Elwood-John H. Glenn High School seniors Mariel Fusco and James Mossey were recently selected as the winners of the 2025 Suffolk Zone Awards. The Suffolk Zone Chapter of the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance annually gives awards to one male and one female student in each Suffolk high school, selected for excellent achievement in physical education, outstanding character and leadership in schoolwide activities.

Fusco participates in competitive figure skating outside of school, a year-round highly technical sport that requires significant dedication and training. She is also very involved in John Glenn’s music department, singing in the school’s chorus and Acapelwood vocal group ensemble, and has earned NYSCAME All-County honors. In her free time, Fusco enjoys volunteering at her church’s Sunday school.

“I was kind of surprised, honestly, to win Suffolk Zone, but I feel very happy to be able to receive this award,” Fusco said.

Mossey played three soccer at John Glenn for three years, first as a freshman and sophomore on the junior varsity team. He took a gap year as a junior to play golf, but joined the varsity soccer team as a senior, just in time to serve as a starting defender for a Glenn team that went on to be league and county champions, the No. 1 Class A playoff seed and the seventh-ranked team in New York State. In tennis, he has played for Glenn all four years, the last three on the varsity team, and qualified for the county tournament twice. Mossey is also involved in music at school, playing clarinet in school’s band and pit orchestra and earning NYSCAME All-County honors.

“I place a high value on academics, and really value trying your best in classes and putting yourself in a situation to succeed,” Mossey said. “I was also pretty surprised, but I felt very honored to receive the Suffolk Zone award. I was happy to know I earned it, as I do my best in physical education class.”

Both students earned summa cum laude designation for achieving a weighted GPA between 96.50 and 100, and they earned recognition from the College Board, with Fusco being named an AP Scholar with Honor and Mossey being named an AP Scholar with Distinction.

“From my standpoint, these are two excellent physical education students,” Athletic Director Dave Shanahan said. “Most importantly, they have shown outstanding character.”

Date Added: 3/21/2025

For Elwood-John H. Glenn High School’s annual International Night on March 4, students were invited to bring food or create a station to showcase their heritage or a country they were interested in. More than 350 community members – including fellow students, families and faculty – gathered in the cafeteria that evening to sample an exciting array of foods from 50 stations representing Belgium, Colombia, El Salvador, France, Germany, Greece, Guyana, Haiti, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, Palestine, Puerto Rico, South Asia, Spain and Sweden as well as Asian fusion, Ramadan Iftaar foods and tacos.

To entertain the crowd, Nicole Correia’s American Sign Language students interpreted Shakira’s “Waka Waka,” while Nicole Gendjoian’s classes sang “La Bamba” while senior Cooper Knorr played the song live on electric guitar.

Coming out on top as station contest winners, judged as having done the best job showcasing their culture with pride and enthusiasm, were the team of Samantha Gwon and Bijou Roman, for their Asian fusion station; and the team of Aaleshan Jamal, James Mossey, Khoshal Rametra and Ishan Shah, for their Indian and Italian food station.

“This was a great way to embrace our diversity and celebrate all different cultures from around the world during National World Language Month,” Gendjoian said.

“We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to share the food of our cultures with so many different people,” Gwon said. “We were excited to see so many people be open to trying different kinds of food that they have never eaten before. We also tried to add some cultural decor to our stand to represent South Korea, Japan and China.  

“What a great way to bring people together, by celebrating each others’ cultures,” added Roman.

“In a community like Elwood, it’s very hard to find people that share the same heritage as you,” Shah said. “For me, an Indian American, I was able to find friends that were willing to display our unique culture to the community. It is important to embrace one another’s cultures and traditions. The International Night initiative was a success and we look forward to it in succeeding years.”

Date Added: 3/21/2025

Elwood-John H. Glenn High School welcomed local senior citizens for an evening of entertainment and community connection on March 19. Guests enjoyed a delicious dinner in the cafeteria, served the students, followed by an exclusive sneak peek of the highly anticipated school musical, “Chicago: Teen Edition,” presented in the school’s Performing Arts Center. The talented cast wowed the audience with their performances, showcasing their hard work and dedication. The musical production will be held for the general community during the weekend of March 21-23.

“The event provided a wonderful opportunity for students to give back to the community while sharing their passion for the arts,” Principal Corey McNamara said.

Date Added: 3/21/2025

March is Music in our Schools Month. To celebrate the 40th year of this national endeavor, James H. Boyd Intermediate School students discussed the importance of school music programs and completed personal music appreciation posts. These were gathered to create a colorful hallway display outside of their music classrooms at Boyd. 

Third grader Dean Turi wrote, “My favorite part of music in school is picking an instrument because there are so many choices!!!”

Fourth grader Emelia Alessi wrote, “I like to sing in school because I am good at it and it is one of my passions.”

Fifth grader Caitlin Maggiore wrote, “I play the clarinet. I like learning my instrument because you can learn about the notes and the songs. When it’s all together, it sounds amazing.”

“We are fortunate to have a thriving music program at Elwood, considered one of NAFME's Best Communities for Music,” music teacher Rachel Nagle said. “March is always a busy month for music.”

This month alone, students across three schools took part in SCMEA All-County, Elwood Middle School and John Glenn High School students performed their main stage musicals, and Boyd students are hard at work on their upcoming musical. Students across the district continue to participate in choral, band and orchestra programs as well as prepare for next month’s NYSSMA festival.

Date Added: 3/20/2025

John Glenn's February 2025 Students of the Month are: senior Kristen Doherty, junior Max Lauterbach, sophomore Tin Dang and freshman Liher Aldasoro.

Date Added: 3/18/2025