Category Archives: Competition

Karen, Victor and Freddy are National Academic Champions!

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After being crowned the Long Island Regional Quiz Bowl Champions for the second straight year, Wheatley’s JV Brainstormers team qualified for participation in the 37th annual National Academic Championship in Chicago, Illinois.

On June 8th, an immensely talented JV team consisting of Karen Li, Victor Li, and Frederick Lin arrived in The Windy City and proceeded to blow away the competition. After finishing with a 5-1 record in the preliminary rounds, the Wheatley Brainstormers decisively won the 2019 National Academic Championship with a final score of 365-180.

In between matches, the team made its way to downtown Chicago to visit Cloud Gate, which is more affectionately known as “The Bean” to tourists. Additionally, the Brainstormers were afforded the opportunity to visit The Art Institute of Chicago as well as the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field.

Congratulations to Karen, Victor and Freddy for this remarkable accomplishment! A huge “Thank You” to John Beleckas, who coached the students and accompanied them to Chicago for this trip!

[Thanks to Mr. Beleckas for the write-up and the photos!]

Wheatley’s Mock Trial Team Competes in the State Finals!

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Last month, Wheatley’s Mock Trial Team captured the Nassau County Championship—the first time in our school’s history! As part of this victory, the team was celebrated (along with finalist Locust Valley High School) by the Nassau Bar Association with a lovely dinner during which the championship trophy was presented to the team and school.

This past Sunday, the team departed for the State Finals Competition. They were accompanied by Mr. Ronald Roaldsen, the Mock Trial Advisor, and Ms. Melinda Gomez, who accompanied the team as a chaperone. Mr. David Schwartz, the team’s legal advisor, also took the trip to Albany.

Going up against the best teams in New York State, the students performed admirably. Although they just missed advancing to the final round, they had a great experience and are proud of their work!

Congratulations to the team members:

ATTORNEYS

  • Jacob Ribotsky
  • Rebecca Sparacio
  • Ashley Vincenzo
  • Emily Yagoda
  • Brenda Zhong

WITNESSES

  • Maggie Caroddo
  • James Li
  • Brooke Schwartz
  • Rebecca Zeltsman

The students were led by our Mock Trial Advisor, Mr. Ron Roaldsen, and have been supported throughout the season by Mr. David Schwartz, who has served as the team’s legal counsel.

Thank you to Mr. Roaldsen for the team photo at the State Competition. Thanks as well to Melinda Gomez for the wonderful courtroom sketches from today’s action!

Rahul and Emma are Heading to the National History Day Finals!

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As April Recess was winding down, students and faculty were preparing for the New York State History Day finals in Cooperstown. Five Wheatley students were accompanied by Mrs. Jo Beth Roberts, Mr. Patrick Shanahan and Dr. Scott Eckers, departing on Sunday, 29 April. The Wheatley competitors, who had winning entries in last month’s Long Island History Day at Hofstra University, were:

  • Ashley Vincenzo (Senior Individual Website):  The 1953 Iranian Coup:  A Tenuous Western Triumph, A Significant Global Tragedy
  • Aliza Virji (Junior Individual Website):  Operation Babylift:  The Triumph of Enduring Vietnamese Culture After the Tragedy of War
  • Benjamin Casella (Junior Individual Documentary):  The Space Shuttle Program:  A Cosmic Triumph with a Tragic End
  • Rahul Ajmera (Senior Individual Exhibit):  The Real Housewives of the Lower East Side:  The 1902 Kosher Meat Boycott
  • Emma Melnikov (Senior Individual Performance):  A Murder to Make the Masses Seen:  The Tragic Romanov Fall Paving the Way for Bolshevik Triumph

Our students were proud of the work they had produced over the past few months and excited to share their findings with judges, parents, and peers.  All five of our students made it to the run-off round, in which each category’s top four to six projects from the state competed again!  Both Rahul Ajmera and Emma Melnikov took first place in the state for their projects! As such, they will be competing in the National Finals at the University of Maryland in June!

All district social studies teachers should be commended for working so diligently with all our students.  Their efforts helped support a high level of historical inquiry and writing—critical skills that transcend high school social studies classes.

Congratulations again to Rahul and Emma!

Next year’s National History Day theme is “Breaking Barriers in History.”  There is already buzz about possible topics!

[Thanks to Dr. Eckers for the write-up and photos!]

Brandon and Jason Compete in National DECA Competition!

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This past week, Juniors Brandon Behar and Jason Koty attended the DECA ICDC National Competition in Orlando. Accompanying the students was our DECA Advisor, Mrs. Kristen Malik. Brandon and Jason earned a spot at this National competition by winning 3rd place in the Sports and Entertainment Category at the New York State level.

The students joined an elite group of the DECA members from across the United States (and the world) who each earned a top spot from their state and category. These students were there to spar in a series of competitive events.

The competition was an amazing opportunity as well as a great learning experience for Jason and Brandon, who have already begun strategizing so that they can repeat and improve upon their success next year!

Thank you to Mrs. Malik for taking time out of her family’s vacation plans in order to accompany the students to the conference!

[Thanks to Mrs. Malik for the photos and the write-up!]

Seventeen Wheatley Students Earn Medals at the Al Kalfus Long Island Math Fair!

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On Friday, 12 April, 17 Wheatley students headed to Hofstra University in order to compete in the annual Al Kalfus Long Island Mathematics Fair.

Students from across Long Island came to compete at this prestigious event. Each student wrote a research paper on a mathematics topic of their own choosing.  Top papers often have the students’ own creative twists and original mathematics as part of their research. Students presented their research to a panel of judges followed by a question and answer period.  Achieving at this level is an extraordinary accomplishment for high school students!

We are proud to announce we had 5 students win gold medals, 5 students win silver and 7 students win bronze medals.

Thank you to Mr. Belackas, Mr. Gadamowitz, Mr. Meyers and Mr. Paulson for volunteering as judges. Thank you as well to Dr. Teseo for serving as their coach and providing the write-up and photos.

Last First Grade Paper Title Medal
Gulati Shrey 9 Magic Squares Gold
Pahuja Armaan 9 Chaos Theory and its effects on Meteorological Predictions Bronze
Prajapati Krittika 9 Binary Numbers Bronze
Wong Justin 9 The Influence of Replacing Prime Numbers in Public Key Cryptography Silver
Bansal Manav 10 Mathematical Models Utilizing Differential Equations to Model Tumor Growth Gold
Chabria Anya 10 The Applications of Mathematics in Literature Bronze
Hassan Sarah 10 Applying Linear Animation Using Mathematics Programming and Art Bronze
Jayam Viraj 10 Examining Functions Under Quasi-Stereographic Projections Gold
ArbitalJacoby Alex 11 Calculating Atomic Radius Bronze
Ramos Madison 11 Mathematical Modeling Neural Networks Silver
Wong Trenton 11 It’s all about that Base: Three-Halves Gold
Yagoda Emily 11 Solving Rubik’s Cube with Musical Chord Progressions Silver
Zachariah Aaron 11 Transfinite Numbers Silver
Zhong Sharon 11 Wind Resistance and Failure Analysis Bronze
Shukla Manan 12 The Banach Tarski Paradox Gold
Singh Vedant 12 Using Optimization to Increase Efficiency Silver

2019-04-30 12.59.39

Wheatley Student Success at Italian Poetry Contest!

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On Friday, 12 April, a dozen Wheatley students participated in the annual Long Island Italian Poetry Contest sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Italian (AATI). Students were led by our very own Italian teacher, Susan Vasselman.

There was a huge turnout this year at SUNY Old Westbury where the competition took place including over 300 contestants from all over Long Island! Five of our students came away with recognition!

Level 1

  • 1st place: Ella Suppa
  • 3rd place: Evan Sheinman
  • Honorable Mention: Lauren Tavolacci

Level 3

  • Honorable Mention: Eric Ness

Level 4

  • Honorable Mention: Victoria Mora

Congratulations to all of the student who participated, and thanks to Mrs. Vasselman for supporting the students!

[Thanks to Mrs. Vasselman for the photos!]

 

Wheatley Hosts the WAC Lighting Foundation Invitational Science Fair!

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Last Sunday, 7 April, students from a dozen schools across Long Island converged on The Wheatley School for the annual WAC Lighting Foundation Invitational Science Fair! Organized and run by The Research Association, the science fair brings over 400 students together to present their research to judges from regional colleges and businesses.

The fair includes eight major categories with winners selected from projects developed and completed by students in grades 9-12. Awards and scholarships are presented to winners of First, Second and Third Places, as well as Merits and Honorable Mentions.

This year’s fair was organized by our very own Alexis Pace (Director of Science) and DJ Paulson (Research Teacher). Additional support was provided by Doreen DeAngelo. The fair could not have taken place without the incredible work of our custodial crew!

Schools participating in this invitation fair include:

  • Commack High School
  • Great Neck North High School
  • Great Neck South High School
  • Herricks High School
  • Jericho High School
  • Locust Valley High School
  • Manhasset High School
  • Paul D. Schreiber High School
  • South Side High School
  • Syosset High School
  • The Wheatley School

The Wheatley students who participated in this year’s competition include:

  • Zachary Azevedo
  • Zain Akhtar
  • Manav Bansal
  • Maggie Caroddo
  • Anya Chabria
  • Matthew Cornacchia and Jacob Mohebban
  • Aisvaryaa Dhama
  • Hitangee Jain
  • Sahil Jain
  • Viraj Jayam
  • Sanjana Khana
  • Teddy Koutsoftas
  • Eliana Li
  • Karen Li and Victor Li
  • Emma Melnikov
  • Armaan Pahuja
  • Hailey Ramalhete
  • Diya Shah
  • Jaina Shah
  • Arham Sheraz and Ubaidullah Hassan
  • Vedant Singh
  • Ashley Vincenzo
  • Kenton Wu
  • Brandon Zhu

Wheatley students earned the following recognition:

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Category

  • 2nd Place: Karen Li and Victor Li (“TP53 Mutations as Potential Prognostic Markers for Specific Cancers”)

General Biology Category

  • 1st Place: Manav Bansal (“Developing an in vitro Model to Study MPI Deficiency in Human Stellate Cell Activation and Potential Role of Autophagy”)

Behavioral and Social Science Category

  • 3rd Place: Anya Chabria (“A New Look at Writing: Investigating the Presence of Fractal Patterns in the Sentence Structures of Various Acclaimed Texts”)

Chemistry Category

  • Honorable Mention: Vedant Singh (“Analyzing the Effects of Graphene-Loading and 3-D Printing on the Thermal Conductivity and Viscosity of Poly(propylene)”)

Earth and Environmental Sciences Category

  • Honorable Mention: Hitangee Jain (“Effects of Pyrabactin and Abscisic on pre-irradiated Brassica Rapa seeds”)

Prototype Engineering Group

  • Honorable Mention: Matthew Cornacchia and Jacob Mohebban (Effects of Air Compression on the Levitation Ability of Magnet Levitation Trains)

Congratulations to all of the participants!