Grand Island High School News Web Page 2017
Grand Island High School Website
2016 News Page
Principal Michael Lauria
Community Use of Track/Outside Athletic Fields at Ransom Road
Vikings Hockey Defends Title at JV Christmas Tournament - December 2017
Front Row, from left: Michael Foglia and Robert Currie
Middle Row: Nick Ratajczak, Ryan Pinzel, Mike Juntunen, Joseph Christiano, Mitch Fusillo, Stephen Leone and Head Coach Marvin Pawlowski.
Back row: ass't coach Bill Cline & Dean Massaro, Nolan Massaro, Marty Castner, Jack Dlugokinski. Connor Raine, Dylan Bush, Brian O'Neill, Tucker Leggett, Patrick Dworak, Cam Davis and ass't coach Anthony Leone.
Not pictured: Tyler Hunt, ass't coach Ed Foglia, manager Robert Ratajczak.
For the second straight year, the Grand Island JV hockey club achieved victory at the Orchard Park Christmas tournament. Grand Island defeated St. Mark's in the championship game 3-0, avenging the teams only loss in round robin play. Coach Marvin Pawlowski credits a great team effort for the win as the team went 4-1 and recorded shutouts in the final two games of the tournament. League play continues into February as the team hopes to qualify for a run at the State Championships held at Hyde Park in Niagara Falls. March 2-4, 2018.GIHS Driving School Program - December 2017
O'Day's Driving School is having a winter 2018 program at the Grand Island High School starting January 22 - March 7th. See details. Registration is due by January 10, 2018. Contact High School Assistant Principal Robert Julian with any questions.Making Cards to teach Citizenship & Compassion - December 2017
The students in Ms. Camilleri's Global Studies classes (grades 9 & 10) at GIHS were taught a lesson on Being Good Citizens & The Five Themes of Good Citizenship. Her students participated in numerous conversations about what makes a good citizen. Within these conversations, they reviewed the five themes of Good Citizenship (which is an important NYS Social Studies Standard). She then asked her students to make a greeting card. The card could have said "Get Well Soon", "Happy Holidays", "Feel Better", "Cheer-Up", etc...the activity was to correlate with the lesson that day.
The greeting cards they were making were for a child who is currently at John R. Oishei Children's Hospital in Buffalo. This activity proved to be invaluable and each student showed care and compassion in their card. It was a great way to end the short week before starting the Thanksgiving break.
Teaching kindness to teenagers allows them to learn the value of making someone's day just by being kind to them. Ms. Camilleri explained how powerful it is to do something for someone else without expecting anything in return. A selfless act of kindness toward a stranger truly has the ability to influence others to do the same. It's important to teach students about being good citizens, which includes compassion.
Approximately 100 cards created from the hearts of GIHS teenagers were delivered to John R. Oishei Children's Hospital. One of Ms. Camilleri's former students, Roxanne Rizek, works at the hospital and was happy to get the cards delivered to the right people for distribution. Along with the help of Roxanne's mom, Nancy, who works at Veronica E. Connor Middle School. At the end of the day, most students realized that making a card for a child in the hospital, actually make them feel good about themselves as well.
GIHS Students Help Neighbors Foundation - December 2017
Students, advisors and Neighbors Foundation board members.
Click for larger view.
Students from DECA, Interact and Student Council once again assisted the Grand Island Neighbors Foundation with the collection of non perishable food items for the holiday season. The students gathered at the Knights of Columbus on Thursday, December 14th to disburse the items into over 54 food pantry baskets. This over twenty year tradition of helping at the holidays is cherished by the Neighbors Foundation committee and Coordinator Hank Kammerer applauds the students for their work.GIHS Boys Swim Team Meet Results - December 2017
GIHS boys swim team vs. Niagara Falls, Tuesday, December 12, 2017. Niagara Falls won 88 - 82. See results.GIHS Boys Swim Team Meet Results - December 2017
GIHS boys swim team vs. Kenmore West, Tuesday, December 5, 2017. Grand Island won 95-81. See results.Rosie Boyko Signs Letter of Intent - November 2017
Dad Scott, Grandmother Sue Hutt, Rosie and mom Beth Boyko.
GIHS senior Rosemarie "Rosie" Boyko signed a letter of intent on Wednesday, December 6th to attend Queens College, a CUNY Division II school in Queens, New York, and will play lacrosse for the Knights. She has played on varsity lacrosse and hockey since her sophomore year. In lacrosse, Rosie played in all 16 games in both her sophomore and junior years, and will be Captain in spring 2018. Overall, she has 24 goals and 25 assists and looks forward to another standout season.GIHS 1st Quarter High Honor Roll - December 2017
9th GRADE HIGH HONOR
Allan Benjamin, Camille Burruano, Emily Cohen, Brooke Conway, Haley Coombs, Zachary Cramer, Alyson Czerwonka, Sarah Dodge, Mara Ellsworth, Thomas Fabiano, Eleah Leng, YuLin Lu, Ashley Maras, Rose Meaney, Samantha Meierer, Ryan Pinzel, Vincent Ricotta, Kevin Rogoza, Hannah Schiffmacher, David, Schnell , Aaron Szczepankiewicz, Lucas Tahara.
10th GRADE HIGH HONOR
Avery Andrews, Ronald Appoloney, William Atkinson, Kenneth Carter, Madison Conway, Erin Cool, Shawna-Lea Harper, Sean Heffley, Luke Hess, Mackenzie Heyden, Victoria Huang, Colby Kalp, Trevor Knight, Lucas Kruse, Robert LeFevre, Katrina Linenfelser, Patrick Loss, Maggie McNamara, Emily Phillips, Sean Rustowicz, Kaylynn Savoy, Thomas Shemik, Griffin Sykes, Patricia Tavarez, Anna Thompson.
11th GRADE HIGH HONOR
Lauren Baeumler, Samantha Bailey, Nicholas Carey, Hannah Cool, Lexie Diaz, Sara Gorton, Nicholas Hess, Gianna Horvath, Nathan Hunt, Harleen Johal, Alex Laschinger, Grace LoHouse, Lindsay Robinson, Laura Schultz, Benjamin Szabo, Marie Wagar, Ryan Wellence, Christian Whetham, Bethany Wolcott, Bryce Wolf, Amanda Ziehm.
12th GRADE HIGH HONOR
Colin Bellinger, Tyler Bernatovicz, Claire Brandon, Victoria Busch, Nathan Canazzi, Isabel Dickinson, Jenette DiLaura, Jordan Eckrote, Abigail Fay, Maricella Fusillo, Mark Giancola, Jessica Gonda, James Grinchishin, Alicia Haak, Cross Kalp , Shannon Klein, Matthew Logel, Arthur Meaney, Hallie Mingoia, Katherine Riederer, Kate Riniolo, Maria Schnettler, Vanessa Shores, Megan Stanley, Gracie Tompkins, Sara Wolcott.
GIHS 1st Quarter Honor Roll - December 2017
9th GRADE HONOR
Evan Ackerman, Isabel Buckingham, Kelsey Burns, Grace Carey, Samuel Carpenter, Matthew Castellino, Martin Castner, Tristan Chaffee, Joseph Christiano, Sara Cicero, Ian Cioppa, Polla Daghestani, Cameron Davis, Ava DeFranks, Jack Dlugokinski, Jenna Doctor, Brooke Eichel, Jagger Flick, Carolyn Ginsburg, Kameron Greene, Alison Gula, Margaret Hegarty, Allison Hill, Carissa Hoover, Joshua Hunt, Riley Kane, Dominick Kane, Edward Kanfoush, Jaime Lechner, Savanna Lenze, Stephen Leone, Thomas Lockett, John Mandura, Angelina Marinello, Abigail Marlow, Madeline Maroni, Hayden McLachlan, Ryan Michki, Jacob Miller, Griffin Miller, Cecilia Nowak, Elaina Page, Maya Pecoraro, Mia Phillips, Morgan Proctor, Mark Ramsperger, Jessica Robertson, Grace Samplinski, Ethan Schinnagel, Lucas Seifert, Joseph Seifert, Amina Shaibi, Yifan Shen, Zorica Simic, Logan Sionko, Morgan Tollner, Nathan Wallens, Grace Wenner, William Worrall, Alexander Wright, Jenna York.
10th GRADE HONOR
Hamzah Al-Naji, Matthew Aronica, Aizaz Asif, Carmela Bartolomeo, Brooke Bartolotta, Nicolas Bauman, Gabriella Bergstrom, Abigail Blair, Derek Blanchard, Maria Buscaglia, Isabel Calabrese, Joseph Cali, Samuel Castellino, Ruby Chen, Donovan Cornelius, Zoe Coutu, Emily Czyrny, Gianna D'Addario, Eve DiCarlo, Emma Dickinson, Patrick Dworak, Ava Eichel, Allison Fay, Jenna Foglia, Alexa Fox, Mitchell Fusillo, Louis Genovese, Jasmin Gill, Alex Gottler, Kira Hutton, Megan Jaegers, Cassidy Jensen, Michael Juntunen, Joshua Kam, Blake Kenney, Caitlin Kleinschmidt, Kevin Koch, Juliana Koloshuk, Kristian Krantz, Cecelia Kubanek, Gavin Larsen, Anna LeBrasseur, Marissa Lewis, Kendy Li, Dominic Loss, Michael Loss, Madison MacNeil, Michael Marino, Tyler Meyer, Sarah Moore, Breckin Morris, Ben Moskala, Brian O'Neill, Morgan Payan, Grace Pearse, Thomas Podsiadlo, Connor Raine, Rebecca Rebmann, Emily Reynolds, Luke Rizzo, Mikayla Robinson, Eliza Sarigiannis, Brett Shickluna, Amritpal Singh, Brandon Smith, Anika Snyder, Elzbieta Sorel, Mark Steck, Karie Stedman, Anthony Surace, Lydia Sweeney, Suha Taffal, Megan Taylor, Phillip Thomas, Aleksandra Tirone, Chloe Tolsma, Leo Wain, Luke Webb, Amiah Wilkes, Jenna Wilkinson, Olivia Williams, David Wynne, Alexa Yamonaco, Brook Zdrojewski.
11th GRADE HONOR
Melina Aceti, Anastasia Ackerson, Brianna Bachman, Quinton Becker, Brandon Beiter, Sarah Berlinger, Brianna Beyer, Joseph Botticello, Justin Chadima, Hannah Chorey, Jagger Click, Madison Davidson, Mia Devirgilio, Jasmin Dhillon, Lindsey Diehl, Julia Eichel, Camryn Fisher, Allison Fluker, Henry Grunzweig, Trevor Hauer, Brianna Hays, Ethan Hodge, Austin Hogan, Celia Jones, Megan Kennedy, Elizabeth Koyn, Margaret Kubanek, Emily Kurtzhalts, Amanda Lawrence, Nicolas Lindaman, Elisabeth Lupp, Alicia Marlin, Allison McDonald, Alexander Melisz, Rhys Mendel, Christopher O'Connor, Jordan Pachla, Jordan Popovich Lydia Pratt, McKenna Prochaska, Miranda Proctor, Shandi Putzbach, Nathan Reichel, Neysla Celina Richardson, Dylan Russo, Issei Sajika, Trevor Samplinski, Eric Scalise, Kristine Schlifke, Allyson Schoener, Anthony Seifert, Savannah Sipe, Julia Slazyk, Easton Speer, Emma Sullivan Mary Szumla, Joshua Tamsen, Kassidy Taylor, Samantha Terrana, Grace Thorpe, Natalie Turck, Hannah Ullrich, Joy VanderMey, Konstantinos Vasiliadis, Kaitlyn Warakomski, Tiffani Wojcik, James Worrall.
12th GRADE HONOR
Jonathan Abbott, Evan Bender, Ruby Benz, Eva Bobeck, April Booker, Maddison Bower, Sarah Burns, Ryan Buzby, Jesus Cisneros Vilchis, Aleece Cruz, Abigail Czerwonka, Jaynie Decker, Alexander Dodge, Alana Enright, Grace Federico, Emily Fred, Ryan Frost, Samantha Garcia, Philip Gentz, John Glose, Kaitlyn Grybel, Joshua Hannibal, Madelyn Heyden, Jennifer Hinaman, Robert Hodan, Marissa Hovey, Nicole Hoy, Anam Hussain, Conner Hutton, Joseph Killian, Angelina Koloshuk, Elisabeth Krstevski, Hannah Kurek, Tessa Lariviere, Brendan Larsen, Nicholas Lenz, Anthony Leone, David Lesinski, Laura Link, Richard Little, Alyssa Luzak, Anastasia Mascaro, Brian Minton, Justin Mock, Muhammad Mojawalla, Amanda Moran, Nathan Newell, Nicholas Nowocien, Natalie O'Brien, Edward Payan, Steven Pufpaff, Samantha Pusatier, Michael Pyzynski, Taylor Raine Alyssa Ruminski, Laurel Salvaggio, Joshua Schaefer, Megan Shickluna, Katelyn Simpson, Allison Sorri, Michele Sutton, Stephen Sweeney, Jenna Tavano, Andrew Thompson, Luke Traina, Hannah Tribby, John VanderMey, Olivia VeRost, Eric Watt, Theresa West.
GIHS 1st Quarter Merit Roll - December 2017
9th GRADE MERIT
Giovanna Andrzejewski, Ra'ed Baaith, Allyson Bellinger, Brenden Budnik, Austin Childs, Parker Cinelli, Bryahna Colbert, Giuliana Congi, Anna Dugan, Makaila Elandt, Kaylin Frost, Gina Graham, Dominic Gramza, Tyler Grant, Brady Haines, Isabella Harper, Quinn Hart, Ty Shawn Jennings, Cynthia Johnson, Alyssa Keller, Joseph Knight, Alec Konopczynski, Zoe Kowalski, Taylor Kullerkupp, Hannah Lambert, Morgan Lynch, Elisabeth Madigan, Maisie Mrkall, Alyssa Nelson, Nicole Nguyen, Madison Phinney, Christian Quick, Brionna Raiser-Russell, Matthew Reynolds, Arsal Shaheen, Peyton Shearer, Emma Sole, Amanda Spaulding-Kellner, Angelina Torres, Connor Tribby, Edward VeRost, Tyler Weigel, William Wieberg, Brooke Willer, Emma Woroniecki.
10th GRADE MERIT
Tala Abdellatif, Brooke Amato, Robert Arch, Marion Averhart, Izabella Black, Kaylee Butcher, Timothy Carlson, Vincenzo Ciffa, William Click, Stephanie Cox, Gianna DePalma, Rhianna Enright, Austin Haak, Jack Hammond, Tyler Hunt, Jacob James, Mitchell Johnson, Nicholas Keller, Ethan Klie, Alyssa Konopczynski, Erika Krueger, Abigail Krull, Tucker Leggett, Noah Link, Jack LoTempio, Nolan Massaro, Lauren Merletti, Makayla Montes, Sean Murray, Carly Pannullo, Ryan Pecoraro, Justin Podgorny, Jack Randle, Nicholas Ratajczak, Benjamin Richard, Brandon-Kace Samol, Justin Schmadel, Zayan Shaheen, Melody Snyder, Logan Snyder, Rachel Soluri, Annella Sommer, Jason Sorri, Benjamin Spiesz, Taylor Stock, Kiersten Szalay, Madeline Tribby, Vanessa VanNorman, Morgan-Lynn Wieberg, Susannah Zherebilov.
11th GRADE MERIT
Ava Ackerman, Brendan Atkins, Hayden Backlund, Charley Benz, Jared Berard, Brandon Bruner, Adam Burns, Julia Byrne, Alexa Chiarenza, Ryann Colan, Jarred Colburn, Jacob Corrao, Joseph Coughlin, Anthony DeSimone, Jacob Doebler, Elissa Dojka, Brigitta Eichel, Cameron Fairbairn, Gabriella Gasiorek, Faith Gworek, Emma Halpin, Liam Hart, Brady Hofmeyer, William Hoover, Ryan Jellinick, Diamond Jones, Kaylee Kavanaugh, Nicholas Kawecki, Brandon Kinney, Madison Koeppel, Amanda Labin, Madison Liss, Jacob Lunick, Matthew Mahon, Emma Mahoney, Clarice McCaffery, Laura McKenna, Francis McNamara, Madeline Mesmer, Bridget Neeson, Jacob Nelson, Madison Nowak, Olivia Pino, Jonathan Prell, Rhett Robinson, Tyler Russell, Amanda Samplinski, Ciara Scalzo, Maria Sciortino, Gabriella Sciortino, Anthony Serra, Cameron Sionko, Gwendolyn Slachciak, Shay Sommer, William Soos, Benjamin Starr, Dylan Stickney, Bradley Sturtz, Wyatt Tollner, Brandon Vedella, Brienne Westfall, Olivia Wright.
12th GRADE MERIT
Sama Abdelal, Tima Abdellatif, Bayan Abdellatif, Tori Appoloney, Jessica Backlund, Jackson Besl, David Bilek, Cameron Blair, Rosemarie Boyko, Kiana Bracero, Jason Breeden, Sarah Bykowicz, Derek Callen, Liam Carey, Dean Cataffo, Thomas Cecere, Lauren Chadwick, Emily Cordero, Gabriel D'Addario, Julianna DeSimone, Kelly Doyle, Jessica Faso, Joseph Figliola, Matthew Giordano, Taylor Gojmerac, John Griffin, Jacob Gross, Molly Hammer, Sam Hepineuze, James Horwitz, Joshua Hoy, Jerry Huang, Zane Johnson, Nicholas Kam, Alyssa Kelsey, Ryan Kernin, Abigail Klie, Autumn Krantz, Jason Lupp, Ethan Lynch, Sierra Maras, Kayla McCauley, Chloe McQuestion, Elizabeth Mitchell, Spencer Mitchell, Angelina Morales, Parker Morrow, Tyler Myszka, Dominic Nappo, Collin Newbould, Mark Nicoletti, Kyle Podgorny, Michaela Preston, Julie Pusateri, Alexandra Robertson, Zack Schmidt, Mark Seibert, Emma Sickles, Kayla Staub, Breanna Stedman-Pate, Dominic Tagliarino, Kierstyn Tyler, Anna Ungaro, Michelle Wadell, Spencer Wiktorowski.
GIHS Boys Swim Team Meet Results - November 2017
GIHS boys swim team vs. Niagara Wheatfield, Tuesday, November 28, 2017. Grand Island lost 91-85. See results.Lauren Chadwick Signs Letter of Intent - November 2017
Kathy, Lauren & Mike Chadwick.
Grand Island senior Lauren Chadwick signed a letter of intent to attend Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania next fall. Lauren's scholarship is part athletic and part scholastic. She started as a freshman on the girls varsity volleyball team and was recently named to the girls 1st team All WNY and is 1st team All NFL.Thomas Cecere Signs Letter of Intent - November 2017
Sandra, Thomas & Tom Cecere.
Grand Island senior Thomas Cecere has signed a letter of intent to play men's lacrosse at North Greenville University, a D-II school in South Carolina. The signing took place on Tuesday, November 14th at the GIHS gym. Thomas is a three sport athlete, football, hockey and lacrosse. With his senior lacrosse season ahead of him, Thomas is already 5th all time in points and 3rd all time in goals. The lacrosse team last spring earned their first Division title in 17 years with a 18-2 record, won sectionals, then lost in the Far West Regionals. Thomas had 62 goals and 75 assists in the 2017 season.Ryan Buzby in NYS Championships - November 2017
Write up from Jason J. Bibler, GIHS Cross Country & Track/Field Coach.November 12, 2017 - Yesterday, our very own Grand Island HS senior, Ryan Buzby competed in the NYSPHSAA Cross Country Championships at Wayne High School. Racing in the Class B division, he finished in 5th place with a time of 16:35 over the 5,000m course. His time was the 10th fastest of the day out of the approximately 440 boys who qualified for and competed in the meet. He would have easily won the class C and D races, and would have finished 5th in class A. He was the fastest competitor from Section 6 by over 20 seconds.
It is my understanding, that Ryan's 5th place finish is the best by a GI runner in 26 years, when Joe Dunlop won the 1991 class B state championship. The next closest during that time span was Evan Tsembelis who finished 6th in 2008. Prior to 1991, there were two other notable finishes, when Joe Dunlop finished 3rd in 1990 and Steve Lunney won the 1983 championship.
Ryan will now move on and race in the NYS Federation Championships, this upcoming Saturday, Nov. 18th, at Bowdoin Park in Wappinger Falls. The Federation race combines the top runners from the four classes of the NYSPHSAA, PSAL (NYC schools), CHSAA (Catholic/Private schools) and the AIS (Independents) into one single race.
It was an honor to witness Ryan's outstanding performance yesterday and a privilege to inform you his remarkable accomplishment. We are both extremely grateful for the opportunity to represent the Grand Island community and even more appreciative of the support it provides us!
Girls Swim 2017 NFL Championship Meet - November 2017
Lexi Diaz
NFL results from October 24th. Girls 200 Relay and Girls NFL Diving Results. Lexi Diaz won the 100 Fly and Brooke Eichel made a NYS cut in the diving and will compete in Ithaca on November 17.There was a Class B meet / Sectional Prelims on Wednesday, November 1st, Lexi Diaz came in 4th in the 100 fly and is the first Viking girl swimmer to win a patch at the class meet in over 10 years. The 200 Medley Relay Team of Ella Sorel, Lizzy Mitchell, Lexi Diaz and Cassidy Jensen and the 400 Free Relay Team of Lizzy Mitchell, Cassidy Jensen, Anna Thompson and Lexi Diaz will compete in the Top 24 on Friday, Novmber 3rd. Lexi Diaz will also compete in the Top 24 in the 100 Fly on Friday. Brooke Eichel is competing Thursday, November 2nd in the Diving - prelims, semi's and finals are all in the same day.
GIHS Girls Soccer in Class A Final - October 2017
Update: Grand Island girls soccer beat Pioneer on Tuesday, October 31st, 5-1, and are Class A champions. This is their second year in a row as champs and the 12th sectional title in 20 years. Next up is Spencerport in the Far West Regional at Williamsville South on Saturday, November 4th. GI lost to Spencerport last year.The Grand Island High School varsity girls soccer team beat Williamsville East on Saturday, October 21st, by a score of 1-0, and will face Pioneer on Tuesday, October 31st in the Section VI Class A final at Will. North. See Buffalo News story by Marshall Haim.
GIHS Boys Soccer in Class A Final - October 2017
Update: Grand Island boys soccer lost to East Aurora 4-3 in overtime.The Grand Island High School boys soccer team beat Kenmore West on Thursday, October 26th, by a score of 7-1, and will face East Aurora on Wednesday, November 1st, in the Section VI Class A final at Sweet Home.
GIHS Music Students Fruit Sale - October 2017
Grand Island High School Instrumental Music Students are selling Florida Oranges and Grapefruit to raise money for their trip to Chicago in April 2018. Help support your local student musician by ordering directly online www.floridaindianrivergroves.com/ecommerce/173920 or by calling the high school music department at 773-8820 ext. 3083005. Online orders will be shipped to the high school; out-of-state orders are not available. Delivery date is Saturday, December 9. The sale runs until Friday, October 27th.
GIHS Girls Swim Team Meet Results - October 2017
GIHS girls swim team vs. Niagara Falls, Tuesday, October 10, 2017. Grand Island won 94-89. See results.GIHS Girls Swim Team Meet Results - October 2017
GIHS girls swim team vs. Kenmore East, Friday, September 29, 2017. Grand Island won 96-84. See results.News from GIHS - September 2017
From left: Mckenna Prochaska, Ian Hennessy, and Yusuf Mojawalla with School Superintendent Dr. Brian Graham.
Casey's Corner at GIHS now accepts credit cards. School Superintendent Dr. Brian Graham was the first to make a purchase with the new system. The store is proud to offer this service to customers with the help of MySchoolBucks.com. Students, parents and staff can now make purchases easily with their credit card on line and in store for various items.
Background: left: Fahim Mojawalla and Dr. Kevin Augustine
Dr. Kevin Augustine, owner of Health Solutions Plus and Mr. Fahim Mojawalla, owner of Island Ship Center came in to discuss entrepreneurship and social media marketing with Cheryl Chamberlain's Small Business Students class! It was a great learning experience for the students who are learning that owning a business is a mixture of passion, persistence and patience with kindness, excellence and gratitude all rolled into one!GIHS Girls Swim Team Meet Results - September 2017
GIHS girls swim team vs. Lew-Port - results.1. 200 Medley Relay - 1st place times are official times. All other places are unofficial times.
2. All events from the 200 free on are official electronic times, but we were not able to pull splits.
33rd Annual KeyBank Chalk Walk Champions - August 2017
From left: Kelsey Mahoney. Tess Lariviere, Julie Klein.
From left: Tess Lariviere, Kelsey Mahoney, Julie Klein.
From Chalk Walk Advisor Megan Gaiek.You could have predicted based on the fickle weather patterns this summer that the Chalk Walk Competition (Saturday, August 12th) might have been in jeopardy of rain and wind. Mother Nature did not disappoint! During the four hour contest, Grand Island had to pull out their tarp twice to cover the chalk design. This did not deter or delay the students from drawing because supporters, who gathered to watch the students create their art, each extended a hand and helped hold the tarp over their heads so they could continue to work. Julie Klein, Kelsey Mahoney, and Tess Lariviere finished the chalk drawing with time to spare. As soon as the ballots were tabulated, the skies opened up and it poured. The team's effort and talent was rewarded with the First Place blue ribbon and trophy and People's Choice which they received standing under umbrellas. Their four hour creation was immediately destroyed during the downpour. Congratulations to this unbelievably talented team!
This is Grand Island High School's seventh first-place finish in eight years.
33rd Annual KeyBank Chalk Walk Competition - August 2017
The students from left to right: Tess Lariviere, Julie Klein, and Kelsey Mahoney.
This Saturday, August 12th, Grand Island High School will be represented in the Chalk Walk Competition at the Lewiston Art Festival by talented artists Julie Klein, Kelsey Mahoney, and Tess Lariviere. This year's theme is Interconnectedness and how artists convey that concept. The team also has to complete the 8' x 10' chalk drawing in a particular style chosen from a selection determined by the Lewiston Art Council. The contest gets underway at noon and the last chalk mark is made at 4:00 p.m. Judging takes place soon after. Come support this amazing team and cast your vote for People's Choice.GISBA Golf Tournament Supports Students - July 2017
Over the past two years, the Grand Island School Business Alliance (GISBA) golf outing has raised funds to support career exploration programs for Grand Island High School students. Last year's golf tournament raised $20,000 which helped support, during the 2016-17 school year, several high school events that focused on careers, internships and job shadowing.This year's GISBA golf outing is Monday, August 21, 2017 at River Oaks Golf Club. Registration forms are available on the district's website, here. The tournament is a scramble format with an 11 a.m. lunch/registration, noon shotgun start and dinner. The price per golfer is $120 and sponsorships start at $200. Tournament proceeds will continue to assist with career development opportunities for students during the upcoming school year. Tournament organizers also hope to establish a future scholarship fund.
Through GISBA, local business leaders have developed a strong connection with the high school business department. The companies involved in GISBA support the high school's annual job search seminar where business representatives hold mock interviews so students can experience an authentic interview. Some students have been hired by the participating companies or offered non-paid internships. On Shadow Day, many of our students leave the high school campus to spend a day with local companies. GIBSA assists financially with the Shadow Day breakfast.
During the 2016-17 school year, GISBA helped fund two field trips for students in the Sports and Entertainment Management class. In addition, GISBA assisted student Yusuf Mojawalla in his campaign for DECA State Office. Yusuf is the first Grand Island High School student to represent the district as a state DECA officer. GISBA has also defrayed travel costs for DECA students to compete in business related events.
GIHS 4th Quarter High Honor Roll - July 2017
9th GRADE HIGH HONOR
Ronald Appoloney, William Atkinson, Allison Fay, Alexa Fox, Mitchell Fusillo, Jasmin Gill, Sean Heffley, Luke Hess, Mackenzie Heyden, Victoria Huang, Colby Kalp, Joshua Kam, Trevor Knight, Lucas Kruse, Katrina Linenfelser, Lauren Merletti, Ben Moskala, Sean Rustowicz, Kaylynn Savoy, Joseph Steinagel, Anna Thompson, Luke Webb
10th GRADE HIGH HONOR
Melina Aceti, Brianna Bachman, Lauren Baeumler, Samantha Bailey, Hannah Cool, Lexie Diaz, Allison Fluker, Sara Gorton, Nicholas Hess, Gianna Horvath, Nathan Hunt, Harleen Johal, Celia Jones, Emily Kurtzhalts, Allisen Lepenven, Grace LoHouse, Elisabeth Lupp, Rhys Mendel, McKenna Prochaska, Miranda Proctor, Eric Scalise, Laura Schultz, Emma Sullivan, Benjamin Szabo, Samantha Terrana, Joy VanderMey, Kaitlyn Warakomski, Christian Whetham, Bethany Wolcott, Grace Wright
11th GRADE HIGH HONOR
Tyler Bernatovicz, Maddison Bower, Aleece Cruz, Julianna DeSimone, Jenette DiLaura, Jordan Eckrote, Maricella Fusillo, Mark Giancola, Kaitlyn Grybel, Cross Kalp, Joseph Killian, Angelina Koloshuk, Elisabeth Krstevski, Hallie Mingoia, Amanda Moran, Megan Stanley, Jack Steinagel, Hannah Tribby, John VanderMey, Sara Wolcott
12th GRADE HIGH HONOR
Jordan Anthony, Kristen Atkinson, Nicholas Dingey, Sheila Kelly, Julia Koprevich, Alyssa Maxwell, Gracie McNamara, Kaylee Richard, MaryElisabeth Rustowicz, Sarah Saleh, Emma Schultz, Chika Shimotsu, Noah Teator
GIHS 4th Quarter Honor Roll - July 2017
9th GRADE HONOR
Hamzah Al-Naji, Avery Andrews, Aizaz Asif, Gabriella Bergstrom, Abigail Blair, Joseph Cali, Kenneth Carter, Samuel Castellino, Ruby Chen, Madison Conway, Erin Cool, Donovan Cornelius, Zoe Coutu, Stephanie Cox, Emily Czyrny, Gianna D'Addario, Benjamin DeFranks, Eve DiCarlo, Rhianna Enright, Louis Genovese, Tyler Hunt, Iris Hutchins, Kira Hutton, Cassidy Jensen, Caitlin Kleinschmidt, Kristian Krantz, Cecelia Kubanek, Emily Kwiecinski, Robert LeFevre, Marissa Lewis, Dominic Loss, Patrick Loss, Maggie McNamara, Tyler Meyer, Sarah Moore, Brian O'Neill, Grace Pearse, Rebecca Rebmann, Emily Reynolds, Mikayla Robinson, Brandon-Kace Samol, Eliza Sarigiannis, Thomas Shemik, Brett Shickluna, Elzbieta Sorel, Karie Stedman, Anthony Surace, Lydia Sweeney, Patricia Tavarez, Phillip Thomas, Chloe Tolsma, Madeline Tribby, Olivia Williams, Brook Zdrojewski
10th GRADE HONOR
Ava Ackerman, Quinton Becker, Charley Benz, Nicholas Carey, Alexander Castillo, Alexa Chiarenza, Hannah Chorey, Ryann Colan, Jacob Corrao, Annaliese DiCarlo, Samin Durrani, Julia Eichel, Camryn Fisher, Henry Grunzweig, Faith Gworek, Trevor Hauer, Megan Kennedy, Madison Koeppel, Elizabeth Koyn, Margaret Kubanek, Alex Laschinger, Amanda Lawrence, Nicolas Lindaman, Madison Liss, Allison McDonald, Alexander Melisz, Jordan Pachla, William Person, Lydia Pratt, Lindsay Robinson, Rhett Robinson, Dylan Russo, Trevor Samplinski, Ciara Scalzo, Allyson Schoener, Jordan Simon, Cameron Sionko, Savannah Sipe, Julia Slazyk, William Soos, Easton Speer, Joshua Tamsen, Natalie Turck, Hannah Ullrich, Konstantinos Vasiliadis, Ryan Wellence, Brienne Westfall, Kelsey Wilson, Bryce Wolf, James Worrall, Amanda Ziehm
11th GRADE HONOR
Sama Abdelal, Tima Abdellatif, John Bellia, Evan Bender, Ruby Benz, Eva Bobeck, Victoria Botticello, Sarah Burns, Victoria Busch, Ryan Buzby, Nathan Canazzi, Dean Cataffo, Lauren Chadwick, Emily Cordero, Gabriel D'Addario, Jaynie Decker, Alexander Dodge, Alana Enright, Abigail Fay, Grace Federico, Joseph Figliola, Emily Fred, Philip Gentz, Matthew Giordano, Taylor Gojmerac, Jessica Gonda, John Griffin, Jacob Gross, Alicia Haak, Joshua Hannibal, Jennifer Hinaman, Marissa Hovey, Nicole Hoy, Joshua Hoy, Jerry Huang, Anam Hussain, Conner Hutton, Alyssa Kelsey, Ryan Kernin, Tess Lariviere, Brendan Larsen, David Lesinski, Laura Link, Matthew Logel, Alyssa Luzak, Sierra Maras, Kayla McCauley, Chloe McQuestion, Arthur Meaney, Nathan Miller, Brian Minton, Justin Mock, Muhammad Mojawalla, Tyler Myszka, Dominic Nappo, Natalie O'Brien, Edward Payan, Steven Pufpaff, Samantha Pusatier, Taylor Raine, Katherine Riederer, Kate Riniolo, Laurel Salvaggio, Maria Schnettler, Vanessa Shores, Katelyn Simpson, Allison Sorri, Michele Sutton, Stephen Sweeney, Dominic Tagliarino, Jenna Tavano, Andrew Thompson, Gracie Tompkins, Olivia VeRost, Jacob VeRost
12th GRADE HONOR
Liam Atkins, Samantha Bartolotta, Theresa Baughman, April Booker, Thomas Botticello, Conner Buzby, Nicholas Capizzi, Sophia Castillo, Connor Cinelli, Mikayla Claus, Rachel Colan, Jessica Culbert, Jacob Dollendorf, Anthony Emmi, Adam Frosolone, Gabrielle Gagliardi, Angelica Marie Garcia, Kelsey Harrigan, Eric Hernandez, Alexis Hofmeyer, Robert Jankowiak, Olivia Johnson, Brennen Joslyn, Natalie Kaminski, George Katholos, Sydney Khreis, Julie Klein, Katherine Kovacs, Matthew Kowalski, Justin Kozlowski, Adam Krathaus, Jason Kubanek, Rachel Kullerkupp, Hayley Latvala, Lauren LoTempio, Hannah Mahon, Eleonora Mastrantonio, Jacob Masucci, Ryan McDonald, Madison McNamara, Catherine Merletti, Zackery Messier, Owen Morrish, Tyler Moskala, Kassie Moss, Tyler Muggli, Kayli Nelson, Katelyn Newbould, Nathan Newell, Juleeann Nyitrai, Claire O'Connor, Kevin O'Leary, Julianna Passarelli, Kaila Powell, Michael Pyzynski, Garrett Robinson, Varinder Sandhu, William Scalzo, Kelly Schlifke, Cassandra Shores, Alexis Studley, Jessica Surace, Sarah Swagler, Ryan Tetreault, Brooke Thomas, Randy Thomas, Marie Tomasula, Jacob Tucker, Kaitlynn Tuohy, Marianthi Vasiliadis, Jenna VeRost, Eric Watt, Cameron Watt, Madelyn, Webb, Dakota Wolf, Gillian Worrall
GIHS 4th Quarter Merit Roll - July 2017
9th GRADE MERIT
Tala Abdellatif, Marion Averhart, Brooke Bartolotta, Derek Blanchard, Maria Buscaglia, Timothy Carlson, Vincenzo Ciffa, Robert Currie, Emma Dickinson, Jenna Foglia, Alex Gottler, Shawna-Lea Harper, Muhammad Issa, Jacob James, Michael Juntunen, Nicholas Keller, Blake Kenney, Kevin Koch, Juliana Koloshuk, Abigail Krull, Michael Loss, Jack LoTempio, Madison MacNeil, Michael Marino, Breckin Morris, Sean Murray, Matthew Newbould, Morgan Payan, Ryan Pecoraro, Justin Podgorny, Thomas Podsiadlo, Connor Raine, Jack Randle, Nicholas Ratajczak, Benjamin Richard, Luke Rizzo, Justin Schmadel, Zayan Shaheen, Amritpal Singh, Jason Sorri, Benjamin Spiesz, Mark Steck, Griffin Sykes, Vanessa VanNorman, Leo Wain, David Wynne, Alexa Yamonaco, Susannah Zherebilov
10th GRADE MERIT
Brandon Beiter, Jared Berard, Sarah Berlinger, Brianna Beyer, Joseph Botticello, Adam Burns, Julia Byrne, Justin Chadima, Jagger Click, Joshua Conta, Madison Davidson, Collin DeMartin, Anthony DeSimone, Mia Devirgilio, Jasmin Dhillon, Anna DiBello, Jacob Doebler, Elissa Dojka, Allison Dragonette, Liam Hart, Brady Hofmeyer, Austin Hogan, William Hoover, Alyssa Jaenecke, Ryan Jellinick, Diamond Jones, Kaylee Kavanaugh, Nicholas Kawecki, Brandon Kinney, Matthew Mahon, Emma Mahoney, Laura McKenna, Madeline Mesmer, Colby Muggli, Bridget Neeson, Jacob Nelson, Dalton Nyitrai, Joseph Parker, Olivia Pino, Jonathan Prell, Nathan Reichel, Olivia Ruiz, Tyler Russell, Michael Sadkowski, Amanda Samplinski, Trisha Sander, Maria Sciortino, Gabriella Sciortino, Anthony Seifert, Pravdeep Singh, Shay Sommer, Benjamin Starr, Mary Szumla, Grace Thorpe, Nicholas Tillett, Wyatt Tollner, Bradley VeRost, Marie Wagar, Olivia Wright, Kenneth Yockey
11th GRADE MERIT
Bayan Abdellatif, Nichola, Anzalone, Tori Appoloney, Colin Bellinger, Jackson Besl, Kayla Booker, Rosemarie Boyko, Kiana Bracero, Claire Brandon, Sarah Bykowicz, Gionna Cafarella, Derek Callen, Matthew Carlson, Michael Ellegate, Jessica Faso, Ryan Frost, John Glose, Madelyn Heyden, Robert Hodan, James Horwitz, Zane Johnson, Nicholas Kam, Shannon Klein, Autumn Krantz, Anthony Leone, Richard Little, Jason Lupp, Elizabeth Mitchell, Angelina Morales, Margaret Morgan, Heath Parmelee, Kyle Podgorny, Alyssa Ruminski, Joseph Samplinski, Joshua Schaefer, Zack Schmidt, Madison Senger, Megan Shickluna, Kayla Staub, Breanna Stedman-Pate, Kobe Swain-Bruyere, Luke Traina, Anna Ungaro, Zachary Vanderzell, Michelle Wadell, Theresa West, Spencer Wiktorowski, Sulamita Zherebilov
12th GRADE MERIT
Ayah Abdelal, Giana Aiello, Genna Baldassarre, Hayley Becker, Karli Burford, Roman Cacciatore, Erik Carlson, Nicole Castiglione, Jesus Cisneros Vilchis, Andrea Colan, McKenna Collignon, Kaylee Conta, Joseph Cooper, Juliana Cousins, Savannah Cramer, Mallory DelSignore, Todd Domowicz, Samuel Eichel, Cole Ellsworth, Simon Estenoz, Joseph Frailey, Alexis Gallup, Daniel Hanesworth, Allie Hanlon, Richard Hoover, Timothy Howard, Emily Jelonek, Kelsey Kenney, Nicholas MacDonald, Julianna Major, Faith Martell, Sean McFarland, Stephen Parisi, Ashley Parmelee, Lindsay Proctor, Thomas Riniolo, Lucas Robinson, Jamie Saucier, Brandon Schoener, Brianna Smith, Jacob Spencer, Bradley Stevenson, Kristine Sutton, James Thorpe, Collin Tolsma, Olivia Turck, Mary Valle, Joelle Woodard
High School Yearbook Staff Donates Lab - June 2017
Educators of America and Grand Island High School Yearbook Class Donates Computer Lab. See article.
Genna Baldassarre Competes at National Track Meet - June 2017
Second from left: Genna Baldassarre, GIHS Senior with Sweet Home athletes.
UPDATE: Genna was seeded 12th going into the Girls 3000 meter race walk. There were 21 girls in the race. She placed 10th overall with a time of 15:54.48, 30 seconds faster than her previous personal best. Congratulations Genna!
Genna Baldassarre, a Grand Island High School graduating senior is headed to Greensboro, North Carolina to compete in the New Balance Outdoor Track and Field National Meet. Genna will be participating in the 3K racewalk on Friday, June 16th at 10:00 a.m. She qualified at Houghton College at the Section 5 vs. Section 6 meet earlier this season, with a time of 7:23 in the 1500 meter racewalk. As the only Grand Island qualifier, Sweet Home School District allowed Genna to travel with their team down to Greensboro.
High School DECA Keeps Score - June 2017
DECA Volunteers.
For the third straight year, Grand Island High School DECA, advised by Cheryl Chamberlain, kept score on all courts at the Gus Macker. The difficult feat of arranging over 30 scorekeepers to cover 16 man hours was orchestrated by Grand Island High School Junior, Abby Czerwonka. Without Deca'' determination and commitment to their community, this event would not have been possible.Joseph Tamsen Scholarship Winner - June 2017
Joseph Tamsen
The Zachary R Zarbo scholarship committee is pleased to announce the following scholarship award winner:Zachary R. Zarbo 2017 Spotlighters Memorial Scholarship Joseph Tamsen
These awards are dedicated in the memory of Zachary Zarbo. Zachary was involved in drama and choral studies at Grand Island High School. Joe had to write an essay, show community and faith involvement, and be an active member of the drama club Spotlighters. He received $500 towards college tuition. Joe will be attending University Pittsburgh at Bradford majoring in English and is studying for a career as a secondary school teacher. Congratulations to Joe on winning the Zachary R. Zarbo Spotlighters Scholarship award.
GI Rugby Team Helps Gus Macker - June 2017
Rugby team.
The Grand Island High School Rugby team volunteered to help construct the basketball hoops for the Gus Macker Tournament. The team gathered Thursday evening, June 8th to put 18 hoops together at the Town Hall parking lot. Team members who participated are: Coach Dan Hager, Ryan Schwinn, Caleb Messing, Frankie McNamaram Ryan Jones, Ryan McDonald, Thomas Mankowski, Ryan Frost, Jimmy Horwitz, Shane Pfohl & Nick Nowocien.Boys Lacrosse Wins Section VI - June 2017
Photo by Corey Desiderio-Click for larger view
The GIHS boys lacrosse team took on West Seneca East in the Class C championship on Thursday, June 1, 2017 and won 10-6. They are now headed to St. John Fisher in Rochester for the Far West Regional Championship on Saturday, June 3rd. See Buffalo News story by Corey Desiderio, here. The boys lost 8-6 to Palmyra-Macedon on Saturday.Genavieve Koyn Goes to Albany - June 2017
From left: Senator Chris Jacobs, Genavieve Koyn and Madeline Gee from City Honors School.
NYS Senator Chris Jacobs was very pleased to host Genavieve Koyn from Grand Island Senior High School,who was attending the 17th Annual League of Women Voters of New York State Students Inside Albany conference. Thank you to the League's New York State Education Foundation for sponsoring this great program, and thanks to Genavieve for spending time in Albany.Top Three GIHS Seniors - May 2017
Valedictorian Owen Morrish
Salutatorian Sophia Castillo
Cameron Watt
Top Three GIHS Seniors Honored for Scholastic Achievement by Erie-Niagara Superintendent's Association.Grand Island High School's top three students will be recognized for their academic achievements by the Erie-Niagara School Superintendent's Association Scholastic Achievement Recognition dinner on May 18.
Owen Morrish, class of 2017 valedictorian, is involved in the National Honor Society and the Interact Club. At college, he plans to study international relations, computer science and French.
Sophia Castillo, salutatorian, was named a College Board National Commended Scholar and a National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar. She is a member of the National Honor Society, the DECA Honor Society and is the chapter president of DECA. She has received the Elmira College Key Award and the Pride of the Island Award. She is a member of the West Side Rowing Club. She has been accepted on early decision into Boston University Honors College to pursue a political science degree on a pre-law track. She is also committed to row for Boston University's Division I Lightweight Rowing team.
Cameron Watt is a member of the National Honor Society and the wind ensemble. He played varsity soccer. His future plans include a pre-medicine track at the University at Buffalo, majoring in physics.
GIHS 3rd Quarter High Honor Roll - May 2017
9th GRADE HIGH HONOR
Ronald Appoloney, William Atkinson, Abigail Blair, Allison Fay, Alexa Fox, Mitchell Fusillo, Jasmin Gill, Luke Hess, Victoria Huang, Iris Hutchins, Colby Kalp, Joshua Kam, Trevor Knight, Lucas Kruse, Marissa Lewis, Katrina Linenfelser, Tyler Meyer, Sarah Moore, Ben Moskala, Emily Reynolds, Sean Rustowicz, Kaylynn Savoy, Joseph Steinagel, Madeline Tribby, Luke Webb
10th GRADE HIGH HONOR
Brianna Bachman, Lauren Baeumler, Samantha Bailey, Hannah Cool, Lexie Diaz, Allison Fluker, Sara Gorton, Nicholas Hess, Gianna Horvath, Nathan Hunt, Celia Jones, Emily Kurtzhalts, Allisen Lepenven, Grace LoHouse, Elisabeth Lupp, Rhys Mendel, Lindsay Robinson, Dylan Russo, Eric Scalise, Laura Schultz, Emma Sullivan, Benjamin Szabo, Samantha Terrana, Joy VanderMey, Kaitlyn Warakomski, Christian Whetham, Bethany Wolcott, Grace Wright
11th GRADE HIGH HONOR
Tyler Bernatovicz, Eva Bobeck, Maddison Bower, Sarah Burns, Victoria Busch, Jenette DiLaura, Jordan Eckrote, Abigail Fay, Maricella Fusillo, Jessica Gonda, Marissa Hovey, Cross Kalp, Elisabeth Krstevski, Matthew Logel, Hallie Mingoia, Maria Schnettler, Megan Stanley, Jack Steinagel, Hannah Tribby, John VanderMey, Sara Wolcott
12th GRADE HIGH HONOR
Jordan Anthony, Kristen Atkinson, Nicholas Dingey, Alexis Hofmeyer, Robert Jankowiak, Sheila Kelly, Julia Koprevich, Gracie McNamara, Owen Morrish, Tyler Muggli, Kaylee Richard, MaryElisabeth Rustowicz, William Scalzo, Emma Schultz, Chika Shimotsu, Sarah Swagler, Eric Watt, Cameron Watt
GIHS 3rd Quarter Honor Roll - May 2017
9th GRADE HONOR
Hamzah Al-Naji, Avery Andrews, Gabriella Bergstrom, Joseph Cali, Kenneth Carter, Madison Conway, Erin Cool, Donovan Cornelius, Zoe Coutu, Emily Czyrny, Gianna D'Addario, Eve DiCarlo, Rhianna Enright, Louis Genovese, Sean Heffley, Mackenzie Heyden, Kira Hutton, Cassidy Jensen, Blake Kenney, Caitlin Kleinschmidt, Kristian Krantz, Abigail Krull, Cecelia Kubanek, Emily Kwiecinski, Dominic Loss, Patrick Loss, Madison MacNeil, Michael Marino, Maggie McNamara, Lauren Merletti, Brian O'Neill, Grace Pearse, Justin Podgorny, Eliza Sarigiannis, Thomas Shemik, Amritpal Singh, Brandon Smith, Elzbieta Sorel, Mark Steck, Karie Stedman, Anthony Surace, Lydia Sweeney, Patricia Tavarez, Anna Thompson, Chloe Tolsma, Olivia Williams, David Wynne, Alexa Yamonaco
10th GRADE HONOR
Melina Aceti, Quinton Becker, Charley Benz, Sarah Berlinger, Brianna Beyer, Nicholas Carey, Alexander Castillo, Alexa Chiarenza, Hannah Chorey, Jagger Click, Ryann Colan, Jacob Corrao, Mia Devirgilio, Anna DiBello, Annaliese DiCarlo, Lindsey Diehl, Elissa Dojka, Samin Durrani, Julia Eichel, Camryn Fisher, Henry Grunzweig, Trevor Hauer, Harleen Johal, Diamond Jones, Kaylee Kavanaugh, Megan Kennedy, Madison Koeppel, Elizabeth Koyn, Margaret Kubanek, Alex Laschinger, Amanda Lawrence, Nicolas Lindaman, Madison Liss, Christopher O'Connor, Jordan Pachla, William Person, Lydia Pratt, Jonathan Prell, McKenna Prochaska, Miranda Proctor, Nathan Reichel, Rhett Robinson, Trevor Samplinski, Ciara Scalzo, Gabriella Sciortino, Maria Sciortino, Jordan Simon, William Soos, Easton Speer, Joshua Tamsen, Grace Thorpe, Nicholas Tillett, Natalie Turck, Hannah Ullrich, Marie Wagar, Ryan Wellence, Brienne Westfall, Kelsey Wilson, Bryce Wolf, James Worrall, Amanda Ziehm
11th GRADE HONOR
Sama Abdelal, Tima Abdellatif, Leah Amenta, John Bellia, Colin Bellinger, Evan Bender, Ruby Benz, Victoria Botticello, Claire Brandon, Ryan Buzby, Gionna Cafarella, Nathan Canazzi, Dean Cataffo, Lauren Chadwick, Aleece Cruz, Gabriel D'Addario, Jaynie Decker, Julianna DeSimone, Alana Enright, Grace Federico, Joseph Figliola, Emily Fred, Philip Gentz, Mark Giancola, Matthew Giordano, John Griffin, Kaitlyn Grybel, Alicia Haak, Joshua Hannibal, Madelyn Heyden, Jennifer Hinaman, Nicole Hoy, Joshua Hoy, Jerry Huang, Anam Hussain, Conner Hutton, Alyssa Kelsey, Ryan Kernin, Joseph Killian, Shannon Klein, Angelina Koloshuk, Tess Lariviere, Brendan Larsen, David Lesinski, Laura Link, Richard Little, Alyssa Luzak, Sierra Maras, Kayla McCauley, Arthur Meaney, Jason Messing, Nathan Miller, Brian Minton, Elizabeth Mitchell, Justin Mock, Muhammad Mojawalla, Amanda Moran, Tyler Myszka, Dominic Nappo, Natalie O'Brien, Edward Payan, Kyle Podgorny, Samantha Pusatier, Taylor Raine, Katherine Riederer, Kate Riniolo, Laurel Salvaggio, Megan Shickluna, Vanessa Shores, Katelyn Simpson, Allison Sorri, Michele Sutton, Dominic Tagliarino, Jenna Tavano, Andrew Thompson, Gracie Tompkins, Luke Traina, Anna Ungaro, Olivia VeRost
12th GRADE HONOR
Samantha Bartolotta, Theresa Baughman, April Booker, Thomas Botticello, Liam Bryan, Conner Buzby, Nicole Castiglione, Sophia Castillo, Connor Cinelli, Jacob Dollendorf, Samuel Eichel, Cole Ellsworth, Anthony Emmi, Joseph Frailey, Adam Frosolone, Angelica Marie Garcia, Kelsey Harrigan, Richard Hoover, Olivia Johnson, Brennen Joslyn, Natalie Kaminski, Sydney Khreis, Julie Klein, Katherine Kovacs, Justin Kozlowski, Adam Krathaus, Jason Kubanek, Lauren LoTempio, Hannah Mahon, Alyssa Maxwell, Sean McFarland, Madison McNamara, Alexandra Meinhold, Tyler Moskala, Kassie Moss, Kayli Nelson, Nathan Newell, Kaila Powell, Lindsay Proctor, Sarah Saleh, Varinder Sandhu, Jamie Saucier, Kelly Schlifke, Brandon Schoener, Cassandra Shores, Jessica Surace, Noah Teator, Ryan Tetreault, Brooke Thomas, Jacob Tucker, Kaitlynn Tuohy, Mary Valle, Marianthi Vasiliadis, Jenna VeRost, Madelyn Webb, Cassidy Wilkinson, Joelle Woodard, Gillian Worrall
GIHS 3rd Quarter Merit Roll - May 2017
9th GRADE MERIT
Tala Abdellatif, Aizaz Asif, Marion Averhart, Carmela Bartolomeo, Izabella Black, Derek Blanchard, Maria Buscaglia, Samuel Castellino, Ruby Chen, Vincenzo Ciffa, Alyssa Cline, Stephanie Cox, Benjamin DeFranks, Gianna DePalma, Ava Eichel, Jenna Foglia, Jeremy Fridman, Alex Gottler, Jack Hammond, Shawna-Lea Harper, Samantha Hartman, Tyler Hunt, Muhammad Issa, Jacob James, Michael Juntunen, Kevin Koch, Juliana Koloshuk, Robert LeFevre, Noah Link, Michael Loss, Jack LoTempio, Jahdiaum Love, Michael Messier, Breckin Morris, Sean Murray, Stephen Palmeri, Morgan Payan, Emily Phillips, Jack Randle, Rebecca Rebmann, Luke Rizzo, Mikayla Robinson, Brandon-Kace Samol, Zayan Shaheen, Brett Shickluna, Rachel Soluri, Jason Sorri, Benjamin Spiesz, Griffin Sykes, Phillip Thomas, Kyle Vanderzell, Vanessa VanNorman, Leo Wain, Gabriel Wright, Brook Zdrojewski, Susannah Zherebilov
10th GRADE MERIT
Ava Ackerman, Brendan Atkins, Brandon Beiter, Jared Berard, Joseph Botticello, Adam Burns, Julia Byrne, Justin Chadima, Joshua Conta, Joseph Coughlin, Madison Davidson, Jasmin Dhillon, Jacob Doebler, Faith Gworek, Emma Halpin, Liam Hart, Brady Hofmeyer, Austin Hogan, William Hoover, Alyssa Jaenecke, Ryan Jellinick, Nicholas Kawecki, Matthew Mahon, Alicia Marlin, Clarice McCaffery, Allison McDonald, Laura McKenna, Alexander Melisz, Madeline Mesmer, Bridget Neeson, Jacob Nelson, Madison Nowak, Dalton Nyitrai, Nicole Paolini, Joseph Parker, Olivia Pino, Shandi Putzbach, Tyler Russell, Michael Sadkowski, Trisha Sander, Anthony Seifert, Anthony Serra, Pravdeep Singh, Cameron Sionko, Savannah Sipe, Gwendolyn Slachciak, Julia Slazyk, Jada Sokody, Shay Sommer, Dylan Stickney, Mary Szumla, Nicholas Tagliavento, Wyatt Tollner, Sean Tuohy, Konstantinos Vasiliadis, Olivia Wright
11th GRADE MERIT
Bayan Abdellatif, Luke Ailinger, Tori Appoloney, Naushairwan Asif, Jackson Besl, Cameron Blair, Kiana Bracero, Breonah Brown, Sarah Bykowicz, Derek Callen, Matthew Carlson, Emily Cordero, Alexander Dodge, Michael Ellegate, Jessica Faso, Jacob Ford, Ryan Frost, John Glose, Taylor Gojmerac, Robert Hodan, Ivy Hoyt, Elizabeth Ishmael, Nicholas Kam, Abigail Klie, Hannah Kurek, Anthony Leone, Jason Lupp, Kyra Magee, Chloe McQuestion, Kelsey Moore, Angelina Morales, Mark Nicoletti, Nicholas Nowocien, Michaela Preston, Steven Pufpaff, Alyssa Ruminski, Joseph Samplinski, Emma Sickles, Brandon Snyder, Kayla Staub, Breanna Stedman-Pate, Joseph Stolfo, Kobe Swain-Bruyere, Stephen Sweeney, Jacob VeRost, Michelle Wadell, Theresa West, Spencer Wiktorowski, Sulamita Zherebilov
12th GRADE MERIT
Ayah Abdelal, Giana Aiello, Liam Atkins, Genna Baldassarre, Julia Buscaglia, Nicholas Capizzi, Erik Carlson, Virgil Castner, Jesus Cisneros Vilchis, Andrea Colan, Rachel Colan, Alexandra Colucci, Kaylee Conta, Joseph Cooper, Jessica Culbert, Mallory DelSignore, Megan DiBerardino, Julia Diehl, Todd Domowicz, Simon Estenoz, Madison Finn, James Franz, Jessica Harvey, Timothy Howard, Justin Jarka, George Katholos, Kelsey Kenney, Matthew Kowalski, Genavieve Koyn, Rachel Kullerkupp, Kelsey Mahoney, Julianna Major, Faith Martell, Kristopher Masiello, Jacob Masucci, Ryan McDonald, Zackery Messier, Katelyn Newbould, Simon Pannullo, Arjun Patel, Connor Pignatora, Michael Pyzynski, Thomas Riniolo, Lucas Robinson, Dariene Seifert, Alexia Shivers, Brianna Smith, Jacob Spencer, Jack Stieringer, Alexis Studley, Kristine Sutton, Lauryn Swanson, Randy Thomas, James Thorpe, Collin Tolsma, Marie Tomasula, Wesley Wolf, Dakota Wolf, Kyle York
GIHS DECA Goes West - May 2017
Advisors Cheryl Chamberlain and Christopher Simpson with students.
Eight members of the Grand Island DECA chapter travelled to Anaheim, California last week and competed against students from all over the world at the International Career Development Conference. Yusuf Mojawalla, newly elected as the New York State DECA Vice President of Finance commented, "I am so lucky to be able to compete at the highest level of competition against 200 other people from all over the world. This opportunity doesn't come around very often and I am truly grateful for it. I can honestly say that the experiences that I have received from this trip, such as meeting thousands of new people as well as networking with a lot of them, will continue on with me for the rest of my life and in my career path."Grand Island DECA Advisor, Cheryl Chamberlain, is grateful to administration and school board members who support co-curricular clubs, such as DECA. "The subjects that the students compete in are taught in our classrooms and are relevant and timely to current business practices; as this year e-commerce and social media marketing were topics," remarked Chamberlain. Special thanks to local business for supporting students on their quest to go west!
GIHS Teacher Named Choral Music Educator of the Year - May 2017
Jennifer Mernitz, a Grand Island High School choral teacher, has been named the 2016-17 Choral Music Educator of the Year by the Music Department at Buffalo State College. "I was incredibly surprised and honored to have been recognized and awarded by students and faculty from Buffalo State. It is especially rewarding to be remembered positively by students who have been influenced by you to follow in your footsteps of becoming a music educator," said Mrs. Mernitz. Her award was presented May 2nd during the Buffalo State Philharmonia Orchestra Concert at the Rockwell Hall Performing Arts Center.
This is Mrs. Mernitz's fourth year teaching at Grand Island Central School District. She taught for one year at Veronica E. Connor Middle School and has been at Grand Island High School for the past three years. She teaches choir, concert choir, AP music theory, and voice labs during the school day. She directs three extra-curricular choirs that meet before school; Dominant Force, Women of Note, and Madrigals. She is the Vocal Director for the high school musical.
Prior to coming to Grand Island, she taught elementary, middle and high school students for 10 years at Clarence Schools. Her undergraduate degree in vocal music performance is from Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music. Her master's degree in vocal music performance is from Boston University. She earned her NYS teaching certification from the University of Buffalo. "Each year our faculty accepts nominations from local students, teachers, and parents in the areas of instrumental, choral, and general music education," said Dr. Emily Boyce, NCTM, Chair, Music Department at Buffalo State College.
Katie Kovacs to Perform with All-Eastern Symphonic Band - April 2017
Grand Island High School senior Katherine Kovacs will perform in the National Association for Music Education All Eastern Symphonic Band. The 2017 NAfME All-Eastern Honors Ensembles will perform for an audience of thousands on April 7 and 8 in the Adrian Phillips Ballroom in Historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
Katie is principal bassoon in the Grand Island High School Wind Ensemble. Katie has a most impressive music resume. She is a member of the Greater Buffalo Youth Orchestra as well as a two-time member of the New York State All State Band and Orchestra. With assistance from her school music teacher Martin T. Allen and her private instructor Mary Kay Ortalano, this exceptional student will prepare remarkably challenging music that she will perform under the leadership of prominent conductors in this biennial event. Katie will spend three days rehearsing with one of five conductors during the Eastern Division Conference.
More than 800 of the most musically talented high school students in the Eastern region of the United States comprise the 2017 NAfME All Eastern Honors Ensembles. The NAfME All-Eastern Honors Ensembles, consisting of a concert band, symphony orchestra, mixed chorus, treble voice chorus, and jazz ensemble, are organized by members of The National Association for Music Education. The concert band and symphony orchestra will each have approximately one hundred fifty instrumentalists.
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GIHS LYNC Class of 2017 - April 2017
Twenty students from Grand Island High School graduated from the Leadership Youth of Niagara County (LYNC) program and received their diplomas on April 4th at Antonio's Banquet Facility in Niagara Falls. The LYNC program, coordinated by Cheryl Chamberlain at the high school, promotes students to discover the leader within themselves. This program includes 100 students from 14 local high schools and examines complex social trends and problems across the nation and the globe; while also striving toward personal success in society, school and business. For more information on the LYNC program at Grand Island, contact cherylchamberlain@grandislandschools.org.
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Top 10 Students Named - March 2017
Students with School Board members.
The top ten students from the 2017 graduating class were named at the Monday, March 27th School Board meeting. They are, in no particular order: Owen Morrish (Valedictorian) , Katie Touhy, Cam Watt, Garrett Robinson, Maddie Webb, Jessica Surace, Sophia Castillo, Adam Frosolone, Kristen Atkinson and Marianthi Vasiliadis.DECA State Career Conference - March 2017
Yusuf Mojawalla, a junior at GIHS, was elected as the Executive Vice President of Finance at this year's New York DECA State Career Conference. Yusuf prepared for this election with fellow classmate, Sophia Castillo who introduced him during the "meet the candidates" portion of the Conference. Speaking in front of over 2000 people, both Sophia and Yusuf came away with a positive and energizing speech. In addition, Sophia and Yusuf also qualified for The DECA International Career Conference in Anaheim, California next month. Abigail Czerwonka, Jessica Faso and Catherine Merletti as a team presented a hospitality and tourism operations plan for the judges, made finals, and have advanced along with another team of Gabriella Bergstrom, Erin Cool and Lauren Merletti with their "Lead to Clean" recycling project from the Gus Macker Tournament. Sarah Swagler placed first in the state in Hotel and Lodging Management and rounds out the nine students who advance to the International level.Other student winners include Elizabeth Koyn, 4th in the state for Decision Making and Christian Whetham who placed first for Public Speaking Prepared! All in all, Grand Island walked away with over 30 medals and 11 trophies. Local judges at the conference included Fahim Mojawalla of Island Ship Center, Steve Marchitte of M&T Bank, Corey McGowan and Whitney Bower.
Genavieve Koyn Headed to Albany - March 2017
Grand Island, NY - Genavieve Koyn, a Senior from Grand Island High School, has been chosen to attend this year's Students Inside Albany program sponsored by the League of Women Voters of New York State Education Foundation. This 17th annual Students Inside Albany program will take place from May 21st to the 24th, and will bring 60 students from across the state to Albany to get a first-hand education about their state government. The program is designed to increase high school students' awareness of their responsibility in representative government and how to meet that responsibility.Genavieve will be representing the League of Women Voters of Buffalo/Niagara. She is one of two outstanding students from WNY, chosen for her career direction and interest in law and government, and her leadership in school and the community. While at the conference, students will join their peers in a hands-on learning experience with participation in a series of interactive lectures on the state budget process, the role of lobbyists in the legislative process, citizen rights to access government information, the role of media in politics, and the move to reform state government. The Students will have an opportunity to tour the states' Capitol. The highlight for most students is the opportunity to shadow their Senators and their Assembly member for an afternoon session on the Chamber floor.
For more information on the League of Women Voters of New York State, and the Students Inside Albany program, please visit their website at www.lwvny.org.
Genna Baldassarre Headed to States! - March 2017
Genna, far right front.
GIHS senior Genna Baldassarre is on her way to the 2017 NYSPHSAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Staten Island this weekend. Genna was #1 (7:22:23) in the 1500 meter Racewalk heading into the Sectionals at Houghton College last weekend. She came in second with a time of 7:25 and still secured a spot at States this Saturday, March 4th. Genna is the only student from Grand Island at States this year. Good luck Genna.JV Hockey Wins 5th Club Championship - March 2017
From left:
1st row: Bobby Currie, Dylan Kozek, Dylan Russo, Tyler Hunt, Mike Juntunen, Nolan Massaro, Patrick Dworak, Nick Ratajczak, Nathan Stroh.
2nd Row: assistant coach Tom Giordano, Bill Cline, Brian ONeill, Rhys Mendel, Ryan Jellincik, Dalton Nyitrai, Tucker Leggett, Dylan Bush, Connor Raine, Charles Piggot, Joe Coughlin, Jack Dlugokinski, Mitch Fusillo, assistant coach Dean Massaro, Head Coach Marvin J. Pawlowski Jr.
Not present: Joshua Conta, Manager Rob Ratajczak, Fanchise Holder Scott Morrow
Congratulation to the Grand Island JV Hockey team for winning their fifth consecutive Super Saturday Western New York Club Hockey Championship. The Vikings won quarter and semi-final playoff games against St. Joe's and Williamsville South on their way to the finals, where they defeated Lewport 4-3 in double overtime to claim the championship. They will be heading to the State Tournament in Long Island, March 3rd-5th, 2017.Briganti Joins Master Teacher Program - March 2017
Laura Briganti, a Grand Island High School science teacher, has been named a New York State Master Teacher by the State University of New York. The master teacher program is a state-wide professional network of outstanding STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) teachers. As part of the Western New York network, she will work with other master teachers from local school districts and future teachers studying at Buffalo State College to develop and share STEM content knowledge.Chosen through an intensive selection process, this program requires a four-year commitment in addition to her teaching responsibilities. Through co-hort meetings, various workshops and summer programs, the master teachers collaborate to bring content and instructional best practices back to their classrooms, to mentor education majors at Buffalo State and to inspire students to consider teaching as a career choice.
Ms. Briganti, who teaches Honors Living Environment, has been employed with the district for 20 years. "I applied to the master teacher program to join a network of successful teachers. I also want to learn new content and teaching strategies," she said. "I have joined a professional learning team (PLT) that is organizing a climate summit this June. Students from Grand Island and many other nearby districts will attend. I hope to further my own knowledge of science and to use what I learn to continue to ignite a passion for science in my students." Other Grand Island High School teachers in the master teacher program are science teachers Robert Collard and Lee Nowocien and math teacher Natalie Gallagher.
Boy's NFL Swimming and Diving - Final Standing 2016-17 - March 2017
League Champion was Lockport, Grand Island came in 4th, out of eight teams with a 7-7 record.Niagara Frontier League 2016-2017 All Star Team:
200 Medly Relay - 2nd Team Grand Island - 1:49.53 Ryan Buzby, Adam Frosolone, Justin Chadima & Alex Dodge
200 IM - 3rd Team Ryan Buzby - GI 2:15.14
50 Free - 3rd Team Alex Dodge - GI 23.59
100 Back - 3rd Team Ryan Buzby - GI 1:00.38
400 Free Relay - 3rd Team Grand Island - 3:36.68 Alex Dodge, Justin Chadima, Caleb Stallard & Ryan Buzby
GIHS Music Booster Fundraiser - February 2017
The GIHS Music Boosters will be canvasing neighborhoods on Saturday, March 4th to sell Discount Cards that feature various Grand Island Businesses. The Music Boosters is a non-profit organization that uses all funds to further the music program at the high school, through the purchase & repair of equipment, offering various workshops, guest conductors, etc. The students also raise money to fund their bi-annual trip to competitions around the country.Job Search Returns to GIHS! - February 2017
From left: Town Recreation Supervisor Joe Menter, Recreation Attendent Dominique DeGregorio and Olivia VeRost (student).
The newly renovated high school library was the venue for this year's Job Search program sponsored by the High School Business Department and the Grand Island School and Business Alliance on Thursday, February 16th. Students came dressed in business attire, resumes in hand and ready for several interviews from local businesses. Former students who returned as interviewers made this event even more special because they participated in this program years ago and now sit on the other side of the table. Dominique DeGregorio of the Grand Island Town Recreation Department was very impressed by the students and how prepared they were for their interviews. Corey McGowan, who owns his own production company, was equally as impressed and even commented that the students were more prepared than ever before. This program is a group effort in the business department every year and many of the students will be hired by companies who attended which include: GI Town Recreation, Harbor Center/(716), Delaware North Company, Grand Island Fun Center, Wegmans, Pizza Amore, M&T Bank, Grand Island Schools, and Adrians.Grand Island Rugby Spaghetti Dinner - February 2017
The Grand Island Rugby Club is hosting a spaghetti dinner fundraiser on Tuesday, February 28th at the Grand Island High School cafeteria. There will be a basket raffle and bake sale. Dinners are available from 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. and are $7. The Kaleidoscipe Concert is the same evening.GIHS Boys Soccer Coach named FC Buffalo Manager - February 2017
FC Buffalo named Frank Butcher the fourth manager in club history on Monday, succeeding Brendan Murphy who left to join the Rochester Rhinos coaching staff. "I am a lifelong resident of the Buffalo area," Butcher said. "I grew up here, played soccer here, and coach here. I love this town and I love the soccer community here. I am excited to be facing this new challenge in my coaching career."Joining Butcher on the sidelines are a pair of former Blitzers. Casey Derkacz and John Grabowski will assist Butcher.Butcher was an assistant coach at the University at Buffalo for two seasons after four years playing for the Bulls. The North Tonawanda High School product was the second-leading scorer at UB in two of his four seasons, and was Academic All-Conference.Currently the head coach at Grand Island High School, Butcher is the two-time defending WNY Coach of the Year. His Vikings are 28-0 in league play over the past two seasons, New York State finalists in 2016 and state semifinalists in 2015. Overall, he boasts a 96-34-3 record as the boss at Grand Island.
"I hope that I will be able to translate my success to FC Buffalo," Butcher said. "I want to thank the ownership for giving me this great opportunity and I can't wait to get to work with the amazing coaching staff that has been put together. I can't wait to see what we can do together with this FC Buffalo team." Frank has been happily married for 12 years to the Honorable Kara A. Buscaglia, Amherst Town Justice. Together they have four children, Andrew (9), twin daughters Kathryn and Elizabeth (6), and August (2).
GIHS 2nd Quarter High Honor Roll - February 2017
9th GRADE HIGH HONOR
Hamzah Al-Naji, Ronald Appoloney, William Atkinson, Kenneth Carter, Erin Cool, Allison Fay, Alexa Fox, Mitchell Fusillo, Luke Hess, Mackenzie Heyden, Victoria Huang, Colby Kalp, Caitlin Kleinschmidt, Trevor Knight, Lucas Kruse, Katrina Linenfelser, Sarah Moore, Sean Rustowicz, Joseph Steinagel, Patricia Tavarez, Anna Thompson, Madeline Tribby, Peter Wall, Luke Webb
10th GRADE HIGH HONOR
Melina Aceti, Lauren Baeumler, Hannah Cool, Lexie Diaz, Allison Fluker, Sara Gorton, Nicholas Hess, Gianna Horvath, Nathan Hunt, Elizabeth Koyn, Emily Kurtzhalts, Allisen Lepenven, Grace LoHouse, Elisabeth Lupp, Rhys Mendel, Lindsay Robinson, Dylan Russo, Eric Scalise, Laura Schultz, Benjamin Szabo, Joy VanderMey, Kaitlyn Warakomski, Christian Whetham, Bethany Wolcott, Grace Wright
11th GRADE HIGH HONOR
Tyler Bernatovicz, Maddison Bower, Jenette DiLaura, Jordan Eckrote, Abigail Fay, Jessica Gonda, Cross Kalp, Elisabeth Krstevski, Hallie Mingoia, Maria Schnettler, Jack Steinagel, Hannah Tribby, John VanderMey, Sara Wolcott
12th GRADE HIGH HONOR
Jordan Anthony, Kristen Atkinson, Adam Frosolone, Robert Jankowiak, Olivia Johnson, Sheila Kelly, Julia Koprevich, Jason Kubanek, Owen Morrish, Tyler Muggli, Kaylee Richard, MaryElisabeth Rustowicz, Emma Schultz, Chika Shimotsu, Sarah Swagler, Noah Teator, Cameron Watt
GIHS 2nd Quarter Honor Roll - February 2017
9th GRADE HONOR
Avery Andrews, Gabriella Bergstrom, Abigail Blair, Maria Buscaglia, Samuel Castellino, Madison Conway, Donovan Cornelius, Zoe Coutu, Stephanie Cox, Emily Czyrny, Benjamin DeFranks, Eve DiCarlo, Rhianna Enright, Louis Genovese, Jasmin Gill, Alex Gottler, Sean Heffley, Tyler Hunt, Iris Hutchins, Kira Hutton, Cassidy Jensen, Joshua Kam, Kristian Krantz, Cecelia Kubanek, Marissa Lewis, Patrick Loss, Dominic Loss, Madison MacNeil, Michael Marino, Lauren Merletti, Tyler Meyer, Ben Moskala, BrianO'Neill, Grace Pearse, Rebecca Rebmann, Emily Reynolds, Eliza Sarigiannis, Kaylynn Savoy, Makenna Scalise, Thomas Shemik, Brett Shickluna, Elzbieta Sorel, Karie Stedman, Anthony Surace, Lydia Sweeney, Chloe Tolsma, Olivia Williams, Alexa Yamonaco, Brook Zdrojewski
10th GRADE HONOR
Brianna Bachman, Samantha Bailey, Quinton Becker, Sarah Berlinger, Nicholas Carey, Justin Chadima, Alexa Chiarenza, Hannah Chorey, Jagger Click, Ryann Colan, Jacob Corrao, Jasmin Dhillon, Anna DiBello, Annaliese DiCarlo, Samin Durrani, Julia Eichel, Liam Hart, Trevor Hauer, Ryan Jellinick, Harleen Johal, Celia Jones, Diamond Jones, Megan Kennedy, Madison Koeppel, Alex Laschinger, Amanda Lawrence, Nicolas Lindaman, Emma Mahoney, Jacob Nelson, Dalton Nyitrai, Christopher O'Connor, Jordan Pachla, William Person, Olivia Pino, Lydia Pratt, McKenna Prochaska, Miranda Proctor, Nathan Reichel, Rhett Robinson, Trevor Samplinski, Ciara Scalzo, Jordan Simon, Cameron Sionko, Savannah Sipe, Shay Sommer, William Soos, Emma Sullivan, Joshua Tamsen, Samantha Terrana, Grace Thorpe, Wyatt Tollner, Sean Tuohy, Natalie Turck, Hannah Ullrich, Konstantinos Vasiliadis, Marie Wagar, Ryan Wellence, Kelsey Wilson, BryceWolf, James Worrall, Amanda Ziehm
11th GRADE HONOR
Sama Abdelal, Colin Bellinger, Evan Bender, Ruby Benz, Eva Bobeck, Victoria Botticello, Claire Brandon, Sarah Burns, Victoria Busch, Ryan Buzby, Aleece Cruz, Jaynie Decker, Julianna DeSimone, Alana Enright, Grace Federico, Joseph Figliola, Emily Fred, Maricella Fusillo, Mark Giancola, John Glose, John Griffin, Kaitlyn Grybel, Alicia Haak, Joshua Hannibal, Jennifer Hinaman, Marissa Hovey, Nicole Hoy, Joshua Hoy, Anam Hussain, Conner Hutton, Ryan Kernin, Joseph Killian, Angelina Koloshuk, Tess Lariviere, Brendan Larsen, Laura Link, Richard Little, Matthew Logel, Alyssa Luzak, Sierra Maras, Kayla McCauley, Arthur Meaney, Jason Messing, Nathan Miller, Brian Minton, Elizabeth Mitchell, Justin Mock, Muhammad Mojawalla, Amanda Moran, Dominic Nappo, Natalie O'Brien, Michaela Preston, Steven Pufpaff, Samantha Pusatier, Taylor Raine, Katherine Riederer, Kate Riniolo, Alyssa Ruminski, Laurel Salvaggio, Megan Shickluna, Allison Sorri, Megan Stanley, Kayla Staub, Grace Stranahan, Stephen Sweeney, Jenna Tavano, Andrew Thompson, Gracie Tompkins, Olivia VeRost, Sulamita Zherebilov
12th GRADE HONOR
Giana Aiello, Liam Atkins, Genna Baldassarre, Samantha Bartolotta, Theresa Baughman, Hayley Becker, April Booker, Thomas Botticello, Karli Burford, Julia Buscaglia, Conner Buzby, Roman Cacciatore, Nicholas Capizzi, Nicole Castiglione, Sophia Castillo, Connor Cinelli, Lauryn Clark, Rachel Colan, Nicholas Dingey, Jacob Dollendorf, Cole Ellsworth, Anthony Emmi, Angelica Marie Garcia, Kelsey Harrigan, Jessica Harvey, Marilyn Hess, Alexis Hofmeyer, Richard Hoover, Timothy Howard, Emily Jelonek, Brennen Joslyn, Natalie Kaminski, George Katholos, Sydney Khreis, Julie Klein, Katherine Kovacs, Genavieve Koyn, Adam Krathaus, Hayley Latvala, Lauren LoTempio, Hannah Mahon, Kelsey Mahoney, Jacob Masucci, Alyssa Maxwell, Ryan McDonald, Gracie McNamara, Madison McNamara, Kassie Moss, Kayli Nelson, Katelyn Newbould, Claire O'Connor, Kaila Powell, Lindsay Proctor, Garrett Robinson, Lucas Robinson, Sarah Saleh, Varinder Sandhu, William Scalzo, Kelly Schlifke, Brandon Schoener, Cassandra Shores, Brianna Smith, Jacob Spencer, Alexis Studley, Jessica Surace, Lauryn Swanson, Ryan Tetreault, Brooke Thomas, Marie Tomasula, Kaitlynn Tuohy, Olivia Turck, Marianthi Vasiliadis, Jenna VeRost, Eric Watt, Madelyn Webb, Wesley Wolf, Gillian Worrall
GIHS 2nd Quarter Merit Roll - February 2017
9th GRADE MERIT
Tala Abdellatif, Aizaz Asif, Carmela Bartolomeo, Brooke Bartolotta, Derek Blanchard, Joseph Cali, Timothy Carlson, Ruby Chen, Alyssa Cline, Gianna D'Addario, Ava Eichel, John Fletcher, Jenna Foglia, Jack Hammond, Shawna-Lea Harper, Muhammad Issa, Michael Juntunen, Nicholas Keller, Blake Kenney, Kevin Koch, Abigail Krull, Emily Kwiecinski, Robert LeFevre, Jack LoTempio, Maggie McNamara, Sebastian Melendez, Breckin Morris, Sean Murray, Morgan Payan, Justin Podgorny, Nicholas Ratajczak, Luke Rizzo, Mikayla Robinson, Brandon-Kace Samol, Zayan Shaheen, Amritpal Singh, Benjamin Spiesz, Mark Steck, Griffin Sykes, Phillip Thomas, Kyle Vanderzell, Vanessa VanNorman, Leo Wain, Amiah Wilkes, Gabriel Wright, David Wynne
10th GRADE MERIT
Ava Ackerman, Jack Anthony, Hayden Backlund, Brandon Beiter, Charley Benz, Brianna Beyer, Adam Burns, Julia Byrne, Alexander Castillo, Joshua Conta, Joseph Coughlin, Anthony DeSimone, Mia Devirgilio, Jacob Doebler, Allison Dragonette, Cameron Fairbairn, Jenna Gleave, Justin Gorrell, Henry Grunzweig, Faith Gworek, Brady Hofmeyer, Austin Hogan, William Hoover, Kaylee Kavanaugh, Nicholas Kawecki, Sebastian Koschuk, Madison Liss, Matthew Mahon, Clarice McCaffery, Allison McDonald, Laura McKenna, Alexander Melisz, Madeline Mesmer, Bridget Neeson, Joseph Parker, Zachary Reading, Michael Sadkowski, Trisha Sander, Camryn Santa Lucia, Maria Sciortino, Gabriella Sciortino, Anthony Seifert, Anthony Serra, Pravdeep Singh, Gwendolyn Slachciak, Julia Slazyk, Easton Speer, Bradley Sturtz, Mary Szumla, Nicholas Tillett, Brienne Westfall, Olivia Wright, Kenneth Yockey
11th GRADE MERIT
Jonathan Abbott, Tima Abdellatif, Bayan Abdellatif, Luke Ailinger, Nicholas Anzalone, Tori Appoloney, Naushairwan Asif, John Bellia, Jackson Besl, Rosemarie Boyko, Victoria Brawn, Alyssa Butcher, Sarah Bykowicz, Gionna Cafarella, Derek Callen, Nathan Canazzi, Liam Carey, Matthew Carlson, Dean Cataffo, Thomas Cecere, Lauren Chadwick, Jenna Cook, Emily Cordero, Gabriel D'Addario, Dylan DeGlopper, Sam DiBello, Alexander Dodge, Daniel Emblidge, Jessica Faso, Cole Fischer, Ryan Frost, Samantha Garcia, Philip Gentz, Matthew Giordano, Taylor Gojmerac, James Grinchishin, Brodie Guess, Madelyn Heyden, Robert Hodan, James Horwitz, Ivy Hoyt, Jerry Huang, Elizabeth Ishmael, Nicholas Kam, Alyssa Kelsey, Shannon Klein, Abigail Klie, Autumn Krantz, Hannah Kurek, Anthony Leone, David Lesinski, Jason Lupp, Ethan Lynch, Anastasia Mascaro, Chloe McQuestion, Angelina Morales, Margaret Morgan, Tyler Myszka, Nicholas Nowocien, Heath Parmelee, Edward Payan, Joshua Schaefer, Zack Schmidt, Cora Schuerholz, Alyssa Scott, Vanessa Shores, Emma Sickles, Katelyn Simpson, Brandon Snyder, Breanna Stedman-Pate, Dominic Tagliarino, Luke Traina, Anna Ungaro, Jacob VeRost, Michelle Wadell, Theresa West, Spencer Wiktorowski
12th GRADE MERIT
Ayah Abdelal, Marcella Barberic, Cassandra Brooks, Erik Carlson, Virgil Castner, Jesus Cisneros Vilchis, Mikayla Claus, Andrea Colan, Kaylee Conta, Jessica Culbert, Mallory DelSignore, Julia Diehl, Todd Domowicz, Louis Fabiano, Colin Fish, Joseph Frailey, James Franz, Gabrielle Gagliardi, Jacob Gleave, Chloe Groff, Lenin Harper, Justin Jarka, Amanda Jordan, Maxwell Keller, Madelyn Konopczynski, Matthew Kowalski, Justin Kozlowski, Rachel Madigan, Julianna Major, Alexa Mallare, Harrison Mangat, Faith Martell, Kristopher Masiello, Sean McFarland, Alexandra Meinhold, Zackery Messier, Heather Michki, Ralphis Montalvo Martinez, Zachary Morano, Tyler Moskala, Nathan Newell, Juleeann Nyitrai, Kevin O'Leary, Jennalise Olson, Stephen Parisi, Julianna Passarelli, Madison Phillips, Connor Pignatora, Michael Pyzynski, Jamie Saucier, Alexia Shivers, Brian Smith, Jack Stieringer, Kristine Sutton, Randy Thomas, James Thorpe, Collin Tolsma, Jacob Tucker, Madison,VeRost, Cassidy Wilkinson, Dakota Wolf, Joelle Woodard
Western New York Top 10 Track & Field - February 2017
The following Grand Island Track & Field athletes were named to the Buffalo News Top 10 in their respective events this week.Joe Frailey - 300 (37.04/#7), 600 (1:25.94/#4)
Jerome Masters - 600 (1:27.47/#8), 1000 (2:42.07/#8)
Sebastian Melendez - 1600 (4:40.17/#9)
4x4 Relay - Grand Island (3:47.87/#10)
4x8 Relay - Grand Island (8:37.74/#4)
Alex Jennings - Triple Jump (40-10.50/#9)
Brad Stevenson - Weight Throw (53-8/#5)
Kenmore/Grand Island Girls Hockey - February 2017
Update: Frontier/Lake Shore/Orchard Park won the Section VI championship over Kenmore/Grand Island, 3-2, at the Northtown Center on Wednesday, February 8th.High School Extra: Kenmore/GI upsets No. 1 seed in girls hockey playoffs. Buffalo News Staff Story - February 6, 2017
It was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Kenmore/Grand Island girls hockey team after five Section VI public schools championships in a row. Wrong.
The Devil Dogs upset No. 1 seed Williamsville, 4-2, Monday, February 6th at Amherst Northtown Center to advance to the sectional final for the sixth year in a row. Kenmore/GI will face FLOP (Frontier-Lancaster-Orchard Park) in the championship game at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. The winner will face Beekmantown (Section VII) at 8 p.m. on Friday in the state semifinals at SUNY Canton. The championship game will be at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Senior Olivia Smith, a first team All-Western New York selection the last two seasons led Kenmore/GI with three goals and an assist. The other hero was goalie Ellie Simmons, who stopped 40 of the 42 shots she faced against Williamsville. A seventh-grader at Hoover Middle School in the Kenmore District, Simmons faced 23 shots in the third period alone, when her team managed just one on net, and stopped them all. Her save percentage for the season is .917 with 334 saves on 364 shots against.
"It was a huge win for us," said coach Jeff Orlowski. "Nobody expected that one." They might have, though, because Orlowski's team has upset No. 1 seed Williamsville each of the last two seasons, once in the semifinals and last season in the championship game. "Olivia Smith was awesome," Orlowski said. "Tonight she took the team on her back." Smith scored the first of her three highlight-reel goals with 11:05 left in the first period. "She came out of her own zone, beat their defenseman walked right in with a quick snap shot under the crossbar," Orlowski said. Williamsville answered that with goals by Leah Czerwinski and Maggie Fuzak to a 2-1 lead. Smith went to work again. She set up a goal by senior Hannah Gallivan to tie it, then scored on two end-to-end rushes.
"They were almost identical," Orlowski said. "She started along the boards at the half-wall, cut to the center and just beat the goalie." Smith increased her season point total to 30 (18 goals, 12 assists) with her four-point game. A defensive standout for Kenmore/GI was junior Rosie Boyko (Grand Island), who broke up two Williamsville 2-on-1 breaks late in the game.
Marcy Barberic Signs with UB - February 2017
From left: Mom Shirley, Marcy and Dad Tony Barberic.
Grand Island High School soccer player Marcy Barberic signed a letter of intent with University at Buffalo on National Signing Day, Wednesday, February 1st. Marcy has played Varsity soccer for the last 5 years, starting in eight grade. During that time, the team was Section VI semi-finalist in 2012/2013, NFL Champions & Section VI Finalist in 2014/2015 and NFL Champions, Section VI Champions and Far West Regional Co-Champions in 2016.Marcy's individual stats are prolific: 2012-Second Team NFL, 7 goals, 13 assists, 27 points; 2013-First Team NFL, 3 goals, 5 assists, 11 points; 2014-First Team NFL, First Team All WNY, Second Team NYS, 6 goals, 24 assists, 36 points; 2015-Team Captain, First Team NFL, First Team All WNY, Third Team NYS, 26 goals, 19 assists, 71 points;2016-First Team NFL, First Team All WNY, Second Team NYS, 27 goals, 32 assists (Third all-time in NYS for assists in a single season), 86 points. Marcy's overall record in her five year career at Grand Island is 81-11-7. Her 93 total assists makes her the third all-time most assists in a career in NYS.
Grand Island Athletic Director Jon Roth spoke of Marcy's "outstanding attitude", and that she is "unselfish, feeding balls to other girls on the field". Coach Dave Bowman said she "made things happen" and is "the best midfielder ever" to come out of the Grand Island program.
Boys Swimming NFL JV Results - January 2017
The Boys Swimming NFL JV were held on Thursday, January 26th. See unofficial results.Boys Swimming Results - January 2017
The GIHS Boys Swim Team beat to Lew Port on Friday, January 20th, 120 - 51. See results.January Regents Schedule - January 2017
Grand Island High School Regents Schedule, January 24 - 27, 2017 See schedule.Boys Swimming Results - January 2017
The GIHS Boys Swim Team lost to Lockport on Friday, January 13th, 122.5 - 56.6. See results.DECA Shines on Grand Island! - January 2017
Once again, Grand Island High School hosted 14 schools at the annual DECA Region 12 Competition, a business event attended by 600 high school students. This year, business professionals from all over WNY came out on a Sunday morning to assist students in competition by judging authentic role plays. Grand Island students placed well, with 50 students advancing to the NYS competition in Rochester in March. See Grand Island DECA Regional Winners 2017.Local judges, Fahim Mojawalla, Mary Cooke, and Donna Tomkins were joined by former GI DECA alum Ciara Morreale and Ben Whitford. "It is wonderful to have the support of local business leaders from our community every year to help our students achieve in DECA," DECA advisor Cheryl Chamberlain remarked. This huge endeavor was coordinated by Chamberlain and the business department at Grand Island. Ms. Amy Boutet noted that there are an additional 18 students who will go directly to the State competition with business plans and presentations that they have created as part of our program at Grand Island and they assisted greatly at the Regional event as volunteers for the day. The DECA program continues to grow every year at Grand Island Middle and High School, preparing young business professionals in the fields of marketing, finance, hospitality, and business management.
Boys Swimming Results - January 2017
The GIHS Boys Swim Team lost to Niagara Falls on Friday, January 6th, 105-78. See results.GIHS Musical - Music Man - January 2017
Graphic designed by Reg Schopp - deSignet Jewelry.
Reserved tickets at ticketpeak.com/gimusical. - Click here.We've Got Trouble Right Here in River City ....actually NO, it's right here in Grand Island and it's happening at the Grand Island High School! Yes that's right folks, the cast and crew of The Music Man are causing a creative cacophony! Performance dates are Thursday February 2, 2017, Friday February 3, 2017 and Saturday February 4, 2017. Show time is 7:00PM. Ticket price is $10 for reserved seating. Seniors carrying a Golden pass will be admitted free on THURSDAY FEBRUARY 2nd . New this year! Tickets will be sold using an online service only. The tickets will go on sale to the public on Jaunuary 15, 2017. The web address is "ticketpeak.com/gimusical". Charms of the graphic above will be available at deSignet Jewelry, 1869 Whitehaven Road, as a keepsake from the show.
