli
* * * ECRWSS * * * POSTAL CUSTOMER
Superintendent Dr. Kurtis Kotes Correspondence Phone: 769-5500 • Fax 769-3733 Web: www.mtplcsd.org Editor/email contributions Alyson Walsh/awalsh@mtplcsd.org
Wildcat News … Winter Season Recap Here’s a recap of the Westlake Wildcat’s winning winter season. BOYS BASKETBALL
(10-11)
GIRLS BASKETBALL
(13-9)
Wildcats in the News
Scholar Athlete Team Coaches: Chad Charney, Jeff Charney, Casey O’Keefe Post-Season Results: #9 seed All-Conference: Tyler Tsiakaros All-Section Honorable Mention: Richie Petrillo All-League: Richie Petrillo, Tyler Tsiakaros
Scholar Athlete Team Coaches: Sean Mayer; Asst. Nicole Seward Post-Season Results: Won first round of sectionals Tournament Champs: Sacred Heart Kathy Mayer Classic. Allie Castellone was named to All-Tournament team, Rebecca Lovett was tournament MVP. All-League: Jamie Perfito, Julie Lyden WINTER TRACK
Scholar Athlete Team Coaches: Matthew Mysliwiec, Michael Piccoli Post Season Results: NY Section 1 Class C Championships: Dylan Ahern - 1st in High Jump, 2nd in Triple Jump, Glen Ahern - 3rd in High Jump All League: Dylan Ahern (Triple Jump, High Jump) BOYS SWIM
(7-2)
Scholar Athlete Team Coaches: Anthony Pizzolla, Dave Bruskewicz Post-Season Results: 1st Place in Conference 2 Championship Meet All-League: Liam Naughton
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From Wildcat to Panther!
Congratulations to senior Jack Simon who signed a commitment letter to play Division 1 lacrosse at High Point University in North Carolina next year. Jack began his lacrosse career as a Junior Wildcat and has worked countless hours playing Varsity and club lacrosse to achieve his goal of playing at the top level. He has been a starting defender on one of the most successful lacrosse teams in Westlake’s history. As a junior, he received All League and All Section Honorable Mention accolades. Former WHS coach Hunter Burnard summed it up well saying, “Jack has truly earned this opportunity. His relentless desire to win is contagious.” CHEERLEADING
Scholar Athlete Team Coaches: Lauren Buffamante, Nicole Casale Competition Results: 2nd place at Empire Regional; 1st place at North Rockland; 1st place at Garden State Championship; 1st place at Scarsdale; Semi-finalist, 15th place at the UCA National High School Competition; 2nd place at the ICU World Competition; 1st place at NYS Sectionals; Semi-finalist, 8th place at NY States
What a Season!
It was quite a season for Westlake’s Varsity Cheerleaders. After securing first place finishes in most of their regular season competitions, the team had a chance to show off their talent on a bigger stage. In February, they traveled to Orlando, FL to compete in the UCA Nationals. WHS was one of only 50 schools invited to attend. After moving through several rounds of competition, the team finished 15th in the semi-finals. Next it was on to NY State Section 1 Championships, where they took 1st place in the co-ed division and earned a spot at States. The team traveled to Rochester, NY and walked away with an 8th place finish. Congratulations!