Seminole Ridge High School has announced its 2013 Palm Beach Post Pathfinder nominees. These seniors, leaders and achievers in their respective nomination categories will compete with others from area high schools, with the winners awarded scholarships.
The categories and nominees are as follows: Academic Excellence, Danielle Parks; Art, Linden Sutherland; Business, Rachel Coulanges; Communications, Paige Wilson; Community Involvement, AnnaLina Fellicella; Computer Science, Ashleigh Cotterell; Drama, Aliyah Chance; Foreign Language, Melanie Bean; Forensics, Melissa Garrity; History, Cameron Schneider; Literature, Jessica Vasco; Mathematics, Mitchell Vasquez; Music (Instrumental), Sarah Probst; Music (Vocal), Alexis Rizzolo; Reach for Excellence, Justin Kaufmann; Science, Ryan Meingasner; Sports, Megan O’Hara; and Technical and Vocational, Jonathan DaCosta.
• Hawks Go Airborne — On Nov. 2, the JROTC Hawk Battalion participated in the annual 82nd Airborne Division Dinner, and the cadets not only conducted a saber arch for the attending veterans but also presented the colors.
“It was a great honor to be at this event because our cadets got to talk with the 82nd Airborne veterans,” said retired Lt. Col. Hans Hunt, the battalion’s instructor. “It was a great honor to be able to participate. The cadets, along with the veterans, heard Congressman Allen West speak about his experiences in the military and how they’ve helped him in his everyday life.”
• Thespians Earn District Honors — In district competition Dec. 8 at Fort Pierce, SRHS drama students earned numerous honors for their acting and performing abilities.
Results are as follows: Critics’ Choice (“Superior”) Small Group Musical – Cassandra Barrett, Jacqueline Campos, Aliyah Chance, Ashlyn Conerly, Madison Dickson, Megan McCarthy and Paige Wilson; Critics’ Choice (“Superior”) Solo Musical – Jaqueline Campos; “Superior,” Solo Musical – Caitlyn Buttery; “Superior,” Duet Acting – Caitlyn Buttery and Morgan Musgrove; “Superior,” Monologue – Aliyah Chance; “Superior,” Publicity – Jessica Vasco; “Superior,” Costume Design – Rachel Warren; “Excellent,” Duet Acting – Austin Alban and Jeff Rizzo; “Excellent,” Ensemble Acting – Devon Higgs, Aletta Kemp, Jeff Rizzo and Alyssa Tiwari; “Excellent,” Monologue – Morgan Musgrove; and “Excellent,” Duet Musical – Joe Prieto and Rachel Warren.
• SECME Travels to Gulliver — SECME students competed Dec. 9 in the South Florida championship of the VEX Robotics Competition (VRC) at Miami’s Gulliver Prep.
The VRC Team 1614 consisted of robot driver Jesse Mendheim and field scout Mitch Lafferty, who designed and built a robot (affectionately nicknamed “Sack Sucker”) that could quickly and efficiently solve specific obstacles and challenges.
Lafferty and Mendheim competed with and against 40 teams from across the state — Melbourne to Miami, Bradenton to Boca — in action-packed executions of VEX Sack Attack, a game played on a 12-foot square field.
The object of the game: attain a higher score than your opponent by scoring bean-bag like sacks in goals, earning bonus points and “parking” robots at the end of a match.
The Hawks finished the qualifying rounds with three wins and five losses, missing the playoffs. But their coaches, Erich Landstrom and Ed Batchelor, are proud of their students taking what they’ve learned and applying it to an academic sport.
“In building and programming a competition robot from the ground up, they’re developing critical skills for the workforce — hard work, team work, collaboration and leadership,” Landstrom said. “The SECME VRC team must raise funds to cover the cost of robot parts, competition entry fees and transportation expenses. Support them this holiday season: Make a matching gift at http://tinyurl.com/AdoptSeminoleSECME. All gifts are welcome!”
Above: Seminole Ridge SECME students Mitch Lafferty and Jesse Mendheim at the VEX Robotics Competition.
