38 THE QUEENS COURIER • KIDS & EDUCATION • MARCH 30, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM kids & education School Spotlight Compiled by Bob Harris and Robert Pozarycki Art club brightens up Hillcrest High The Hillcrest High School Art Club works on various Van Buren seniors take their trip upstate Seniors at Martin Van Buren Ellenville. Th e trip was one of High School in Queens Village several rites of passage for the enjoyed their senior class trip seniors as they wrap up their to Honors Haven in upstate four years at Van Buren and prepare for college or the workforce. Th e trip was arranged by Brian Greenspan, coordinator of student aff airs. projects throughout the school year, some of which involve team work. It’s led by senior Devyn Harrison, who wants to leave her mark on the school by promoting artistic progression through competition with other schools. To make students more aware of the club’s activities, they’ve hung up posters around the school and club members have been leaving their signatures on the doors and murals on campus which they have painted. Hillcrest student attends the inauguration Ryan Montillal’s experience as a National Youth Scholar led him to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 20, where he got to attend the presidential inauguration. This Van Buren senior excels in volunteering Jalen Gonzales of Jamaica, a senior at Martin Van Buren High School, volunteers with a group called Senior Mentors, helping freshmen boys stay focused on their everyday academics. He also frequents the Student Opportunities for Achievement and Readiness (SOAR) offi ce in Van Buren High to tutor students who have academic needs. Th e program is operated by the Central Queens Y. Even on weekends, Gonzales is happy to spend his free time helping others; he volunteers every other Sunday as a nurse assistant at a health care ministry. Gonzales graduates this June and plans on attending Nassau Community College en route to a degree in health administration. Van Buren scholars are involved in the community Shown are four members of the Martin Van Buren High School Scholars program: (from left to right) Ruth Stessen, Dezinger Moore, Anite Jiji Manikkathe and Sidney Oscar. Th e Scholars tutor students at P.S. 18 and also provide teaching at P.S. 33 through the Junior Achievement Program. English teacher Pamela Fried serves as the Scholars advisor; in all, 20 boys and girls participate in the activity, which takes place on one hour each Th ursday. He joined the program aft er being advised by his science teacher William Aghassi. Montillal was accepted to work with a company, Envision at Georgia Tech. His instructors at Georgia Tech subsequently invited Montillal and his family to attend the Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C., as well as a Presidential Inaugural Leadership Summit, which included workshops featuring, among others, retired General Colin Powell and fi lmmaker Spike Lee.
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