Seated on floor from left to right: Anabella Santiago-Scheck, Kaylah Leung, Matthew Cabral, Georgina Partridge, Ken Niu, Ethan Cheung, Kohei Tada, Meris Gingery 

Middle row from left to right: Samara Chertok, Annabelle Wu, Julia Alioti Passi, William Chang

Back row standing from left to right: Alex Tang, Tatiana Alexander, Catherine Wang, Justin Park, Yuusuke Tseng, Nicholas Ramos, Samarth Goindi, Jhung Lee, Katerina Artemenko, Alexandra Sinha, Jonathan Hart, Nicholas Malley, Harrison Harmon 

EMS Students Enjoy Success at Science Olympiad

For the first time in school history, Eastchester Middle School students competed in a Science Olympiad Regional Competition on March 4, earning ninth place out of 20 school districts.

The team traveled to Scarsdale Middle School for the event, which tested the entrants’ skills and knowledge in a diverse array of STEM disciplines. In addition to placing ninth, team members earned top 10 medals in five individual events. 

Science Olympiad Co-Advisor Daniella Lore, admitted that—as this was Eastchester’s first foray into the world of STEM competitions—she and colleague Tom Boissonnault didn’t know what to expect. It didn’t take long, however, for Eastchester’s students to prove that they were up to the challenge.

“Primarily, we were just looking for a chance to give these kids a competitive opportunity in STEM, so we went into this looking at it as a bit of a trial run,” said Lore. “What we came out with definitely exceeded our wildest expectations of what could be accomplished in a single year.” 

The 21-person team—which consisted of 15 team members and six alternates—has spent the last several months preparing for the competition, meeting after school and getting hands-on experience with the varied events—from build competitions that saw students work together to construct bridges and other functional mechanical apparatuses, to written exams that tested knowledge areas including biology, chemistry and physics. 

Seventh grader Nicholas Malley, who earned an 8th place medal for his performance in the Forestry event, said that he was eager to participate in Science Olympiad because it seemed like a unique opportunity to combine his passion for STEM with interscholastic competition. 

““I’ve always been interested in biology and life on earth, so when I saw Forestry was one of the events, I thought I could give it a try,” said Malley. “But I didn’t think that many people were going to get medals, I just wanted to see what this was all about.”

Samarth Goindi, an eighth-grader who medaled in both the Storm The Castle build event and Crave the Wave—a test about the properties of waves and motion—said he relished the opportunity to work alongside his teammates to solve complex science problems

“It’s more fun working together, doing collaborative work,” said Goindi. “It’s more interesting when you get more answers in the pool.”

Goindi added that while the academic component of the competition was the initial draw, spending the day with classmates across different grade levels was also a plus. The team shared a classroom for the day, eating together, playing games and constructing a Science Olympiad poster that took first place among the teams at the event.

“I think I made a lot of new friends and I got to spend time with some kids I was already friends with,” said Goindi. “Usually, I fraternize with other eighth graders, but I got the chance to talk a lot with kids from other grades.”

Lore said she and Boissonnault are grateful for the support of the Eastchester School Foundation—which was integral to the establishment of Science Olympiad—and thankful to the Eastchester staff and community members who have played a role in the team’s success.

She noted that the team is already looking ahead to next year, and hopes that Saturday's strong showing will serve as a foundation for future growth.

“The kids had an absolute blast, by the time we got back on the bus we already heard them talking about getting ready for next year; more than any of the trophies or medals, that’s what brought us real joy.” she said. ““Being a very heavy sixth-grade-oriented team, we hope that we have a lot of younger members who will continue to stick with this over the years and help us get stronger.”

2023 Science Olympiad Medalists:

3rd Place - Botany (Trial Event): Tatiana Alexander & Annabelle Wu

7th Place - Storm the Castle: Samarth Goindi & Nicholas Ramos 

7th Place - Can't Judge a Powder: Meris Gingery & Kohei Tada 

10th Place - Crave the Wave: Samarth Goindi & Harrison Harmon 

8th Place - Forestry: Katerina Artemenko & Nicholas Malley

Jump Start Study Skills Program Kicks off at EHS

This week, Eastchester High School launched a new initiative aimed at helping students develop techniques and strategies for academic success. 

Over the next few weeks, all ninth and 10th graders will be taking part in the EHS Study Skills Workshop, a program that focuses on several components of successful scholarship, including—but not limited to—organization, time management, and note taking.

The series, made possible through a partnership with the EHS Parent Teacher Association, is being run by Jump Start Tutoring. It will consist of three 40-minute sessions scheduled during students’ English periods. EHS Principal Dr. Jeff Capuano said that the initiative is a vital one, given concerns about how two years of COVID-19 disruptions may have affected student learning.

"Many students, upon entering high school, don't have the skills required to succeed at the highest level,” said Dr. Capuano. “Our goal, in conjunction with the PTA, was to explicitly give our ninth and 10th graders an opportunity to learn study skills that will help them succeed in any academic setting and in life.”

The instruction topics in the course vary dramatically, presenting students with good habits and best practices that will aid them on their academic journeys. In addition to tips on how to improve vocabulary and memory recall, Jump Start also focuses on physical and mental health, and provides advice on how best to advocate for oneself in school. 

EHS PTA President Tina Fernandez said that changing educational models during COVID-19 conspired to limit students’ ability to hone the traditional skills necessary for high school academics. Those concerns, she added, were nearly universal among parents. 

“Everything changed so quickly, and there was the most incredible learning curve ever when it came to learning how to adapt to these new models,” she said. “Some of our children struggled with study skills to begin with, so we decided to focus our attention on this area.”

Fernandez noted that the initial plan was for the EHS PTA to fund Study Skills courses on the weekends, but that the information presented in these sessions is so critical, it was important to reach every student by offering the classes during normal school hours.

“We’re so fortunate to have a great relationship with Dr. Capuano,” she said. “So when we floated this idea and gave him our reasoning behind it, he took the idea to the teachers and worked through the departments to be able to find the time to offer these classes.”

Ultimately, Fernandez added, these classes are the byproduct of educators and parents striving to do right by the students of Eastchester. 

“Our mission is to keep what is in the best interests of the children at the forefront of our minds,” she said. “Teachers and parents are a team and we need to work together and find ways we can support what is going on in the schools."

Athletes and Coaches Take Part in Leadership Summit

The Section 1 high school sports season won’t officially kick off until Monday, March 13, but Eastchester’s coaches and athletes were hard at work this week, preparing for the tests that lay ahead. But this training wasn’t taking place in the gyms or on the ballfields, and it didn’t involve watching game tape or hitting personal bests in the weight-room. The work done this week was centered around improving communication and leadership skills 

On March 8 and 9, student-athletes and coaches took part in an Athletic Leadership Summit run by the Janssen Sports Leadership Center (JSLC). The goal of the symposium was to bring together a broad cross-section of those affiliated with Eastchester’s sports teams in order to define the leadership qualities that make individuals, teams, and athletic programs successful. 

Brad Gitlin, the Director of Athletics, Physical Education and Health, said holding an event like this can help set the tone of the athletic culture in the school and put in place clear standards of leadership and accountability. 

“We say that athletics provides X,Y,Z in terms of character traits, but we now know more about these characteristics; we know the science, theory and philosophy behind leadership,” he said. “So the question becomes, how do we take the time to be very intentional about that work?”

Over the course of two nights, students and coaches heard from a JSLC representative and also took part in a series of exercises that helped them to define that characteristics of programs that enjoy periods of sustained success marked by personal growth. 

“I think it definitely opened my eyes as to what it entails to be a better leader,” said Fred DiCarlo, who has coached basketball and football at Eastchester for over 30 years.”I think we have a tendency to take things like leadership for granted, but now we’re able to focus on the steps we can take to build that.”

Junior Adriana Correa, a three-sport athlete, said the workshop helped her to examine her own leadership style and believes that some of the exercises will help her set a better example for her teammates both on and off the field. 

“I think it definitely helped in terms of communication,” said Correa. “It showed that you don’t have to be the best player on the team to be a captain or a leader, you can still make a difference just in the way you talk to your teammates.”

Some coaches admitted that the summit also caused them to reassess what qualities of leadership are most important to building a successful program. Catherine Manning, the head coach of the varsity girls volleyball team, explained that being more cognizant of how leadership can shape a team will help her to become a more effective coach. 

“It made me think about how I, as a coach, can have a more positive impact on the team,” she said. “I think everyone really bought in which is important.”

Gitlin said it was crucial for both students and coaches to take part in this training, as it will help build a more unified culture moving forward and give everyone the tools they will need to continue to strengthen Eastchester’s athletic program.

“One of the things we wanted to do was make sure we were doing this in parallel,” said Gitlin. “We wanted to make sure students and coaches were speaking the same language so we can all move in the same direction.”

Junior Aidan Schultz agreed with Gitlin’s assessment and believes that a continued focus on leadership will be beneficial to the school, both in the long and short term.

“I think if you look at Eastchester sports, they’re trending up right now,” said Schultz. “And I think we can take those expectations even higher.”

Rho Kappa Leads Aztec Mask Activity for Fifth Graders

Fifth graders got the chance to hear from guest instructors on Wednesday morning, as members of the Eastchester High School chapter of Rho Kappa—the National Social Studies Honor Society—visited classrooms at Anne Hutchinson and Greenvale to discuss the history of Aztec masks and help the youngsters create their own. 

Using paper plates, colored paper, and other items meant to represent materials—such as obsidian and turquoise—that were used by Aztecs hundreds of years ago, students were encouraged to be creative while being mindful of the lessons they learned during their recent unit about the civilizations that flourished in the Americas during the pre-Columbian era. 

11th grader Karthik Kottapalli said that the goal of Rho Kappa members was to present the material about Aztec masks in a way that would engage the younger students, making the information accessible and perhaps inspiring a future generation of history scholars.

“We tried to explain it in a way that would be understandable for a fifth grade level,” said Kottapalli. “When you see someone who’s just a little bit older than you, not necessarily a teacher or an adult, I think it feels a little more attainable to aspire to get to their level.”

Greenvale teacher Meghan O’Sullivan said that the activity allowed her fifth-grade students to draw a mental through-line between the work they are doing now and the subjects they will have the opportunity to learn about as they progress through the school system.

“It’s really big for us and we’re trying to do more of this,” said O’Sullivan. “It’s a way to show them that they’re going to be learning this material at an older age, so all of the background we’re working on now is going to be great preparation for their upcoming classes.”

One student who seemingly took that lesson to heart was fifth grader Raagini Kalani, who said that the chance to work with the high school students was exciting and informative.

“They are older, and they’re really thorough with the information,” she said. “I never knew there were so many different kinds of masks; before our lessons, I only had a little idea about these civilizations, just that they were ancient.” 

Rho Kappa advisor Maryann Cusano said that enlisting high schoolers who have shown an aptitude and passion for historical studies can be instrumental in fostering an appreciation for the humanities among younger students. To that end, she believes that events like Aztec mask-making and the Wax Museum held by the club in January can be effective tools for making history fun.

”Activities like this bring an interest into the humanities for the younger kids,” said Cusano. “They see that high schoolers are excited about it and I think that can rub off.”

K-12 Humanities Supervisor Susan Chester concurred, saying that events like this help bring history to life for younger students.



“I think when the kids can make something that is representative of a past civilization, it brings that connection between past and present out a little bit more,” said Chester. “Being able to pass on this information in an engaging way helps get that enthusiasm going and builds a level of excitement.” 

To see more photos from the Aztec Mask making event, click on image below!

If you have news or announcements to share, please contact the District's Communications Specialist Michael Smith at publicrelations@eufsdk12.org.

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