Rotary Names Students Of The Month

The Newtown Rotary Club recently recognized seven students as November’s Students of the Month. The Rotary Club evaluates candidates for this award for their citizenship, community service, resiliency, positive attitudes, and self-directed learning. They also rely on teachers’ assessments of the students’ character. The Rotary Club recognized students in every grade at Reed Intermediate School, the Newtown Middle School, two students from Newtown High School, and one student from St Rose School.

Amy McGurk , who attends Reed School, was named the fifth grade student of the month because of her “respectful and caring” manners in the classroom, and her commitment to community service. Amy recently took a vacation in Puerto Rico with her family, and visited an elementary school there. She was surprised to learn that “The [Puerto Rican] government provides children with only a building and a teacher.” She therefore donated school supplies to students who could not afford them. Rotary member Larry Gardner said Amy embodies the Rotary motto “Service before self.”

The grade six Rotary student of the month is Rebecca Vodola. According to Mr Gardner, Rebecca’s teachers consider her a “hardworking student who continuously exhibits her best quality in everything she does.” Rebecca missed the first few weeks of school due to medical problems, but impressed her teachers by quickly making up what she had missed. In one writing assignment, a classmates called Rebecca “The Hero I Admire Most,” for her resilience in the face of illness and her generosity toward her friends. Rebecca was elected as her classroom’s representative to the student council.

At Newtown Middle School, teachers Andrew Sanangelo, Bill Girard, Kathleen Dye, and Danelle Egan chose Brendan Callery as Rotary student of the month. His teachers said Brendan “is a very friendly student…and his classroom participation is wonderful.” Brendan is an honor roll student and was voted his classroom’s alternate representative to the student council. His recent community service projects include donating the proceeds of his lemonade stand to a dog shelter and participating in the Newtown Crop Walk and the Relay For Life. Additionally, he volunteers as a teacher’s aid on Mondays at St Rose School.

NMS student Mason West was also recognized by the Rotary Club. Mason is an alter server at St Rose of Lima. He assists in grandparents in a number of ways, and does yard work they are unable to do. This fall, he participated in a beautification program at NMS. His teachers Nadia Papalia, Linda Dale Mulholland, Beverly Johnsen, and Ron Chivinsky report that Mason “takes his education very seriously and … extends himself above and beyond expectations in the classroom.” They call him a leader in academic settings, an excellent problem solver, and a role model for his peers. Like Rebecca and Brendan, Mason represents his class on the student council.

The Rotary Club also named one student of the month from St Rose School. David Tortora’s teacher Carole Baniak called him an “outstanding role model not only of service, but of scholarship and humanity as well.” He is a high honor roll student and a member of Junior National Honor Society. David volunteers for an number of different organizations. He serves as a catechist aid for the CCD program at St Rose and helps with the school’s annual carnival; tutors younger children at the public library during the summer; volunteers as a bus monitor, and rakes leaves for the elderly.

Finally, Rotary club selected two Newtown High School students, Marleigh Sullivan and Kelly Lindell, as the high school’s students of the month. NHS library/media specialist Jackson Blossom, and environment science teacher Karolyn Baumgartner nominated Marleigh and Kelly as cofounders of the school’s Ecology Club and as consistent advocates for environmental awareness. Marleigh and Kelly have worked “tirelessly” to promote recycling, reusing, and reducing NHS’s waste production and carbon footprint.

The Rotary Club is proud to recognize these seven individuals as students of the month. The club congratulates each student and thanks them for their continued community service.