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BRICK STUDENTS WIN NATIONAL ACADEMIC HONORS
By Catherine Snipe
Brick township schools have several nationally winning students among its enrollment. Two awards were announced recently, with a handful of Brick students earning national honors.
In one, Caj Masters, a senior at Brick Township High School, became a recipient of the 2006 National Council of Teachers of English Achievement Awards in Writing. He is one of 2,080 students to receive the award nationally, according to the district. He was nominated for this award in Fall 2005.
After his nomination, Masters submitted two written compositions to the council. He had to also hand in a writing sample - prose or poetry - that he considered his best writing.
Finally, Masters had to exhibit he could write well on deadline. This portion of the application had Masters timed, writing on an impromptu theme. Nearby, a teacher supervised.
His submissions, such as the
story "Pig in a Cage" and the essay "Senioritis," were commended by the national judges. According to the school district, Masters was described as "among the best student writers in the country."
The national council also extended its congratulations to the
Brick Township High School English
Department, commending its "program to encourage writing and produce superior student writers."
The second set of awards is from the National Merit Scholarship Program. Three Brick students were named 2007 National Merit Scholarship winners.
Zachary Haluza of Brick Township High School, and Samantha Griggs and Scott Stoppiello of Brick Memorial High School, are the district honorees. All three of the recipients are seniors.
Principal Dennis Flippone of BTHS and Principal Robert Anderson of BMHS announced the winners.
The award is an academic one, and each recipient gets a Letter of Commendation from the schools and National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which conducts the program.
About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise and received a National Merit Scholarship, according to NMS. The qualifications include placing among the top five percent of the entrants. This year, more the 1.4 million students entered the 2007 competition by taking the 2005 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
The not-for-profit organization conducts two academic competitions for recognition and undergraduate scholarships, with the National Merit Scholarship Program being the larger and older competition which was initiated in 1955 when NMSC was established.
To become a finalist, a semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student's earlier qualifying test performance. Each semifinalist has a school official working with them to submit a detailed scholarship application. The entrant also writes a selfdescriptive essay and includes a resume about their participation and leadership in school and community activities.
The program announced to the schools in a letter: "Recognition of academically talented students and the key role played by schools in their development is essential to the pursuit of educational excellence in our nation."
Also, the Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding academic potential by their strong performance in this highly competitive program, the letter stated. "We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and that they will continue to pursue scholastic excellence."
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