By Bob Harris
As the 2014-2015 school year ends, I again print some of the many fine things happening in our high schools.
Richmond Hill HS’s team won second place at North Shore Long Island Jewish Hospital’s First SPARK Video Contest. After learning about career pathways in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) the students produced a video. Five hundred students from many counties took part in the event.
August Martin HS hosted a hip-hop culinary competition. The students prepared dishes related to hip-hop lyrics. The event, called Stay Hungry, is the first of its kind. Professional cooks judged the dishes based on cooking time, description of the dish, presentation and creativity of the use of lyrics. August Martin won second place.
Pan American International HS, Elmhurst, has an Internship Program. Students are placed in positions for the latter half of their school day where they receive work experience and school credit.
Long Island City HS, Queens Vocational & Technical HS, and Thomas Edison HS students took part in the 15th Annual NYC FIRST Robotics competition. Each school in the competition receives several boxes of similar parts. They have to build a robot which performs specific activities only using these parts.
The new Maspeth HS presented the March of Dimes with a check for $1,132 raised by 18 clubs and teams. The girls soccer team also raised $1,000 for cancer by participating in the Making Strides Walk in Central Park.
The Humanities and the Arts HS in the Campus Magnet Complex, Cambria Heights has started producing a school newspaper called “The Humanities Tribune.” It is an eight-page newspaper full of fine stories about the school, the students and the teachers.
The Law, Government & Community Service HS in the Campus Magnet Complex is sponsoring two programs which are open to students in other schools in the complex. Project Hype is a mentoring and tutoring program for boys in the sports teams in the complex. Rose, formerly called Blossom, is a mentoring program for girls which works to improve their self-esteem and prepare them for college.
The Business, Computer Applications and Entrepreneurship HS in the Campus Magnet Complex has an outstanding Virtual Enterprise International program. The VE class is operated as if it was a company selling a product which in this case is education training apps. The students learn how to operate a company. They won second place in the Marketing Brochure competition at a recent VE Trade Fair in Manhattan.
Hillcrest HS is a large urban school which has been divided into nine Institutes or Small Learning Communities with the help of a Bill and Melinda Gates $1 million grant several years ago. Each Institute is in a separate section of the building and specializes in a different career field.
Thomas Edison HS in Jamaica is a Career Technical education school. It has a SkillsUSA Club, a partnership of students, teachers, and industry working to enrich the student’s stay at Edison HS. The club does community service and supports the activities of other clubs in the school.
Martin Van Buren HS, in eastern Queens, is partnering with Syracuse University Project Advance to provide students with high school and Syracuse University credit. Four MVB HS teachers went to Syracuse to take the necessary training to teach college courses in their school.
The Francis Lewis HS Army Junior Reseve Officers Training Corps, Fresh Meadows, is the only school in its brigade to receive a U.S. Defense Department honor with distinction award for receiving a perfect score for their activities. The Lewis JROTC unit was formed in 1994.
Newtown HS has a very distinctive guitar ensemble. This award-winning group has entertained groups in communities all over New York City.
Cricket is a sport growing in high schools all over Queens. Schools which have teams are John Adams, Jamaica, Springfield Gardens, Martin Van Buren, Richmond Hill and Hillcrest. This year Richmond Hill was the winner with John Adams, last year’s champs, taking second place.
