STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS

* Each year thousands of schools in the United States participate in the National Geographic

Bee using materials prepared by the National Geographic Society. The contest is designed to motivate students to learn about the world and how it works. Students in grades four through eight are eligible for this entertaining and challenging competition. With a top prize of a $50,000 college scholarship, plus other prizes, the contest is designed to encourage teachers to include geography in their classrooms, spark student interest in the subject and increase public awareness about geography. Students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and the Department of Defense Dependents Schools are participating in the 2020 National Geographic Bee. There are three levels of competition: school, state and national. This year the Amity Middle School champion was Dan Mowerman, who took a written test to qualify to represent Amity Middle School in Bethany at the state level of the National Geographic Bee. Standing, from left, are Quinn Cunneen, Gregory Hofstatter, Michael Crisci and Mark Sheehe; kneeling, from left, are Dan Mowerman, Benjamin Wang, Adrian Frankiewicz and Moorea Santulli.

* Sacred Heart Academy student Michelle Chacko ’22 recently took a short-term medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic with Handfuls of Hope. This organization was founded by individuals who had been involved in a series of short-term missions in the Dominican Republic and who then began connecting other groups and organizations to do the same so as to make a lasting impact in that country. Her work involved translating, communicating and taking people wherever they needed to go for medical reasons, whether to a pharmacy, a lab or a medical appointment. She also assisted with basic medical procedures, such as taking temperature and blood pressure, and visited villages to distribute food and interact with the villagers, including playing with the children. She is the daughter of Manoj and Reshma Chacko, who live in North Haven.

* Yale University chemistry student Alec Chai of Colorado Springs, Colo., was recently selected as a winner of the 2020 Yamaha Young Performing Artist Competition presented by Yamaha Corp. of America. The YYPA Competition recognizes outstanding young musicians studying in the United States who excel in jazz, classical and contemporary genres. Chai is one of only 11 musicians selected nationwide to earn this distinction. The self-taught oboist has been awarded the first-place prize at numerous competitions, including the Young Musicians Foundation of Colorado, the Denver Young Artists Orchestra’s Wind Concerto Competition and, most recently, the 2019 William Waite Concerto Competition at Yale University. Chai also received the Oboe Excellence Scholarship from the faculty of Le Domaine Forget International Academy of Music and Dance in 2017. The Colorado native has performed at venues and events across the country, including the Bands of America St. Louis Super Regionals in Missouri, the Pasadena Rose Parade in California, the YoungArts Los Angeles program as a National YoungArts winner and on Colorado Public Radio.