Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser stands with the two winners of the CAPSS awards from Lyme-Old Lyme High School, Caleigh O’Neil and Graham Aird.
Caleigh O’Neil and Graham Aird, students at Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS), have been awarded the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents’ (CAPSS) Superintendent/Student Recognition Award for leadership service to the school, academic prowess relative to ability, and service to others in the community at a ceremony held Nov. 28, at Saybrook Point Inn.
Ian Neviaser, Superintendent of Schools of Regional School District 18, made the presentation as part of a program designed by school administrators to recognize students who have served their schools and communities while maintaining good scholastic progress.
The Superintendent/Student Recognition Program awards a Certificate of Excellence at the discretion of the local superintendent of schools according to a distribution formula set for all state school districts. Awards are generally given during American Education Week in November in order to provide a meaningful focus for each school district and to enhance the quality of the certificate.
While making the award to Caleigh O’Neil, Neviaser said, “She is a remarkable and multi-talented young woman who is committed to excellence both academic and personal. She is a curious and devoted learner who always invests 110 percent. She displays the same work ethic to her athletics and service commitments. A National Honor Society member and Mount Holyoke Book Award recipient, Caleigh has consistently challenged herself with the strongest compilation of classes and has repeatedly earned high honors, Academic Excellence Awards and the Mount Holyoke Book Award.
As a Shoreline Conference Scholar Athlete, Caleigh has worked her way from Most Improved Rower to Captain of the LOLHS crew team and a strong contributor to both State and National Championship Regattas. Caleigh has shown equally strong commitment to the LOLHS soccer team as well as the elite Southeast Soccer Premier Club. Her competitive spirit, sportsmanship and drive have helped fuel all of these teams to their incredible success.
Caleigh has also devoted numerous hours to community service. She developed a project to promote Internet safety for children and mentored students through her role as Camp Counselor and Coach. Her dedication has been recognized with the Girl Scout’s Silver Award. Having overcome hardship early in life, she is resilient, kind and caring.”
Caleigh O’Neil is an impressive young lady who has distinguished herself as a top scholar and athlete and a respected citizen of her community. With all of this, she remains genuine, humble and true to herself.”
Speaking of Graham Aird’s award, Neviaser said, “He is an energetic and determined dynamo and he demonstrates these qualities in all avenues of his life. Throughout high school, Graham has excelled in a highly competitive academic course load. He is the type of student that teachers love as he extends his learning outside the classroom and enriches classroom discussion with antidotes from his studies. This dedication to learning has earned him accolades such as the Scholar-Athlete Award, Saint Michael’s College Book Award, Academic Excellence Awards in Civics and Biology as well as membership in the National Honor Society.
Graham possesses leadership qualities such as enthusiasm, tact, effective communication, and the ability to make others feel important and useful. He utilizes these qualities to unite his teammates on the Soccer, Basketball and Golf teams, as the President of Student Leaders, as Student Representative to the Lymes’ Youth Service Bureau’s Board of Directors, as Vice-President of the Youth Advisory Council, and Secretary for the Class of 2017. Graham’s integrity, approachable manner and tenacity make him a wonderful representative of this honor.
CAPSS, the statewide school superintendents’ professional organization, is based in West Hartford and provides professional development, personal support, statewide conferences, legislative information and educational services to its membership.
Congratulations to both these fine students!
The BookCellar located in the basement of the Old Lyme-Phoebe Griffin Noyes (OLPGN) Library invites the community to its annual Holiday Book Sale on the evening of Friday, Dec.2, and during the day on Saturday, Dec. 3.
