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Around Westchester Schools: Regeneron Scholar Idea To Help BP, Third-Grader Grows Giant Cabbage

A Westchester County third-grader won a contest for growing an eight-pound cabbage.

A third-grader at Springhurst Elementary School, Keric Roach is a winner of the National Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program for growing this huge cabbage.

A third-grader at Springhurst Elementary School, Keric Roach is a winner of the National Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program for growing this huge cabbage.

Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of Springhurst Elementary School
Kenny Poor, a senior at Fox Lane High School, is a Regeneron Scholar.

Kenny Poor, a senior at Fox Lane High School, is a Regeneron Scholar.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Fox Lane High School
These Rye Neck students will have their artworks on display at the Mamaroneck Public Library art exhibit through March 13.

These Rye Neck students will have their artworks on display at the Mamaroneck Public Library art exhibit through March 13.

Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of the Rye Neck Union Free School District
These Rye Neck students will have their artworks on display at the Mamaroneck Public Library art exhibit through March 13.

These Rye Neck students will have their artworks on display at the Mamaroneck Public Library art exhibit through March 13.

Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of the Rye Neck Union Free School District

Keric Roach of Springhurst Elementary School in Dobbs Ferry is the New York State winner in the National Bonnie Plants Cabbage Third Grade Cabbage Program which calls upon student to grow a colossal cabbage.

He will receive a $1,000 savings bond towards his education for growing the large cabbage. Keric's entry was selected randomly by the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets

Each year Bonnie Plants, the largest producer of vegetable and herb plants in North America, with 70-plus greenhouse facilities across the country, trucks free O.S. Cross, or "oversized," cabbage plants to third-grade classrooms whose teachers have signed up for the program online here.

If nurtured and cared for, children can cultivate, nurture and grow giant cabbages, some much bigger than a basketball — tipping the scales, often at over 40 pounds.

At the end of the season, teachers from each third-grade class select the student who has grown the “best” cabbage, based on size and appearance. 

This opportunity exposes "children to agriculture and demonstrates, through hands-on experience, where food comes from. The program also affords our youth with some valuable life lessons in nurture, nature, responsibility, self-confidence and accomplishment," said Stan Cope, former president and CEO of Bonnie Plants.

Fox Lane BP Monitor Gains Notice In Prestigious Science Contest 

Imagine a world where everyone could monitor their blood pressure with a cell phone. Bedford's Fox Lane High School senior Kenny Poor, who was recently named a scholar in the 2020 Regeneron Science Talent Search, has the idea and wants to make it a reality.

Poor was one of 300 scholars selected from 1,993 applications received from 659 high schools across 49 states. His project, “Implementation and Refinement of Oscillometric Finger Pressing Cuff-less Blood Pressure Measurement on Mobile Phones,” attempts to expand on preexisting technology to help more people.

“There is an existing iPhone application for the iPhone X that estimates blood pressure using various sensors on the phone,” said Poor. “My project helped improve and expand on this application to make it available for older phones.”

Poor’s project uses both the camera and the screen to measure force. The application requires users to place fingers on both. It collects data, guiding users along throughout the process.

The idea for Poor’s project stemmed from a family history of hypertension.

“My family is lucky enough to have access to medical facilities and medication,” he explained. Realizing that others are not as privileged and that existing cuff measurements can be inaccurate, Poor sought to improve the technology.

“I was looking to new technology without the use of the cuff and to see if I could use this to expand access to blood pressure measurement for people who don’t have as much access to health care.“

Poor’s Science Research teacher, Stephanie Peborde Burke, is so proud of him and the effort he puts into everything he does.

“Kenny is a bright, science-minded individual, and this comes through in the way he pursues his work,” she said. 

Rye Neck Talent Shines In Mamaroneck Library

Rye Neck students are the creators of over 70 works of art displayed at Mamaroneck Library to March 13.

The exhibit showcases a variety of work— from drawings to paintings and collages — by students in teachers Trisha Appel’s, Jennifer Dallow’s and Karen Fontecchio’s art classes. Their class instruction also covers a variety of artists, skills and techniques across the different grade levels.

Inspired by ancient Greece, sixth-graders created vases using different symbols and patterns on scratch art paper that were placed on top of a Greek column. 

Seventh graders who learned about the pop art movement and Andy Warhol created their own “celebrity self-portraits.” 

Eighth graders, who learned about Stuart Davis’ abstract art and positive and negative space, created colorful and abstract city collages in which they used colored construction paper, magazines and newspapers to complete their work.

“Students love to show their talent and have work displayed in the school throughout the year, but it is particularly special to have it in shown the community,” Dallow said. “I love to see the pride our students feel when given these exhibition opportunities.”

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