The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Byram Hills High School

BHHS Student Scientists Receive Several Prestigious Awards In First Quarter of 2018

by

Byram Hills High School (BHHS) students participating in the Dr. Robert Pavlica Authentic Science Research Program have received a record number of awards in the first quarter of 2018. Five–the most from any single Westchester County high school–were selected as scholars in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, one of the most prestigious pre-college science and math awards for high school seniors and was previously known as the Intel Science Talent Search. In addition, four BHHS students were recently selected as national finalists in the Neuroscience Research Prize awarded by the American Academy of Neuroscientists (AAN) Research Prize for high school students. One student was named a top finalist for the prize.

Regeneron Award Recipients

From the select pool of Regeneron scholars, 40 finalists will be invited to Washington, D.C. this month to participate in final judging, display their work to the public, meet with notable scientists and compete for the top award of $250,000. The five Regeneron Scholars are Alexis Aberman, Alexandra Brocato, Stella Li, Jeremy Ma and Kylie Roslin.

The goal of the Regeneron competition is to recognize the best and brightest young scientists for demonstrating exceptional scientific leadership potential. It is the result of years of study, research and dedication by the students, along with encouragement and direction from the Byram Hills School District and the Dr. Robert Pavlica Authentic Science Research Program, directed by Stephanie Greenwald.

Byram Hills Regeneron Finalists (L-R, top row): Stella Li, Jeremy Ma, Alexandra Brocato. (L-R, bottom row): Alexis Aberman, Kylie Rosl

AAN Finalists

The American Academy of Neuroscientists is the largest organization of neurologists in the country and each year the group awards 15 high school students who have completed extraordinary work exploring the world of the brain and nervous system through laboratory research. The AAN finalists from BHHS were Stella Li, Jeremy Ma, Alexandra Remnitz and Kylie Roslin. Remnitz was selected as a top national finalist and has been invited to present her project on the marine fish, Sailfin Molly, at the 70th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Los Angeles, CA in April.

Her project determined that this hardy species did not alter their typical behavior due to increasing ocean acidification, unlike most fish. This is a novel finding demonstrating the robustness of this specific species. Remnitz is a certified scuba diver and her love of marine life and her concern for the future of our oceans was the inspiration for her study.

AAN Finalists (L-R): Kylie Roslin, Stella Li, Alexandra Remnitz and Jeremy Ma

Byrams Hills Student Chosen as Siemens Semi-Finalist

by

Ali at the Rubin Laboratory at Harvard University

While many high school students spent the summer working typical seasonal jobs as lifeguards or camp counselors, Byram Hills High School senior Alexandra Brocato spent hers researching Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) at the Rubin Laboratory in Harvard University’s Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology. Ali, as she is referred to at school, studied SMA, a leading genetic cause of infant mortality.

And her time in the lab paid off when she was named a Semi-Finalist in the prestigious National Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology for her extensive multi-year research project last month. She is part of the Dr. Robert Pavlica Authentic Science Research Program at the high school and was one of only eight high school students in Westchester County to be honored in the competition. Ali joined the Byram Hills science research program when she was a sophomore. The program now has 84 students with 31 seniors participating under the directorship of Mrs. Stephanie Greenwald.

SMA is a hereditary condition that causes spinal nerve cells to die. Symptoms may include diminished muscle tone, muscle weakness, respiratory problems, pneumonia, and swallowing and feeding difficulties. Ali’s research focused on identifying significant symptoms of the disease, in order to create a disease trajectory. By understanding the disease’s progression, doctors can introduce drug therapies at an earlier stage to prevent the disease from taking over a child’s body.

Ali with Mrs. Stephanie Greenwald, director of the Dr. Robert Pavlica Authentic Science Research Program at Byram Hills High School
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BARBARA NACKMAN, BOCES

Ali, originally was studying another neurogenerative disease, multiple sclerosis (MS) with a mentor at the New York Stem Cell Foundation but when the mentor was unable to offer her a summer position in the lab due to her status as a minor, Ali was undeterred. She contacted more than 50 professors to see if she could pursue research at a university level and eventually was permitted to at the Rubin Lab at Harvard University as the only high school student. The researchers at the lab were studying SMA.

Her first task at the Rubin Lab was learning R, a statistical programming software. She analyzed over 600,000 fields of data to understand the prevalence of SMA’s symptoms and create a timeline of the disease’s trajectory. Much of the research focus on SMA has examined the molecular side of the disease rather than how the disease progresses. Ali’s research will be helpful in the drug development process because it will hopefully allow doctors to intervene earlier before an individual’s symptoms actually worsen.

Next up, Ali will present her research at a stem cell conference and plans on submitting her project to the Regeneron Science Talent Search in mid-November. In terms of career aspirations Ali is considering studying computational biology or bioengineering in college. “I saw firsthand the power of programming and science research and the impact this can have in saving lives. This is what motivates me and excites me more than anything–using technology to combat disease and prolong and improve an individual’s quality of life,” she explained.

A true Renaissance woman, Ali plays competitive club soccer and Varisty soccer and competed in the World Maccabiah Games in Israel, where her team won a Gold Medal. She is also the co-editor-in-chief of The Oracle, the Byram Hills school newspaper.

VOX Summit Shows Byram Hills Freshmen Ways to Help People Far and Near

by

The freshmen at Byram Hills High School were treated recently to a wealth of information on ways to help people in countries around the world, and also close to home. At the school’s first VOX Summit, 10 service organizations made presentations to the 200 first-year high school students on projects that provide for children’s badly needed heart operations in developing nations, educate at-risk girls in Kenya and help immigrants build new lives here in Westchester, among other missions.

Students watch slides of children helped by Heart Care International, which provides free surgical and medical care for children with heart disease in developing countries.

“My eyes are open,” freshman Cole Picca said near the end of the BHHS VOX summit. “I learned a lot.”

Organized by Melissa Stahl, chairperson of the World Languages Department, the summit was a key event in the District’s initiative to build students’ “global competency.” Stahl was joined by social studies teacher Ruben Torres, who enlisted his Student Leadership Board members to help with the event.

“The summit is intended to give students an idea of how they can use their voices to help other people,” Stahl said.

The event began with a keynote speech by Justin Buttar, founder of the British Columbia-based group Running for Hearts.

He told the students of his transformation from “a sheltered kid in White Rock, Canada” to the head of an organization that raises money through running events to fund care for children with heart defects in developing countries.

Starting Running for Hearts, he told them, “was my toughest project, but also my proudest achievement.” In breakout sessions, presenters told the students that the efforts make a difference, and can bring about change throughout a whole society. Ruthie Rosenberg of KEEP–the Katonah Education Exchange Program–described a boarding school in Kenya that protects and educates girls at risk of violence and other troubles. The school, the Kakenya Center for Excellence, is changing the way people see their community, she said.

“Really, they’re changing the thinking of the whole culture, and that’s not easy to do,” she said. The summit’s organizers plan to make it an annual event, ideally with students taking over more of the leadership in the future. Students said they came away from the presentations with ideas on how to help.

Materials brought by KEEP, the Katonah Education Exchange Program, supporting the Kakenya Center for Excellence, a boarding school that educates and protects at-risk girls in Kenya.

Cole said he was affected by a presentation by Bridges to Community. In the session, he heard from peers who took a service trip to Nicaragua, and who talked about how much they had learned from the people who lived there.

The residents of Nicaragua, he said, “got to teach you what their culture is about. I had never thought about it that way, so it was really eye opening for me.”

Student Taleen Postian said a key benefit of the day was in raising awareness about the ways that people can aid others.

“Now that you know that there’s some way to help, if you can’t start your own project, you can always help someone to help someone else–you can always help another organization.”

Another freshman, Jake Wild, said he was thinking of ways of using his talents –he plays guitar and sings– to help others.

“I’m happy that our school is getting into thinking about this more,” he said. Principal Chris Walsh said the event was a success.

“This fits squarely into the general direction that we are going to go in as a district and a school,” he said. “We are going to continue to find positive ways to improve our global competency.”

The organizations that took part were:

Abilis
http://www.abilis.us/

Bridges to Community
https://bridgestocommunity.org/

The Cookstove Project
http://www.cookstoveproject.org/

KEEP Girls in School
http://keepgirlsinschool.org/

My Brother’s Keeper
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/my-brothers-keeper

Neighbor’s Link
http://www.neighborslink.org/

Ronald McDonald House
https://www.rmhc.org/

Running for Hearts
https://www.runforhearts.com/

SHARE the Project
https://sharetheproject.org/

Byram Hills HS Students Learn a Valuable Lesson Amid Bridge Project Date

by

Aerial view of the new bridge’s westbound span stay cables

Eleventh and 12th grade physics classes at Byram Hills High School got a peek into the state’s largest infrastructure project when the New NY Bridge educational outreach team came to their school this academic year. “We asked them to focus on the engineering aspects of it although some science students were there,” BHHS teacher Paul Beeken said.

The presentation included the politics of getting a megaproject started. “One fascinating concept for us (students) was how to get a project like this in place,” Beeken said.

This year one of BHHS’s classes built a truss build from balsa wood and was challenged to see how much it can carry versus the weight of the bridge itself. “With this in mind, they have an understanding it’s a tradeoff: cost of materials and how heavy is the bridge versus how much can it carry,” he said.

Outreach educator Dan Marcy addressing students at Byram Hills High School

Beeken requested the presentation focus on engineering and the stress factors: what goes into building the roadway, the technologies needed to lift roadway and how the super crane was able to lift the weights it did as he’d finished a unit on forces including weights and pulleys.

When the kids asked Marcy where he got his degree, he told them he’s not an engineer and explained his background. “That was very valuable,” Beeken said, “because the kids could see someone who wasn’t an engineer but who was still very articulate about all the different facets of the project.”

Engineering is only one part of the project, he noted. “While maybe one-tenth of the class will become engineers, it’s important to have a basic literacy to more easily navigate the subject.”

Precast concrete panels atop structural steel girders

Months after the new bridge’s eight iconic towers were completed (in December) the super crane resumed setting structural steel on the eastbound span utilizing a different process. Assemblies lifted from the northern side of the westbound were moved to a floating barge between the two new spans and then fitted across the eastbound span’s concrete piers.

Anti-climb tensile mesh fencing will line both sides of both spans and the walking/bicycle path; steel mesh safety netting will be below each of the six belvederes. Earlier this year, an aesthetic LED (light emitting diodes) hour-long system test set more than 20 piers on the westbound Rockland awash in bright colors.

Crews anchoring a stay cable to the roadway

When fully installed, the 2,700 color lights and 500 white lights from Philips Lighting, the same company that brightens Madison Square Garden, will also illuminate the eight iconic towers and stay cables. With a predicted 100,000-hour lifespan (three times that of conventional lamps), the lights will use roughly 75 percent less energy.

As of a mid-April, date, all 96 stay cables–ranging from 190 to 623 feet long–for the westbound span and one-third (32) for the eastbound span are attached to their respective towers and tensioned to structural steel. More than 120 girder assemblies have been installed on both spans. Ongoing work includes installing concrete noise barrier panels along the northbound Thruway in South Nyack this week and installing transparent acrylite noise barriers on the Rockland approach on the soon-to-open westbound span and installing overhead gantries with electronic signage about lane use, exits and other helpful information.

Bucket trucks used to install LED system

“Before the (Tappan Zee) bridge was built there was nothing there, so no one had any expectations about what a bridge would do,” Beeken said. “Now (building a bridge today) is 10 times more difficult because people need that bridge and depend upon it. You want to build a new one, so the logistics of being able to build a new bridge without ever shutting down the old one presents challenges.”

Two-way traffic will temporarily switch to the new westbound span’s eight lanes by spring/summer. Crews will then dismantle the current bridge so the eastbound span can be completed and attached to the Westchester and Rockland landings.

The full bridge and its walking/bicycle path is expected to open in 2018.

PHOTOS CREDIT NYSTA

Seven Byram Hills Senior Athletes Sign with Colleges on National Signing Day!

by

(L-R): Emma Fruhling, Matt Groll, Ally Steffen, Jack Beer, Steven Max, Sylvie Binder, David Noel

Applauded by friends, family and the school community, seven Byram Hills High School students signed up to play on sports teams at colleges including Georgetown and Columbia universities in the National Signing Day celebration.

The annual day in early February marks a celebratory inking of letters of intent to accept athletic scholarships and other offers to play on teams at colleges across the country. The Byram Hills students agreed to join sports programs in soccer, basketball, fencing, crew and golf.

“Today we recognize seven amazing athletes representing five different sports,” high school Coach Matt Allen told the 200 supporters filling a section of the bleachers for the ceremony in the school’s upper gymnasium. “They are each well-rounded, intelligent and hard-working young men and women who will undoubtedly represent Byram Hills to the greatest of their abilities.”

 

The scholar athletes and the schools they will attend are:

Jack Beer, soccer – Georgetown University, Hoyas

Sylvie Binder, fencing – Columbia University

Emma Fruhling, soccer – Ithaca College, Bombers

Matt Groll, basketball – Franklin & Marshall College, Diplomats

Steven Max, crew – University of California, Berkeley

David Noel, soccer – Eastern Connecticut State University, Warriors

Ally Steffen, golf – University of Richmond, Spiders

One by one, the athletes were called to a dais decked in Byram Hills Bobcats colors of red and blue, where they signed their symbolic letters. Rob Castanga, the district Athletic Director, thanked the friends and family members for attending, and for supporting the athletes.

“It does take a family,” he said. “There are a lot of people involved in helping these dreams come true.”