GIHS Track Team Stars - 2008
Grand Island High School Track Team members Adam Helman and Chris Carter had a fantastic day at a recent invitational competition. See "Buffalo News Track Team Stars"
Grand Island High School Shadow Day Event - 2008
(left) Nicole Styliades and Susan Pioli with manager Ms. Hawkins at Delish Bakery; (right) Cari Luciani with manager at Ethan Allen
Click photos for larger view.
Over 30 businesses from all over WNY hosted 90 students from Grand Island High School on the annual Shadow Day program on Thursday, April 10th. This unique experience sponsored by GISBA (Grand Island School and Business Alliance) promotes career awareness for juniors and seniors in their selected job areas. Grand Island students shadowed a company/career for a day after a breakfast reception at the Buffalo Launch Club. Mr. J.P. Kennedy served as guest speaker and enlightened students on how to find and decide on a successful career. For more information on involvement in the Shadow Day program, contact Sandy Burns or Cheryl Chamberlain at 773-8820.
Grand Island Teachers and Staff Honored in
“Celebration of Inspiration” - 2008
Grand Island’s PTA Council sponsored its 16th annual “A Celebration of Inspiration” on April 9, 2008 in the Grand Island High School Auditorium. Grand Island High School seniors can select a Grand Island teacher or staff member to honor. Each senior has the opportunity to speak and explain what the teacher or staff member has done that has inspired them and/or changed their lives. The following teachers and staff were honored this year:
Martin Allen
Lisa Amsdill
John Arnone
Jenepher Banker
Tracy Beatty
Julie Bowen
Lori Burns
Chris Cevaere
Cheryl Chamberlain
Robert Collard
Craig Davis
Carolyn Fabiano
Thomas Gorman
Mark Gorton
Jan Guzzetta
Johnathan Head
Amy Kessel
Carolyn Lokken
Annalea Masiello
David Michael
Eileen Mitchell
Lora Randles
Mary Reisdorf
Debra Remson
Craig Reynolds
Donald Sauer
Katherine Scarafia
Christopher Simpson
Amanda Souliske
Michael Stauffer
Mark Tollner
Timothy Williamson
Cindy Wynne
Linda Zimmerman
Mrs. Susan Campbell was the PTA Council Chairperson of this event.
Grand Island High School Baseball - Gazette Feature April 11, 2008
Click "Niagara Gazette 4/11/08 Feature" by Nate Beutel.
UPDATE
Music Is Art/Scotty Bowman Trophy Battle Of The Bands - 2008
Members of Inlite and The Sleepless City in no order: Jordan Dixon, Nick Kelly, Drew Lazelle, Cody Hogrewe, Travis Perno, Craig Perno, Josh Little
Click photo for larger view.
It was an exciting night when two Grand Island bands took the stage at HSBC Arena, Thursday (April 10th) night. Both INLITE and THE SLEEPLESS CITY were chosen among over 100 High School entries, to compete in a Battle of The Bands, sponsored by the Music Is Art Foundation. Each band was required to submit a CD recording and/or a DVD performance of their band, with a Personnel/Bio list and information about the band’s history.
INLITE features vocalist/Guitarist Jordon Dixon (Guitar/Vocals), Griffin Smith (Guitar/Vocals), Nick Kelly (Bass/Vocals), and Josh Little (Percussion/Vocals). THE SLEEPLESS CITY features Craig Perno (Guitar/Vocals), Travis Perno (Percussion), Cody Hogrewe (Bass/Vocals), and Drew Lazelle (Guitar/Vocals). Both bands write all their own material! Each band took the stage for 8 minutes. At the end of the night, INLITE was the winner of prizes: an autographed Guitar by the Goo Goo Dolls and the opportunity to play the Main Stage at the Music is Art Festival, September 13th. THE SLEEPLESS CITY was so good, they too have been invited to play at that Festival. The High School sponsor is Miss Debra Remson, secondary string teacher.
GI Band "Inlite" Wins Bands Competition - 2008
Grand Island high school’s group, "Inlite," won the Music Is Art Foundation Battle of the Bands challenge on Thursday, April 10th in HSBC Arena as six bands, selected from more than 150 WNY schools, played in the Zamboni entrance of the arena before games and in between periods. Inlite was awarded an autographed guitar signed by the Goo Goo Dolls, a professional photo shoot and a spot at the Music Is Art festival during the summer. See "Previous Story."
GIHS Sports Briefs - Week Ending April 10, 2008
Click "Sports Briefs 4/10/08" for this week's Grand Island High School sports scores.
GIHS sports results may be emailed to "teddy@giecom.net"
"Battle of the Bands" - 2008
"Inlite" - Nick Kelly, Griffin Smith, Jordan Dixon and Josh Little
"The Sleepless City" - Craig Perno, Travis Perno, Drew Lazelle and Cody Hogrewe
Click photos for larger view.
Two local bands won a competition to play at the "Battle of the Bands" at HSBC on Thursday, April 10th at the
Scotty Bowman Cup Hockey game. The Grand Island bands, "Inlite" and "The Sleepless City" were among six bands chosen for the final competition out of 150 bands from WNY schools.
High School News - April 2008
By Kaitie Samland (Sophomore) - Student Writer
Thursday, April 10, 2008 . . .This week at GIHS was definitely a busy one. Sunday, April 6th was a benefit held for a young, courageous, 5th grade girl named Sabrina Reagle who is fighting against cancer. This benefit was held on Grand Island at the Holiday Inn. Many raffle baskets were donated and many attended. This just goes to show that Grand Island is a community that comes out in a time of need to help their friends. Thank you to all who participated in this generous benefit.
Also this weekend on April 4th two bands from Grand Island participated in a concert at Niagara University. These two bands; The Sleepless City (consisting of: Cody Hogrewe, Craig Perno, Travis Perno and Drew Lazelle) and Inlite (consisting of: Jordan Dixon, Griffin Smith, Nick Kelly, and Josh Little) are both amazing bands that both create their own unique style of music. Come out and see them on Thursday, April 10th at the HSBC arena with four other bands. Admission is free! Good Luck Guys!!!
Corporate Bowl To Be Televised - April 2008
The High School Corporate Bowl competition, held Tuesday, March 4 and Tuesday, March 11 in the High School Auditorium, is being televised by Time Warner Channel 13 on the following dates:
• Saturday, April 19 - 7-9:30 p.m.
• Sunday, April 20 - noon to 2:30 p.m. and 7-9:30 p.m.
GIHS Scholar Athletes - 2008
Grand Island High School athletes are among the 123 students named to the 2007-2008 All-Western New York Scholar-Athlete winter sports team. See
"GIHS Scholar Athletes" for the Buffalo News story.
See also "GIHS Scholar Athlete Photos" that include GIHS Swimming and Diving Seniors Josh Kaplan and Jordan Toth.
GIHS Sports Briefs - Week Ending April 3, 2008
Click "Sports Briefs 4/3/08" for this week's Grand Island High School sports scores.
GIHS sports results may be emailed to "teddy@giecom.net"
Rotary/PTSA Students of the Month
April 2008
 
Josh Kaplan Rich Karpie Sara Kurpiewski Kristin Toellner
Josh Kaplan is a lifelong resident of Grand Island and has attended Grand Island schools since kindergarten. He has maintained honor or high honor roll status throughout middle school and high school while taking many advanced placement classes. Josh is a two-time recipient of the Pride of the Island Award and has also received the French Award for Excellence in a foreign language, the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence as well as earning his academic certificate, pin and letter.
In addition to academics, Josh takes an active role in school and extracurricular activities. He is currently a member of the National Honor Society as well as a member of the Superintendent's Advisory Council. He participates in the Rotary Interact Club and has been a volunteer in many of the club's functions, such as the lobsterfest, highway cleanup, hot dog sale and box sleep-out to benefit the homeless. He has been a member of the ski club since 8th grade and has participated in events such as the Corporate Bowl, the Student Olympics, and Spotlighters with a role in the play, "Go Ask Alice."
Josh is a talented musician who plays the saxophone in the high school wind ensemble. He has competed in numerous music festivals and achieved top honors. Last year he was selected to play tenor sax in the Erie County Senior High Band. Josh has also been a member of the Pep Band, Jazz Ensemble and Saxophone Quartet. He has received his varsity letter and two bars in music and is currently Stage manager for the Wind Ensemble.
Josh has been a part of the boys swimming and diving team since 8th grade. He has received his varsity letter and bar for swimming and has been a scholar athlete in this sport for two years. He qualified for sectionals for the last two years and in 2007 qualified for states where he competed in the backstroke. He was also the top point earner for his team last year and is co-captain of this year's team.
Outside of school Josh trains year round with the Piranhas Swim Club, where he has been part of the competitive team for four years and has won various medals and trophies. Last year he was a member of the relay team that competed at Eastern Sectionals at Harvard. He is also an avid soccer player and has participated in house and travel soccer leagues for eleven years.
Every Sunday Josh volunteers at Temple Beth Zion as an assistant kindergarten teacher. He also volunteers during Mitzvah Day at his temple on various projects such as Habitat for Humanity, the Western New York Food Bank and clean up at Ronald McDonald House. Josh has also had the opportunity to assist younger swimmers in the Piranhas to learn various strokes and techniques.
After high school Josh plans to attend college where he wants to major in business and minor in history. He also plans to be an active member of his university's swim team.
Rich Karpie was born in Tonawanda, New York and moved to Grand Island when he was almost two. Throughout the next fifteen years of his life he has challenged himself by partaking in rigorous honors and Advanced Placement courses as well as participating in many extracurricular and community activities.
Rich has been on the Honor Roll throughout high school and has also received the Academic Award for Excellence, as well as the academic pin and letter. He was the recipient of the Clarkson Achievement Award that includes a $35,000 scholarship to Clarkson University. Rich has been listed in Who's Who in American High School Students three times and in Who's Who in America's High School Students Sports Edition once. He has also been a scholar athlete for both basketball and volleyball and received the Pride of the Island award.
Rich has remained active in his school and has been a member of DECA for two years and a member of the National Honor Society since his junior year. He has also participated in the Career Opportunities in the Accounting profession program sponsored by the New York State Society of CPA's in June 2007 at the University of Buffalo. Rich has been a member of the Grand Island High School Basketball Team for the last five years as well as team co-captain during his freshman and sophomore years. He has also been a part of the JV/Varsity Volleyball team for three years and JV Baseball for two.
Rich continues to be active in his community and has participated in many activities both on Grand Island and in Western New York. He has participated in the Lions' Club Special Kids Picnic and the Lion's Club Spaghetti Dinner, as well as the St. Stephen's Basketball Camp and the Buffalo Lives Clean-Up Day. Rich has been an assistant coach for the Grand Island Soccer Club for three years. He has also been a part of the Neighbors Foundation Holiday Distribution and Relay for Life.
Sara Kurpiewski is the daughter of Zig and Joanna Kurpiewski, and a Grand Island resident all her life. She attended Grand Island schools since kindergarten and has been an active member in Student Council throughout middle and high school. She served as president of the Class of 2008 during her freshman and sophomore year. As a junior, she was selected to be part of the shared decision-making committee and took part in the Dale Carnegie leadership training seminar. As a senior she was elected president of Student Council where she was instrumental in organizing several events including the homecoming bonfire, an old tradition that has not been held at GIHS in 35 years. She participates on the Superintendent's Advisory Council, and is also a member of the DECA business club. She is involved in the CEIP/Internship program where she spends time at Charlotte Sidway School helping students and learning techniques and responsibilities of elementary education teachers.
Sara has a passion for dance and enjoys team sports. She started dancing at Janet Dunstan's Dance Academy at age four and continued until 16. She was also a member of the Grand Island Soccer Club. In the eighth grade she started playing varsity tennis and continued for four years, receiving a varsity letter, three gold bars and several scholar athlete awards. She started playing lacrosse with the Grand Island girls' indoor league as a junior and continues to play on the Lady Viking's varsity lacrosse team receiving a second varsity letter.
Sara used the skills learned through the Dale Carnegie leadership seminar to promote organ donor awareness at Grand Island High School. She was selected to be part of the team to make presentations at Kleinhans to showcase the Donate Life Organization and the work done at GIHS to promote organ donor awareness programs.
She volunteers in the mentor program at Kaegebein School, which gives young children an opportunity to stay after school and receive assistance with their schoolwork rather than going home to an empty house. Through her association with the dance academy, she participated in annual recitals, competitions and exhibitions to raise funds for various charities, including the Kiwanis Clubs of Niagara Falls, Ontario; Lewiston, New York; and the Niagara Falls Firefighter Fund.
Sara plans on attending a local university to complete a dual degree in early childhood/childhood education, followed by graduate school for a master's degree.
Kristin Toellner has been enrolled in the Grand Island school system for her entire life with the exception of fourth and fifth grades of which she was in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She went to Charlotte Sidway Elementary, Huth Road Elementary, Veronica E. Connor Middle School, and Grand Island Senior High School.
She has received honor roll and high honor roll status throughout high school. Kristin has also received her Academic Excellence certificate, pin and varsity letter; and she is currently on her way to earning her bar. She also received a Pride of the Island award in her junior year of high school. She has also enjoyed the opportunity of taking Advanced Placement classes during high school. She intends to graduate in 2008 with an Advanced Regents Diploma with Distinction.
Kristin has swam competitively year-round since the fourth grade. She swam for the Rapids Area YMCA Swim Team in Michigan, and then began swimming in sixth grade for her current team, the Grand Island Swim Club. She has been on the Grand Island High School swim team for six seasons, earning her letter and four bars. She started on junior varsity in seventh grade and moved up to varsity in eighth grade. In ninth grade she started qualifying for sectionals, and has swum her best event, the 500 yard freestyle, in the meet along with various other events. Kristin has received the Scholar Athlete Award annually since eighth grade, and was also inducted into Who's Who
Among American High School Students Sports Edition for the 2005-2006 school year.
Kristin has participated in many volunteering activities. Throughout the summer of 2007, she was a Junior Volunteer at Mount Saint Mary's Hospital, and in the spring of 2008, she plans to participate for the third time in the annual Relay for Life event to raise money for the American Cancer Society. She has also volunteered for the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association, Olmstead Park, Montgomery Park Nursing Home, Kids Escaping Drugs, and the Western New York Food Bank.
Kristin plans to attend a four-year college and pursue the medical field after graduation. She also has hopes to continue swimming at the collegiate level after high school.
High School News - April 2008
By Kaitie Samland (Sophomore) - Student Writer
Thursday, April 3, 2008 . . .This week at Grand Island High School the third marking period closes on Friday. That means that we are definitely nearing the end of the year. The board of education made a decision 4-3 allowing home schooled students the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities. Home schooled students will be able to only participate in intramural sports. Personally, I feel that if you're paying school taxes, your child should be able to benefit from extracurricular activities regardless if you attend public school or if you‘re home schooled.
Students are anxiously awaiting the results of their phys ed volleyball team standings for Friday’s big playoff. Don’t forget AP exam money must be turned in by the end of this week. Anybody interested in volunteering this summer, please stop by the guidance office for applications. Mark your calendars, many of our students will showcase their talents at Grand Island High School’s talent show. Come and be “wowed”!
High School Blood Drive - April 2008
 
Grand Island High School
“A Day of Giving”
April 8, 2008
7:45 a.m. – 2:45 p.m.
The American Red Cross Blood Drive will be held on Tuesday, April 8, 2008 in the Grand Island High School Auditorium. All students age 16 or older, who intend to donate blood, MUST have a signed permission slip from their parent/guardian on file the day of the Blood Drive. Permission slips are available from Mrs. Bowen in room 177.
French Students Celebrate First Day of Spring - 2008
(left) Courtney Weiser, Sara Dzielski, Nick Rossi and Gabriel Hirtreiter-Vasquez
John Frentzel and Colton Thompson
(left) Darren DelSignore, Robert Rutland, Kelcie Hanaka, Lauren Whitney (in the back) and Emily Thompson
Click photos for larger view.
Ms. Mackenzie Hassan's French students at the Grand Island High School enjoyed a traditional French fondue on March 20, 2008 in celebration of the first day of spring and the culmination of their studies of racism and discrimination in France.
High School News - March 2008
By Kaitie Samland (Sophomore) - Student Writer
Thursday, March 27, 2008 . . .Unfortunately Grand Island teens don’t listen. Once again, police officers arrested five people for underage drinking at a party on Bedell Road. Apparently loud music drew some attention and the police were called. Remember people, you can’t do anything wrong without someone finding out, especially on Grand Island.
Once again I would like to comment on politics. While I agree that Eliot Spitzer had no other choice but to step down due to his poor choice of behaviors, but should Governor Patterson have to air out his “dirty laundry” for choices that he made many years ago? I’m not sure. We are all human, we all make mistakes and hopefully we learn from our mistakes and move on. Personally, I feel that some things are not necessary for all to hear or see.
High School News - March 2008
By Kaitie Samland (Sophomore) - Student Writer
Thursday, March 20, 2008 . . .Happy Spring! News at Grand Island High School includes the annual Student Olympic Games where the teams raised over $2,400. The money raised is donated to the Special Olympics. Thanks to all who participated. The winning team consisted of Amber Duda, Susan Pioli, Joe Oliverio, and Alex Neutz. Tonight is the DONATE LIFE casual dance. Presale tickets are$4.00 when purchased at school and $5.00 at the door, again another excuse to have fun and support a great cause. Last evening was the all Island Jazz Band performance at the high school. It was another well attended, community supported event. Grand Island definitely has a lot of talent. Great job! Tomorrow kicks off our four-day Easter weekend ~ enjoy!
Allie Weiser Signs Letter of Intent - 2008
Mother Trish, Allie and Dad Ray Weiser.
Standing: Mom, brother Brad, grandmother Shirley Mordeno, sister Courtney, Dad, sister Margaret and grandfather Ray Weiser Sr.
Seated: Allie
Jodi Robinson photos - click for larger view.
Senior soccer player Allie Weiser signed a letter of intent on Friday, March 14, 2008 to attend C.W. Post, of the East Coast Conference in the fall. Allie has been a four-year starter as a goalie on the GIHS Girls Varsity Soccer team. Her record 45 shutouts, and a record of 73-8-8 make her one of the Lady Vikings all time best goalies. Over her Grand Island career she and the team have won four NFL titles, three Section VI Class A Titles, two Far West Regional Titles and participated in the NYSPHSAA Tournament two times. In her full four-year varsity career, Allie was a four-time NFL team player, a two-time ALL-WNY team player and she earned scholar athlete honors for all four years of participation.
Math Students Serenade School - 2008
Jodi Robinson photo - click photo for larger view.
The Math A & B students of teacher Karen Surdyke ended their day Friday, March 14, by serenading the entire
school with songs
made up to celebrate the internationally known Pi Day. Pi, is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to
its diameter. Pi = 3.1415926535. ...
High School News - March 2008
By Kaitie Samland (Sophomore) - Student Writer
Thursday, March 13, 2008 . . .And the winners are…….The Nerd Herd! Those were the final words on Tuesday, March 11th for the 10th annual Corporate Bowl held by GISBA. This team consisted of four extraordinarily talented students; Julia Figliotti, Luke Burkhart, Amanda Jaeger and Alex Richter. Congratulations to the Nerd Herd and all the other teams that participated. Donate Life is making a first. Since March is a month of promoting awareness of organ, blood and tissue, this year on March 20th, Donate Life is holding a casual dance. Everyone is welcome to come and are assured to have a great time!
It was with complete disbelief and disappointment that describes the feelings that I felt when I heard of Governor Eliot Spitzer’s escapades. It is with such overwhelming sadness to learn that such a well respected individual that had such contempt for wrongdoers that he himself was no better. Everything he stood for was a lie and it just goes to show that some think they are above the law but ultimately their double lives do catch up to them.
Corporate Bowl Final Results - 2008
  
(left) First place team (center) 2nd place team; (right) 2nd place team
The Grand Island School District, in cooperation with the Grand Island School & Business Alliance (GISBA), hosted the finals for the 10th Annual GISBA Corporate Bowl on Tuesday evening, March 11, 2008 in the Grand Island High School. Final results follow.
^^advanced to semifinals
**advanced to finals
$$ Champions
Prelim Match #9
^^1st - H2Oh-No (150 pts.)
2nd - Off Constantly (90)
3rd - You Know You Want Us To Win (-15)
Prelim Match #10
^^1st - Flux Capacitors (95 pts.)
2nd - Not Team Ramrod (75)
3rd - Supreme Naughtiness (-25)
Semifinal Match #1
**1st - The Jackson 4 (180 pts.)
2nd - Not Now Chief, We're in the Zone (155)
3rd - Big Scary Monsters (150)
4th - Team Arnone (135)
Semifinal Match #2
**1st - H2Oh-No (230 pts.)
2nd - Politically Correct (165)
3rd - Team Snipe (75)
4th - Team Jarmo (70)
Semifinal Match #3
**1st - Nerd Herd (180 pts.)
2nd - Flux Capacitors (155)
3rd - Set It or Forget It (130)
4th - Piece of Pi (95)
Championship Match
$$ 1st - Nerd Herd (185 pts.) - Share $ 4,000 in scholarship money. $ 1,000 per student
Julia Figliotti
Luke Burkhart
Amanda Jaeger
Alex Richter
Tied for 2nd - Jackson 4 (145 pts.) - Share $ 1,500 in scholarship money. $ 375 per student
Jeff Szczepaniak
Evan Tsembelis
Taylor Jackson
Greg Feathers
Tied for 2nd - H2Oh-No (145 pts.) - Share $ 1,500 in scholarship money. $ 375 per student
Jordan Toth
Josh Kaplan
James Sica
Zach Adams
Class of 2009 Seeks Donations of Baskets - 2008
Junior Kristin Millar poses with some of the many baskets that will be available on Wednesday, March 19th during the All Island Jazz Concert at GIHS..
Click photo for larger view
Donations are still needed for the GIHS Class of 2009 Basket Raffle. The basket raffle will be held during the All Island Jazz Concert at Grand Island High School at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19. Basket donations will be accepted from anyone interesting in donating until the day of the raffle. Call Ms. Hickey at 773-8886 for more information.
Student Ski Club Ends 2008 Season
Click photo for larger view
Members of the Grand Island Student Ski Club finished off their ski season on Saturday, February 23 with a hot dog roast at the top of Mardi Gras Mountain, Holiday Valley. Pictured are just some of the 6th through 12th grade students involved. Club advisors are Kathy DeMarco and Karen Bullock.
Class of 2009 Seeks Donations of Baskets - 2008
Donations are still needed for the GIHS Class of 2009 Basket Raffle. The basket raffle will be held during the All Island Jazz Concert at Grand Island High School at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19. Basket donations will be accepted from anyone interesting in donating until the day of the raffle. Call Ms. Hickey at 773-8886 for more information.
Grand Island Students Compete at DECA State Conference
Sara Kurpiewski, Courtney Justus Take Firsts
- 2008
(left) Ciara Morreale and Sarah Kurpiewski - Kaitlin Incorvia, Taylor Cool, and Katie Raiser - Grand Island High School DECA team and (left) Advisor Christopher Simpson, (right) Advisors Cheryl Chamberlain and School Board member George Casey
Click photos for larger view.
Sandwiched between two storms, eighteen students from Grand Island High School DECA traveled to Rochester for the annual NYS DECA Conference March 5-7th. DECA promotes leadership, social responsibility, civic consciousness, and vocational understanding in various business related categories. Over 2,000 students from all across NYS competed and Grand Island, once again, came back winners. Sara Kurpiewski, a senior at GIHS, was awarded first place in the state for her public speaking. In addition, Courtney Justus took home a first place trophy for her chapter scrapbook. This is the second year in a row that Grand Island's scrapbook took first place honors. Other winners included, Ciara Morreale who placed in the top ten for Apparel and Accessories and sisters Brittany and Courtney Papaj who placed top ten for Job Interview. For the first time Grand Island entered a Quiz Bowl Team (Kayla Gallagher, Ian Conner, Alyssa Spada, and Lauren Priest) who competed against the winning team, but lost by a small margin. School board member, George Casey, served as a judge at this conference and supported the Grand Island team! Advisors Cheryl Chamberlain and Christopher Simpson would like to congratulate all of the competitors!
GIHS Sports Briefs - Week Ending Mar. 6, 2008
Click "Sports Briefs 3/6/08" for this week's Grand Island High School sports scores.
GIHS sports results may be emailed to "teddy@giecom.net"
Rotary/PTSA Students of the Month
March 2008
 
Brittany Stallard Sam Kilb Matthew R. Klock Nicholas A. Tomkins
Brittany Stallard has been a resident of Grand Island most of her life. She has been able to experience public, private, and home-schooling while living on Grand Island. Throughout the years, Brittany has been a community servant and leader to her peer group. Her contributions to society show that she will continue to be a great leader.
She has won numerous awards that include an Academic Excellence certificate, pin and letter. She played on the GIHS Varsity Tennis team for four years, holding the 3rd singles position during her freshman year then to the 1st singles position for her remaining varsity tennis career. She was a key contributor to her team's success of winning the NFL Championship and becoming an undefeated 1st singles player with a record of 14-0 in her senior year.
Brittany is involved in many clubs, such as DECA where she currently is the Regional Representative for GIHS and holds the Vice President of Social Events position for the WNY region. She looks forward to assisting the DECA advisor at Regional competition this year, which will be hosted at her high school. She will also be competing in the DECA state competition for Event Planning.
This motivated teen is very proud of serving her country as a very active cadet in Civil Air Patrol (CAP). She held the position of flight commander of the Niagara Falls squadron. During her CAP career, she won many awards, such as the Non-commissioned Officer of the Year for WNY, the Veterans of Foreign Wars for Outstanding Achievements, the Air Force Sergeants Assoc. of Excellence Award, and achieved the Goddard level award to name a few. Through CAP, she attended NYS CAP Encampments, held a staff position at several Cadet Leadership schools, and had the opportunity to pilot several plane flights.
Her personal community service achievements include having her own backyard carnival where she raised over $3500 for a local women/children's homeless shelter. She and her family raised $5,000 to start a school in Uganda, Africa where 120 children now attend school. Brittany also started an organization called "Kids Who Care," which encourages and provides a way for other kids to get involved in community service.
Her Girl Scout career includes being awarded the Silver Award and she is 90 percent done with her Gold Award. She was Mistress of Ceremonies and Ambassador for the 2004 and 2005 Women of Distinction Dinner.
During the summer of 2007, she attended Student Leadership University in Washington D.C. where she studied with some of our nation's greatest leaders. This opportunity was offered to her through her local church, The Chapel at Cross Point, where she is currently serving an internship as a High School assistant and also serves on Sunday mornings mentoring 5th grade girls. Through her church, she also went on a mission's trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina and plans to go on another 10-day mission's trip to Cochabama, Bolivia in February.
She believes that the leadership projects and positions that she held have given her an edge over many of her peers, and she is ready for the exciting challenges, responsibilities, and goals that will be set before her in the future.
Sam Kilb has attended Grand Island schools since the second grade, when he began at Kaegebein Elementary School. Throughout his high school career, Sam has excelled in academics and athletics and has remained involved in community service.
Academically, Sam has taken the most difficult course load possible throughout middle school and high school. He has maintained high honor roll status throughout, while continuing to challenge himself this year by taking six AP or college classes. Sam has been awarded the Academic Excellence Certificate, Pin and Letter. He has also received the Alfred University Ceramics Award for excellence in math, science, and English and was named to the All-Western New York Scholar Athlete Team for boys' soccer.
Sam has participated in varsity athletics for all four years of high school. He has lettered twice in track, once in tennis, once in basketball, and three times in soccer. Sam won the Academic Award for Track and Field twice. He was selected to the third team All-Niagara Frontier League for soccer in 2006, and as the team captain this season, was named team MVP, and made the first team All-NFL. He also served as captain to his club soccer team, with which he plays year-round. Sam has been on Scholar Athlete teams for six different seasons.
Outside of the classroom, Sam has been active in the community. He serves as president of the Grand Island chapter of National Honor Society. In conjunction with the school's Interact Club, of which he has been an active member for all four years of high school, Sam has participated in activities such as cleaning local roadsides, assisting with Rotary-sponsored clothing drives at school, ringing bells for the Salvation Army during the holidays, and working at Rotary's annual Lobsterfest. During the past few summers, Sam has worked at DeGraff Memorial Hospital in Tonawanda as a Junior Volunteer.
After graduation, Sam plans to attend college to pursue a degree in journalism with hopes of someday writing for a major newspaper.
Matthew Klock has been a resident of Grand Island since September 1997 when he started 2nd grade at Huth Road Elementary School. From an early age Matt has been involved with sports on Grand Island including Grand Island Little League, Grand Island Soccer Club and recreational basketball league. Upon graduating from Huth Road, Matt was the recipient of the Presidential Academic Award.
Matt again became very active in sports at Connor Middle School, playing modified baseball, football, basketball and cross country. Matt continued to do well academically making honor roll for all 12 marking periods and received the Presidential Gold Academic Award.
Athletics continued to play a significant role for Matt during his four years at Grand Island High School. During this time, he played a sport in every season of every year. Matt has participated and started in varsity and JV football and baseball, JV basketball and varsity indoor track. He has been recognized for his leadership skills as captains for the varsity baseball team, JV basketball and football teams. From an athletic standpoint, he has been the recipient of the Outstanding Male Athlete for GIHS his freshman and sophomore years, 2nd and 3rd all league selection for varsity baseball, and 1st team all area selection for varsity baseball as chosen by the Niagara Gazette.
Academically, Matt has maintained a 3.68 grade point average, is in the top 10 percent of the senior class, has been on the honor roll for 12 consecutive marking periods, the recipient of the PTSA Honor Roll awards for all three years, two-time Pride of Island honoree and a member of the National Honor Society. Also, he is a member of the Student Advisory Council and the PTSA for all four years at GIHS.
This past summer Matt played on an elite travel baseball team, Team New Era, from Depew, New York where he was the starting centerfield for this team. With this group he had the opportunity to travel to Canada, Ohio, West Virginia and Tennessee to play in various tournaments.
Outside of school, Matt is a member of St. Timothy Lutheran Church and an usher on Sunday mornings. He has also been involved regularly in Relay for Life through fundraising and participation. Matt is employed by the Grand Island Recreation Department to help with the winter recreation leagues.
Matt is planning to continue his education next fall at a four-year university to study athletic training in the health science area.
Nicholas Alan Tomkins, son of James and Donna Tomkins, has been a resident of Grand Island all of his life and has been enrolled in the Grand Island School District since kindergarten.
While attending Kaegebein Elementary School, Nick received the Golden "K" award for academics and involvement in extra curricular activities. In middle school Nick received the Pride of the Island Award given by the GITA.
Nick is extremely involved in extracurricular activities in high school. He has been a class officer for the Class of 2008 since his sophomore year, holding the office of Historian. Nick has also been a member of many of the school's organizations such as Concert Choir, and DECA.
Nick has been continually active in his community as well. He volunteers for the Grand Island Lions Club, and he helps The Greenway Commission with its clean up efforts. He has also participated in events such as The American Cancer Society's "Relay For Life," where he is currently captain of a platinum team. Nick also participated in the 2007 Grand Island Student Olympics, where his team won first place overall. For this event, Grand Island students helped raise money for the special athletes in the community. Nick has also participated in three "Reach Workcamps" with the Trinity United Methodist Church Youth Group helping to, rebuild homes for less fortunate families throughout the East Coast.
Additionally, Nicholas has had numerous accomplishments in sports. He has been a member of the varsity football team for the past two years, where he is the "Massive" Defensive Tackle #77. Last year he was named to the All League Second Team, and this year he hopes to do the same or better. Nick was also this year's captain of the football team. At the Pep Rally this year, he was named Homecoming King. In addition to football, Nick has been a member of the Grand Island Swimming and Track teams during his high school career.
Nicholas has set many high goals for his future. After graduation, he plans on attending college and would like to pursue a major in the Business field.
High School News - March 2008
By Kaitie Samland (Sophomore) - Student Writer
Thursday, March 6, 2008 . . .Grand Island High School students entered the first rounds of the annual Corporate Bowl on Tuesday March 4th. With about 40 teams competing, all groups had a chance to show their intelligence when answering random questions based on various subjects. Congratulations to all teams, and good luck to those that move on. You can see these teams compete again on Tuesday, March 11th. Earlier this week, on Monday March 3rd, was the Class of 2010’s Spirit Night fundraiser which was held at Anderson’s. According to one of the class officers, they raised over $500! Great job to everyone! This year’s interact club is holding its annual volunteering for Habitat for Humanity on Saturday, March 8th. All members over the age of 16 are able to participate. Hope you all have a fun time.
Yet again several students were back in the court room on Wednesday to prove that they were indeed innocent. This time, even though the majority pleaded innocent, everyone had the choice to be put on probation for six months, do 20 hours of community service and have none of this information on his/her permanent record or to take this case to trial. I hope everyone chose the right choice and learned a lesson from all of this.
Corporate Bowl Results For March 4, 2008
The following are first round results for the 10th Annual GISBA Corporate Bowl
at Grand Island High School on March 4th.
**Match winner - Advances to March 11th event
^^Wildcard Team - Advances to March 11th event (top two non-winning scores from Tuesday March 4th matches)
Game 1:
**1st - Team Jarmo 165 pts.
2nd - Team Xtreme 55
3rd - Geak Skaud 50
4th - A-W-E-S-O-M-E Awesome, Awesome, Totally 10
Game 2:
**1st - Team Arnone 185 pts.
2nd - Remson's Rad Quartet 80
3rd - Team Wear Smartte 65
4th - Three Amigos & Soos (minus-5)
Game 3:
**1st - Not Now Chief, We're in the Zone 95 pts.
2nd - Purple Turkeys 75
3rd - Team Travel Bunny 60
4th - T.A.M.A (DQ - disqualified)
Please note, it was originally announced that Purple Turkeys won 100-95,
but was discovered that their score was incorrect. The teams were notified of the
scoring error, and 1st place awarded to Not Now Chief, We're in the Zone.
Game 4:
**1st - Set It or Forget It 160 pts.
2nd - Passion for Fashion 75
3rd - Minoriteam 55
4th - Italian Stallions (DQ - disqualified)
Game 5:
**1st - The Jackson 4 150 pts.
2nd - Corporate Intelligence 75
3rd - The Nerdy Bunch 60
4th - Team I Can't Pronounce This Name 40
Game 6:
**1st - Team Snipe 100 pts.
2nd - Bowl Busters 95
3rd - Dancing Shillelaghs 60
4th - Killer Rabbits 50
Game 7:
**1st - Nerd Herd 145 pts.
^^2nd - Politically Correct 130 pts.
3rd - Paxton Boys 105
4th - Ouch (minus-10)
Game 8:
**1st - Big Scary Monsters 125 pts.
^^2nd - Piece of Pi 110 pts.
3rd - The Cameron Crazies 35
4th - The Unlikely Winners 5
A reminder: there will be two more 1st round matches of 3-teams each to begin the event on Tuesday, March 11th. These are for the 6 remaining teams (of 38) that have yet to play their 1st match. The winners of those two matches will join the 10 teams that advanced on the 4th to complete the 12 total teams for the semifinals. The semifinals will consist of three 4-team matches. Those 3 winners will faceoff in the Championship Match. "Should be another great event and we look forwarded to seeing you there Tuesday night, March 11th at 7 p.m. in the Grand Island High School Auditorium," a Corporate Bowl spokesman said this week.
See GISBA Presents 10th Annual High School Corporate Bowl and scroll down for team members' names.
Viking Mock Trial Team Makes Waves In The Courtroom - 2008
Click photos for larger view.
Grand Island High School students recently competed in the first round of the 2008 Mock Trial Event.
The New York State Bar Association creates a fictional trial each year. They send the packet to high schools all around the state in early December. After months of practice, six high school students compete in a real court room against another school in battle of the legal wits. Each team has three witnesses and three lawyers. This year's case is about a high school student who hit a jogger after coming home from senior night activities. The Grand Island Team is advised by Mr. Mike Murray and the team's volunteer legal advisor is Mr. Michael Anthony Rossi. Thirty-eight Erie County schools entered the local tournament. During February the Grand Island team earned a one win and one loss record to qualify for the thirty-two team playoff round.
The Vikings defeated Tonawanda High School on March 1, 2008 and have advanced to the second round of the playoffs. The law team is one of sixteen high schools still fighting for the county legal championship. Lawyers Lauren Emmi, Michelle Rossi and Sam Kilb were amazing. The Grand Island lawyers tossed so many objections at the opposition that their heads were spinning. Viking witnesses Kelsey Borgeson, Nikki Styliades and Kyle Schutrum outwitted Tonawanda and helped the Viking client to win 100 million dollars. The team will compete again this Saturday, March 8 against Williamsville East at the Buffalo City Court House.
Jr. Varsity Hockey Team Championship Game Results - 2008
(left photo) John Koller thanks Commander Dan McMahon and the VFW for their support during the past few years.
(middle photo) Junior Varsity Hockey Team treated to lunch at the VFW Post following championship game.
(right photo) Laura Koller and Ernie Little are presenting the Runner-up Trophy to VFW Post Commander Dan McMahon
Click photos for larger view
Junior Varsity Grand Island Vikings played North Tonawanda at Buffalo State Arena in the Western new York League, Large school division championship. NT won 2-1 in double overtime.
Grand Island received the runner up trophy from the league, presented to VFW Post 9249 Commander Dan McMahon and the VFW Post by Head Coach John Koller and sophomore forwards Laura Koller and Ernie Little.
Grand Island took an early lead off of a power play goal scored by Anthony Russell and assisted by Larry Smith and Nick Bruno at 8:26 of the first period. The game was a tightly fought contest with the goal tending being
dominant throughout the game. Grand Island was being back stopped by sophomore goalie Jon Anderson. Anderson was brilliant through the first 3 periods by not allowing a goal until 2:46 in regulation when NT's Michael Kennedy
tied the game. The game remained tied through the first overtime and late into the second over time when NT's Steve Grosskoph scored on a screen shot with 2:44 left in the sudden death overtime. This marked the Vikings' 4th
Super Saturday appearance in the last five seasons under Coach Koller. The Vikings have finished second in regular season play the last two seasons to NT after moving to the large school classification. The Vikings are proudly sponsored by
the Grand Island VFW post where the two organizations have had a long-standing relationship with the hockey teams volunteering during the post's 4th of July festivities.
Indoor Track Team Members Qualify For State Championships -
Team Gets More than Competition On Away Trips - 2008
(left front) Jordan Gibson, Chris Carter, Adam Helman, Evan Tsembelis
and (kneeling) Ryan Hagen qualified For State Championships
Click photo for larger view
(left) Patrick Gallagher, Jared Northrup, Matt Klock, and Adam Helman at Yale University; (right photo) Boston trip - Click photo for larger view
The Grand Island Cross Country Team traveled to Southeast Massachusetts to compete at the New Bedford Invitational this past fall. The team did very well with the boys' team taking 2nd place and the girls team placing 7th while they also had the boys' winner, Evan Tsembelis setting a new course record. Beyond the athletic accolades, the team also gained a bit of history during their most recent trip. They visited the Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts; and then the Historic Trail in Boston, the Boston Aquarium and Fenway Park. "I think is very important to include educational experiences any time we can on our trips," noted Don Sauer, veteran Track and Cross Country Coach. "I try to tie in points of interest, historical, colleges and other note worthy experiences into our trips." It is more than the competition, though the team is always looking for better competition.
Last year the Outdoor Track team competed in the prestigious Penn Relays in Philadelphia. "We saw the obvious in Philly with the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Taking a tour at Independence Hall gave us a real sense of our early American heritage," noted Sauer. "Running in a race with 45,000 Track fans at the University of Pennsylvania is quite humbling."
Two years ago, the Track team competed at a meet in Chandler, Arizona. They came away with 3 winners and had some very good performances for an early season meet. The team visited 3 universities: ASU, U of Arizona and Northern Arizona University. They also visited Kartchner Caverns and the Desert Museum in the Tucson area. Later, they visited the Red Rock area of Sedona, the Grand Canyon, the Meteor Crater and the Indian ruins at Casa Grande. One time they competed in Show Low with an altitude of over 6,000 feet and it did affect them.
The Indoor Track Team this season has traveled to Cornell, RIT and some athletes competed at Yale University. "Yale is right in the city of New Haven and is so different than the beautiful campus setting of Cornell yet is still one of the oldest universities in the country." These trips are paid for by the individual athletes and their parents. The school pays the entry fee charged to participate while the kids have done donut sales, cookie dough sales and car washes to pay remaining costs.
The team benefits from other aspects from these educational field trips. "Arizona is dealing with a six-year drought so conservation and 'short' showers became the norm. Food is much different, a lot of Spanish is spoken and the environment is very fragile especially in Kartchner Caves. They learn to get along, learn a lot about themselves and how to cope and deal with adversity. We had high altitude one year in Arizona then 90+ temperatures at another meet all in one week and they adapted very well," noted Coach Sauer. "They come back with a "bigger" perspective and appreciation to other parts of the country."
The following athletes from the Grand Island High School Indoor Track Team qualified for the State Indoor Track Championships: Evan Tsembelis, Chris Carter, Ryan Hagen and Adam Helman. They will compete this Saturday (March 8) at Cornell University!!!
NYS Swim Championship Results - 2008
The Grand Island High School Boys Swim Team competed in the NYS championship meet Friday, February 29 and Saturday, March 1 with the following results:
GIHS School Finish: NYS Federation 54th NYS Public HS 51st
NYS Public HS
Evan Carey Sophomore 200 Free 37th 100 Free 41st
Josh Kaplan Senior 100 Backstroke 10th
James Sica Senior 100 Breastroke 16th
For complete winter championships results, see "2007-08 NYSPHSAA Winter Championships."
Swimmer James Sica Featured In Niagara Gazette - 2008
Grand Island High School swimmer, James Sica, was featured in the February 27, 2008 edition of the Niagara Gazette in a story by Nate Beutel.
Click "Niagara Gazette 2/27/08" for the feature.
The NYS championships take place Friday, February 29 and Saturday, March 1.
For complete winter championships results, see "Swim Results." See also
http://www.nysphsaa.org/championships/winter/b_swimming/psych_sheet.pdf.
High School News - Feb. 2008
By Kaitie Samland (Sophomore) - Student Writer
Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008 . . .Our Grand Island Varsity hockey team had the great opportunity to play at the HSBC Arena in the WNY Club Hockey Championship Game on February 24th. Even though they had lost to Niagara Wheatfield 5-1, they definitely tried their hardest and had many fans cheering them on. Congratulations for all your work guys! Also this week is the start of a new season for many spring sports such as Boys' Tennis and G.I. Rugby. If any guys are interested in Boys' Tennis this spring there will be a brief meeting after school on Thursday in Mr. Pray's room. As for G.I. Rugby, this is a sport for both boys and girls and those interested should pick up the information sheet from Mrs. Kennedy or Mr. Ball. I hope the seasons for both sports are great. The Class of 2010 is trying to raise money for their special events in the future. To help their class, go to Anderson’s on Sheridan Drive Monday, March 3rd between 4-8 p.m. Hope to see you there!
Boys Junior Varsity Hockey Team Beats NW Twice In Row - 2008
The Grand Island High School Boys Junior Varsity Hockey Team beat Niagara Wheatfield twice in a row in a best of 3 series to advance to Super Saturday March 1st (noon) at Buffalo State to play North Tonawanda for the JV large school championship.
The score in the first game was Grand Island 3 - Niagara Wheatfield 1. Courtney Cox, Anthony Russell and Chris wilczek scored for GI and Jon Anderson had 24 saves for the win in goal.
In the second game the final score was Grand Island 5 - NW 2. Scoring for GI were Shaugh Irving (2), Luke Hazelet, Chris Wilczek and Anthony Russell. GI's Luke Hazelet and Nick Bruno had 2 assists each and Jon Anderson stole the game in goal making 34 saves.
GI Varsity Hockey Team Defeated In Championship Game - 2008
Click photo for larger view
The Grand Island Varsity Hockey Team lost to Niagara Wheatfield 5-1 in the WNY Club Hockey Championship Game played on Sunday, February 24 in the HSBC Arena. The Vikings couldn't match up to the Falcons' powerful scoring duo of Melligan (3 goals) and Ogiba (1 goal). GI held its own, playing valiantly during even-man situations. NW's power play and goaltending were very strong. The Vikings got on the the board in the third period, when Ryan Vertino stole the puck at center ice and scored on a break-away. Grand Island finished the game with all their seniors playing on the ice: Jake Leffler in goal, Kurt Makowski, Anthony Daubney, DJ Perri, Ryan Killian and Neal DeMartin. Ryan Vertino was named MPV for Grand Island. Even though they were disappointed in the loss, the Vikings enjoyed the whole experience of Super Sunday. There were several media events, a practice at HSBC Arena and a breakfast at the Hearthstone Manor with many guest speakers.
Isledegrande.com staff congratulates our Island team on qualifying for this championship game.
GI Girls Beat #1 Seed KenEast Basketball Team - 2008
Click "Girls Basketball Victory 2/23/08" for the Buffalo News story.
Click "Island Girls Basketball Team Wins 2/24/08" for the Niagara Gazette story by Nate Beutel.
GIHS Sports Briefs - Week Ending Feb. 21, 2008
Click "Sports Briefs 2/21/08" for this week's Grand Island High School sports scores.
GIHS sports results may be emailed to "teddy@giecom.net"
High School News - Feb. 2008
By Kaitie Samland (Sophomore) - Student Writer
Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008 . . .This week at GIHS was finally another week to relax! With only one week left in February, March will be definitely busier. March 1 and 2nd is the Sr. All County Jazz Festival, March 4th and 11th is the annual Corporate Bowl where 38 teams will be competing for a scholarship for $7000! March 7 and 8th is the Jr. All County Jazz Festival and finally March 18th is the annual Student Olympics where there are teams that consist of two girls and two boys and they all compete like the Olympics. As you can tell, we are in for a pretty busy month. Hope everyone will participate!
For the majority of the students, they are having a nice relaxing break, while some are grounded for appearing at a party last weekend after the Winter Ball. All 43 students who were ticketed that night had to appear in court this Wednesday, February 20th. Here they were called up and had to plead either guilty or not. As the majority pleaded innocent, those who pleaded guilty have to pay a fine and received 20 hours of community service. The students who were innocent have to reappear back in court in March. I guess that just goes to show you that if you play with fire you will end up being burned.
Grand Island Varsity Hockey Team All-Star Players - 2008
Joe Oliverio (left) and Neal DeMartin - Click photo for larger view
Two Grand Island Viking Varsity Hockey players have been named to the WNY Club Large School All-Star Team. Neal DeMartin has been named to the 1st team all-stars and Joe Oliverio has been named to the 2nd team all-stars. Throughtout the season, Neal and Joe were consistently in the top 5 for scoring leaders. This is quite an accomplishment, as there are only six forwards chosen from a field of almost 200 players.
Grand Island Varsity Hockey Team To Play Championship Game - 2008
Click photo for larger view
The Grand Island Varsity Hockey Team will play Niagara Wheatfield for the WNY Club Large School Championship this Sunday, February 24th at 4 p.m. at HSBC Arena. The Vikings are coached by John Koller, John McKenna and Marvin Pawlowski. The players are Anthony Daubney, Neal DeMartin, Matt Hazelet, Ryan Killian, Bill Koller, Taylor LeFevre, Jake Leffler, Kurt Makowski, Dan McKenna, Joe Oliverio, John Osberg, Marvin Pawlowski III, DJ Perri, Chris Podlucky, Robert Schiffhauer, Zack Schueing, Zac Seiling, Rob Tates, Ryan Vertino, and Eddie Weiser. Although the team finished league play in 5th place, they battled back to beat North Tonawanda and Lancaster in the playoffs to advance to the championship game. The community is cordially invited to come out and support the Vikings on Sunday. Tickets are $7.00 at the door.
Boys Varsity Swim Team - Section 6 Results - 2008
The Grand Island High School Boys Varsity Swim Team participated in the Section 6 Preliminaries on Wednesday, February 13 and finals on February 14. See "Section 6 Results."
Congratulations to NYS Meet Qualifiers:
Josh Kaplan gr.12 100 Backstroke
James Sica gr.12 100 Breastroke
Evan Carey gr.10 200 IM, 200 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle
Mallory Griffiths, Outstanding Ladies High School Basketball Player, WNY - 2008
Mallory Griffiths, daughter of Kevin and Kimberly Griffiths, was chosen by the selection committee as one of the outstanding ladies high school basketball players in Western New York. The "Exceptional Senior" event will be held Saturday, March 15, 2008 at Cheektowaga Central High School, 3600 Union Road, Cheektowaga, NY. The format of the event will include two games. One game will be played at 6:30 p.m. and the other at 8:30 p.m. Mallory, a senior at Grand Island High School, will also be the guest of the "Exceptional Senior" committee at a banquet earlier in the week.
Job Search Seminar - 2008
Left: Doug Dohn of Astellas Pharma and Junior Danielle Bush
Jodi Robinson Photos - Click photos for larger view.
Grand Island High School Job Search Seminar was held on Thursday,
February 14, 2008 at the Holiday Inn. This event is hosted by Mrs. Cheryl Chamberlain, the Grand Island High School Business Department
and the Grand Island School & Business Alliance (GISBA).The day began with a presentation in the high school auditorium
by Grand Island Chamber of Commerce President John Bonora. After being bussed to the Holiday Inn, students completed
their registration and filled out job applications. The students then broke up into three groups that
either interviewed with GISBA volunteers, or attended break-out sessions that were led by Bryant and Stratton College
representatives. The three break-outs were Interview Presentation Skills, The Interview, and Goal Setting/Time Management.
After a luncheon, the students returned to the high school. Special thanks go to the following GISBA sponsors:
Platinum
Fuccillo Chevrolet
Gold
Abraxis
Astellas Pharma Manufacturing
Grand Island Chamber of Commerce
Invitrogen
River Oaks Clubhouse, L.L.C.
Silver
A.J.'s Heating and Cooling
Cannon Design
Niagara Frontier Publications
The Keller Group
The Legend Group
Bronze
Anchor Marine, Inc.
Christine Learman, CPA
First Niagara Bank
Grand Island Auto Tech Inc.
Grand Island District Office Administrators
Grand Island Holiday Inn
Grand Island Republican Committee
Grand Island Teachers Assoc.
Grand Island Town Board
Island Physical Therapy
M&T Bank
Rotary Club of Grand Island
Scheid Architectural
Tim Horton's
GIHS Sports Briefs - Week Ending Feb. 14, 2008
Click "Sports Briefs 2/14/08" for this week's Grand Island High School sports scores.
GIHS sports results may be emailed to "teddy@giecom.net"
High School News - Feb. 2008
By Kaitie Samland (Sophomore) - Student Writer
Thursday, Feb. 14, 2008 . . .
This week at GIHS was definitely a busy one. The annual Winter Ball was held Saturday, February 9th where the theme this year was “Saturday Night Fever.” All grades were able to attend and a select few were voted to represent their class. For the Seniors were the King and Queen Allie Weiser and Nick Tomkins, the Juniors were Amber Duda and Alex Neutz, the Sophomores were Kaitlyn Chapin and Chris Gibney, and the Freshmen were Stephen Vitello and Kelly Lorence. Congratulations to all. Also this week on Thursday is Valentine’s Day and to help spread the spirit, the Spotlighters present “Hugs and Kisses.” These were where students had the opportunity to buy each other “Hugs” or Little Huggie drinks and “Kisses” or Hershey kisses for only a dollar. These will be distributed on Thursday to their homerooms. Also on Thursday is the annual Job-Search day where some students get the opportunity to have a real life interview and present their resumes to real business owners. The students will get to learn what they did wrong and how they can fix it when they really do go for a job interview in the future.
Caitlyn Driscoll Signs National Letter of Intent - Feb. 2008
Caitlyn Driscoll is shown surrounded by her mother, Debbie Driscoll and father, Michael Driscoll.
Standing left: Coach Don Sauer and Athletic Director Jon Roth.
Jodi Robinson Photo - Click photo for larger view
Grand Island High School senior, Caitlyn Driscoll, signed a National Letter of Intent on Friday, February 8, to attend Division II, Coker College, in Hartsville, SC. Caitlyn has received an academic scholarship as well as an athletic scholarship to run cross country for the Cobras. She has achieved many honors during her career at GIHS, including a 3.8 GPA and membership in the National Honor Society. Caitlyn's accomplishments in track and cross country are listed as follows:
Cross Country
2x Captain
2x MVP
Rookie of the Year
Coaches Award
1st Team NFL
2nd Team NFL
Indoor / Outdoor Track
2x Captain
2x MVP
Rookie of the Year
Most Improved
1st Team NFL
2nd Team NFL
School Record Holder (Indoor) – 300, 600, 1000
Caitlyn chose Coker College for its academic rating and small class size. She mentioned that the warmer client also
was a consideration. "What’s really exciting is that they wanted me as much as I wanted them, so it’s a win-win for both of us.”
Grand Island High School Honor Roll - February 2008
The following Grand Island High School students have attained honor roll status for the second marking period of the 2007-2008 school year:
High Honor Roll
Grade 9: Sara Diletti, Thomas Dzielski, Christopher Ernst, Anna Ferrante, Emma Henderson, Ava Jackson, Justin Lee, Ryan McCarthy, Ariana Mendel, Shannon Moody, Jessica Osvath, Kathleen Rustowicz, Evan Shaw, Sara Victor, Stephen Vitello, Danielle Wegrzyn
Grade 10: Alyssa Accardo, Jonathon Anderson, Steven Boyle, Luke Burkhart, Alexandra Buscaglia, Danielle Canazzi, Evan Carey, James Cooke, Sarah Dolan, Kara Dudley, Marwa Eltagouri, Hillary Figler, Joseph Fischer, Lauren Fonte, Alexander Fry, Jill Greinert, Maria Guidotti, Susan Head, Tara Hook, Krystin Hoppel, Brian Kulak, Jeffrey Lariviere, Megan McInerney, Andrea Nicolia, Jared Northrup, Erika Osberg, Sarah Palazza, Mary Scherrer, Spencer Seese, Zaeem Shah, Vincent Spada, Christopher Stessing, Scott Suszczynski, Jameela Syed, Maritina Tsembelis, Eric Weigold
Grade 11: Chelsea Bernardi, Amber Duda, Samantha Forysinski, Taylor Jackson, Kelsey Mash, Charlene Meyer, Joseph Oliverio, Joshua Stoddard, Nicholas Vitello
Grade 12: Erica Barrett, Kelsey Borgeson, Kahla Cerrillo, Bailey DeGlopper, Caitlyn Driscoll, Jacob Ferrante, Amanda Jaeger, Joshua Kaplan, Samuel Kilb, Ashley Koerntgen, Jacob Leffler, Morgan Majewski, Brenna McCabe, Amber Meyers, Danielle Nash, James Sica, Theodore Slipko, Kimberly Snell, Robert Stewart, Shana Wierchowski
Honor Roll
Grade 9: Danya Abdellatif, Karl Albrecht, Samira Amin, Alexandria Bleich, Christopher Boulden, Kathryn Boutet, Justine Call, Michael Campanella, Jenna Cardone, Brennan Carey, Jason Chadwick, Brooke Chamberlain, Amandip Cheema, Nicholas Colao, Kevin Colman, Aliena Cook, Samuel Cummings, Austin Dee, Brooke DeMarco, Alexandra DeMita, Sara Dzielski, Chelsea Fairbairn, Korin Frantz, Patrick Gallagher, Christina Gibson, Vincent Golda, Rebecca Hammett, Julie Hasselbeck, Kyle Held, Alex Howard, Emily Jones, Allison Kaminski, Alex Killian, Mathew Killian, Taylor Kozlowski, Kelly Lorence, Nicholas Masiello, Jennie McCoy, Christopher Meyer, Shelbi Milkas, Kevin Neary, Emily Pease, Jenna Raepple, Paige Rockwood, Chelsea Rupert, Miranda Santa Lucia, Rachel Schauger, Amy Schooping, Michael Seaman, Christopher Shemik, Rachel Spiker, Allison Stewart, Sarah Stewart, Rebecca Sturniolo, Amanda Sutter, Megan Tates, Eugenia Taylor, Ambria Tim, Benjamin Tomkins, Courtney Weiser, Shantel Williams-Rivers, Tyler Wunsch, Alyssa Yaeger, Jessica Yarnes, Andrew Yockey
Grade 10: Kaitlyn Affuso, Richard Amantia, Adam Asbach, Elisabeth Asbach, Kimberly Asbach, Catherine Aughey, Stephanie Aughey, Alissa Bailey, Christina Borden, Patrick Brady, Eric Breier, Anthony Bruno, Sean Burke, Nathan Busch, Amanda Camizzi, Kenneth Cerrillo, Kaitlyn Chapin, Krystal Chapin, Michael Chauby, Stacy Cich, Brittany Cieri, Kathryn Cobello, Courtney Cox, Samantha Darby, Anthony Darpino, Renee’ Doermer, Jordan Dudish, Maria Edel, Kearney Erhard, Nicholas Ernst, Alexander Fabiilli, Kayla Fermoile, Jeremy Figler, Victoria Fleming, Rahsanica Ford, Kate Garten, Mary George, Sara Grana, Anthony Grande, Maria Grant, Amy Grenke, Eric Harnden, Kelly Hooven, Sara Huttenmaier, Courtney Justus, Raman Kaur, Zachary Kelly, Seth Kline, Joel Klock, Kristy Knickerbocker, Lauren Kucharski, Savanna Kustra, Bethany Leiner, Steven Lillian, Joshua Little, Jonathan LeTempio, Michael Lydle, Daniel Major, Amana Deep Mattu, Keran Deep Mattu, Nicole McGuire, Sara McNulty, Jennifer Mellett, Michael Montaldi, Christopher Moody, Christopher Mornelli, Michael Mucci, Ryan Osvath, Deanna Paternostro, Breanne Rafferty, Dhriti Ramesh, Jessica Randhawa, Michael Rayhill, Alexander Re, Ian Rogers, Robert Ross, Anthony Russell, Kaitie Samland, Kyle Schutrum, Margaret Shonitsky, Courtney Silsby, Keith Skelly, Jamie Sobieski, Benjamin Soos, Jonas Stalyga, Blake Stanwick, Rachel Starr, Alexander Strauss, Kasey Sumner, William Sundeen, Rachel Surdi, Caitlin Taylor, Samantha Tilkins, Patricia VeRost, Kristin Wegrzyn, Zakiyyah Wilbert, Sara Wilczek, Molly Wynne, Aria Yanicki
Grade 11: Alexa Amato, Robert Amsdill, Kaitlin Arida, Alexandria Avery, Daniel Basile, Sarah Bastian, Courtnnie Booker, Tyler Booth, Allison Boron, Brianna Busch, Maria Buyer, Simarjot Cheema, Olivia Chopra, Kyle Clayton, Hannah Cliff, Dustin Coryn, Aaron D’Angelo, Jason Davis, Shawn Davis, Darren DelSignore, Kira Dennis, Mary Grace Egloff, Nicholette Fadel, Jenna Fanara, Melissa Fargino, Gregory Feathers, Brianna Fetzer, Julia Figliotti, Ashley Fike, Kelsey Foote, Victoria Fortman, Angela Fusco, Rachel Gaydosh, Jordan Gibson, Samantha Gieselman, Andrew Ginsburg, Kaitlin Hager, Kaitlyn Hardison, Matthew Hazelet, Adama Helman, Scott Holler, Jenna Hutzler, Molly Hyland, Alexandra Imperi, Joshua Kahn, Michael Karpie, Joseph Khreis, Alexandra King, Benjamin Kose, Charles Lavallee, Taylor LeFevre, Timothy Lewis, Matthew Ludwig, Mia Magliazzo, Jacqueline Maitner, Matthew Major, Danielle McGuire, Kristin Millar, Andrew Mrzygut, Davis Nelson, Alexander Neutz, Genna Nuchereno, Shawn O’Rourke, Marvin Pawlowski, Destiny Perez, Susan Pioli, Christopher Podlucky, Jamie Raepple, Kathryn Raiser, Alexander Richter, Lance Robinson, Robert Rutland, Richard Ryder, Kayla Salonek, Jennifer Schaber, Victoria Schaber, Lee Schuster, Sierra Seese,
Nicole Serra, Timothy Shantler, Kayleigh Shepard, Kaileen Shoemaker, Kuljit Singh, Griffin Smith, Sara Stenzel, Jeffrey Szczepaniak, Robert Tates, Emily Thompson, Jordan Tripi, Evan Tsembelis, Matthew Violanti, Allison Walker, Lauren Whitney, Kelly Williams, Shaun Winter, Brianna Wojnar, Arlene Wunsch, Amanda Zernickel, Tyler Zikuski
Grade 12: Giovanna Andolina, Alma Aponte, Danielle Asbach, Kimberley Banas, Chelsea Baran, David Benko, Chelsea Bergmann, Ellen Betterson, Thoms Breier, Lauren Brindisi, Courtney Catalano, Kelly Cich, Jennifer Cierchoski, Cassandra Coffey, Theresa Covatto, Denise Curcio, Monica Dalfonso, Colleen Danahy, Alexandra Davis, Neal DeMartin, Casey Deuser, Tiffani Dickinson, Michael Dinsmore, Sean Duff, Christinia Eldridge, Victoria Eldridge, Kelsey Fortman, Chelsea Fulle, John Gannon, Marc Gerfin, Ashley Green, Kelcie Hanaka, Meaghan Hayes, Molly Hayes, Michael Heftka, Cathryn Hillard, Lee Hinaman, Sean Hook, Jennifer Huber, Matthew Huber, Amber Hultgren, Lisa Huttenmaier, Autumn Kaiser, Richard Karpie, Nathan Keefe, Courtney Kelchlin, Amanda Kennedy, Jordan Kessler, Ryan Killian, Matthew Klock, Natalie Krieger, Todd Kunze, Michael Magaris, Lisa Mager, Adam Masse’, Ashley Mazurkiewicz, Samantha McCollum, Courtney McCoy, Lauren McGowan, Ciara Morreale, Nichole Nash, Rachel Olszewski, Jordan Paolucci, Brittany Papaj, Michelle Paternostro, Anthony Perna, Alexandra Peters, Lauren Quattrini, Caitlin Radecki, Jordan Ricigliano, Matthew Riley, Joycelyn Rockwood, Laura Saini, Brandi Skill, Rebecca Sobol, Michael Soos, Brittany Stallard, Lauren Stanwick, Jessica Sturniolo, Nicholas Taylor, Scott Thompson, Kristin Toellner, Jordan Toth, Marc Velocci, Alexander Webb, Alexandra Weiser, Kacey White, Noah Yanicki
Grand Island High School Merit Roll - February 2008
The following Grand Island High School students have attained merit roll status for the second marking period of the 2007-2008 school year:
Grade 9: Matthew Arida, Robert Arsenault, Leonard Averhart, Dale Baran, Christa Baron, Shannon Becker, Geoffrey Bolton, Brian Brink, Nicholas Bruno, Brianna Catanzaro, Amanda Cinelli, Bethany Cinelli, Talon Colbert, James Corrao, Andrew Dale, Dominique DeGregorio, Kaleigh Deuser, Robert Dickinson, Liam Dodd, Samantha Ducette, Carson Filips, Craig Fusco, Edward Gauthier, Larissa Gelyon, Carmela Gentile, Lucas Hazelet, Amanda Heftka, Steven Henderson, Molly Higgins, Ryan Jackson, Mark Jurga, Nicholas Kellner, Samantha Kuszczak, Domenic Luciani, Bradley Ludwig, Jaime Magaris, Elizabeth McLean, Michael Paasch, Jack Pilie, Jeremy Rockwood, Nicholas Rossi, Kayla Schmidt, Samuel Serra, Benjamin Sherman, Matthew Sundeen, Victoria Sutton, Philip Valore, Sarah Webb, Mitchell Wendling, Richard Yager, Megan Young, Nikki Zimmerman
Grade 10: Rachel Abarca, Nicholas Alizadel, Courtney Amacher, Antonio Amin, Patrick Antonelli, Stephanie Aronica, Conrad Baker, Benjamin Bakula, Kolby Banker, Jovana Bichler, Lisa Braun, Nicholas Brzezinski, Tygue Busch, Victoria Cacciatore, Julianna Capizzi, Seana Chirico, Ian Conner, Joseph Connors, Christie DeMaria, Kayla Deuble, Christopher Franklin, Anthony Genova, Christopher Gibney, Chelsea Hall, Kelsey Hayden, Timothy Howley, Emily Incorvia, Shaughn Irving, Maryjean Jacobs, Matthew Kasprzycki, Nicholas Kelly, Jacob Killian, Ernest Little, Elizabeth Lorence, Scott Ludwig, Zackery Manquen, Daniel Mathes, Thomas McDonnell, Kelsey Mulvey, Kevin O’Brien, Courtney Papaj, Danielle Perri, Elizabeth Restey, Ashley Rutland, Robert Schiffhauer, Jonathon Seaman, Allison Snell, Paige Speidel, Michael Sperrazza, Amber Spiesz, Kelly Stark, Timothy Symington, James Toney, Nicole Winter, Sarah Young, Rebecca Zimmerman, Travis Zukic
Grade 11: Kevin Acquisto, Zachary Adams, Joseph Aladeen, Peter Aronica, Lee Becker, Viktoria Belous, Sean Benninger, Amy Bidell, Conor Bryan, Danielle Bush, Philip Cavuoto, Mariah Christie, Allison Cislarski, Christopher Colan, Amanda Colman, Caitlin Cook, Kaitlyn Czerwonka, Korey DiMatteo, Shane Eddy, Joseph Edel, Shannon Farmer, Lauren Fermoile, Christopher Fiels, Andrew Fix, Leah Gangloff, Zachary Gilbert, Anthony Gugino, Meghan Haley, Michael Hillock, Cody Hogrewe, Craig Hooper, Kaitlin Incorvia, Caroline Kaminski, Taylor Kaufman, Jatinder Kaur, Brittany Keel, Adam Kelly, Tristan Kessler, Haroon Khawar, Victoria Kowzan, Tristen LaBarre, Drew Lazelle, Damon Lewis, James McDonnell, Mikki McMahon, David McMichael, Kimberley Mellet, Samantha Morrison, Jessica Mysliwiec, Katie Nordvik, Brian O’Keefe, John Osberg, Carmen Pariso, Craig Perno, James Pezzino, Lindsay Pieri, Scott Quider, Joseph Romano, Michele Rossi, Anthony Schojan, Alexander Seyler, Jessica Sharrow, Carly Snyder, Alyssa Spada, Kyle Spratford, Tess Stewart, Nicole Styliades, Charanjot Tiwana, Justine Vanthoff, Ryan Vertino, Megan Wagner, Edward Weiser, Alexandra Whitford, Christopher Wilczek, Andrea Wilson, Meghan Yahner
Grade 12: Steven Accardo, Joseph Amsdill, Ashley Bass, Teighlor Bennett, Jourdain Benoit, Jared Billica, Richard Boss, Lindsey Boyle, Jasmeet Brar, Danielle Bruno, Brandon Caldwell, Casey Carminati, Christopher Carter, Jeremy Chopra, Molly Clingersmith, Jaclyn Coe, Taylor Cool, Vincent Coty, Daniel DeMarco, Bryan Deuble, Andrew Donahue, Jessica Doyle, Rafael Duenas, Christopher Eley, Lauren Emmi, Jarkko Etula, Abigail Evans, Timothy Franklin, Nicholas Geib, Nicole Goelz, Mallory Griffiths, Ryan Hagen, Ryan Hoople, Alexander Hultgren, Sara Johnson, Joseph Kobza, Sara Kurpiewski, Jeremy LaBarre, Marissa Lange, Matthew Little, Kirk Manquen, Stephen Mathes, Craig Meaney, Jeremy Meyer, Courtney Mulvey, Christian Nestark, Salvatore Niro, Sara Orsolits, Jessica Oyer, Sarah Palazzolo, David Perri, Anthony Poupalos, Justin Raiser, Jose Rivera, Roxanne Rizek, Blake Rockwood, Scott Ross, Stefane Samland, Carrie Schooping, Audrey Senf, Patrick Sexton, Joseph Shanor, Damanpreet Singh, Alicia Sommer, Nicole Stickl, Natalie Suppa, Joseph Tanbakuchi, Jacquava Thompson, Eduardo Toledo, Nicholas Tomkins, Nicholas Vallina, Elizabeth Wilson
GISBA Presents 10th Annual High School Corporate Bowl - 2008
The Grand Island School District, in cooperation with the Grand Island School & Business Alliance (GISBA) will present the 10th annual Corporate Bowl with a record 38 teams of four (152 students). Teams will face off in a trivia format challenging them in core areas including math, science, history, English Language Arts, foreign language, and current events.
The highly anticipated event is scheduled for Tuesday, March 4 and Tuesday, March 11 at 7 p.m. in the Grand Island High School Auditorium. The annual Corporate Bowl provides $7000 in scholarship money to Grand Island High School students.
Many thanks to the committee who organized this venture along with the numerous community volunteers and Grand Island Central School District staff members who will serve as moderators, judges and scorekeepers.
A special thank you to the local businesses whose donations have helped make this event possible.
Gold Sponsorship
Abarxis
"Astellas Pharma Manufacturing, Inc."
Grand Island Chamber of Commerce
Invitrogen
"River Oaks Clubhouse, L.L.C."
Silver Sponsorship
A.J.'s Heating and Cooling
Cannon Design
Niagara Frontier Publications
The Keller Group
The Legend Group
Bronze Sponsorship
Anchor Marine Inc.
"Christine Learman, CPA"
First Niagara Bank
Grand Island Auto Tech Inc.
Grand Island District Office Administrator
Grand Island Holiday Inn
Presenting the 38 Grand Island High School Corporate Bowl Teams
Team Jarmo
Purple Turkeys
 
Team Weer Smartte Passion For Fashion
 
Politically Correct A-W-E-S-O-M-E Awesome, Awesome, Totally
Not Now Chief, We're in The Zone Nerd Herd
 
Team Arnone Big Scary Monsters
 
Set it or Forget The Unlikely Winners
Three Amigos and Soos The Jackson 4
H2OH-NO The Killer Rabbits
Flux Capacitors Team Xtreme
Off Constantly Team I Can't Pronounce This Name
 
Bowl Busters Geak Skaud
 
Corporate Intelligence The Paxton Boys
 
Remson’s Rad Quartet Minoriteam
 
The Cameron Crazies Supreme Naughtiness
 
Ouch The Nerdy Bunch
 
T.A.M.A. Team Snipe
 
The Italian Stallions You Know You Want Us To Win
 
The Dancing Shillelaghs Piece of II
 
Not Team Ramrod Team Travel Bunny
Corporate Bowl 2008 teams and members follow:
1. Team Jarmo - Marwa Eltagouri, Jameela Syed, Tara Hook, Susan Head
2. Purple Turkeys - Bailey DeGlopper, Amber Hultgren, Giovanna Andolina, Catie Hilliard (missing)
3. Team Weer Smartte - Mike Rayhill, Caity Taylor, Steve Boyle, Megan McInerney
4. Passion For Fashion - Scott Thompson, Marc Gerfin, Craiag Meaney, Nick Vallina
5. Politically Correct - Nick Taylor, Alex Hultgren, Nick Argy, Jeremy Meyer
6. A-W-E-S-O-M-E Awesome, Awesome, Totally - Autumn Kaiser, Alex Avery, Stefane Samland, Ashley Bass (missing)
7. Not Now Chief, We're in The Zone - Chris Fiels, Nick Muoio, Chris Podlucky, Matt Ludwig (missing)
8. Nerd Herd - Julie Figliotti, Luke Burkhart, Amanda Jaeger, Alex Richter
9. Team Arnone - Darren DelSignore, Haroon Khawar, Joe Aladeen, David McMichael
10. Big Scary Monsters - Kearney Erhard, Josh Little, Griffin Smith, Jon LoTempio
11. Set it or Forget it - Ciara Morreale, T.J.Slipko, David Benko, Shana Wierchowski
12. The Unlikely Winners - Sam Tilkins, Angela Fusco, Alicia Sommer, Aaron D'Angelo
13. Three Amigos and Soos - Joe Connors, Ben Bakula, Ben Soos, Mike Montaldi (missing)
14. The Jackson 4 - Jeff Szczepaniak, Evan Tsembelis, Taylor Jackson, Greg Feathers
15. H2OH-NO- Jordon Toth, Josh Kaplan, James Sica, Zack Adams
16. The Killer Rabbits - Ashley Swiantek, Sarah Stewart, Sarah Webb, Ali Cook
17. Flux Capacitors - Josh Kahn, James "Jimmy" McDonnell, Charles "Salty Chuck" Lavalee, Conor Bryan (missing)
18. Team Xtreme - Anthony Genova, Jake Bass, Justin Ciechoski, Jon Saman
19. Off Constantly - Lindsey Boyle, Matt Riley, Chris Eley, Roman Velletta
20. Team I Can't Pronounce This Name - Alex Buscaglia, Catherine Aughey, Maria Guidotti, Lauren Kucharski
21. Bowl Busters - Dhriti Ramesh, Aman Mattu, Kelly Hooven, Keran Mattu
22. Geak Skaud - Justine Vanthoff, Aaron Wood, Kayla Salonek, Chris Avery
23. Corporate Intelligence - Mike Chauby, Chris Stessing, Alex Fry, Seth Kline
24. The Paxton Boys - Todd Kunze, Adam Masse, Sam Kilb, Ryan Killian
25. Remson’s Rad Quartet - Jacob Ferrante, Alex Davis, Shannon Farmer, Noah Yaniki
26. Minoriteam - Rahsanica Ford, Rachel Abarca, Destiny Perez, Courtnnie Booker
27. The Cameron Crazies - Brooke Chamberlain, Jenna Cardone, Ava Jackson, Amanda Heftka
28. Supreme Naughtiness - Joe Tanbakuchi, Matt Klock,Anthony Perna, Tim Boorady
29. Ouch - Mike Karpie, Chris Gibney, Victoria Fleming, Kaitlyn Chapin
30. The Nerdy Bunch - Anna Ferrante, Emma Henderson, Sara Diletti, Jessica Osvath
31. T.A.M.A. - Maria Lorence, Ashley Koerntgen, Amber Meyers, Taylor Cool (missing)
32. Team Snipe - Joe Amsdill, Steve Mathes, Kirk Manquen, Mike Mucci
33. The Italian Stallions - Andrew Stange, Ashley Green, Meghan Dollard (missing, Mike Soos (missing)
34. You Know You Want Us To Win - Julia Fleming, Tiffani Dickinson, Jordan Kessler, Jackie Coe
35. The Dancing Shillelaghs - Matthew Little, Brenna McCabe, Matt Huber, Beth Szpala (missing)
36. Piece of II - Tim Lewis, Spencer Seese, Taylor Kozlowski, Noah Rothberg
37. Not Team Ramrod - Dan McKenna, Anthony Daubney, Jordan Tripi, Matt Hazelet
38. Team Travel Bunny - Rachel Gaydosh, Sarah Pici, Emily Thompson, Mary Egloff
Boys Varsity Hockey Team Advances To Championship Game - 2008
The Grand Island Vikings varsity hockey team has advanced to the WNY Club Hockey Large School Championship game to be played at HSBC Arena on Sunday, February 24th at 4 p.m.
After finishing 5th during regular season play, they upset North Tonawanda 3-1 in the first round to advance to the second round.
In the first of best of 3 games in the second round, the Vikings defeated #2 Lancaster 3-2 in triple overtime on Friday night (Feb. 8). Down 2-0, Zac Seiling scored in the 2nd period. With 4 minutes left in the game, Ryan Vertino put in the tying goal. Joe Oliverio had the game winner in the 3rd overtime. Eddie Weiser, Seiling and Neal DeMartin had key assists. Rob Tates was outstanding in goal.
In the second game late Saturday night at the Pepsi Center, the Vikings defeated Lancaster 2-0 sending them to the Super Sunday Championship. Taylor LeFevre scored 1st taking a pass from Zac Seiling, then Robert Shiffhauer put in the 2nd goal assisted by Ryan Vertino. Rob Tates recorded the shutout in goal. The whole team is very excited and is playing outstanding hockey.
The team is also in the sectional tournament at the Pepsi Center. They play this Friday at 3 p.m., Saturday at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Come out and support the Grand Island Viking Varsity Hockey Team!
Super Sunday is the icing on the cake for high school club hockey, and includes media day, a team practice at HSBC Arena and a team breakfast for players and parents at the Hearthstone Manor the day before the game. Go GIHS Varsity Vikings Hockey Team!
Grand Island High School Winter Ball - Submit Your Photos! - 2008
The fourth photo show Queen and King Allie Weiser and Nick Tomkins.
Click photos for larger view.
Grand Island High School Winter Ball 2008 . . . over 500 students came out to dance the night away...the theme was "Saturday Night Fever." The student body voted in Nick Tomkins and Allie Weiser and King and Queen of the night. The song of the evening was "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." It was a great time and everyone enjoyed themselves!!!
Boys Varsity Swim Finals - 2008
Grand Island High School Boys Varsity Swim Team participated in the NFL Diving on Friday, February 8 at Niagara Falls High School.
For complete results, see "Finals Results.".
The Grand Island High School team finished first in the 200 Medley Relay event.
Grand Island's Josh Kaplan won the 100 backstroke and broke Rob Rumsey's 100 backstroke pool record from 2005. Sophomore Evan Carey finished first in the 200 IM.
Results of sectional swimming preliminariess held Wednesday, February 13 at ECC Flickenger Aquatic Center will be forthcoming. Swimming Finals will be held today (Thursday, Feb. 14) at ECC. Diving prelims and finals begin at noon, Thursday at ECC.
Sectional prelims begin at 5 p.m.
See "Psych Sheet."
Rotary/PTSA Students of the Month
Feb. 2008
Samantha McCollum Jessica Sturniolo Alexandra Weiser
Samantha McCollum has been a resident of Grand Island for fifteen of her seventeen years. She has been enrolled in the Grand Island school system since kindergarten. During her school career, Samantha has attained academic success as well as taking part in various extracurricular activities and community services.
Samantha's academic achievements began in fifth grade when she was the recipient of the Golden 'K' award at Kaegebein Elementary School. She has also been honored with the Pride of Grand Island award. Samantha has consistently achieved honor roll status and has been awarded an academic excellence certificate for general studies in addition to an award for her performance in ocean and marine biology. She is currently enrolled in AP psychology and AP literature and composition.
Beyond her school work, Samantha is involved in numerous extracurricular activities. She has been a member of the varsity cheerleading squad since her sophomore year, attending several sporting events and competitions. She is a member of DECA and has been involved in choir and concert choir for three years. Furthermore, Samantha has been a valued addition to the Venture Yearbook staff since her freshman year. Through hard work and dedication she has been named one of the editors-in-chief for her senior year.
Not only has Samantha participated in high school organizations, she has also committed time to the well being of the community. She has provided volunteer services several times to the Buffalo City Mission and their soup kitchen. Additionally, Samantha has taken part in the project "Operation Christmas Child" in conjunction with Samaritan's Purse at her church. She has participated in Relay For Life for five years, and raised money to benefit the well being of cancer patients and advancements in cancer research.
Samantha has set solid goals for her future, which include attending college to obtain a masters degree in business and communications.
Jessica Sturniolo has been a resident of Grand Island her entire life. She has made it a priority to be involved in the community and be a well rounded student. Throughout Jessica's high school education she has had perfect attendance and has been on the honor roll every semester. She has a varsity letter in academics and choir. She has also been in many advanced placement courses throughout her high school education.
During high school Jessica has been involved in four choirs at school: choir, concert choir, vocal jazz and Madrigals. She is historian of Madrigals and also of Humanities Club. This year will be Jessica's fourth year as part of the high school musical. Also, she is a member of the National Honor Society for her academic achievement and active role in the community. While in ninth grade Jessica took part in cheerleading and has been helping with the middle school cheerleaders and younger children for four years.
She demonstrates the Grand Island Rotary's motto, "Service before self." As an active member in her church Jessica takes on many responsibilities. This is her second year as a Sunday school teacher of pre-schoolers and kindergarteners. Along with teaching, Jessica volunteers at the breakfasts and lunches held at her church to help the church and her Lutheran Youth Organization. She has volunteered at the Lion's Club Special Kids Picnic for two summers where she painted the faces of many children. Jessica is also a member of the PTSA, where she sells memberships at open house and helps with the fundraisers held throughout the year. For three years she has been a part of The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life. During her first year Jessica was involved through her chorus where they sang in the opening ceremonies. Then in her sophomore year, she was on her mother's team and during her junior year Jessica was on two teams. On both occasions, she raised money for the American Cancer Society. She plans to be a part of the middle school mentorship program at Grand Island High School this year, and work at International Night.
In the future Jessica intends to pursue her interest in early childhood education. She became interested in this career because she has always enjoyed working with children. Jessica's mother had always told her that children of all ages are naturally drawn to her. She is interning her senior year at St. Timothy Lutheran Child Care Center. She also has a job as a substitute assistant at the daycare and baby-sits every day after school. Jessica's Sunday school class will greatly help her prepare for this job because she teaches Pre-Schoolers and kindergartners. She has babysat for children between the ages of newborn to eight. Jessica's work with the community education program in which she helps teach young girls cheerleading will also help her with this. Jessica plans to attend Buffalo State College while continuing her part time job with the Child Care Center.
Alexandra Weiser has been a Grand Island resident for most of her life. She has been enrolled in the Grand Island School District since kindergarten at Charlotte Sidway Elementary School. Throughout high school, Alexandra has accomplished several academic goals along with balancing her achievements in athletics and extracurricular activities.
Alexandra has maintained an Honor Roll average every school year since ninth grade and is continuing in that direction her senior year. She has won numerous awards for academic achievement including an Academic Excellence certificate, pin, and varsity letter. She has also received an award for mastering the college French course offered at the school through Niagara University, with an A+ average. She was also inducted into Who's Who Among American High School Students. Alexandra believes that she owes her remarkable teachers for the majority of her academic success.
Not only has Alexandra been recognized for her academics, but she has been commended for her athletic abilities as well. She was a four-year starter for the Grand Island Girls Varsity Soccer Team, where she earned all league honors all four years and all Western New York honors her junior and senior year. At the end of her junior year she was named the captain for the 2007 fall season. Alexandra has also started for the Varsity Softball Team since the ninth grade. She started her freshman and sophomore years but sacrificed her season her junior year to focus on her year-round soccer, the sport she plans to pursue at the collegiate level. Alexandra has high hopes for the softball program this spring and hopes to work her way back on the team.
Alexandra has valued and taken advantage of the extra curricular activities at the high school. She was a member of student council, DECA, and yearbook. She also participated in charity events such as Relay For Life and the Student Olympics.
In the community, Alexandra has been very involved in the youth soccer programs. She helped coach numerous house and travel teams the passed three years and hopes to someday become an assistant or head coach for the town.
Alexandra has very high expectations for the future. After graduation, she plans on attending a university with a superior education program where she can major in Elementary Education with Special Education certification. After she has earned her Bachelors and Masters degree, she plans on returning to Grand Island to exercise her occupation in the school district.
GIHS Sports Briefs - Week Ending Feb. 7, 2008
Click "Sports Briefs 2/7/08" for this week's Grand Island High School sports scores.
GIHS sports results may be emailed to "teddy@giecom.net"
Boys Varsity Hockey Team advances In Playoffs - 2008
The Grand Island Varsity Hockey team advanced to the second round of playoffs after beating North Tonawanda 3-1 before a standing room only crowd of mostly NT fans on Monday night, February 4th at Hockey Outlet. The win shocked the NT players after their 5-0 and 4-1 wins over the Vikings in their previous outings. GI played solid the whole game with Eddie Weiser scoring 2 goals and Joe Oliverio's goal and an assist. Ryan Vertino, Neal DeMartin, Zac Seiling and Ryan Killian each assisted on the goals and Rob Tates was outstanding in goal. The Vikings play Lancaster Friday night at Hyde Park at 8:00 PM and also plays Lancaster on Saturday night, 9 p.m. at the Pepsi Center. The team would love to have a big GI crowd there to cheer them on.
Photos From "Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" - Submit Yours! - 2008
(1st photo) Andrew Stange, center stage and Sean Hook (Joseph); (2nd photo) Lizzie Davis, Alissa Bailey, Kasey Sumner, Andrew Stange, Sarah Bastian; (3rd photo) Alex Kelly, Liz Restey, Sarah Stewart, Andrew Stange
Click photos for larger view.
These photos of the Grand Island High School play, "Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," were submitted by Jeff Stange. Scroll down for more photos and story.
Boys Varsity Swim Finals - 2008
Grand Island High School Boys Varsity Swim Team Coach, Rob Collard, described the team as giving "excellen effort tonight" in regard to the first section of the NFL Meet swimming times finals. NFL Diving takes place Friday, February 8 at 5 p.m. at Niagara Falls High School when the meet concludes.
Standouts for the Grand Island Varsity Vikings Swim Team follow:
• Men 200 Yard Medley Relay - Pool Record - Grand Island, J. Stickl, A. Salemi, R. Rumsey, M.Seay
• Men 200 Yard IM - First, Evan Carey, 2:04.00
• Men 100 Yard Backstroke - Pool Record and First Place - Josh Kaplan
For complete results, see "Feb. 6th Finals Results.".
Microsoft Office Specialist Exam Offered at Grand Island High School - 2008
Students pictured with the certificates, from left are Christian Gibson, Shelbi Milkas, Amy Grenke, Rachel Schauger, and Evan Carey - Click photo for larger view.
Grand Island High School Keyboarding students have a unique opportunity at the end of each semester. They may choose to take The MOS Exam (Microsoft Office Specialist). This exam is administered on the computer and a certification comes directly from Microsoft. Cheryl Chamberlain, Keyboarding teacher, began this program last year and is pleased with the results. Students who receive this certification may use it to secure future jobs and career opportunities. For more information on the MOS Exam contact the GIHS Business Department at 773-8879.
High School News - Feb. 2008
By Kaitie Samland (Sophomore) - Student Writer
Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008 . . .Saturday evening will find many Grand Island students dressed in their finest as they attend Winter Ball. Tickets are still available if anyone is interested. Congratulations on a job well done to the cast and crew of Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat. All of your hard work was evident and appreciated by all.
The parents of high school students received their student’s progress reports earlier this week. Hopefully, the majority of us made it through another marking period without any threat of punishment. Remember we are halfway there!
Have you ever given any thought to how you “see” things?" Are you a person who sees things as being either black or white? Or do you “see” things as gray? When you think in terms of black and white, you have definite boundaries. Everything is either right or wrong - no excuses. A “gray” thinker makes allowances and lets emotions affect their judgment. They understand that life does throw a curve ball now and again, and are empathic toward others.
So you ask… is it better to be a person who sees things as being black or white or is a person who sees things as gray? That is a matter of opinion. Personally, I fall under the category of black and white. I appreciate knowing and setting boundaries. I can relate to people who say what they mean, and mean what they say. It’s not that I do not have any emotions or that I don’t have empathy for others, I do, but I like knowing exactly where I stand. I understand that people may have legitimate excuses for not fulfilling obligations but I also feel that the majority of times excuses are not entirely true, but they are given because they know that a gray thinker will accept it. Maybe it’s not as simple as that, and perhaps as I get older my opinion will change, but for now the world in black and white looks pretty good to me!
Swimmer Josh Kaplan Qualifies For State Championships - 2008
Senior Josh Kaplan qualified for his second consecutive New York State Swimming Championship meet in the 100 yd backstroke during the February 4 meet. During the final NFL dual meet at Niagara Wheatfield, Josh broke the pool record in the 100 yd backstroke with a time of 54.50. The previous pool record was set in 1983 by North Tonawanda's Mike McCluhan. The Boys Varsity Swim Team lost to Niagara Wheatfield 119-64. The Boys Jr. Varsity also lost to Niagara Wheatfield 137-8.
See "Feb. 4th Results.".
Basket Raffle Prior To All-Island Band Concert - 2008
Students in Mr. Kevin Murray's AP Governmen
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