To the editor:
I cannot be more proud of the fine young men and women who so eloquently spoke up at the Feb. 10 Riverhead school board meeting regarding the district’s unfortunate cost-saving decision to reduce the high school academic day from nine periods to eight. The purported rationale for the change — too many students taking too many study halls — was extremely weak. (more…)
Danielle Lawrence (Credit: Facebook)
Teachers at Riverhead High School remember Danielle Lawrence as a kind, sweet and talented girl who always had a smile on her face.
“She was the type of student that you wish you can have 10 of them just like her in your class,” said math teacher Athena Angerhauser. (more…)
Riverhead athletic director Bill Groth. (Credit: courtesy photo)
Riverhead’s athletic director, Bill Groth, was recently named a 2014 Zone Award recipient by the New York State Council of Administrators for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance during a banquet in Verona, N.Y.
Riverhead freshman Yasmine Kocan. (Credit: Riverhead School District)
In the summer of 2011, Marissa Macchio, the Riverhead High School orchestra director, introduced Yasmine Kocan to the cello during a music program.
“I could tell from the start that she was gifted and had an exceptional ear for music,” Ms. Macchio said in a news release. (more…)
Riverhead school board member Lori Hulse pitches the need to limit the kinds of contracts the district superintendent can sign without board approval at a board meeting Tuesday night. (Credit: Paul Squire)
The Riverhead school board voted to limit the kinds of contracts Superintendent Nancy Carney can sign without needing board authorization, arguing that it protects taxpayers and adds extra oversight to limit mistakes.
The superintendent had been able to sign off on contracts under $25,000 without board approval. That limit was decreased to $10,000 or less. (more…)
(Credit: Paul Squire)
There are 16 students in Riverhead sophomore Shannon Zeltmann’s AP Physics class. But all but two of the students go without a lunch period each day, she said.
The reason why the kids are skipping lunch? There’s just not enough time in the school day, the sophomore said. (more…)
RHS senior and NJROTC cadet Brianne Corwin (center) with her parents, Todd and Mary Anne Corwin. (Credit: Paul Squire)
Brianne Corwin said she had no idea why Navy Recruiting District Commander David Byrd called her in for a second interview late last year. Brianne, a cadet in the Riverhead High School Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, had applied for a scholarship and had already done one interview.
She figured this one was more paperwork. But after an hour-long discussion, she learned why she had been singled out.
“At the very end he said, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve chosen you for the scholarship,’ ” she said. “It was so fast it’s almost like you could have missed it … I was so surprised.”
In December, Brianne was handpicked by Commander Byrd to receive a four-year Navy ROTC Scholarship. The prestigious scholarship — earned through the ROTC’s Immediate Scholarship Reservation — covers the full cost of tuition at selected schools.
She was one of six cadets chosen out of thousands in the NJROTC district to win the scholarship. Brianne will commit to five years of service in the Navy through the scholarship program after she graduates.
Brianne said she joined the NJROTC as a freshman with a few of her friends. Back then, she said, she was much more shy. She credits the cadet program with helping her open up.
“It looked fun and they were having a good time,” she said. “It was a good opportunity …”
During her four years in the program, Brianne has been a leader within the Riverhead ROTC unit. She is now the Executive Officer of the unit and is the Commander of the Air Rifle and Personal Inspection Teams.
In addition to spending about eight hours each week practicing or spending time working with the NJROTC, Brianne is also an accomplished student and athlete. According to a news release, she is in the top six percent of her class.
She is a member of the Students Against Drunk Driving Club and the National Honor Society.
Brianne is also on three school varsity teams: golf, tennis and track and field. She also enjoys volunteering, working with the Rotary Club through the NJROTC, Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch and her local church — First Congregational Church of Riverhead — to help others.
Brianne said she’d like to pursue a major in material sciences, specifically to work with 3D printing. She’s still waiting to hear back from her first-choice college, the University of Florida, and recently applied to the Naval Academy as well.
In a statement, Brianne’s guidance counselor Chris Martin said, “I am thrilled for Brianne and very proud of her accomplishments. She really earned this. It is rare for me to see a student work so hard to achieve and improve her self.”
Riverhead’s middle school basketball team went 10-0 this season. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)
What better way to celebrate an undefeated season than a pizza party?
The 15 players and manager on Riverhead’s middle school basketball team toasted to a 10-0 season Friday afternoon with cheese and pepperoni. The boys closed out their season Thursday, defeating Mount Sinai 87-55. (more…)
