The Calhoun High School graduating Class of 2022 was celebrated on the football field on June 12.

Bursts of Calhoun blue filled the field as staff, friends and families enjoyed the commencement ceremony under a canopy of cloudy blue skies.

Principal Nicole Hollings explained how “there are significant problems in our world that [graduates] are going to be called upon to fix.”

“You are the future,” she said. “You hold it in your hands. You have the power to put aside hate and intolerance and to instead love, accept and welcome in. When you ask, ‘how can I help’ you are sharing that you might not have all the answers and instead you can work with others around you to solve problems.”

Valedictorian Tina Cheng and salutatorian Kaitlin Bondi addressed the crowd.

Cheng reflected on goals and striving for perfection.

“I hope that each of us can vow to ourselves that in the next few years, we will focus on our own happiness and accept that it is okay if we don't live up to people’s expectations,” she added.

Bondi talked about the “beauty of unpredictability.”

“We do not possess the ability to know the future - yet – so acknowledging and appreciating life’s unpredictability is our next best option,” she said. “In this sense, do not dwell too heavily on what could have been or what will be. Relinquish the false sense of control we all think we have over our lives.”

Date Added: 6/15/2022

Calhoun's AP Capstone students are finishing up their two-year program of study under the leadership of Ms. Boland, Ms. Separ, Mr. Formato, and Ms. Khan. These students passed AP Seminar last year, and now have submitted research papers and completed their presentation and oral defenses for the AP Research course.

“I am so proud of our AP scholars’ academic and personal achievements this year,” Khan said. “Their willingness to challenge themselves will lead them to new opportunities and experiences.”

On Thursday, June 2, Calhoun held their1stannual AP Research Symposium.The symposium gave students a chance to share their work with their peers as they condensed their full presentations to about a three-minute presentation with time for a question-and-answer period.

"It was a great opportunity for the AP Capstone students to share their passion projects with those outside of the program," said English chairperson, Kim Serpe.

“It was exciting to see these students demonstrate expertise in an area of academic scholarship,” added AP Research teacher Mr. Formato. “They asked some really hard questions and became part of the professional conversation in a variety of academic disciplines.”

“These students have engaged in a level of work that not many ever tackle, and we are so impressed with their efforts,” said Social Studies Chairperson Christina Cone.

Student participants included; Jake Baglio, Julia Baguiao, Kinga Brulinska, Leanna Cheeseman, Elijah Cruz, Sofia DaSilva, Bryce Gould-Anderson, Sydney Jackson, Riley Kazan, Deven Kirpalani, Thomas Morash, Madeline Ryan, Jonathan Sferratore, Shardul Singh, Randhula Wickramasinghe and Kenan Yavuz.

Date Added: 6/3/2022

Calhoun High School was among three schools on Long Island who has received a financial grant from the Long Island Regional Planning Council as part of the 2021 Long Island Water Quality STEAM Challenge.

The competition encourages students to design and develop projects to reduce rain runoff and nitrogen pollution on school grounds.

Calhoun High School, New Hyde Park Memorial High School, and Commack High School were each awarded $2,500 grants as part of the 2021 Challenge.

“It is essential for students today to recognize the challenges our region faces in protecting the quality of our water systems and the schools participating in the 2021 Water Quality STEAM Challenge have established an active and ongoing outdoor classroom for all students, present and future, to learn and reflect on this important issue,” notedLIRPC Chairman John Cameron.

At Calhoun High School, students Kamila Agudelo, Rose Cepeda, Rachel Macnamara and Julie Moehringer designed a rain garden which features native plants to help filter out pollutants or excess nutrients from storm water runoff before it enters the surface waterways or recharges into the ground water supply.

“The garden will provide a natural habitat for birds and butterflies and will serve as an ongoing classroom for students in future years,” explained their teacher/adviser Jennifer Pefanis.

“At a time in world history when the discussion of future potable water sources is perhaps more important than at any time in the past century, the STEAM Challenge created by the Long Island Regional Planning Council allowed our students to work on an authentic project in an area in which they are naturally interested as they understand it can affect their futures,” said Scott Bersin, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction. “We are extremely proud of the work done by teacher Jennifer Pefanis and the students involved with the rain garden project at Calhoun.”

Superintendent Michael Harrington mentioned the journey that’s involved in participating in a science research project.

“It’s not only about awards,” he said. “What you’ve done here at Calhoun, the legacy you are leaving, plus helping the environment – that is greater than any award.”

Winners of the 2022 grants will be announced shortly by the LIRPC panel, and a new round of applicants will be invited later this year for 2023 awards.

The Long Island Water Quality Challenge was first offered in 2019 to all schools in Nassau and Suffolk counties with an invitation to develop and design projects for their school grounds which will either reduce the use of fertilizers/pesticides and water consumption, or devise methods to collect and treat water runoff from the school property.

The Long Island Regional Planning Council comprises of public and private sector leaders who are experienced and knowledgeable in business, environment, transportation, and planning. Its mission is to educate Long Island officials, stakeholders and residents on key issues affecting the quality of life in the region, and to propose immediate and long-term strategies and solutions.

Date Added: 6/2/2022

The Cultural Arts Foundation, now in its 43rdyear, is a community based, volunteer organization that encourages and supports our student musicians, artists and theatrical performers.

Each year, 8th and 12th graders who have shown tremendous talent and commitment to the Arts are nominated by their teachers to audition/interview with the committee; the winners are then honored at the end of the year.

Congratulations to all of this year’s winners and their teachers!

 

CALHOUN HS:

ART: Joseph Bilardello (Architecture), Katherine Brown (Photography) & Maggie Viti (Painting)

DRAMA: David Padilla

VOCAL MUSIC: Nina Genzone

ORCHESTRA: Marissa Lopez

BAND: Ava Stanek


KENNEDY HS:

ART: Sydney Eisner (Sculpture), Beck Levy (Photography) & Kayla Riopel (Mixed Media)

DRAMA: Brooke Cerami

VOCAL MUSIC: Christen Ayodele

ORCHESTRA: Bailey Croce

BAND: Christopher Prainito


MEPHAM HS:

ART: Jamie DeLuca (Photography), Helena Fu (Mixed Media), & Amanda Romano (Digital Drawing)

DRAMA: Anthony Karagianes

VOCAL MUSIC: Victoria O’Shea

BAND: Joshua Ostroff


GRAND AVE MS:

ART: Elaine Li

VOCAL MUSIC: Mikella Rahim

ORCHESTRA:Daniel Lin

BAND:Sofia Caba


MERRICK AVE MS:

ART: Ryan Levinter (Photography) & Danielle Tejada (Mixed Media)

VOCAL MUSIC: Sophie Kovoros

ORCHESTRA:Jeremy Wang

BAND:Jack Zagariello


M.A.P.

ART: Dara Levitt


Please click on the link below to view the winners’ digital art galleries and virtual performances

2022 Cultural Arts Gallery

Date Added: 5/31/2022

Their motto this season was “make it count” and that’s just what the Calhoun High School softball team did to clinch the conference II championship.

With a regular season record of 10-4, the team is led by coach and special education teacher Michael Pisano. Additionally, Pisano was named Conference Coach of the Year. Assistant coaches are Darian Caputo and David Stern.

“Winning the Conference title showed us that the lofty goals we set at the start of the season are possible to achieve and if we continue to approach practice and games with the same level of grit and determination there is no ceiling,” he noted.

“Calhoun’s No. 1 pitcher and the driving force behind our success is Lauren DeMarco. In 77 innings pitched she had a 1.27 ERA with 111 strikeouts,” he continued.

“Recording 100 strikeouts within the regular season is a huge accomplishment for a pitcher and is really only accomplished by an elite few,” explained Pisano. “During Lauren’s junior year, she threw a perfect game and one-hitter. Lauren puts in the work, oftentimes practicing after the team finishes. She's a true competitor who wants the ball no matter the circumstance. She is committed to play at Wilkes University in the Fall of 2022.”

Senior catcher Gabriella Razza has rarely let anything get by her.

“Additionally, very few runners steal a base on her because of her cannon of an arm. She is quick on her feet and tough as nails,” added Pisano. “One of the most resilient athletes I have ever coached. Her hitting was quite impressive this year with a .350 avg.”

Calhoun softball is largely led by a crew of stellar sophomores who continue to improve every day.

“On any given day there are seven or eight sophomores in the starting lineup,” Pisano said. “Speedy sophomore outfielder Gabriella Facciponti is able to cover an impressive amount of turf with her diving catches and skilled ball tracking. Facciponti had a batting average of .375 and 18 stolen bases. Sophomore Gia Pisicchio dominated the infield with her golden glove skills at shortstop and charged the Colts offense by putting up an impressive .465 batting average. Sophomore third baseman Johanna Espositio has a lightning glove and developed into one of the most consistent hitters coming through with a number of clutch hits that helped The Colts win some tough games.

Gianna Lucchi, who played junior varsity last year, became one of the dominant hitters posting a .433 batting average and became one of a reliable outfielders, Pisano explained.

“Additionally, the timely and clutch hitting of senior Rebecca Collins and sophomore Isabella Pagano have helped the Colts claw back from some difficult run deficits and win in a tremendous fashion,” added Pisano.

Pisano attributes the team’s success and conference title to several tough losses early in the season that gave an opportunity to reexamine the team with a new sense of drive and purpose.

“Sometimes a team develops in ways you don’t expect,” he added. “We never expected to become the ‘come from behind’ team that refuses to give up. The message the coaches sent to the players is that adversity makes us stronger and more resilient. These moments make us want to strive to be better and achieve even more than what we originally set out to do. Losing forces us to come together as a team and evaluate our goals. It teaches us what doesn’t work and gives us an opportunity to fix it, making us stronger,” Pisano said.

The first round of playoffs is Tuesday, May 17, against Wantagh in the single A Nassau County postseason.

Date Added: 5/17/2022