Every month during the school year, the York County School Division recognizes seniors from each of the school division’s four high schools for their exceptional achievements in academics and community involvement to receive the Senior of the Month Award.
The York County School Board will recognize the four seniors in the school division for their outstanding contributions to their community and their schools at its meeting Jan. 26.
The YCSD Seniors of the Month for January are:
Shai-Quana Branch of Bruton High School
Branch has stood out for her artistic achievements at Bruton, contributing as a student in the YCSD School of the Arts dance program for four years. During that time, she has also excelled academically, maintaining a 4.50 GPA, receiving academic high honors each year, and gaining admission to Bruton’s chapter of the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society.
She has also established herself as a leader at Bruton, serving as president of the Spanish Honor Society and vice president of the Health Occupations Student Association. In 2014, she received the William & Mary Leadership.
Kristyn Gatling of Tabb High School
Gatling has taken on several leadership roles during her time at Tabb, including serving as student body president this year, two terms as president of her class, and captaining the Tabb debate and forensics teams.
She has also shined academically, maintaining a 4.76 GPA and achieving the top ranking for her class. Gatling was selected to attend Governor’s School, was named an AP Scholar with Distinction and is a member of four national honor societies.
Gatling also has a talent for music, singing in Tabb’s female musical ensemble and being selected to the all-district chorus.
Helen Landers of Grafton High School
Landers has distinguished herself as a musician at Grafton. She leads the award-winning Grafton Marching Band as a drum major, while also shining as a multi-instrumentalist. She is first chair flutist in the Grafton Wind Ensemble, plays saxophone in the jazz ensemble and bassoon in the symphonic band. She received all-district band recognition in 2013 and 2014, and was selected to play in honor bands at Virginia Tech and Christopher Newport University. She also performs in the community, playing in the Fifes & Drums of Yorktown.
Landers has also stood out as an athlete at Grafton, playing on the school’s junior varsity club lacrosse team and serving as captain as a junior.
David Mollenkamp of York High School
Mollenkamp has had academic success as a student at York, receiving the American Legion Scholastic Achievement Medal. His achievements have earned him selection to Virginia Boys State and the Latin Honor Society.
He has also been a leader in extracurricular activities, participating in York’s Model United Nations and National Junior Reserve Officer Training Corporation.
Mollenkamp has also shined as an athlete at York, playing on the school’s golf and indoor track and field teams, and serving as co-captain of the tennis team.
York County School Division Names 2015 Science Fair Winners
More than 300 York County students participated in the school division’s Science Fair last week. The theme of the 2015 event was “Dare to Dream,” with 232 projects going before panels of guest judges from local colleges, universities and businesses. First, second and third place winners are invited to apply to the regional Tidewater Science Fair, which will be held at Old Dominion University March 14.
The full list of winners is available below:
First Place Winners
Junior Behavioral Science: Anna Boyarinova and Todd White YMS
Junior Biochemistry: Gabriel Murphy, Jerry Sun, and Owen Shiflett TMS
Junior Chemistry: Emily Lyon TMS
Junior Computer Science: Addison Borchelt and Matthew Umplet TMS
Junior Engineering-Electrical and Mechanical: Kaitlin Horton TMS
Junior Engineering-Materials and Bioengineering: Yenna Chu GMS
Junior Energy and Transportation: Abby Barfoot GMS
Junior Environmental Science: MacKenzie Keller QLMS
Junior Mathematics: Sabian Beyon TMS
Junior Medicine and Health Sciences: Kase Butler YMS
Junior Microbiology: Shannon Gaffney YMS
Junior Physics and Astronomy: Everest Litchford GMS
Junior Plant Science: Erin Cox TMS
Senior Behavioral Science: Noora Abdel-Fattah THS
Senior Biochemistry: Michelle Shin YHS
Senior Chemistry: Grace Wilson and Camille Perry YHS
Senior Computer Science: Winnie Zhang GHS
Senior Earth and Planetary Science: Laura Tanner and Rachel Brownell YHS
Senior Engineering-Electrical and Mechanical: Victoria Britcher YHS
Senior Engineering-Materials and Bioengineering: Meredith Young THS
Senior Energy and Transportation: Karthik Kashyap YHS
Senior Environmental Science: Sarah Lewis and Brandon Hinton THS
Senior Mathematics: Emilia Ruzicka YHS
Senior Medicine and Health Robin: Bai THS
Senior Microbiology: Ronald Crump and Cole Evans GHS
Senior Physics and Astronomy: Miroslava Marinova GHS
Senior Plant Science: Camryn Young YHS
Second Place Winners
Junior Behavioral Science: Abbie Zuhlke GMS
Junior Chemistry: Brandon Kaminer TMS
Junior Computer Science: Kristin Lay YMS
Junior Engineering-Electrical and Mechanical: Preyashi Prajapati and Caleb Rivera TMS
Junior Engineering-Materials and Bioengineering: Gina Cragg YMS
Junior Energy and Transportation: Anderson Reams YMS
Junior Environmental Science: Hannah McAllister GMS
Junior Mathematics: Anya Ruzicka YMS
Junior Medicine and Health Sciences: Emma Reilly YMS
Junior Microbiology: Samual Badami YMS
Junior Physics and Astronomy: Gavin McCabe YMS
Junior Plant Science: Rose Born YMS
Senior Behavioral Science: Jonathan Mack THS
Senior Biochemistry: Mason Stoecker YHS
Senior Chemistry: Alexander Khlopenkov and Jason Knight THS
Senior Engineering-Electrical and Mechanical: Joo Lee THS
Senior Engineering-Materials and Bioengineering: Suparnamaaya Prasad YHS
Senior Energy and Transportation: John McCormick THS
Senior Environmental Science: Mara Reichle YHS
Senior Mathematics: Caitlin McNamara and Rebecca Soistmann THS
Senior Medicine and Health: Christian Tenney THS
Senior Physics and Astronomy: Cale Overstreet YHS
Senior Plant Science: Stephen Kuster YHS
Third Place Winners
Junior Behavioral Science: Leeann Rowe YMS
Junior Chemistry: William Stark YMS
Junior Engineering-Electrical and Mechanical: Andrew Balch YMS
Junior Engineering-Materials and Bioengineering: Emma Richards GMS
Junior Energy and Transportation: Andrew Liu GMS
Junior Environmental Science: Laura Gaffney YMS
Junior Medicine and Health: Gabrielle Burge QLMS
Junior Physics and Astronomy: Noah Fields YMS
Junior Plant Science: Jonathan Economou YMS
Senior Behavioral Science: Nicholas Lenfant THS
Senior Chemistry: Andrew Chung THS
Senior Engineering-Electrical and Mechanical: Bryce Bailey THS
Senior Engineering-Materials and Bioengineering: Siddhant Mehrotra THS
Senior Energy and Transportation: Ross Millner YHS
Senior Environmental Science: Claire Du THS
Senior Mathematics: Jakob Cordes YHS
Senior Medicine and Health: Binal Patel THS
Senior Physics and Astronomy: Ralph Marinaro III THS
Senior Plant Science: Kevin Babu YHS
Honorable Mention
Junior Animal Science: Hunter Teeson YMS
Junior Behavioral Science: Amy Wang and Carolina Dunn TMS
Junior Chemistry: Casey Fusco YMS
Junior Engineering-Electrical and Mechanical: Jillian Brodie TMS
Junior Energy and Transportation: Grayson Garner YMS
Junior Medicine and Health Sciences: Taylor Conner YMS
Junior Medicine and Health Sciences: Yusera Ishrat YMS
Junior Physics and Astronomy: Kahlil Campbell YMS
Junior Physics and Astronomy: Alyssa Roach and Line Kold TMS
Junior Physics and Astronomy: Jennifer Wagner YMS
Senior Animal Sciences: Salome Elizabeth Raiszadeh YHS
Senior Animal Sciences: Samantha Renshaw YHS
Senior Behavioral Sciences: Brennan Chaloux YHS
Senior Behavioral Sciences: Katelin Henry YHS
Senior Behavioral Sciences: Deanna Smith THS
Senior Biochemistry: Sophia Priestley and Lauren Boesch YHS
Senior Chemistry: Hellen Fisher and Allyson jones YHS
Senior Earth and Planetary Science: Breanne Irons and Marcelo Espinoza GHS
Senior Engineering-Electrical & Mechanical: Colin Ottofaro YHS
Senior Engineering-Materials & Bioengineering: Alexis Haskill YHS
Senior Engineering-Materials & Bioengineering: Matthew Smith YHS
Senior Energy and Transportation: Amber Verstynen THS
Senior Mathematics: Parker Massignan and Maya Patel YHS
Senior Mathematics: Dorian Nguyen YHS
Senior Medicine and Health Sciences: Kylee Hockaday YHS
Senior Medicine and Health Sciences: Brittany Lewis and Crystal McKoy THS
Senior Medicine and Health Sciences: Isabella Mock YHS
Senior Physics and Astronomy: Liam Kempton YHS
Senior Physics and Astronomy: Bryan Moon THS
Senior Physics and Astronomy: Anjali Patel YHS
Senior Plant Sciences: Steffanie David and Morgan Wood THS
Senior Plant Sciences: Alison Wells YHS
Senior Plant Sciences: Katherine Wolinski YHS
Special Awards
Grafton Animal Hospital, Animal Science Award: Salome Elizabeth Raiszadeh YHS
Grafton Animal Hospital, Animal Science Award: Hunter Teeson YMS
Rebound Chiropractic Award, 1st Place Christian Tenney THS
Rebound Chiropractic Award, 2nd Place Cody Kilbourn THS
Rebound Chiropractic Award, 3rd Place Kristen Schlitz and Kayla Schiltz YHS
Hampton Roads Academy Puts on Winter Musical
Hampton Roads Academy will put on The Phantom Tollbooth Jr. in the Svein J. Lassen Auditorium.
The show focuses on a boy named Milo and his dog, Tock, as they venture through a strange land of numbers and words, aided by the princesses Rhyme and Reason.
The show will be presented 7 p.m. Jan. 23, 24, 30 and 31. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults. Additional information can be found at HRA’s website.
