Congratulations to Niskayuna High School students Juliann Brown, Tanya Zal and Kaitlin Cusack, who all received an Honorable Mention award -- placing them in the top 3 percent of all entries -- in the 2nd Annual Utrecht Self-Portrait Contest (a national contest). Congratulations!

Congratulations to six Niskayuna High School students, who have been selected from hundreds of applicants in 18 counties for the Empire State Youth Chorale. The chorale will perform the "Melodies of Christmas" at Proctor's Theater, performances that will be broadcast on WRGB Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The students are: David Baglow, Ben Golub, Jennifer Lefsyk, Claire Ligon, Leanne Merrill and Sarah Walroth. Congratulations!

The following students were named "Commended Students" by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation for placing in the top 5% on the PSAT exam. They are: Evan Ballan, Brandon Bartell, Jamie Brooks, Stephanie Cogen, Matthew Conlon, Carolyn Dartt, Erik Donhowe, Rachel Hoorwitz, Leanne Merrill, James Mobley, Ahalya Nirmalan, Herbert Reilly, Adam Schwartz, Sara Shechter, Russell Sherrill, Chelsea Stone, Julia Stori, Sarah Tishler, Timothy Vo and Eric Zhou. (October 2005)

The following students were named National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists in 2005, based on their PSAT scores. They are: Nicole Bieber, Katerina Gross, Leslie Johnston, Matthew Law, Manisha Padi, Michele Reitz, Kevin Ryan, Jeremy Wolos and Yingchen Xiong. Less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors are named semifinalists. (September 205)

Essays written by four middle school students on the topic of "Imagine the Impact: How I Can Make a Difference in the Life of My Community," were selected by General Electric's Elfun Society in April. The students are: Amal Tlaige, Rachel Lindenberg, Arunima Balan and Quinn Desiderio. By winning the contest, the students will receive $500 and a mentor to implement the community service project they described in their essays. Great job students! [April 2005]

The Bel Canto Voices and Concert Chorale received "Level 6 Gold with Distinction" honors at the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Choral festival in late April. This is the highest award given by NYSSMA, and judges were impressed with students' professionalism and musicianship. Congratulations! [April 2005]

Niskayuna High School student David Blatnick earned National ServSafe Certification from the National Restaurant Association through his work in the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Technology program at the Capital Region Career & Technical School. [April 2005]

Several Niskayuna High School students won awards at SkillsUSA competitions. In the regional competition: student Jeff Nadas won a first place and a fifth place award in CAD/CAM events; Marissa DeGeorgia won third place in food and beverage service; and Ryan Metzger won fifth place in the computer and network technician event. At the state level of competition, Nick DeNyse won third place in collision repair technology. Congratulations! [March, April 2005]

Niskayuna High School senior Jesse Conti is the 2005 winner of the Mohawk Valley Chorus Vocal Scholarship. As part of the award, Jesse will appear in the Mohawk Valley Chorus' spring concert series as a featured soloist. [March 2005]

Many Niskayuna students had their artwork selected for the 6th Annual Juried Regional High School Art Exhibition at the Opalka Art Gallery at Sage College of Albany. About 20 high schools were asked to submit entries to the show, and of the 128 pieces selected, 23 were from Niskayuna students. Contributing students were: Kaitlin Cusack (who also won a digital art award), Ali Nottke, Elizabeth Santillo, Julie Brown, Jenny Marion, Rachel Naparstek, Emily Symolon, Arezoo Temouri, Erica Greenwold, Alice Lee (who also won a painting award), Megan White, Holly Perham, Anjali Nirmalan, Silvia Kats and Gregory Goldberg. [April 2005]

Of the 209 Niskayuna High School students who took the National Latin Exam, 116 received awards: 19 Gold Summa Cum Laude (including one perfect paper); 34 Silver Maxima Cum Laude; 34 Magna Cum Laude, and 29 Cum Laude. [April 2005]

The Niskayuna Speech and Debate Team won second place, and several Niskayuna students won awards at the team's annual tournament in April. The students recognized were: Rachel Lieberman, 2nd place in Original Oratory; Matthew Baxter, 3rd in Extemporaneous Speaking; Boyang Zhou, 2nd in varsity level of Lincoln-Douglas Debate; Neal Mehrotra, 2nd, and Erin Sherman, 3rd, in junior varsity level of Lincoln-Douglas Debate; and Noah Grade, 3rd, and Joanne Qiao, 4th, in novice level of Lincoln-Douglas Debate. [April 2005]

Tenth-grader Gabriel Laos has been selected to participate in the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program. Through the program, sponsored jointly by the United States Congress and the German Bundestag (legislative chamber), 250 students from the U.S. go to Germany for a year to live with a host family and attend school. Congratulations Gabriel! [March 2005]

Iroquois Middle School student Andrew Roberts and Van Antwerp Middle School student Elizabeth Ha were selected (through a rigorous qualifying test) to participate in the New York State level of the National Geography Bee. They both previously won the local level of the geography bee at their respective middle schools. Great job! [March 2005]

The Iroquois MATHCOUNTS team won the regional finals. Team members are: Markus Salasoo, David Bieber, Deekshith Velagandula, Rudolph Koegl, Samit Dharia, Anagha Tolpadi, Roshal Patel and Vijay Govindarajan. Great job! [February 2005]

Van Antwerp Middle School student Ryan Del Vecchio's essay on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. was a winner in the Albany Institute of History & Art's Black History Month essay contest. Congratulations! [February 2005]

Niskayuna High School senior Patrick Keller performed at many top venues in California, including at the Grammy Awards' post-party, in February 2005 as part of the Gibson/Baldwin Grammy Jazz Ensemble. Keller was one of only 29 students in North American chosen for the honor. [February 2005]

Niskayuna High School Senior Alice Lee received the 2004 "Outstanding Writer" award from the National Council of Teachers in English. She was selected from 2,500 nominated students. Congratulations! [October 2004]

Niskayuna High School's Concert Chorale is part of WMHT-TV's Music for the Holidays 2004. The program features performances by 12 area student groups, and will air: December 13-17 from 7:30-8 p.m.; December 19 from 4:30-7 p.m.; December 20-24 from 5:30-6 p.m.; and December 25 from 7:30-10 a.m. Great job students!

Niskayuna High School's Bel Canto Voices was selected to perform at the New York State School Boards Association's annual convention in Buffalo October 21. The event draws 2,500+ school board members and educators from across New York state, and only three student groups statewide were chosen to perform. While in Buffalo, students also donated more than 500 books to Buffalo elementary schools. Great job students!

Many Niskayuna High School students were recognized in fall 2004 as part of the 2005 National Merit Scholarship Program, for their scores on the PSAT. Nine students were named National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists: Scott Brainard, Elizabeth Brown, Michael Corey, Danielle Dignon, Anthony Guzman, Alice Lee, David Leib, Steven Leib and Denise Zong. Twenty-one students were named "Commended" students: Abigail Alger, Erin Armenia, Sadra Azizi, Monisha Datta, Kayla Eisman, Kevin Fuller, Benjamin Gifford, Jennifer Kleindienst, Caley Kovler, Kevin Kreifels, Jeffrey Leppert, Emily Levine, Michelle Lobo, Sylvia Lou, Robert Manor, Anjali Nirmalan, Adelaide Pagano, Elizaveta Plotnikov, Manuel Possolo, Katherine Sheehan and Alec Wilson. Also, Luke Rollins and Laura Shemo were named Scholars in the National Hispanic Recognition Program. Congratulations!

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