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Volume 097 | May 05, 2016 | About This E-Newsletter Like us on Facebook   Follow us on Twitter   Add us on Google Plus   Subscribe on YouTube   Follow our RSS feed   
Wayne High Schools Announce Valedictorians and Salutatorians

Wayne Valley High School Principal, Ken Palczewski, and Wayne Hills High School Principal, Maureen Weir, recently announced the valedictorians and salutatorians for the Class of 2016. Both principals proudly noted the many accomplishments for each of the students as well as their plans after high school graduation.

WAYNE VALLEY

CO-VALEDICTORIAN: KOMAL NERURKAR

COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY: CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY

MAJOR: COMPUTER SCIENCE


komal Principal Ken Palczewski sees Wayne Valley Co-Valedictorian Komal Nerurkar as that rare student who is as humble as she is incredibly talented. The combination of an outgoing and kind personality, a natural curiosity as is evidenced by her insatiable appetite for reading, and a tremendous drive to achieve, have all contributed to her success. Guidance Counselor Felicia Miller identified Komal as that special student who has that drive, the spark, the focus, the initiative and the leadership skills that really sets her apart. She possesses a level of maturity and perseverance that is unusual in someone so young.

In addition to being named Co-Valedictorian, Komal was named National Merit Scholarship Finalist and AP Scholar with Distinction. She is also the recipient of the Wellesley Book Award. Komal enjoys her numerous extracurricular activities, and feels her clubs and sports have provided her with unique experiences and opportunities that have shaped who she is today. She is an editor of the Emphasis Creative Writing Club, a Quiz Bowl member, Vice President of Peer Leaders, Co-President and Co-Founder of Valley's Students Who Code Club. Komal also held various leadership roles within her local Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter. Notably, she was a member of an FBLA State Committee. In addition to her state level leadership position with the FBLA, Komal is a proud member of the Wayne Valley FBLA team that qualified for nationals this past February. She attended a Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program at Goldman Sachs, which inspired her to pursue a career in computer science. In August, Komal won first place in the NASA SpaceApps NextGen Hackathon. She was then chosen as a BBG Ventures Pitch Challenges Finalist, and presented a personal project at Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco this past September.

In addition to her academic pursuits, Komal is involved with the athletic program. As Foil Captain of the Wayne Valley Fencing Team, Komal helped her team to win the Passaic County Fencing Championship and also qualify for States.

Outside of school, Komal is a passionate and accomplished violinist after having spent nine years studying under renowned violinist Inna Berkhin. Komal also spent thirteen years attending Vivekananda Vidyapith where she learned Indian philosophy and culture. Komal appreciates the role this institution played in her development especially that it helped her to keep in touch with her roots and provide her with a one-of-a-kind character-building education.

Komal is excited to attend the Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science in the fall. Komal credits all of her success to her wonderful circle of friends and family who inspire and motivate her to be her best.

CO-VALEDICTORIAN: STEPHANIE TANG

COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY: HARVARD UNIVERSITY

MAJOR: CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL BIOLOGY


stephanie Wayne Valley Counselor Kate Kay wrote that Stephanie Tang is an incredibly gifted and talented young woman who inspires just by her accomplishments. She is at a loss to explain how Stephanie is able to accomplish all that she does on any given day, but she does so with modesty and humility.

Stephanie is a New Jersey Governor's School in the Sciences Scholar, National Merit Scholarship Finalist, and an AP Scholar with Distinction. At the NJ Governor's School, she wrote a team research paper, "Cloning of Eukaryotic Elongation Factor 3 from Phytophthora infestans". Stephanie is the Director of Competitive Events in the Wayne Valley chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and leads the Quiz Bowl team in competition. She was also a Minds in Motion Scholar for all four years of high school.

Stephanie is also a competitive swimmer and she swam for the varsity swim team for all four years of high school. She also swam for the Montclair YMCA Dolphins club swim team, and competed at the Sunkissed Invitational held in North Carolina. While not in class at Wayne Valley, Stephanie attends the Columbia University's High School Science Honors Program. She spent some of her summers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, where she was involved with a diverse, global community of students. Stephanie maintains a positive attitude and carries her passion for people and for science to Harvard, where she plans to concentrate in Chemical and Physical Biology.

SALUTATORIAN: CATRIONA KENDALL

COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY: GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

MAJOR: INTERNATIONAL POLITICS


catriona AP History Teacher Dennis Carroll wrote that Catriona is a gifted writer, skilled thinker, passionate soul. Mr. Carroll further noted that Catriona's brilliance, maturity, fine character, and sense of humor really sets her apart.

Catriona describes herself as an avid cat-lover and bibliophile. She is also a National Merit Semifinalist and AP Scholar with Distinction. She plans to attend Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in the fall, to major in international politics. Catriona has engaged in many activities at Wayne Valley, including Peer Leaders and the National Honor Society. She regularly volunteers her time to support community service projects outside of school. She spent two years volunteering at the Wayne Public Library. In pursuing her political interest through volunteerism, Catriona helped orchestrate a local political campaign for town council by serving as a volunteer campaign manager.

In her fourth year on the Wayne Valley Fencing Team, she served as Epee Captain, helping lead the team as they became Passaic County champions and qualified for States.

Outside of school, Catriona loves both reading and traveling. She has attended multiple book festivals from local events in New York City to South Carolina and even Scotland. Books aren't the only reason she travels with family all over the world, Catriona loves visiting other countries and immersing herself in new cultures and perspectives. These experiences have spurred her interest in international relations and what it means to be a citizen of the world.

Last summer, Catriona attended New Jersey Girls State, a week-long political workshop designed to educate young women about civic responsibility and the political process. This program augmented her understanding of and fascination with politics. Catriona can only hope that a "thank you" is sufficient for all the people who helped her through high school and made it possible to graduate from high school with such an honor. To her parents, sisters, best friends, fencing team, and pet cat, she is eternally grateful.

WAYNE HILLS

VALEDICTORIAN: HEATHER HEIMBACH

COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

MAJOR: COMPUTER SCIENCE


heather Wayne Hills Principal Maureen Weir noted that Heather Heimbach is one of the most talented students she has ever met. With so many impressive accomplishments in and out of the classroom, it is only fitting that she would be named valedictorian.

At Wayne Hills, Heather is a member of the National Art Honor Society and Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica. She served for two years as Editor with the Lantern Club, which publishes an annual literary magazine. This magazine was awarded second place nationally by the American Scholastic Press Association in 2015. Heather is a proud member of the Wayne Hills Robotics Team that competed in the First Tech Challenge where she also participated in activities to educate the community about the importance of engineering.

Outside of school, Heather is a figure skater and she works as a Learn to Skate Coach at the Ice Vault. During high school, she also trained in opera, musical theatre and piano. Heather has been studying ballet intensely at the Petrov Ballet for many years. In 2013, Heather was a state finalist in the National America Miss Competition where she also was awarded fourth runner up for talent and first runner up for her acting. She also attended the Governor's School of Engineering and Technology where she presented her research for Developing Theatrical Lighting Controls.

After graduation, Heather is very excited to continue her education at Columbia University's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences to major in computer science.

SALUTATORIAN: MAX CHAZEN

COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY: CORNELL UNIVERSITY

MAJOR: ECONOMICS AND MATHEMATICS


max Long time Wayne Hills Guidance Counselor Joyce Savastano commented that Max Chazen is that rare student who fully commits himself to everything that he does. Furthermore, she noted that he is passionate about learning, including learning from his own mistakes. She also noted that Max has excellent leadership characteristics and that he is an excellent role model and a person who exemplifies leading by example.

Max recently identified himself as a very curious person and attributes much of his success due to his curiosity and his desire to know more. After graduation, Max will be continuing his education at Cornell University where he will be majoring in both economics and mathematics and pursing a career in finance.

During his four years at Wayne Hills, Max participated in numerous activities. In addition to his membership in the Math Honor Society, Max competed in the New Jersey State Math League and the Seton Hall University Joseph Andrushkiw Mathematics Competition. In advancing his interest in business, Max participated in Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) while also interning during the summer at Brock Capital Group, an investment bank in New York.

In addition to Math Honor Society, Max was inducted into the National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, and he was named as an AP Scholar of Distinction. He served as a Peer Leader and participated in the New Jersey Science League and the Merck State Science Competition.

Max rounds out his many activities and interests by volunteering in the community. He volunteered for the Friendship Circle of Passaic County and received the Friendship Circle Award.

In addition to excelling in the classroom, Max also excels in athletics. He is a four year varsity athlete in ice hockey and golf. He was captain of the golf team and earned recognition when he was named to the all-conference and all county teams. Max was also honored by being selected as the Wayne Hills' NJSIAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year.


Spring Lake Day Camp



Wayne PAL
Little Footsteps






Wayne Hills 8th Annual Student Culinary Competition

culinary Wednesday, May 11th, Doors Open at 5:30 p.m. in the Wayne Hills large gym

Come out and taste all 18 courses and vote for your favorite! Themes are: Dubai cuisine, Wizard of Oz, Taste of Asia, Camping, It's a Small World, and Boardwalk.

Admission is $7 with proceeds going towards the Wayne Hills Scholarship for Consumer Sciences.


Robotics--Mega-Con II presented by Wayne Public Library

robotics Friday, May 13th 6:30 -8:30 p.m. at the Wayne Public Library, 461 Valley Road

The Wayne Township Public Schools Patriots Robotics Team will be on hand to show off some of their winning robots. Also in attendance: Stevens Institute of Technology, Lego Mindstorms, Game Stop and Gotham Underground.

Admission is Free! Register online to save your spot at www.waynepubliclibrary.org.


More -->>


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