June 2, 2009
 
 
The Board of Education and Central Administration of the district are pleased to offer congratulations to the top ten students of the Class of 2009.

 

 

Nicholas Stanford        Valedictorian
 
Nicholas Stanford, son of John and Susan Stanford of Haddam, is the Valedictorian of the Class of 2009. Nick's academic honors include Excellence in English, Geometry, Algebra 2, Ancient World History, Spanish, and, Pre-Calculus; and Recognition in AP Biology, Chamber Singers, Concert Choir, and Concert Band. Nick is also recognized as a Haddam-Killingworth CAPT Scholar, and was inducted into the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society. Nick is also a four-year member of the Swimming team, H-K Players Drama Club, as well as a three-year member of the Soccer team, Youth In Action, and a two-year member of Math League and Yearbook Committee.  In his junior year, Nick was the recipient of the Harvard Book Award. This past year, Nick received the honor of National Merit Scholarship semifinalist as well as Scholar Athlete and Governor's Scholar Semi-Finalist. In his spare time Nick earned the rank of Eagle Scout, serves as a Den Chief for a local Boy Scout's troop, and has amassed more than 200 hours of community service.  Nick will attend The University of Connecticut this fall majoring in math and music.

 
Colleen Phelan            Salutatorian
 
Colleen Phelan is the Salutatorian of the class of 2009. During her four years at Haddam-Killingworth High School Colleen has received many academic awards. In her freshman year, she earned Excellence in Spanish 2 Honors and Spanish 3 Honors as well as Recognition in English 9 Honors. As a sophomore, Colleen earned Excellence in English 10 Honors, World History 2 Honors, and Spanish 5 Honors. She received Recognition in Algebra 2 Honors and Spanish 4 Honors. During her junior year, Colleen earned Excellence in English 11 Honors and AP Spanish, while receiving Recognition in Chemistry Honors, Pre-Calculus Honors, and AP U.S. History.  As a junior, Colleen was also awarded the Dartmouth Book Award. For four years she has participated in our Peer Mentoring Program by providing assistance to Elementary school students during her lunch activity period. This year she was chosen as vice-president of the Spanish Honor Society. This past week, Colleen was inducted into the National Honor Society. Colleen has played Tennis at the varsity level since her freshman year, and she was the team captain for the past two years. She also played field hockey in her freshman and sophomore years. Colleen was selected as a Shoreline Scholar-Athlete in her junior year, and this year, she was named a Ct. Association of Schools, Scholar-Athlete. Colleen will be attending the University of Connecticut in the fall where she plans to major in Spanish and Economics.
 

Jeff Roberge is number three in the class of 2009. He has received many academic awards during his four years at Haddam-Killingworth High School. As a freshman Jeff earned Recognition in Exploring Science Honors. During his sophomore year, he received Excellence in AP Biology and Recognition in Algebra 2 Honors and French 4 Honors. In his junior year Jeff received Excellence awards in Chemistry Honors and French 5 Honors, and a Recognition award in Computer Skills. As a junior, Jeff was elected to the French Honor Society, and he received the Frederick Douglas and Susan B. Anthony University of Rochester Award. Jeff was chosen as vice-president of the French Honor Society in his senior year. Jeff took a course at Wesleyan University in the fall as part of their High School Scholars Program. For the past four years he has been a member of the Peer Advocates club and the Computer Tech club. Jeff also played JV Soccer during his first three years in high school. He helped to start the Support Our Country Club in his sophomore year, and he has served as president and secretary of the club for the past two years. Jeff enjoys playing the piano in his spare time. He will be attending the University of Connecticut in the fall to study Biochemistry or Biomedical Research.
 

 

Sarah Bartosiak, daughter of Peg and Dave Bartosiak of Killingworth ranks fourth in the class of 2009.  Sarah's academic honors include Academic Excellence and Recognition in English, Geometry, History, Science, Spanish, and Computer Skills.  Sarah was also recognized as a CAPT Scholar in her sophomore year, and in her junior year was the recipient of the Bausch & Lomb University of Rochester Award for her excellence in science.  She was inducted into the National Honor Society as a junior and served as the Treasurer in her senior year.  Other leadership positions that Sarah has held include the following: two years as Co-Editor of the Yearbook Committee, President of Really Big Things, and Librarian for the Band Council.  Sarah is also an active member of Peer Advocates and the H-K Players Drama Club since freshman year.  Sarah was the selection for the 2008 Laurel Girls State where she spent a week representing H-K at a state-wide leadership program at Eastern Connecticut State University.  As a senior, Sarah  was accepted into the Wesleyan University High School Scholars Program where she took Modern European History.  Sarah is also musically talented and has played the saxophone for many years.  This year she was chosen to play in the Shoreline Music Festival. Sarah will be attending Eastern Connecticut Sate University where she was selected for the Honors Program.  She will be majoring in European History and plans to pursue a career in the education field.
 
Emma E. Cizek            Fifth

Emma Cizek is number five in the class of 2009. During her four years at Haddam-Killingworth High School she has received several academic awards. In her freshman year she earned Excellence in French 3 Honors. As a sophomore she received Recognition in Concert Band Honors and English 10 Honors. In her junior year, Emma received Excellence in U.S. History Honors and Concert Band Honors as well as Recognition in Piano and Keyboarding. At the end of her junior year, Emma was chosen as the recipient of the Yale Book Award in recognition of her strong academic achievement. This past week, Emma was inducted into the National Honor Society. Emma has been a member of the Student Council for four years, and she served as Treasurer in her junior year and Vice-President in her senior year. She has also been a member of the Band Council for the past two years serving as Secretary this year. Emma played field hockey during her first two years in high school, and she has played Lacrosse for four years. Emma will be attending the University of Connecticut in the fall to major Nursing.
 

Dina Grimaldi  Sixth
 
Dina Grimaldi, daughter of Mr.  & Mrs. Jim Grimaldi of Higganum, ranks sixth in the Class of 2009. Her academic honors include Excellence in Choir, French 2, 4 and 5 Honors, and Recognition in English 10 Honors and Computer Skills. Dina was recognized as a Haddam-Killingworth CAPT Scholar and inducted into the Nation Honor Society and French National Honor Society.  As an active member of the French National Honor Society Dina was a Publicity Officer in her junior year and as a senior she led her peers as President. Dina has been a two year member of the Yearbook Committee, holding the title of Co-Editor-in- Chief in her senior year. As an athlete Dina has been a three year Varsity Tennis player (JV in her freshman year) and two-year Varsity Swimmer.  Dina has also been a valuable member of the HK Players.  As a junior Dina was the recipient of the St. Michael's Book Award.  Over the last four years Dina has demonstrated her ability to give back to the community with over one hundred hours of community service.  She has also participated in community theatre and church activities.  This fall Dina will be attending the School of Arts and Humanities at Ithaca College in the Exploratory Program.
 
 
Kristen Wendt          Seventh

 

Kristen Wendt is number seven in the class of 2009. She has received many academic awards during her four years at Haddam-Killingworth High School. As a freshman, Kristen earned Recognition in Ancient World History Honors and Excellence in English 9 Honors. During her sophomore year, Kristen received Recognition in English 10 Honors. In her junior year, Kristen earned Recognition in AP U.S. History and Black and White Photography. She earned Excellence in Latin 1 Honors, and received a Gold Medal for a Summa Cum Laude result on the National Latin Exam. As a junior, Kristen was selected as a member of the Spanish Honor Society and she serves as Historian this year. At the end of her junior year, Kristen was chosen as the recipient of the Gettysburg Book Award for outstanding achievement. Kristen has played Soccer and Lacrosse since her freshman year. She has played at the varsity level in both sports since her sophomore year. As a senior she served as captain of the Lacrosse team. She has also served on the Yearbook Committee and the Student Council for the past two years. Kristen will attend Villanova University in the fall, and at this time she is undecided about her major.
 

Shelby VanHuysen           Eighth
 
Shelby VanHuysen, daughter of William and Gayle VanHuysen of Killingworth, ranks Eighth in the Class of 2009. Shelby's academic honors include Excellence in English and Concert Band and Recognition in Spanish, US History, and Concert Band. Shelby is recognized as a Haddam-Killingworth CAPT Scholar and was inducted into the National Spanish Honor Society and National Honor Society. Shelby is a four-year member of the Varsity Basketball and Field Hockey Teams, serving as Captain for both her senior year, and a two-year member of Band Council, recently serving as vice president of the group.  Over the span of her athletic career Shelby was a member of a State Champion field hockey team and a Shoreline Champion basketball team, where she managed to score over 1,000 career points.  As a junior, Shelby was the recipient of the Clarkson University Leadership Book Award and was selected as the American Legion Girls State Delegate. Shelby also possesses great commitment to her community, logging almost 200 hours of service.  This fall Shelby will attend Western New England College in Massachusetts majoring in pharmacy studies.
 

Morgan Raczka            Ninth
 
Morgan Raczka is number nine in the class of 2009. During her four years at Haddam-Killingworth High School she has received numerous academic awards. She earned recognition in English 9 Honors as a freshman. As a sophomore, Morgan received Recognition in English 10 Honors. During her junior year, Morgan earned Recognition in Studio Art and English 11 Honors. In that same year, she was selected as a member of the Spanish Honor Society and the National Honor Society. As a senior, Morgan was chosen as the recipient of the DAR Good Citizen Award. For the past three years, Morgan has served as the Social Chair for the class of 2009. She has served on the Student Council since her freshman year. She has played on the Tennis team since her sophomore year. Morgan has been a Peer Mentor for three years, volunteering to visit and help elementary students during her lunch activity period several times during the year. She has been involved in dance for the past ten years serving as a part-time instructor for the past three years. Morgan will be attending Boston College in the fall with plans to major in Elementary Education.
 

 

Elizabeth Brielmann is number ten in the class of 2009. She has earned several academic awards during her four years at Haddam-Killingworth High School. As a sophomore, she received an award for Excellence in English 10 Honors. In her junior year Elizabeth earned Recognition in Commercial Photography and Excellence in Black and White Photography. She was selected to the Spanish Honor Society in her junior year, and also was chosen as the recipient of the Clarkson University Book Award for Academic Achievement. This past week Elizabeth was inducted into the National Honor Society. Since her sophomore year, Elizabeth has been on the Student Council. She has served as a Peer Mentor for three years, volunteering to travel to our Elementary Schools during her lunch activity period to help support struggling students. This past semester, she has worked as an intern in our Cougar Cubs Program. Elizabeth will be attending Sacred Heart University in the fall with plans to major in Elementary Education.

 
Thank you for your continued support of your schools.
 
 
 Gary
Gary S. Mala
Superintendent of Schools