E. Rock, Lynbrook students excel in poetry, communications

Caitlin Cassini

Lynbrook High School senior Isabella Sarlo was awarded a Matrix Scholarship

Courtesy Lynbrook Schools

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East Rockaway High School 9th- grader Caitlin Cassini was one of the first-place winners of the Long Island Arts Council at Freeport Poetry Writing Contest. Cassini’s poem, “Uneven Odds” listed Greek Gods, and read in part:

I was Nyx and

You were Erebus.

Darkness and darkness arm in arm,

A perfect match.

Working together in the shadows,

I believe it would never end.

Executive Director of the Arts Council, Larry Dresner, was thrilled by the response and “strongly encourages everyone who submitted their poem(s) to keep reading, writing, and growing as an artist.”

The contest was held in conjunction with National Poetry Month in April.

The goal of the contest is to inspire those students who may never have written a poem to write one, and to encourage those who have, to further develop the art of writing a poem. Students, grades nine through twelve, had their entries judged on originality, creativity, and artistic quality. The winning poems will be posted on the Long Island Arts Council at Freeport’s website and will be published in a booklet.

The Long Island Arts Council at Freeport is committed to the idea that the power of the arts is to touch the mind and enrich the soul of the individual and community through advocacy and education. By creating this Poetry Writing Contest, the Arts Council hope’s to encourage our students to continue on their path of enriching our community through their writing. To read the poems of the winners, go to the Long Island Art Council at Freeport’s website http://www.liacfreeport.org

Dover Publication sponsored the contest. The judges were Claudia Menza and Hettie Jones.

Izzy Sarlo wins matrix scholarship

Senior Isabella (Izzy) Sarlo was honored as a winner of a scholarship from the New York Women in Communications Foundation at the annual Matrix Awards held on April 25 at the Waldorf-Astoria. She was one of only 22 nationwide to receive this prestigious scholarship.

Scholarships are awarded annually based on academic achievement, demonstrated leadership, participation in school and community service activities, honors and other awards or recognitions, work experience, statement of goals and aspirations. Izzy, who is president of the Driftstone Poetry Club, writes and records her own music and poetry. Her work can be found on YouTube and Etsy. She was also a semifinalist in the Coca-Cola Scholarship competition. She has maintained a 99.84 GPA, while finding time to work part time and be involved in the Lynbrook community.

The event gave Izzy the opportunity to be recognized as a shaper of the future of journalism and communications with a select group of peers, with presenters including Lena Dunham, Gloria Steinem, Katie Couric, Liz Kaplow, Bonnie Hammer and Nancy Dubuc.

The New York Women in Communications Foundation is the largest foundation for communications scholarships for women in the country. Since the foundation’s establishment in 2000, it has issued close to $1.5 million in scholarship support. In addition, as a Matrix Scholarship winner, Izzy and the other honorees appeared on “The Today Show.”