Babylon Junior-Senior High School has named its valedictorian and salutatorian for the 2022-2023 school year. Drew Scheriff is the valedictorian for the 2023 graduating class and Caroline Cassidy is its salutatorian. “As is a tradition of each graduating class, we are proud to name our top students for this year,” said Interim Superintendent of Schools Brian Conboy. “We are proud of Drew and Cassidy, along with the rest of their peers. and wish them the best of luck in their future academic and professional endeavors.”

Drew has consistently ranked in the top of his class throughout his academic career. He has received accolades for achieving the highest overall scores in both AP World History and AP Chemistry.. During his junior year he earned the Rensselaer Medal Award from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. This award is given to students with high academic achievement in the STEM fields. Additionally, Drew has served as president of Babylon’s DECA Club, as well as treasurer of Babylon’s National Honor Society and treasurer of the senior class cabinet. He has also served as a member of Babylon’s Business and Marketing, English, Social Studies, Science and Spanish honor societies as well as the high school’s varsity golf and tennis teams. Drew has undertaken research in the field of nuclear engineering, earning him a Meritorious Ranking from the Long Island Science Congress. He would like to continue pursuing the subject in college.

Caroline has also routinely been ranked at the top of her class. She has served as president of Babylon’s National Honor Society, French National Honor Society and Thespian Honor Society. She has served as dance captain of the high school theater program and is a member of the Corps de Ballet for the New York Dance Theatre. She is also a black belt in taekwondo and is a martial arts instructor at a local dojo. Additionally, Caroline is a freelance illustrator and has sought to improve herself and the communities she is in through art, and has contributed to various art installations throughout Babylon Village.

For more information about the Babylon Union Free School District, please visit the District’s website at www.babylon.k12.ny.us. Exciting activities happening throughout the District and programs celebrating student achievement can also be found on the District’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/babylonschooldistrict/.

Date Added: 3/22/2023

In March, students at Babylon Memorial Grade School celebrate reading. Highlighted through the Pick a Reading Partner (PARP) month. As part of the celebration, the school participates in a variety of reading activities. The theme for this year’s PARP month is “Travel the World in a Book.”

The celebration kicked off with a special guest reading by Carisa Manza, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the Babylon Union Free School District. She read If You Come to Earth by Sophie Blackall to the school. The book serves as an illustrated guide to all the different sights a visitor from another planet might see.

The reading activities continued with a visit by the 5th and 6th graders at BMGS to Babylon Elementary School, where they read to Babylon’s youngest students. Finally, the students in Ms. Kane’s reading room took part in a pair of fun reading activities: Mustache Monday and Flashlight Friday. For Mustache Monday, the student read while wearing a funny mustache, while for Flashlight Friday, the students used flashlights to read in the dark.

PARP month will continue throughout March, and each week, students and their parents are encouraged to log their number of reading hours.

For more information about the Babylon Union Free School District, please visit the District’s website at www.babylon.k12.ny.us. Exciting activities happening throughout the District and programs celebrating student achievement can also be found on the District’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/babylonschooldistrict/.

Date Added: 3/21/2023

Students across the Babylon Union Free School District celebrated World Languages Week throughout the week of March 6 with a series of special activities to promote peace and greater cultural understanding.

The week began with a world landmark scavenger hunt, in which famous sites from around the word were hidden throughout district buildings for students to bring to a world language advisor for a prize.

On Tuesday, a group of students from Babylon Junior-Senior High School visited the elementary and grade schools to lead a handful of activities featuring different languages. The activities were centered on the different ways to say “peace” around the world. At the high school, students completed a history webquest for prizes.

On Wednesday, students took part in a music battle called Musique Miércoles, in which world language teachers played Spanish and French music videos and the students voted for their favorite. The winter was “La Gozadera” by Gente de Zona and Marc Anthony.

Also on Wednesday, the Babylon High School World Languages Club—along with the Spanish, French and American Sign Language honor societies—presented an afterschool international culture fair, which was open to students in 6th grade an above. The students were served Italian ices and took part in various fun activities including games crafts!

On Thursday, the District’s students held a scavenger hunt for national flowers of various countries from around the world and those who found them won a prize!

Finally, on Friday, the World Languages and Physical Education departments hosted The International Games. Students had the opportunity to enjoy games popular in all corners of the world, and fun was had by all—including the teachers!

For more information about the Babylon Union Free School District, please visit the District’s website at www.babylon.k12.ny.us. Exciting activities happening throughout the District and programs celebrating student achievement can also be found on the District’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/babylonschooldistrict/.

Date Added: 3/20/2023

Recently, research program students at Babylon Junior-Senior High School learned how DNA can be transformed using a certain technique to produce glow-in-the-dark bacteria.

Students worked with the pGLO plasmid, a combination of genes harvested from specific species of deep sea jellyfish that is often used in creating genetically modified organisms. One characteristic of the pGLO plasmid is that it glows when exposed to UV light.

As part of their experiment, students inserted the pGLO plasmid into an E. coli bacteria, allowing them to transform the bacteria’s DNA. This technique is often used in the manufacture of insulin for people with diabetes.

For more information about the Babylon Union Free School District, please visit the District’s website at www.babylon.k12.ny.us. Exciting activities happening throughout the District and programs celebrating student achievement can also be found on the District’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/babylonschooldistrict/.

Date Added: 2/13/2023