John Adams High School wide receiver Shane Hubbard comes down with the ball and runs past the defense for the score. The senior, who helped the Spartans to the playoffs in the Championship Division for the first time in over a decade, reached the end zone more than once for the Spartans. Now, Hubbard hopes [...]
Queens kid Fatima Ptacek has been cast as the new voice of “Dora the Explorer” — a spunky little girl with a penchant for adventures. For her first “Dora” audition at the Nickelodeon offices, Ptacek read a few lines and sang two songs — “Rocketeer” by Far East Movement and “Grenade” by Bruno Mars. Ptacek [...]
While most teenagers are studying to get their driver’s license or gearing up for the prom, one Queens teen is focused on making a big scientific discovery. Astoria native Danielle Goldman was one of 40 finalists selected to participate in the Intel Science Talent Search — a contest for high school students focusing in physical, [...]
Every star athlete remembers that moment when a coach or teacher impacts their life in such a way that it changes the way they think about sports. Coaching mentors have a way of doing that – they can shift the gears in an athlete’s mind with a few timely and inspirational words. Some college athletes [...]
Eagle Scout candidate Justin Lieu is on the verge of earning his wings, with seven years of Boy Scout training and the required 21 merit badges under his belt. He just needs to turn in the paperwork. Lieu, a Francis Lewis High School senior, used his years in the Scouts to improve his neighborhood. “The [...]
Students from P.S./I.S. 499 recently marveled at their school’s new media lab. Second, fifth and seventh graders joined parents, faculty and Councilmember James Gennaro at the school, located at 148-20 Reeves Avenue in Flushing, for a ribbon cutting ceremony on January 13 held to officially unveil the center. The media lab, made possible through Resolution [...]
For Anthony Kavalis, balancing school and sports is more than an obligation — it is a way of life. And even as the winter chill fills the air, Kavalis’ mind is still centered squarely on baseball. The 16-year-old Bayside resident, who attends Benjamin Cardozo High School, has been playing organized sports for over a decade. [...]
High school pep rallies are almost always the same — loud kids, painted faces and pompoms. But at a recent rally at Cardozo High School, handball playing freshman Fabrizio Shao made an entrance that no one had ever seen before. “The crowd went nuts,” said coach Lenny Levin. Shao, who lives without the ability to [...]
Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. and the East River Development Alliance (ERDA) hosted a holiday fair on December 15, during which over 200 underprivileged children from the western Queens housing development received toys, posed for pictures with Santa Claus, socialized with elves and participated in arts and crafts and other family activities. “We are so glad [...]
Helen Trougakos crouched in the front row of the audience. She snapped copious pictures on her iPhone of her four-year-old daughter Noreen as she danced on stage in a sparkling tutu and matching red feathered headpiece — and two leg braces. A tall, older girl dressed in black hoisted Noreen up by her waist and [...]