Raider Report July 2024
Yianna Giannoulis was nervous Saturday morning. Normally a comfortable public speaker, the Class of 2024 President anticipated the pressure of addressing hundreds of faces staring back up at her at Red Hook High School’s commencement ceremony. Standing at the podium, though, she remembered who those faces were. “These are my people. This is my home. I know it’s going to be OK,” she said afterward, in-between hugs and photos shared with her fellow graduates. “Once I started talking, it all went away. I felt the support and the comfort from everyone.” Friends, family and neighbors lifted Giannoulis up on a challenging day. While the graduation ceremony was all about honoring the 139 Raiders earning diplomas, gratitude for the support offered by the community and its role in overcoming adversity was a theme that carried throughout the day.
On the way to graduation, as several speakers noted, the Class of 2024 endured the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic midway through the eighth grade, and the isolating hurdles that came along with it. Still, they thrived, with 12 graduating with International Baccalaureate diplomas and 34 members of the National Honor Society in the class. “Sometimes the most rewarding destinations are reached through perseverance and steadfastness,” Valedictorian Ani Safaryan said in her address. “All experiences, whether positive or negative, teach you something you can use in your future.”
The June 29 ceremony on the lawn outside Linden Avenue Middle School had a feel more akin to an upscale Fourth of July block party. Surrounding the rows of red chairs set up for the graduates were seas of family and friends sitting in folding and beach chairs they brought from home. Afterward, many graduates stayed on the site for close to an hour taking photos with different groups of classmates and family underneath the school’s trees.
“The achievements of a school can only go so far,” Principal Kyle Roddey said. “It is our parents, our families, grandparents and the community. We’re partners. We work together. Over the course of the last 13 years, I think this team has been able to do some incredible things. Mr. Roddey praised the “spirit of kindness, that spirit of giving and that spirit of care that permeates throughout (not only) our school, but this entire community.”
Salutatorian Abigail Mercier used some of her speech to recall a time Red Hook bolstered her spirits. She shared how her “face would light up,” as an elementary school student with a mother battling cancer, to come home from school to find assistance from a community meal train. “Everyone here has had some significant hardship they have had to deal with in their life, whether it was personal, within their family, or within the broader community,” Mercier said. “I just want to shine light on the impact that such a small act of care can have on someone’s wellbeing and their daily survival.” That unity was on display again later in the ceremony. After her own address – in which she encouraged her classmates to slow down and appreciate that “every second in life should never be taken for granted,” Giannoulis invited class Vice President Maya Very and advisers Nicole Fiore and Nicole Schmidt to the stage to present a diploma to the family of the late Sam Lown.
Sam, “one of the kindest, funniest and selfless souls,” Giannoulis said, died at the age of 16 in July 2022 following a battle with cancer. His seat at the ceremony was kept empty except for a draped gown and a cap decorated to read “Some heroes save the day in the simplest way.” Giannoulis said it was the students’ idea to honor Sam, with the full support of administration and his family. They wanted to “make sure that he was recognized and everything that he was and the person that he was, was recognized.”
In addition to the diploma, the students presented a donation for $6,000 to the Two Brothers Scholarship, in memory of Sam and his brother, Dillon Denu. “We really couldn’t have done as much as we could with Sam during his illness if it wasn’t for all of the support that we received from this community and all of you,” Sam’s Mother, Jennifer, said. “And, this means so much. One would think that Sam would be up there rolling his eyes at me right now, but those that really knew him knew that we was such an emotional, compassionate person that he would probably be here right now giving me a kiss and a hug.”
It wasn’t the only emotional moment of the ceremony, albeit on a smaller scale. As Katie Boyd’s name was called to come to the stage, her father, Mill Road Elementary Principal Dr. Brian Boyd, stepped in to give her the diploma. He then did the same for his niece, Madison Boyd. Katie Boyd said the moment wasn’t planned, but also not unexpected, as he did the same for her brother, Liam, last year. Still, “It was, honestly, so emotional. It was really just heart-touching, full-circle, I’m just really grateful.”
Though high school graduation marks the time when a student generally must go off on their own to start fresh at college, the workforce or the military, Board of Education President Russ Crafton explained to the graduates they are not going to be alone. By now, they’ve internalized the advice “slipped in” by parents and teachers over the years. “I’d argue you probably already have most of the wisdom you need to get through this life. The trick is learning how to find it and when you need it,” he said. “When you look inward, you’ll often find those messages and/or life experiences that were left years ago by your family and your friends and your teachers. When the time is right, and you need them the most, those messages will be there, and they’ll make total sense.”
Dr. Janet Warden, superintendent of schools, offered the students some last pieces of advice to pack away wherever they go, such as to be on time, listen intently and always speak up. “You’ll never, ever regret it,” Warden said. “What you’ll regret is staying silent out of fear.”
Mercier, shortly after caps were thrown, hugs began and a confetti cannon fired above the newly graduated Raiders, described it all with bittersweet excitement. “It feels weird, the end is finally here,” she said. “I feel so grateful. I have so much family here.”
Visit the main Commencement page to see a photo gallery.
As she prepared to graduate Red Hook High School as the Class of 2024’s valedictorian, a handful of memories stood out for Ani Safaryan. “After exams, me and my classmates we would go get ice cream and talk about how hard the exam was. It was a shared experience,” she said. “When I look back at high school, I think the memories that I made with other people are what I’m going to remember.” One of those people was someone she called her “brilliant friend, Abby,” the Class of 2024’s salutatorian.
Both Abigail Mercier and Safaryan graduated from Red Hook Saturday with International Baccalaureate diplomas, capping accomplished careers that spanned academics, athletics and extracurriculars. “You only go through high school once,” Mercier said.
In Safaryan’s case, the athletic honors came on an international stage. As a member of the Armenian National Women’s Soccer Team, she scored the winning goal in a win over Bulgaria on April 9. “That was unreal to me,” Safaryan said. “I still think about it sometimes. I can’t believe that happened.”
She made four trips to play for Armenian soccer teams between her junior and senior years. She said balancing schoolwork with travel was made easier by the remote working systems that were worked out following the onset of COVID-19, but thanked her teachers for being “very understanding and supportive. “Most of my teachers knew I wouldn’t be slacking off and I would be keeping up with my work,” she said.
Her travels took her to “quite a few” countries in Europe. Language was rarely a barrier, though, as she speaks Armenian, “a little bit of Russian” – her parents are originally from the Soviet Union – and has enjoyed taking French at Red Hook. “Sometimes we go through France for layovers and things like that to get to Eastern Europe,” she said. “I do try to speak French sometimes, but honestly I think the TSA just finds it easier to speak English to everyone.”
She also balanced responsibilities with the Raiders soccer team and a love for music. She made the New York All-State Orchestra in December for violin and clarinet, though piano is the instrument she loves to play most. Academically, she credits her love of Chemistry, in part, to teacher Jason Pavlich, the varsity soccer coach who she first bet at youth Bard College soccer camps.
She plans to major in chemistry on a premed track at Columbia University, where she will also continue playing soccer.
“I wanted to find a good balance between academics, sports and music, and being able to pursue that to the best of my abilities,” she said of choosing the New York City school. “The hospitals that are in relation with Columbia have really great research opportunities and internships. It would be a great opportunity set up my career.”
Mercier will be attending Boston University, a place she “felt for sure” it was the right fit when she visited. She plans to get into elementary education, though she said she can keep her options open.
“They have a lot of opportunities to double major and minor in like, psychology or other subjects,” she said. “I want to explore, like, English and music while I’m there, so there’s a lot of opportunities to do everything while also student teaching and doing observations in undergrad.”
She said a love of teaching was bolstered in recent years while instructing younger students in music. She is a violinist for the Empire State Youth Orchestra and Stringendo Orchestra, while also playing trumpet at the school. She called playing violin in the pit for the school’s production of “Chicago” this month one of her most cherished high school memories. “Just seeing everyone come together, the cast, the crew, the pit, it was just kind of a good way to end my musical journey here at the high school,” Mercier said. As an athlete, she also played tennis for Red Hook. But, simply learning seems to be her passion. Her favorite subjects are English and Spanish, with her love of writing just beginning to bloom.
“I’ve always just had self-motivation. I remember when I was in elementary school I would go home and just be so excited to do my homework – not so much anymore,” she joked. “I genuinely was just interested in all the subjects. As I’ve gotten older I’ve kept hold of that drive and just realized my potential.”
Fittingly for herself and Safaryan, Mercier’s advice to future Red Hook students is to find balance.
“It’s important to have a work ethic and a drive, but it’s important to maintain balance in your life,” she said. “So, never overwork yourself, make time for your hobbies and things that genuinely make you happy, and surround yourself with people that are welcoming and make you happy.”
There were many of topics covered June 24 at the Red Hook Central School District’s Ideas Exchange, regarding its next athletic field proposition. Many of the questions asked by the roughly 50 attendees were able to be answered by district officials, in some cases dispelling misunderstandings regarding possible next steps with the field reconstruction planning. Other questions and comments were not as easily addressed and have prompted more research into the answers.
That was the idea of the event, which included attendees discussing their concerns with the fields in groups of roughly 10 people each. The Ideas Exchange was a continuation of district officials’ effort to involve the community in the decision-making process before another proposition is put in front of voters in the fall. The next step in that process occurs on July 10 at 2PM in the Mill Road Cafeteria (primary side), when the Board of Education will meet for a Facilities Work Session.
“We appreciate so many residents and members of the district community taking the time to meet with us,” said Dr. Janet Warden, superintendent of schools. “Engaging the community is crucial to coming to a solution that will be in the best interest and safety of our students. We greatly value the opinions that were shared, especially regarding the environmental concerns tied to the plans, how a field project may impact taxes, and what we can do to better inform voters.”
Attendees were given the chance to walk onto the fields and feel for themselves the compact, uneven dirt. Officials made clear, the district’s goal is simply to improve the safety and accessibility of its field at the high and middle schools, regardless of how that happens, installing turf or grass. The small discussion groups provided a chance for residents to ask questions and to share their reasoning for voting for or against the last capital improvement proposition in May. That proposition included a list of projects largely focused on improving the safety and accessibility of facilities, one of which was installing an artificial multipurpose educational field. Each project will be proposed again in a referendum vote in the fall.
Many of the questions and comments regarded the science behind turf and its possible adverse environmental impacts, and some attendees requested the district provide experts to speak directly to residents at a future meeting. Dr. Warden assured attendees that is one of the goals for the July 10 meeting. Officials also stated any future proposition regarding a turf field could include verbiage stating environmentally friendly parameters that would need to be followed. The amount of time each field could be used, how it differs for grass and artificial surfaces, and how the district could better preserve the fields after the repair project, was another high-interest topic.
Athletic Director Tom Cassata was on hand to explain a turf field would be able to be used from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day by 17 interscholastic teams and all physical education classes in grades 6-12. While no singular grass field could handle such daily traffic, the district would rotate use of the six fields on the property to give each time for rest, and some teams would continue using the side fields rather than the main track and field complex.
Attendees were encouraged to share with their friends and neighbors not in attendance what they had learned and that the district is looking for continued feedback and input. As the district continues to hear opinions and concerns from residents, information to address any questions will be published on the district’s website and social media channels. Questions can always be emailed to district spokesperson Mike Benischek at mbenischek@rhcsd.org. You can also download an overview of the project thus far and the differences between a turf or grass project.
June is a time of year for teachers and staff to give awards to students, many to the departing graduates on Senior Awards Night. This year, the students at Linden Avenue Middle School turned the tradition on its ear. Aiming to honor the school’s retiring teachers, and inspired by “The Dundies” awards from TV’s “The Office,” the students of the Principal’s Council established “The Lammies.”
The name is an acronym standing for “Linden Avenue Middle school Most Important Educator,” and each of the individual Lammies, like the Dundies, have names matching the teacher’s contributions to the students.
The inaugural batch of Lammies went to:
- Michelle Kayden: “The Optimizer” (meaning she is the best time manager)
- Beth Goldberg: “The Encourager”
- Kim Goldhirsch: “The Jack of All Trades”
- Mary Mahony: “The Nurturer”
- Diane Zduniak: “The Entertainer”
- Darren Fleischman: “The Chillest”
The Lammies themselves, small golden trophies bearing a lamb figure, were 3D printed with the help of Jennifer Melitski and Daniel Gall.