Class of 2025 valedictorian Christopher Rickard and salutatorian Mia Abruzzese were among the valedictorians and salutatorians in State Sen. James Skoufis’ district who attended his May 28 Valedictorian and Salutatorian Celebration in Albany!
Students and their parents/guardians were treated to lunch, and a Capitol tour, introduced by Sen. Skoufis in the Senate chamber during its legislative session and presented with Senate citations acknowledging their academic accomplishments. It was an exciting day for all everyone!
“These young men and women are a fantastic group of scholars with bright futures ahead of them. I wish them - and all our Orange County graduating seniors - the absolute best as they complete their school year,” Sen. Skoufis said.
In finishing up their studies on the immune system, Brendan McGann’s College Biology students traveled around the school to collect samples of microorganisms from various surfaces for the testing and analysis of bacteria and fungi.
Their samples came from many places, including the friendly foot and computer keyboard of Physics Teacher Martin Greco! Students began the inoculation process, swapping samples onto nutrient agar plates. After a couple days in the incubator, the analysis of bacteria and fungi colonies began. The grand finale of their lab was the killing of the colonies with various sterilizers.
The "winner" with most growth and varying colonies came from Mr. Greco's keyboard. The students, being concerned for Mr. Greco’s health and welfare, suggested he might want to regularly clean his keyboard!
•Bacteria grow on computer keyboards because they provide a conducive environment for microbial growth. Keyboards have numerous crevices and spaces where human debris, including skin cells, food particles, and oils, can accumulate. This debris, combined with frequent contact with human hands, creates a breeding ground for bacteria.
•Nutrient agar plates are a type of solid culture medium used in microbiology laboratories to cultivate and observe microorganisms, particularly bacteria.
•Nutrient agar plates contain agar (a gelling agent extracted from seaweed that solidifies the medium); beef extract (provides nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and amino acids); peptone: (a protein digest that supplies nitrogen and other nutrients); and sodium chloride (maintains osmotic balance).
Our Varsity Flag Football team played with fierce grit and tenacity today, May 31, but will not be advancing to the next level of play after today's 13-7 final against Section I champion Tappan Zee. But...the team is a NYSPHSAA regional finalist, and that's a huge accomplishment!
It was a close game, and this team has a lot to be proud of not only today.... but for the entire season. They represented Minisink Valley with pride and distinction in a very new sport for girls athletics in New York State. They will be back...and just as tough.
Please join us in congratulating the team for a great season.
High School families:
The Lors Photography site is now open for you to purchase from the galleries of photos taken by Lors photographers for the year 2024-25 school year. These include yearbook team photos, Senior Ball, Junior Prom photos and much more! Class of 2025 graduation photos willl be added shortly after the ceremony.
A portion of your purchase of any of these images will benefit the yearbook and allow the yearbook to be sold at a discounted price. (The preorders were all discounted from the actual printing cost.) Don’t miss out if interested!
CLICK HERE and check out all the great Lors images: https://lorsstudio.smugmug.com/Mini.../School-Year-2024-2025
Please support the good work of the Minisink Valley PTO and purchase an ULTIMATE DISCOUNT CARD!
This fundraiser concludes Saturday, June 7!
Get all the details via this link: https://www.ultimatefundraisinginc.com/discount-card-store/physical
Congratulations to the High School Band, which earned a rating of “superior” at the May 23 Trills and Thrills Music Festival at Lake Compounce in Bristol, Conn.
The band earned a combined score of 96.5 from the two adjudicators. The superior rating is the highest level presented by Thrills and Thrills adjudicators.
Their performance was held at Edison Middle School in Meriden, Conn, followed by a visit to Lake Compounce, the oldest continuously operating amusement park in the nation, which opened in 1846.
The Trills and Thrills Music Festival at Lake Compounce is an adjudication festival for student music groups. It's a unique opportunity to combine music education, social interaction and fun while reinforcing ensemble musical standards.
The tradition continues! The High School Marching Band and the Middle School Band again represented the district with distinction yesterday, May 27, in the Unionville Memorial Day Parade!
It was a gorgeous day to remember those who gave their lives in service to our nation, and the district was honored to be a part of the events of the afternoon.
This included a stop at the Unionville Cemetery, where students Vincent Galligan and Drew Jashembowski and played solemn taps. Senior Audrey Guido was the student speaker and guest speaker was County Executive Steve Neuhaus.
Kudos to members of the High School’s Robotics Club, who competed for the first time in the recent, KISS Institute for Practical Robotics’ New York//New Jersey Botball Tournament the Rahway Recreational Center in New Jersey!
The club designed autonomous robots using code and sensors to perform tasks on a game board. This year's theme for the game board was “a restaurant.” The designed robots performed tasks such as placing ice in cups and delivering the cups to the customer area, or sorting out condiments.
“This was the club’s first year back in the competition after several years and proved to be an overall learning experience,” said advisor Jonathan Hannes. “The club looks forward to taking what they learned and applying it to next year's competition with the goal of going further in the tournament.”
KISS is dedicated to sparking excitement for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through hands-on robotics programs.
Botball is a team-oriented robotics competition where teams design, build, and program autonomous robots to compete in challenges that change annually, fostering teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
THAT'S A WRAP! The first season of Unified Basketball ended yesterday and featured a Disney theme! What a wonderful season for this team! Head Coach Theresa Uhelsky and Volunteer Coach Kara Anderson-Winchell send their appreciation and gratitude to everyone who has supported this team and contributed to making these games fun and memorable!
The Varsity Boys Tennis Team’s seniors were honored at their recent Senior Night for their many contributions to the team’s success! Congratulations and best wishes to Liam Ordway and Dylan Percy!
DATE CHANGE! Due to weather, the Track Scholarship Benefit at Rita's on Dolson Avenue is now SATURDAY, MAY 24 from 5 to 8 p.m. Stop by for a refreshing ice or custard and a portion of your money spent will go to the Tyrell J. Audian Memorial Scholarship at the High School!
TJ was a 2019 graduate and dedicated his life to our nation by enlisting in the Marines right out of high school. Tragically, TJ suddenly passed away during a training exercise with his unit. A track scholarship in his honor has been created in collaboration with High School yearbook. Please consider supporting this worthy cause!
STILL GOING STRONG! The varsity boys and girls outdoor track & field teams began their postseason campaign with their recent trip to Warwick Valley for the OCIAA Championships. Featuring athletes representing all member school districts, the Orange County League Championship is historically one of the most competitive in New York State. In a field of 20 teams, the Minisink Valley boys team finished in seventh place with 52.5 points; while the girls team placed ninth with 28 points.
Winning individual titles for Minisink Valley were Samuel Anderson, who established a new program record of 1:54.96 in the 800-meter run; and Ella Michelitch, who smashed the Minisink Valley and Section IX records in the pentathlon with 3,478 points. Outclassing the field by over 700 points, Michelitch took dominant wins in the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put and long jump, before being narrowly beaten in the 800-meter run.
Minisink Valley again asserted relay dominance in the meet-closing 4x400 meter relays, with the girls quartet of Kaleigh Murphy, Chloe Beck, Salma Samdaoui and Ferrah Hill combining for the win in 4:00.48. The boys' squad of Angel Mendez, Benjamin Spevak, Robert LaBarbera and Anderson raced to a season best 3:18.31 to take the win.
LaBarbera and Hill each earned podium finishes in the open 400-meter run, with their respective second and third place medal finishes in :49.32 and :58.59. And, Logan Schupner soared to a second-place finish in the pole vault, having reset his own Minisink Valley record in the final dual meet of the season just four days prior, clearing 16' 5" on Senior Night.
Minisink Valley will contest one final tune-up for the Section IX and State Qualifier meets by participating in the Gary V Classic at Washingtonville today, May 21. Good luck to all!
Last evening's K-12 Art Show was beyond beautiful! It was bright, colorful, unique creative and full of pride by everyone who attended! We hope you were there!
Take a peek at some of our proud student-artists who were thrilled to show their works of art. Did you know that approximately 1,000 students had at least one piece of art on exhibit? THANK YOU to our awesome art faculty in our five buildings for their work to stage such a gorgeous exhibit! We appreciate you! See more photos on the district's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MinisinkValleyCSD
HOW COOL IS THIS?
Several Varsity Flag Football team members recently attended the New York Giants’ “Heart of a Giants” Football and Flag Football Clinic. Former Giants linebacker and team captain Jonathan Casillas worked with the attending student athletes!
Along with physical training, it was also an education clinic that taught participants about important sports topics, including keeping athletes safe, mindfulness, emergency action preparedness, warming-up, and more. These workshops were presented by Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) and USE Football officials and others HSS is the official hospital and doctors for the New York Giants organization.
This past fall, Senior and Varsity Flag football quarterback Vanessa Tepper was selected as USA Football’s 2024 "Heart of Giant," with the New York Giants organization announcing her selection at a special, surprise ceremony.
IMPROV FUN!
The High School and Middle School drama clubs recently gathered for a special joint “Yes and…” Improv workshop, led by teachers Teresia Parker, Brendan O’Brien and alumnus Haley Parker who are members of Richmond, Virginia’s ComedySportz performance team! They learned new skills, made new friends and had a lot of fun.
“Through a series of activities and improvisational games students bolstered their dramatic art skills and learned life lessons,” said Mrs. Parker. “They learned how to think on their feet, actively listen, trust their teammates, and experience the positive outcomes of saying ‘yes and...’ while building on someone else's ideas. They learned the importance of staying present and recognized that ‘mistakes’ can be gifts.
In the theater world, improvisation, or "improv," is a form of live theatre in which the plot, characters, and dialogue of a game, scene, or story are made up in the moment. The method has been used for different purposes in theatrical history.
The Varsity Unified Basketball team's recent game, featuring a 1980s theme, was "totally tubular!" Thank you to everyone who came out to cheer on the team and made the game so memorable!
CAN YOU HELP?
Mark your calendar, ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!
Giving back has never been cooler! Join us at Rita's on Dolson Avenue on Thursday, May 22 from 5 to 8 p.m. for a refreshing ice or custard and a portion of your money spent will go to the Tyrell J. Audian Memorial Scholarship at the High School!
TJ was a 2019 graduate and dedicated his life to our nation by enlisting in the Marines right out of high school. Tragically, TJ suddenly passed away during a training exercise with his unit. A track scholarship in his honor has been created in collaboration with High School yearbook. Please consider supporting of this worthy cause!
The Varsity Softball Team’s seniors were honored at their recent Senior Night for their many contributions to the team’s success! Congratulations and best wishes to:
Heather Ghussin, second base
Caitlyn Higby, right field
Ryin Perico, first base
Natalie Rogers, catcher
Ava Smith, catcher/DP
The Varsity Track & Field Team’s seniors were honored at their recent Senior Night for their many contributions to the team’s success! Congratulations and best wishes to:
Samuel Anderson - sprints & relays
Ryan Capo - distance
Brian Capper - distance
Tyler Cloidt - jumps, throws & multi-events
Vaughn Hill - sprints & relays
Vincent Howard - sprints
Julia Kronimus - sprints & jumps
Dominic Marasco - sprints & jumps
Justin Mauras - jumps
Gavin Morse - throws
Emily Murphy - distance
Kaleigh Murphy - sprints & relays
Xavier Rosales - throws & sprints
Logan Schupner - pole vault, hurdles & jumps
Madeline Sierra - sprints & relays
Olivia Sierra - sprints & relays
Helena Sopin - throws
Benjamin Spevak - sprints & relays
Zoey Terpak - sprints, relays & jumps
Sarah Winner - sprints, hurdles & jumps
"I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree" - -Yeats
Jenn Thibodeau and Catina Brooks' Grade 10 English classes recently took a field trip to explore Innisfree Gardens in Millbrook! Innisfree is considered a world-class garden on 185 acres designed over decades of close collaboration with the land and nestled within a private bowl that wraps around Tyrrel Lake.
But before their trip, students read and discussed W.B. Yeats' poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree." The poem explores the idea of finding peace and comfort in nature. Students thought and wrote about how and where they find peace and comfort, and if they felt that a connection with nature is important to the human psyche.
On a day when the weather couldn't have been any nicer, students were encouraged to explore and be “fully present.” They also were asked to take pictures of anything they found beautiful or interesting. Their teachers said this brief retreat from the modern world was a perfect way to welcome the gorgeous weather!
When returning to class the next day, students reflected on their visit and used specific literary devices to write a personal piece. What a creative way to apply the reading of poetry to nature by having the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors!
•"The Lake Isle of Innisfree" is a 12-line poem comprising three quatrains, written by William Butler Yeats in 1888 and first published in the National Observer in 1890. The poem is an attempt to create a form of poetry that was Irish in origin rather than one that adhered to the standards set by English poets and critics. This poem is featured in Irish passports.
•Innisfree Gardens takes its name from Yeats’ poem and features streams, waterfalls, terraces, retaining walls, rocks and plants based on principles of Chinese and Japanese landscape design. Most of the plants are native, and rocks come from the local forest. Tyrrel Lake is a large, deep glacial lake from which water is pumped into a hillside reservoir, and thence to the garden's water features.
