School Notebook: Melville Musicians Honored by Teacher Organization

Musicians Selected for SCMEA Ensemble

Three Ward Melville High School musicians will participate in the upcoming Suffolk County Music Educators Association All-County Instrumental Jazz Ensemble. Andrew Dill (bass), Tim Fogarty (trumpet) and Anthony Gabriele (trombone) were selected following a challenging audition process with other criteria based on their level 6 jazz NYSSMA audition piece and improvisation skills. They will perform at an educational conference March 5 in Albany and at SCMEA Jazz Day in Sayville on Feb. 2.

Murphy Crowns Spelling Bee Winner

Kavya Tangella, an eighth grader at Murphy Junior High, survived 13 rounds of spelling challenges and correctly spelled the word "scrutiny" to be crowned the spelling bee champion. “I wasn’t as nervous this year when I went on stage,” said Kavya, who also participated in the competition last year as a seventh grader. “To prepare, I not only practiced spelling different words, but also studied the different word parts and derivatives.” She will now have the chance to compete at the Long Island level at Hofstra University, and has won a one-year online subscription to the Encyclopedia Brittanica as well as the chance to take a semester-long foreign language class at Middlebury College.

Ward Melville Cheerleaders Headed to Nationals

Both the Varsity and Junior Varsity cheerleading teams are headed to nationals: the Varsity team was crowned the Pocono Regionals Division champ, while the JV team took second place. The Varsity team also took 3rd place at the Empire Regionals at Hofstra University in December, where the JV team placed fourth.