By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
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| COURTESY PHOTO | Bryn-Alan Prestige Portraits Senior Alexandra Poitier, recipient of a Chaminade-Madonna Alumni Hall of Fame Student Service Award, poses with principal Gloria Ramos after the presentation. |
Among nationally recognized high school students, senior Alexandra Poitier was honored as a Scholar by the National Achievement Scholarship Program for her outstanding success on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT).
Junior Gregory John Vitale received the prestigious Rensselaer Award, given to an outstanding student in math and science at the end of the junior year. A minimum $60,000 scholarship is awarded to this student to pursue university studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Several Chaminade-Madonna seniors received college sponsored Book Awards for leadership, service, and scholarship. Book Awards are honors given to high school students who excel not only in English and literature but also have a natural gift and thirst for reading. St. Michael�s College awarded Vijay Bajnath and Katherine Silva with Book Awards for scholarship and service. Barry University awarded its Alumni Association Book Award to Jessica Ryckman. Fairfield University presented its Book Award to Marisel Gamez.
Honors were also presented to students who maintained outstanding grade point averages during the first quarter of the 2009-2010 school year. Forty students achieved principal�s honors, maintaining a 4.0 average, 154 students achieved first honors, maintaining at least a 3.7 average, and 18 students achieved second honors, maintaining at least a 3.5 average. Overall, 212 Chaminade-Madonna students � just over 30 percent of the student body � achieved second, first or principal�s honors, which means they maintained grade point averages of 3.5 or higher.
Two days earlier, at its annual Alumni Hall of Fame Mass, induction ceremony and dinner, Chaminade-Madonna honored Mark Smith, former assistant police chief for the city of Hollywood, for his exemplary commitment to his faith, dedication to serving others, and his continued involvement with the high school.
Smith, class of �76, was one of four alumni from Chaminade High School, Madonna Academy, or Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory who received the award this year. The other inductees were Bill Hein (�73), lieutenant of the Juvenile Assessment Center for the Miami-Dade Police Department; Victoria Spadafora (�84), faculty member at Msgr. Edward Pace High School in Miami Gardens; and Julie Smith Lietaert (�75), nurse manager of cardiac surgery at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.
Two Chaminade-Madonna faculty members also received appreciation awards for their continuous dedicated support to students, families, and alumni: James Harrington, director of guidance, and Kristi Tucker-Herrero, director of the school�s Learning Center.
Chaminade-Madonna established the Alumni Hall of Fame Award in 1991, to acknowledge alumni who have excelled in their personal and professional lives by personifying the motto of the school, �Toward a Better World.� Since its inception, 91 men and women have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, with representatives ranging from military veterans, government officials, and prominent business men and women, to educators, athletes, and members of the religious community.
Several junior and senior students who have demonstrated commitment in volunteering their time to the south Florida community also were recognized at the ceremony. These young men and women have contributed in excess of 200 hours each to community service projects such as the Special Olympics, Project Stable, Cooperative Feeding of Broward County, Pax Christi Global Poverty Banquet, Mt. Sinai Medical Center, Memorial Regional Hospital, Landmark Funeral Home, and the Hollywood Beach Safety Unit.
Chaminade-Madonna is one of 16 schools in the United States sponsored by the Marianist Province of the United States. The 2009-2010 school year marks Chaminade-Madonna�s 50th Anniversary Jubilee. For more information, go to www.CMLions.org.
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| COURTESY PHOTO | Bryn-Alan Prestige Portraits Recipients of Chaminade-Madonna's Alumni Hall of Fame Student Service Award pose with their certificates. Back row, left to right: Cavan Koebel, Jacquelyn Matamoros, Alexandra Panciera Rieth, Alexandra Poitier, Steven Betzing. Front row, left to right: Chad Hazen, Michael Serra-Jovenich, Aaron Van Scyoc. Not Pictured: Blake Wilkins, Kelvin Fenelon. |
