Suffern High School experienced its usual bustle of activity this past week. On Thursday, the school hosted the rest of the county for the annual Rockland County Academic League Invitational.
Teams representing each of Rockland’s public high schools competed in four, 20-minute rounds of competition, with four members from each team competing to correctly answer questions in each of six categories: English, social studies, pop culture, science, foreign language, and math.
The questions were rapid-fire and posed to finalists in the annual Rockland County Academic League Invitational at Suffern High School on March 7.
Teams representing each of Rockland’s public high schools competed in four, 20-minute rounds of competition. Four members from each team competed to correctly answer questions in each of six categories: English, social studies, pop culture, science, foreign language and math.
Suffern High School eventually bowed out in the semi-finals to Tappan Zee, the eventual winner of the championship title.
“It was a tough match against TZ, but our kids made a strong effort,” said Suffern High School Academic League advisor and science teacher Colleen Stritmater, who noted that the League gives students a sense of team competition off the field of sport.
The Rockland County Academic League was started over 30 years ago by Dave Silver, a retired Suffern High School teacher, as an extracurricular activity for academically talented students. The annual tournament is the culmination of a nine-week series of school-to-school academic competitions. Standings generated from the results of each competition are used to seed teams for the Invitational.
Running Into the Record Books
The Suffern High School girls dynamic running relay quartet of seniors Sarah Adler and Soraya Theard, sophomore Imani Solan, and eighth grade sensation Kamryn Mcintosh earned all-American honors Sunday at the New Balance Indoor Nationals at the Amory in NY. The girls once again ran into the record books. Sports writer Brian Heyman of the The Journal News reported that the girls finished third in the 1,600 sprint medley relay Saturday and fourth in the Section 1 1,600-meter relay, running a record 3:49.08. Both feats earned the girls all-America honors.
The girls broke their own school record, including the Rockland County and Section 1 record of 3 minutes, 50.41 seconds – lowering it to 3:49.08.
SMS’s Kamryn Mcintosh posted Suffern’s fastest split at 55.7, and looks to be a powerhouse in the making.
“I’m so happy,” Imani Solan said. “It was a great way to end our indoor season, the perfect ending to a great season.”
Zhan Wins American Legion Oratorical Scholarship
On the academic front, Amy Zhan represented Suffern statewide as just one of five high school students who competed in this year’s New York American Legion High School Oratorical Scholarship Program held in Albany. Zhan had aced prior local competitions to represent Zone I, which includes the Bronx and New York, Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, Putnam, and Westchester counties.
Although she failed to place in the top three at states, Zhan won $2,000 in scholarship money — and will need every cent as she is headed to Harvard University in the fall.
For the state competition, Zhan presented an eight- to 10-minute speech on the First Amendment of the Constitution, women’s rights and immigration, as well as shorter speeches on each of four other parts of the Constitution. Students were judged on form and content rigor and mastery. Zhan credits Suffern High School social studies and English teacher Dr. Robert Wilson for much of her success.
“I learned a lot from Dr. Wilson through Forensic League and class,” Zhan noted. “In AP Language and Composition, we went over a lot of Supreme Court cases and debated a lot of issues. I really like the analytical thinking.”
Wilson said his course is not typical of other English classes.
“The emphasis is on argument and persuasive writing,” he said. “I don’t know of any other AP Language and Composition teacher in the country who is teaching Supreme Court cases, but this material allows students to think deeply about the most interesting and important issues facing our society.”
A Rumble Later This Week
The Shark and Jets will sing and dance starting this Thursday, March 14, as the high school production of West Side Story hits the stage. The retold tale of Romeo and Juliet seen through the lens of 1950s urban America should be a fun time. The show runs through Saturday, March 16. You can find all the information you need to know right here.
Suffern High School Academic League Invitational and Amy Zhan photos and information courtesy of Ramapo Central Schools.
Photo of Suffern High School girls relay team of Sarah Adler, Soraya Theard, Imani Solan, and Kamryn Mcintosh special courtesy of Skip Pearlman and The Journal News.
