Franklin, MA- The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) is excited to announce the Chelmsford High School girls soccer team as the winner of the first half of the 2021-2022 MIAA Community Service Challenge! Members of the MIAA Student Advisory Committee reviewed 161 incredible submissions before selecting the winner.

 

The Chelmsford High School girls soccer team dedicated the last game of their season in honor of their friend and teammate, Emily Myerson. Emily passed away in March of 2021 due to medical complications and the team wanted to ensure they honored and recognized her during the soccer season. In addition to raising money for the Emily Myerson Scholarship Fund, Emily’s jersey number was retired, which the team represented in t-shirts they made to show their support to her family.

 

“Emily was and will always be a huge part of our team and our lives. She radiated positivity and was a phenomenal teammate and friend. She always had a smile on her face and her work ethic was admirable and contagious,” said Coach Leah Potcner and the team captains. “In addition to dedicating this season to her and naming her an honorary captain, it was important to all of us to have a game played in her honor – with the proceeds going directly to her foundation.” The final game was played at Simonian Stadium against Groton-Dunstable. Emily’s father, Peter, is the principal at Swallow Union Elementary School in Dunstable and the Swallow Union Community was a big source of support for the Myerson family as well. This event was planned and run by the Myerson Family, Emily’s Friends, The CHS Girls Soccer Team, and Coach Leah Potcner.

 

Dan Hart, Chelmsford Athletic Director stated, “It shows the strength of Emily’s ‘Inner Circle’ to take such a tragedy and turn it into such an amazing community celebration.  Emily was loved by her classmates, coaches, teachers, friends, and everyone she touched.” He added, “It was only fitting that on a game played in Emily’s memory, Simonian Stadium was filled with members of the Chelmsford Community all donning “EM3” Shirts. The amount of time and effort they all put into honoring Emily was inspiring and impressive.  Emily meant so much to so many, and this event was a fitting tribute to an amazing person.”

 

“We truly appreciate the recognition from the MIAA as it brings attention to Emily’s foundation. Emily set the bar high and we will always continue to live up to the standard of excellence she held herself to every day – both on and off the field,” stated Potcner.

 

Click here to review the full write-up.

 

The MIAA is grateful for the continued partnership with Team Up 4 Community (TU4C) that began in March 2021.  The partnership encourages schools to submit their projects online providing sports teams the opportunity to showcase community service projects, demonstrating their commitment and impact on the community.

A total of 161 community service projects were submitted between August and December 2021. With 9,304 student-athletes participating in some type of community service project. In total, $219,663 was raised for charitable causes with 36,957 hours donated by MIAA student-athletes.

 

In addition, Concord-Carlisle High School and Bedford High School were selected as the runner-up for their incredible Kicks for Cancer fundraiser. Click here for the details of this service project.

 

Presentations of these awards will take place at the respective schools in the coming weeks.

 

Please be reminded to continue to submit your projects on the website. The second half of this challenge will run from January 1, 2022 – May 15, 2022! Winners will be selected shortly after May 15^th!

 

Thank you to all MIAA member schools and student-athletes who participated in this years’ service challenge. To view all projects submitted, click here.

Members of the Carle Place High School’s Key Club joined together and organized a drive for Ukrainian refugees. Students learned about the current human rights crisis and were inspired to make a difference. For their efforts, the club collected medical and baby supplies from students in grades 9-12 and staff members as well.

 

Photo captions: 

1: Carle Place High School’s Key Club joined together and organized a drive for Ukrainian refugees. Pictured is Shannon Wagner.

2: Carle Place High School’s Key Club joined together and organized a drive for Ukrainian refugees. Pictured is Michael Skulikidis and Douglas Lin.

 

Photos courtesy of the Carle Place School District

 

About three dozen environmentally conscious students arrived early at Forest Lake Elementary School in the Wantagh School District on April 8 for some good old fashioned spring cleaning. By the time classes started, they had filled several bags with litter found around the back of the school.

Principal Jessica Zimmer said the idea was brought to her by second grader Avery Cohen, who had noticed some trash during a weekend walk with her father. Avery wrote a letter and put it in Ms. Zimmer’s suggestion mailbox.

“I try to say ‘yes’ to whatever I can, because I want students to have a say in their school,” Ms. Zimmer said, noting that Avery’s suggestion was a great idea with Earth Day coming up later in the month.

Students were joined by parents and younger siblings to spruce up the property for about a half-hour on a sunny Friday morning. Avery did her part to spread the word by making posters that were hung around the school. She and her brother, Braden, a fourth grader, also made a video that her parents shared on Facebook.

“This was important to me, because trash is bad for the environment,” she said. “This school is really important to me and I don’t want to see it dirty. I want to see it nice and clean. The school should be a beautiful place.”

 

Photo caption:

 

1: More than 30 students from Forest Lake Elementary School helped picked up garbage in the back of the school on April 8 for a spring clean-up.

2: The idea for the clean-up came from second grader Avery Cohen.

3: Students and their parents had plastic bags and gloves as they removed litter.

4: Liam Zaikowski and his mother, Andrea Hines, were among the volunteers.

5: Michael Callahan, left, Braden Cohen, center, and Logan Froelich support the cleanup effort.

6: First graders, from left, Avery Griffin, Peyton Ellis and Luke Messer got to work to spruce up the Forest Lake grounds.

 

Photos courtesy of the Wantagh School District

 

Photo caption: The Builders Club, under the direction of Maria Ostrofsky, from Copiague Middle School hosted a “baby shower” collection for Madonna Heights. The club, along with Copiague Middle School staff, donated many items including diapers, blankets and new clothing for babies to help support mothers and newborns in Madonna Heights. The Builders Club motto is “making a difference in our community.”

 

Photo courtesy Copiague School District

 

Long Beach Middle School hosted the Joe Farrell Student Faculty Basketball game on March 24.  The annual fundraising event was created to remember Farrell, a social studies teacher who passed away in 2007. Additionally, Farrell and his wife Gail were the founders and coaches of the Long Beach Tiger Sharks swim team.  

LBMS Assistant Principal Keith Biesma said, “After a two-year hiatus, 

we were happy to see the return of this event. It is always a lot of fun to see the students and faculty showcasing their skills on the court! It’s a great afternoon that brings our school community together to remember someone who meant so much to us.”

This year’s event raised $3,276 and is earmarked for scholarships to support eligible Long Beach eighth graders and high school students who are exemplary social studies students, competitive and avid swimmers and show good character.  

 

Photo Captions:

1. LBMS Student Players: (L-R) LBMS Vice Principal Eliot Lewin, Colin Ligouri, Zachary Silva, Tyler Parker, Jack Feerick, Ryan Fackler, Joseph Feerick, Jamison Heneghan, Charlie Deutsch, Vance Kanganis, Brooke Nielson, LBMS Principal Lorie Beard and basketball coach John Dunne standing behind a photo of Joe Farrell
2. Members of the LBMS teacher/staff players: (L-R) Natasha Nurse, Heather Fisher, Gabriella Febrizio, Brian Sandmeier, Abbie Ross, DJ Dingle, Shawn Bourne, Robert Draine, Rich Pelligrini and Derrell Tolbert
3. LBMS students overseeing the raffle table Thomas Egan, Elliot Biern and Ethan Engelson
4. LBMS students vs. LBMS faculty/staff at the annual Joe Farrell Basketball event.

 

 Photos courtesy of Long Beach Public Schools