On April 30, district leadership and the ICSD Board of Education recognized the extraordinary achievements of students and staff at the second Commendation Ceremony of the 2023-2024 school year!
The purpose of Commendation Ceremonies is to celebrate the success of Team ICSD members who go above and beyond in the arts, athletics, and the community. Special recognition is also paid to individuals who embody the ICSD’s Culture of Love.
Congratulations to everyone recognized!
Julio Giordano (11th grade), Benjamin Martin Medina (11th grade), Koen Hilversum (11th grade), Alex Cardenas (12th grade), Jupiter Brady-McCullough (11th grade), Daniela Forbes (12th grade), Alejandro Bustos (11th grade), Michelle Romero Santamaria (12th grade), Lori Ramirez-Vasquez (11th grade), Thomas Trigueros Ufford (11th grade), Juanito Aguilar (11th grade) - 35th Annual Puerto Rican Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute Delegates
Lucille Walker (12th grade) - Girl Scouts of America Gold Award
Mimi Chen (12th grade) and Juliet Crane (12th grade) - Scholastic Awards for Art
Delaney Lemberg (12th grade) (Second Place), Merrigan Butcher (12th grade) (Third Prize), Sejin Oh (10th grade) (Honorable Mention), Hannah Antonyak (11th grade) (Honorable Mention), Adelaide Riedl (11th grade) (Honorable Mention) - 36th Annual Human Rights Arts Competition Winners
Cadence Butler (10th grade), Daniel Barrett, Jr. (10th grade), Kaian Browne (12th grade), Naomi Barrett (12th grade), Erica Sellers (11th grade), Essence Sellers (10th grade), Johnae Davis (12th grade), Denae Lawhorn (10th grade), Olivia Orinda (9th grade), Cesar Marte (9th grade), Angelina Cunningham (10th grade) - “Creatives of Color” Project Participants
Ash Parz (10th grade), Chester Stone (11th grade), Charlie Shanton (12th grade), Dylan Maxwell (11th grade), Crow Letton (8th grade), Madeline Tindall (9th grade), Indira Clairborne (12th grade), Anya Packard (12th grade), Chloe King (11th grade) - Outstanding Student Leadership in Technical Production and Support
John Patrick Camel (7th grade), Jack Price (6th grade), Maksym Vatamaniuk (6th grade) - NYS Tournament for Tier 3 Youth Hockey
Vera Mae Camel (9th grade), Lucy Levine (9th grade), Heather Gao (9th grade), Sonia Enns (9th grade) - NYS Championship for Tier 1 Girls Hockey
Boys Swim and Dive - Scholar-Athlete Team
Spencer Hwang-Geddes (12th grade), Joseph Pratt (11th grade), Arda Griffin (12th grade), Katie Pollock (12th grade) - Academic All-American: Varsity Swimming and Diving
Koen Anderson (10th grade), Spencer Hwang-Geddes (12th grade) - STAC Winter All-Star: Boys Swim and Dive
Koen Anderson (10th grade) - Section IV Class A Championship, STAC Metro/West All-Conference All-Star Team, Star-Gazette Elite All-Star Team
OliviaLinn Houppert-Singer (5th grade) - Multiple Wins at Golds Swim Meet
Riley Hubisz (11th grade), Noah Hilker (11th grade), Andrew Putnam (12th grade), Everett Shaw (11th grade), Joshua Kwakye-Minott (11th grade), Cyrus Schillenback (10th grade), William Boscia (9th grade), Maren Golden (9th grade), Eliza DeRito (10th grade), Tsadia Bercuvitz (9th grade), Ruby Betts (9th grade), Lucia Gore (11th grade) - New School Records in Track
Indoor Track and Field - Scholar Athlete Team
Giovanni Lake (4th grade) - New York State Youth Wrestling Championships: Third Place
Niccolo Barseghyan (9th grade), Gracelynn Lomax (9th grade), Esther Castillo (10th grade), Haylie Abreu Tavarez (8th grade), Kaylie Abreu Tavarez (8th grade), Benjamin Peralta (8th grade) - ICSD Restorative Justice Leaders
Zadie Wang (10th grade), Jackie Champion (10th grade), Rani Marie Sethupathy (9th grade), Hannah Antonyak (11th grade), Ace Dufresne (10th grade), Corallus Meeks (9th grade), Jingying Xu (9th grade), Emerson Collins (11th grade), Jade Seib (12th grade), Lucy Park-Hookway (9th grade) - Social Justice Week Student Organizers
Geoff Helms (12th grade) - Third Place at Skills USA Carpentry Competition
Naomi Barrett (12th grade) - Third Place Certified Nursing Assistant at Future Health Professionals Spring Leadership Conference
Ruby Shaw (10th grade) - U.S. Department of State’s National Security Language Initiative for Youth Scholarship Winner
IHS Model UN Club - Outstanding Performance at UNAR Model UN Conference
Girls Basketball - Scholar-Athlete Team
Samantha O’Connor (9th grade) - Girls Basketball STAC Winter All-Star
Girls Ice Hockey - Scholar-Athlete Team
Unified Bowling Team - STAC Champions
Mikko Greene (11th grade) - Boys Basketball STAC Winter All-Star
Daniel Parker (12th grade), Quentin Getzin (10th grade), Willow Moylan (11th grade) - Wrestling STAC Winter All-Star
Paceyn O’Grady Specht (9th grade), Skyler Lovenheim (9th grade), Luke Jablonski (12th grade), Thomas LaFalce (12th grade), Alex Rachlinski (12th grade) - Empire State Winter Games Qualifiers
IHS Technology Teachers: Ian Krywe, Jonathan Shyne, Akil Atiba, Emily Blake, Sean Daugherty - International Technology and Engineering Educators Association: STEM School of Excellence Award
Culture of Love Awards
Ann Cooke (Teacher Aide at Fall Creek) - Caring - Ann is one of the most caring, supportive, and hard-working educators. Not only does she center the care and learning of the students in her class, but she also supports the well-being of the whole classroom team.
Frederick Deppe (IHS Math Teacher) and Elizabeth Giblin (IHS Math Teacher) - Commitment - Frederick and Elizabeth have an unwavering commitment to fostering a passion for mathematics among students. Their tireless efforts in organizing math club meetings, coordinating practice sessions, and providing invaluable guidance to club members have greatly enriched ICSD students’ mathematical learning experience.
Sheila Kissiloff (Social Worker at Enfield) - Commitment, Caring - Sheila takes care of the social/emotional needs of all of the students at Enfield Elementary School, and she also volunteers her time outside of school to the Enfield community. She is very involved in the local food donation pantry, which brings much-needed free food to many students and their families. In addition, thanks to Sheila and many others' consistent time and hard work, Enfield Elementary has a Welcome Center where students can “shop” for food.
Jaedon Henderson (IHS Office Assistant) - Commitment, Caring - Jaedon Henderson works at the front desk in the main office of Ithaca High School. He is able to juggle many things that are critical for IHS school to run.
Beth Krause (Director of School Lunch), Jamie Zervos (Executive Chef), Jennifer Doolittle (School Lunch Operations Specialist) - Commitment - With the support of the Chef Ann Foundation and Park Foundation, the Child Nutrition team has used available training and resources to increase access to fresh, healthy food in ICSD schools. Under their leadership, all food is prepared in a central kitchen, resulting in higher quality and consistency. Salad bars, frequently featuring seasonal produce from local farms, can be found daily in every school. The nutritional profile of foods offered during school meals has improved, with reduced amounts of sugar, sodium, and saturated fat. The benefits of these efforts are accruing not only to students, who are offered whole, nutrient-rich foods but also to our community with reduced waste and increased investment in local agriculture.