YOUTH ON THE GO
Onteora High School celebrated the initiation of 20 students into the National Honor Society in a candlelit ceremony on Wednesday, June 12.
The newest members of the society’s Onteora chapter are Zachary Calinda, Cambria D’Aprile, Patrick Fitzgerald, Julia Flamenhaft, Julian Jordaan-Grady, Ashley Hillard, Natalie Horberg, Archie Lewis-Harris, Nicole Lane, Maxwell Mielcarek, Emily Peck, Simon Rands, Lila Ressler, Sophia Roberts, James Stala, Julian Stala, Margaret Turck, Dylan Wiswall, Alana Wood and Jessica Zygmunt.
The National Honor Society is more than just an honor roll, said English teacher Laura Loheide, who co-advises the Onteora chapter with Sarah Turck, Onteora’s director of guidance. “While qualification for the National Honor Society is predicated on academic scholarship, acceptance is based on the pillars of leadership, character, and service,” she said in a press release. “As a member of NHS, students are models of exemplary character and service to their school community.”
Onteora’s National Honor Society members are required to dedicate at least 10 hours per semester serving their school or local community, Loheide added. In addition to tutoring their peers, members volunteer at National Honor Societysponsored events such as an annual blood drive and CANuary, a month-long dry food and can collection for the Reservoir Food Pantry.
••• In an effort to remind students of the importance of buckling up and avoiding distracted driving, students at Rhinebeck High School participated in the annual Battle of the Belts challenge. The event was supervised by Rhinebeck village police officers Ken Scattergood and Beth Imperato.
The days between Memorial Day and Labor Day are considered the 100 Deadliest Days for teen driver fatalities, according to highway safety advocates.
John’s Towing in Rhinebeck donated the car used for the competition, which involved students participating in a relay-style race of putting on their seatbelts, then changing seating to buckle up again. Students were also introduced to the rollover vehicle by New York state troopers Chris Gonyo and David Schmitz. The rollover vehicle demonstrated a realistic visual of the consequences of not buckling up. In addition, speaker and advocate Brian Strommer presented a program to students in an effort to inspire them to avoid distracted driving and driving under the influence.
••• The Highland Central School District inducted 37 students into the Highland Middle School chapter of the National Junior Honor Society on Tuesday, June 4.
For membership, students needed to demonstrate their commitment to the society’s pillars, which include knowledge, scholarship, citizenship, leadership, character and service. Current eighth-grade members introduced the seventh-grade inductees to an audience of family and friends. Principal Dan Wetzel congratulated them on their achievement and adviser Lisa Sutera draped them in formal society sashes. Adviser Samantha Wacker presented each inductee with a pin. A reception followed.
The National Junior Honor Society saidits purpose is to recognize outstanding middle-level students. More than just an honor roll, the society serves to honor those students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, service, leadership, character and citizenship.
The five main purposes that guide society chapters are to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote leadership, to encourage responsible citizenship and to develop character in the students of secondary schools. These purposes also translate into the criteria used for membership selection in each local chapter.
••• Paige Bogart of High Falls and Reginald Ade of Rosendale were named the recipients of scholarships awarded by The Women’s Club of Rosendale.
Bogart graduated recently from Rondout Valley High School. Active in sports and community service activities, she will attend the State University of New York at New Paltz in the fall and is considering majoring in environmental science.
Ade received the club’s Ulster County Community College 2019 Scholarship. He will continue his studies at the college, where he is majoring in computer technology.
The scholarships receive the ongoing support of Barry and Lydia Post of Palmetto Bay, Florida. Barry Post is a 1961 graduate of Kingston High School and was a recipient of the Women’s Club scholarship that year.