School News, September 28, Southampton Town

Musicians Named to Music Festival

Six members of the Southampton High School Music Department have been selected to perform with the New York State Council of Administrators of Music Education All-County Chorus and Orchestra.

The musicians are, for chorus, Bella Duque, alto; Beatriz Fino Morfogen, soprano; and Joseph Lucas, tenor; and for orchestra, Charlotte Arnzen, cello; Casey Cartagena, violin; and Julian Misut, viola.

The students were chosen for these highly selective ensembles based on their scores at the New York State School Music Association Solo Evaluation Festival, teacher recommendations and ranking. They represent the finest high school junior and senior musicians in Suffolk County. Prior to the All-County performance at Northport High School in November, the students will participate in rehearsals at Connetquot High School.

World Leadership Congress

During the summer, Southampton High School junior Selena Morales collaborated with students from around the world as part of the 2023 HOBY World Leadership Congress, held at Loyola University in Chicago.

Morales earned a full scholarship to attend the prestigious world leadership event following an interview process at the New York Metro HOBY leadership program she attended as a sophomore. She was invited to the metro program after submitting a winning essay on being a leader in the community. As part of the world leadership program, Morales participated in leadership-building activities and heard from a variety of keynote speakers. The experience, she said, was one she would not forget, stating, “It was exciting to meet people from around the world.”

Morales spends much of her time volunteering at the Rogers Memorial Library and teaching English to Spanish-speaking adults through the Ingles sin Estres program at her school. In addition, she is a member of her school’s jazz band and mock trial team and plans to join the chess club and Key Club this year. She also plays field hockey and lacrosse.

Southampton Musicians Named to All-State

Two Southampton High School students have been selected to perform in the 2023 New York State School Music Association All-State Festival. Julian Misut will perform on viola in the Symphony Orchestra, and Charlotte Arnzen was selected as an alternate cellist. The two were selected from a pool of thousands of student-musicians across New York State who auditioned for the honor last spring.

Misut is a violist in the Southampton High School orchestra and symphony orchestra. He has participated in the Juilliard School’s precollege program as both violist and composer for the past three years. He will be performing with the All-State Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Tiffany Lu, music director at the University of Florida.

Arnzen is a cellist in the Southampton High School orchestra and symphony orchestra. She participates in the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra and performs annually at Carnegie Hall. Representing Southampton, she has earned principal chair in the Long Island String Festival, the All-County Orchestra and the Hamptons Music Educators Association Orchestra. She has also received awards at the Vivo music competition.

The four-day All-State festival will take place during NYSSMA’s annual winter conference, held November 30 through December 4 in Rochester. After intensive rehearsals, the festival will culminate in a performance at the famed Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music.

Southampton Senior Receives National Honors

Southampton High School senior Stephanie Garcia earned national recognition through the College Board National Recognition Program, which colleges use to identify academically competitive, underrepresented students. Garcia was honored with a National Hispanic Recognition Award. To earn the recognition, she was required to hold a grade point average of 3.5 or higher, excel on the PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 exams, or earn a score of 3 or higher on two or more AP exams.

AP Scholars Named in Southampton

The Southampton School District has announced that 15 students received special Advanced Placement designations based on achievement in college-level coursework.

To earn Scholar recognition, students are required to score a 3 or higher on three or more AP exams; and for Scholar with Honor, they must earn a 3.25 on all AP exams taken and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of those exams.

Recognized AP Scholars are Linda Alfaro, Ronan Brady, Lilly Conklin, Ava Doherty, Beckham LaRose, Julian Misut, Riley Mitchell, Sanaya Morris, Hector Penaloza, Nicholas Race and Patryk Schneider. AP Scholars with Honor include Casey Cartagena, Marielle Costa, Jerome Halsey and Lily Halsey.

Spanish Language Skills Expanded

During the summer, nine Southampton School District teachers took part in a study abroad program in Spain as part of an immersive Peconic Teacher Center course.

Southampton teachers joined 33 fellow teachers in Santander, Spain, for the two-week language program. Teachers became the students through the intensive language course at the International University Menéndez Pelayo de Santander. Their level of Spanish was assessed through an online test before their arrival, which placed them into one of three levels of course study. Classes were five hours per day and included Spanish language, grammar, and culture of Spain and Latin American countries. All classes were taught completely in Spanish by native Spanish-speaking professors.

Outside of the language sessions, the university organized cooking classes, flamenco lessons, conversation classes, kayaking, beach volleyball, and many museum visits and walking tours of the city. The city provided opportunities for immersive language experiences. The area surrounding Santander was also an extension of the classroom, with trips organized to Bilbao and the Guggenheim museum, the prehistoric cave art in Altamira and the medieval town of Santillana del Mar.

“This program is so important for our teachers to see that they can learn a new language at any age, and being able to communicate in Spanish has never been more important in our region,” said Southampton Spanish teacher Ellen Martin. “The conditions for learning could not have been better.”

AP Scholars Named in Hampton Bays

The Hampton Bays School District announced that 32 students received special Advanced Placement designations based on achievement in college-level coursework.

Recognized AP Scholars include Justin Barreto, Alex Bermudez, Allison Booth, Sheidy Carrera, Justin Contreras, Alexandra Flores, Dylan Foley, Muhammad Khalid, Itzel Lopez, Victoria Madison, Nellie Nicolova, Yadith Paredes, Michael Poremba, Tania Quiros, Kael Schoerlin, Ben Spellman and Merary Valle. AP Scholars with Honor include Eddy Benenaula, Gianna Betta, Emma Halsey, Kubranur Karali, Cassidy Leporati, Alexis O’Brien and Joffre Proano. AP Scholars with Distinction are Emily Barnes, Jake Belvedere, Samantha Kraycar, Minal Naeem, Emily Robinson, Maya Sanabria, Allison Sequeira, Emary Theiling and Kelly Velasquez.

Storch Attends FBI New York Teen Academy

Ryan Storch, a sophomore at Eastport-South Manor Jr.-Sr. High School, was one of 80 students selected to attend the FBI New York Teen Academy this summer. Admission to the FBI New York Teen Academy was based upon a competitive application process that included school grades, community involvement and a written essay.

For two weeks in July, Storch was immersed in learning day-to-day FBI operations and investigative tactics from FBI special agents, analysts and professional staff. Daily presentations and hands-on activities focused on mock crime scene investigations, crime prevention, cybersecurity, anti-terrorism, SWAT, active shooter training, bomb squad and canine I-robots, gang and mob-related corruption crimes. Some of the activities included a field trip to the Federal Courthouse where Storch participated in a mock trial and competing with real FBI recruits during the rigorous personal fitness test.

Storch is a Suffolk County Police Department Explorer and works with Officer Kurz and Officer Trotti from the seventh precinct. He has been especially helpful to the department in trying to recruit new Explorers.

News From Sagaponack School

During the first full week, teachers conducted Fountas & Pinnell reading assessments to determine their independent reading levels to start the year for the younger students. The reading levels are given to the Hampton Library so students can check out books during monthly visits.

They also worked on their math and reading benchmark assessments for Aimsweb Plus. This will help determine where each of students are academically.

Students took a field trip to the Hampton Library and another to LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton.

A ceremony honoring Barbara Albright, who was an active member of the Sagaponack community, will be held on October 2 at 3 p.m. A bench and plaque will be unveiled in the school’s playground area and refreshments will be served after the ceremony. All are invited.

College News

Christina Santucci of Westhampton graduated with a degree in social work from James Madison University, during commencement exercises in August.