Andrew Stern Memorial Essay Contest winners

The East Rockaway School District Board of Education recognized the winners of this year’s Andrew J. Stern Memorial Essay Contest at its Jan. 17 meeting.

This annual contest honors East Rockaway Class of 1978 alumni Andrew Stern who was killed during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. It is run by members of the Stern family who attended the meeting and presented the awards.

The contest winners were: Kirsten Carman in the high school category; Nathan Jaramillo in the junior high school category; and Ava Dauro in the elementary school category.

Each year, students are asked to submit an essay based on a specific topic or reflection relating to 9/11. This year the question was, “If you were a teacher, what are the three most important things that you would teach your students about 9/11?”

Following an induction by the Stern family, each student read their essay and was presented with a certificate and check.