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School Board Honors Harrison Student Athletes, Musicians

HARRISON, N.Y. – The Harrison Board of Education honored the accomplishments of its students in music and sports at its last meeting of 2012 on Wednesday night.

The Harrison Board of Education honored the students at their Wednesday night meeting.

The Harrison Board of Education honored the students at their Wednesday night meeting.

Photo Credit: Patrick Stapleton

“For the first time in Harrison history, all 10 out of 10 sports qualified for New York State Public High School Athletic Association Scholar Athlete status,” said Harrison athletic director Pat Seligman. “This is absolutely phenomenal.”

To qualify for the award, the student athletes combined average GPA had to be 90 or above. There is a minimum number of students needed in each sport, including 12 for soccer and seven for tennis. A total of 112 students qualified.

Seligman’s goal at the beginning of the year was for each team to win the award. Now she has two seasons left of teams – winter and spring – to make that wish come true.

“This is not just happenstance – this is by design,” said Seligman. “This is because coaches have been supportive in starting practices an hour later, allowing the kids to attend extra help after school. It’s a matter of communication between coaches and the teachers making sure the teachers know how to contact the coaches and the coaches getting back to the teachers. There’s a lot of support in the high school.”

Superintendent Lou Wool focused on the Harrison High School marching band, which returned from Hawaii early Monday after participating in the 50th anniversary ceremonies for the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor.

The Arizona Memorial Commemoration Committee selected Harrison after researching “marching bands of note throughout New York State,” Pasqua said. Only 15 were selected from across the country. It was ranked second out of the 15 for its performance, Wool said.

“We talk a lot about what outstanding musicians they are,” said Wool. “Many of them have gone on to just extraordinary things. Every time our band travels anywhere, it has never failed that I get some kind of feedback from either the event organizers, the community itself or a written comment about what outstanding young people they are and how well they represent the community.

"It’s a tribute to the kids. It’s also a tribute to the people that run the program. They are just such incredibly positive ambassadors for this district. The kids did a remarkable job.”

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