by Bea Peterson
Kiwanis Clubs around the world are dedicated to helping and supporting youth. One special way the Hoosick Falls Kiwanis Club encourages local young people is by holding a special dinner each year to honor the most improved students in Hoosick Falls Central School and St. Mary’s Academy. This year the event was held at the Falls Diner on Tuesday evening, May 19. HFCS Assistant Principal Stacy Vadney said the school’s most improved were selected because they showed a desire to change and took action to change. The four showed spirit, initiative and they all made significant improvements through the school year. Emily Wilwol is a senior, and she will be attending SUNY Oneonta in the fall to study fashion design. John LaBonte is a junior and has shown great improvement this year. Shelby Jones is a sophomore who has shown a great balance between academics and sports. Freshman Samantha Yetto has had great successes in and out of school. The community and the school staff have offered these students the support they needed to strengthen their desire to improve, said Vadney. She told all the students, “Don’t give up on yourself, and you can accomplish great things.”
Pat Hayes, who wears many hats at St. Mary’s Academy, introduced Grace Delurey and Evan Phillips as the two most improved eighth grade students at SMA. Evan was unable to attend the event as he was on vacation in California. Hayes said both Evan and Grace had shown improvements in their studies this school year. Evan chose to take some advanced courses. He excelled in academics and in sports. He was selected to Captain both the boys soccer and basketball teams. His writing skills increased dramatically, and his average is in the top ten percent of his class. He has maintained High Honors in all three marking periods.
Hayes said Grace had shown the most improvement across all academic areas, though that is not easy for her. She has excelled this year by putting in the extra hours of study and hard work that were needed to succeed as a student. Grace is a natural leader. She was Captain of the girls soccer team and even filled in positions on the boys team for a few games. Grace has been on the Honors list for three marking periods.