By Maylan L. Studart
The Sewanhaka Central High School District Board of Education honored outstanding athletes in a short meeting on Tuesday night.
The board recognized members of the district’s rifle team for winning the Nassau County championships and placing third in the state.
It also recognized Joel-Anthoney Bossous for being awarded the Coca-Cola Foundation Scholarship for 2019.
The rifle team, which consists of girls who practice at New Hyde Park Memorial High School, took the county championship at the Nassau County rifle range on Feb. 14 with a score of 742 out of 800. Kyra Ramdarie was the highest scorer of the match, earning 192 out of 200 points.
“This was an all-female team, which is very impressive,” said Sewanhaka Central High School District Superintendent Ralph Ferrie. “They went out to compete in the New York State championships at West Point on March 2 and as a team, they placed third in the entire state for standing air rifle.”
New Hyde Park Memorial High School Principal Richard Faccio presented honorary certificates to Aisha Abdelhamid, Anika Mathai and Ramdarie, but three teammates, Valerie Hoffer, Noorpreet Kaur and Emily Yuan, couldn’t make it to the event.
“The district is extremely proud of this district’s rifle team and their outstanding accomplishments and so we’d like to recognize them this evening,” Ferrie said. “It’s a very impressive accomplishment and congratulations to these outstanding young women.”
Ferrie also recognized Bossous, a senior at Sewanhaka High School, for winning the Coca-Cola Foundation scholarship, a prestigious award.
“This is a very, very special honor this evening because I know it’s the first time in years not only for the district but for the school to have a nationally recognized scholarship winner,” Ferrie said.
Bossous, 18, is one of 150 students selected from a national pool of 200,000 applicants to receive a $20,000 scholarship.
He was judged on academic excellence and extracurricular activities, community service and making a positive impact in his community.
The board moved on to approve all agenda items. New field trips and writing workshops were approved, as well as hiring a new company to provide substance abuse education.
Financial items included a rise in pay for an out-of-district consultant from $400 to $700, retroactive payment to the school musical orchestra conductor, making previous disbursements public, approval of a health services contract and purchase of new desks for $3,712.
The next Sewanhaka Board of Education meeting will be a budget discussion to adopt the 2019-20 budget on April 9 at 8 p.m. at Sewanhaka High School.
