Six SHS Students Receive State Seal of Biliteracy

Six seniors from Solvay High School (SHS) were recently awarded the State Seal of Biliteracy at this year's SHS Academic Celebration. To be eligible for this seal, students were required to demonstrate they have a high level of proficiency in two or more languages, by showing that they are successfully able to listen, speak, read, and write in these languages. The six SHS students receiving this notable recognition are Arthur Germakovski, Diana Osiv, Viktoriya Piso, Angela Romanchuk, Michael Tomoroksa, and Alina Zdebska.

At the SHS Academic Celebration on May 30, Tanya Rosado-Barringer, Coordinator of Mid-State Regional Bilingual Education-Resource Network at OCM BOCES, along with a representative from the New York State Education Department (NYSED), presented this prestigious award to the six seniors. Students received the Seal of Biliteracy for their high school diploma, their lapel pin, and a medal of honor to mark this impressive accomplishment.

To be eligible for the Seal of Biliteracy and to demonstrate their proficiency, each student had to present a project before members of the New York State Seal of Biliteracy Committee in Watertown, N.Y. The presentations each took about 20 minutes, with a question and answer session with the panelists immediately following each presentation. The presentations took place in front of not only the Biliteracy Committee, but also students and teachers from across the region. Also in attendance were two Board of Education Members, Tanya Rosado-Barringer, Ricardo Constantino of NYSED Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages, Jen Spong, Assistant Superintendent of OCM BOCES, and Olga Rudka, validator for the Ukrainian and the Russian seal requirements.

Following the presentations, students were then graded on their performance. To receive the Biliteracy recognition, students were required to receive a rubric score of between 20 to 24 points on their performance. Arthur Germakovski, Angela Romanchuk, Michael Tomoroksa, and Alina Zdebska all received perfect scores of 24, while Diana Osiv and Viktoriya Piso received equally impressive scores of 23.

Congratulations to our seniors on this impressive accomplishment!