Seven students in the Central High School District have been named National Merit Semifinalists in the 2024 competition. 

Joseph Darcourt and Fiona Wong of Calhoun High School, Sara Maltempi, Avidan Moont and Cole Wasserman of Kennedy High School and Matthew Keegan and Matt Yang of Mepham High School were among those who earned this distinction.  

“We are once again in awe of the academic achievements made by our students,” said Superintendent Michael Harrington. “It's amazing to watch them flourish in Bellmore-Merrick, especially knowing how well they are supported by our educational staff and faculty.” 

The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the National Merit program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The semifinalists represent the highest scoring 1% of the students nationwide who took the PSAT. 

Additionally, Ifra Ali, Sam Saldarelli, and Tobias Seabold of Calhoun, Charles Decker, Christiana Foufas, Alex Luft, Jeffrey Nodelman, Liam Osborne and Sanjay Persaud of Mepham and Fiona Yeung and Dylan Pichardo of Kennedy were named Commended Students. Commended Students placed among the top 3% of 1.5 million students who entered the 2023 Merit Program by taking the 2022 PSAT/National Merit Scholarship qualifying test. 

More than 16,000 students qualified as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. This year, about 95 percent are expected to attain finalist standing. Finalists will be notified in February 2024 and scholarship winners will be announced in the spring of 2024. 

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Date Added: 9/13/2023