50 THE QUEENS COURIER • KIDS & EDUCATION • OCTOBER 25, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
school spotlight COMPILED BY BOB HARRIS AND JOSH TOWNER
Van Buren student loves her adventures
When Syeda Rayal Alam moved from
Arizona to Queens she entered Martin
Van Buren High School. Since she had
high grades, a minimum average of 85
in all classes, and the desire to do community
service, she joined the Scholars
and Arista organization supervised by
English teacher Pamela Fried. Th e volunteer
work she does has opened up
many adventures to her. She tutors
MVB students who need help, tutors
and mentors children at P.S. 18 aft er
school, works with Junior Achievements
to prepare lessons in Economics and
community services and then spends a
day teaching these lessons to classes at
P.S. 33.
Alam has joined the student government
at MVB where she is a member of
the school Consultative Council which
meets with Principal Sam Sochet to discuss
school matters of importance to
the students on a regular basis. During
the summer, she volunteered with New
York Cares to deliver food to the needy,
visited day care centers where she played
games with the children and visited
with seniors to socialize with them and
keep them company. She is planning on
entering the medical fi eld to fi nd even
more adventures. Science teacher extraordinaire
Last summer, Carol Wang, who is a science
teacher and program chairperson at
Martin Van Buren High School, took part
in the Science Research Pathways Program
with about 16 other science teachers.
Th e program is designed to give science
research teachers the tools to reinvigorate
science research in the high schools.
She was trained to set up a Research Club
which will each students to interpret science
literature and be part of a research
course that culminates in the students
being involved in the NYC Science and
Research Fair and Research Symposium.
Meeting the Mets
Th e 2018-19 school year only just
started, but the Martin Van Buren
High School Student Organization
as already had its fi rst senior activity.
In a rush to give the graduating
seniors a full and memorable
senior year, Coordinator of Student
Aff airs, Mr. Brian Greenspan, eligible
seniors attended a Mets game. Th e
photo shows some of the students with
t-shirts, as it was t-shirt day.
Raising money for breast cancer research
Shown raising money for breast cancer
research are several students in the
Scholars and Arista Lounge at Martin
Van Buren High School, Queens Village.
Th e Scholars and Arista program is
advised by English teacher Pamela Fried.
Th e students perform volunteer activities
by raising money for charities and
tutor students in their own school and
at nearby elementary schools. Th is bake
sale raised $320, which will be donated
at the Oct. 21 Breast Cancer Walk in
Flushing Meadows Park. Th e students
are also selling tee shirts to raise money.
A science whiz at Van Buren
Science Research Advisor Carol Wang
at Martin Van Buren High School has
one word to say about junior Syed Yaheya
Ismail: “incredible.” Th en she adds two
more words: “good teamwork.” Th is
student lives in Bellerose and is in the
Engineering Program at MVB. As a sophomore,
he took Advanced Placement college
level classes in World HIstory and
Chemistry. Th is term he is taking fi ve AP
classes. He is also on the track team.
As part of his volunteer work for the
Scholars and Arista, Ismail has done
PSAT tutoring for his peers, goes to P.S.
18 on Th ursday aft ernoons to mentor
and tutor the students, worked with the
Junior Achievements program to prepare
Economics and Government lessons
which he and other MVB volunteers
taught to classes at P.S. 33 and volunteers at
the Parker Jewish Institute where he helps
move the patients and socializes with them.
He graduated from a Quran class program
at the Hillside Islamic Center with an
award for his volunteer work in setting up
the facility for the fi ve daily prayers.
A super sophomore
Emily Diana is a sophomore at
Martin Van Buren High School. Who
lives in Floral Park and is the freshman
sophomore President of the Student
Organization. She works hard to provide
activities for the students, helps COSA
Mr. Brian Greenspan in the offi ce, volunteers
at activities such as the Auction
Carnival and the Queens High School
Fair. She was the SO Representative for
the freshman class last year.
Diana is in the Law and Humanities
Program at MVB and is taking Advanced
Placement chemistry this year. She has
volunteered at a local hospital and at
Our Lady of Snows Church, where she
helped run errands and distributed and
fi led paperwork similar to what she does
in the SO offi ce. Her mother, Anita, is a
member of the school PTA and is on the
School Leadership Team which consists
of parents, teachers and students who
meet monthly to evaluate the programs
in the school and decide on any changes
that are needed.
All about serving the public
Kristoff Philpotts is a senior in the
Math, Science Research and Technology
High School in the Campus Complex,
Cambria Heights. He is involved in many
volunteer activities which included helping
Ms. Mendz with her classroom in the
ninth grade, helping Mr. Mozolli with
his paperwork in the tenth grade, helped
Mr. Ota set up his bulletin boards last
year, helped the school set up the recent
College Fair and is in Ms. Whitehall’s
Peer Leader class, which does volunteer
work around the school and mentors
freshman.
In middle school, Philpotts brought in
food for the needy and helped build the
roof on his church. He is in the Japanese
Club, is on the MAST HS Honor Roll, took
Advanced Placement U.S. History and is
now taking AP Computer Science and
AP Biology. He plans to attend Nassau
Community College for two years and
then transfer to the University of Buff alo
to study Engineering and Technology.