Middletown Greatness on Display at BOE Meeting

The true flavor of the Middletown school district was on display at the May 9 Board of Education meeting when a variety of programs, activities and events were celebrated.

Middletown hosted the Orange County Special Olympics on April 13 at Presidential Park, and on Thursday, all of the volunteers, coaches and athletes were recognized.

Senior Lily Lerouge was named the Elks Student of the Month for May. Lily is the Salutatorian of the Class of 2024 and will be attending SUNY Binghamton with a major in Biology and a Pre-Med track. She plays the flute in the MHS wind ensemble, and is a member of the flag football team.

Monhagen’s Donovan Williams was recognized for his third-place finish in the Elks Hoop Shoot basketball competition in Syracuse, and is believed to be the first Middletown student to do this well in 40 years of the competition. Donovan won events in Middletown, Liberty and then Long Island, which qualified him for the state competition.

Our music program was recognized for receiving the national designation of “Best Communities for Music Education” for the 10th straight year. Four scholars performed:

Fourth-grader Zihuan Lou (cello) was first chair in Elementary All County Orchestra. Sixth-grader Alexander Torres (violin) was in the first section at Elementary All County Orchestra. Junior Zacchary Pierre (viola) was an All State Orchestra Alternate. Junior Vincenzia Elia (clarinet) participated in the All-State Band in Rochester.

Monhagen’s Odyssey of the Mind team was honored for winning a New York State championship in Syracuse for the second straight year. The team is headed to the World Finals on May 21-24 in Ames, Iowa. The team members are: Heather Checo, Kamila Chilito, Julia Grogan, Avarie Jones, Alexa Ocasio, Jailene Rivera and Claire Smith.

The Middletown High School Odyssey teams were also acknowledged. The first team was Eduardo Galicia, Jae Richardson, Francis Rivera, Kevin Rodas, Matthew Ruiz, Zalaya Williams. The second team was Ryan Alindogan, Addison Burger, Norah Cardinal, Olivia Connell, Rachel Dong, Jailynn Harmon, Ella Wardell.

Middletown’s seven representatives in the Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute shared their experiences and were recognized: Norma Avila, Kelly Caguana, Erika Jerez Rojas, Jennifer Lozano Gualan, Camila Payano Fuertes, Nayeli Salazar Erazo and Keiry Santiago Rodriguez.

There were presentations by Middletown High School scholars who will be earning the “Seal of Civic Readiness” and “Seal of Biliteracy.”

MHS scholars who recently participated in the Historic Hillside Cemetery tour in Middletown were honored, after they portrayed historic Middletown people buried there. Actor participants included: Spencer Bailey, Alyssa Brady, Morgan Cardinal, Arthur Dawe, Giannamaria Dawe, Lacey Dwyer, Benjamin Grazier, Wyatt Grazier, Aaron Melamed, Killian Mullins, Zacchary Pierre, and Oliver Spence. There were also several members of the NJROTC who helped with the event: Elijah Aponte, Marcello Citriniti, Magali Delarosa Cuenca, Antony Gonzalez Serrano, Juan Gonzalez Serrano, Imalia Gross, Xavier Hall, Deandre Olive, and Edwin Ramirez.

Five members of our Board of Education were acknowledged for receiving recognition by the New York State School Boards Association for professional development. President John Williams received the Level 4 Lifetime Achievement Award. Vice President Freddie Williams, along with BOE members Curtis Rhett, Denise Romero and Mitchell Williams, earned Level 1 School Board Achievement awards.