Hewlett Happenings

Regeneron semifinalists, robotics winners and musical success

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On Jan. 9 at noon, many Hewlett High School students waited years anxiously awaiting this moment. While the clock struck, all the students who competed in the Regeneron STS competition speedily searched for their names on the semifinalist webpage.

Justin Ng who had studied how hydrolase regulates cell elongation in Prothallial Cells from Gametophytes of Ceratopteris richardii during cold stress and Winnie Xu who studied the effects vulnerability on adolescent stress and self-esteem were ecstatic to find their names on the list.

Both Ng and Xu’s projects made the top 300 projects, the next round will be top 40 projects and will not be released until Jan. 23. After Xu discovered she advanced to the next level of the competition, she exclaimed: “It was amazing to see my name on the list. I worked really hard on conducting my study and developing my research paper. I’m so glad that my dedication and work has paid off.”

As the Hewlett-Woodmere school community crosses its fingers for Ng and Xu, we are also rooting for our robotic teams. Hewlett has three robotic teams: Innovo, Bionica, and Roboboogie. Roboboogie, the oldest of our teams, is turning 10 this year and is continuing its quest of spreading the interest of robotics to future generations.

Innovo, first created in 2011, has been working hard to ensure they are ready for this years competition. Since a majority of the team graduated last year, Innovo’s remaining members have focused on training all their new members to help their team remain strong.

Bionica is Hewlett’s first all-girls robotic team, founded in 2013. Their mission is to promote girls in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) and shatter the glass ceiling of gender stereotypes. Bionica aims to inspire the next generation of engineers, coders, builders, artists and businesswomen.

The first qualifying round for the robotic teams at Lynbrook High School was on Jan. 7. Roboboogie placed first, but lost in the final match. Innovo experienced a loss due to technical problems with their phones, and faulty wiring.

They will not allow this failure to deter their motivation; they have learned from their past mistakes and is very excited to keep improving their mechanisms, ideas, and innovations to preserve their bright, yellow legacy. Bionica came in fourth place and won the Think Award. The second qualifying round was on Jan. 14, and every Hewlett team won and will advance to regionals!

In addition to our STEAM students’ success, Hewlett’s musicians are highly noteworthy. More than 20 students were selected to perform in the Division IV and V All-County Music Festival.

Students preformed in the treble and mixed choir, band, orchestra, jazz choir and jazz band. It was an amazing experience where I, along with my musical peers, had the opportunity to meet a variety of different musicians from across Long Island.

With just three five-hour rehearsals, every group was ready to perform at the concert for family and friends. Our conductors were amazing professionals who took the time to not only refine our notes and rhythm, but inspired us to look beyond the black and white and feel the true emotion and purpose residing in each piece.

Ultimately, it is through the experiences that make Hewlett Bulldogs mature into accomplished, unique and gifted young adults who are ready to take on the world.