Six seniors at Silver Creek High School are receiving recognition for attaining the Seal of Civic Readiness. This initiative of the New York State Education Department acknowledges student achievement in Social Studies courses and civic engagement such as volunteering, work-based experiences, advocating for policy change, and coordinating service projects to better the community and world we live in.
The district is pleased to spotlight these members of the Class of 2022 for their community-building efforts: Sincere Becker, Savannah Delmonte, Victoria Iskra, Tabitha Shevlin, Alley Rocque, and Amanda Ippolito.
Top row: Sincere Becker, Savannah Delmonte and Amanda Ippolito. Bottom row: Victoria Iskra, Alexandra Rocque and Tabitha Shevlln.
Victoria Iskra: In February 2022, Victoria organized a “Blue out the Gym” fundraiser at a Black Knights boys’ basketball game. She organized the event after hearing about the death of Dale Douglas, the father of a dear friend. Victoria wanted to create something to honor him and also raise awareness for prostate cancer. She reached out to community members in and outside the school to ask for basket donations and help with the event. Victoria had a number of tasks to complete such as reserving the cafeteria in the school, promoting the event on social media, and shopping for the supplies. Via numerous generous donors and the Victoria’s hard work, she was able to donate $1,455 to Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center to go toward future prostate cancer research. This experience allowed her to step out of her comfort zone and becomes the leader she wishes to be in the world.
Alley Rocque: Alley has been volunteering at the Dunkirk Lighthouse every season since age eight. As she got older and progressed into being more comfortable with public speaking, she was able to be a tour guide around the lighthouse. She also helped with maintenance work around the grounds such as cleaning and yard work. Alley has such a strong passion for history that she loves dedicating her time to volunteer and showcase the history of the local community. She learned a lot of valuable skills from this experience such as improvements upon public speaking, leadership, and being a team player. She is thankful for the opportunity to be able to use these service hours towards the civic seal program.
Sincere Becker and Savannah Delmonte: Sincere and Savannah did extensive research on the history of Columbus Day from both European and Native American perspectives. They set a goal to meet with State Senator George Borrello to present their findings about why we should reconsider celebrating Columbus Day. Sincere and Savannah even interviewed students and local community members to gather data on the topic. Senator Borrello was very receptive of their proposed solutions, and they are hopeful to arrange a meeting with Governor Kathy Hochul’s team. It was a great experience to get the chance to talk to a local political and advocate for social change.
Tabitha Shevlin: Tabitha has had a passion for dance and teaching others since she was four years old. She had the opportunity to take on the role of junior producer at Playground Drama Camp in Fredonia. Tabitha dedicated more than 116 hours to tasks such as building and painting sets for the shows and designing costumes. She was also a supervisor of the children attending the camp and choreographed dance routines. Tabitha’s passion for teaching extended into the classroom setting here at Silver Creek when she participated in the Internship Program as a teacher aide in an elementary special education class. She attended class two to three times per week and performed a variety of tasks such as engaging in activities, bonding with students, and helping them discover their own strengths and ability levels. Throughout all of her experiences, Tabitha was able to promote the good in future generations and give everyone the opportunity to express themselves in an inclusive environment.
Amanda Ippolito: Amanda organized a spaghetti dinner fundraiser in May 2022 at Our Lady of Mt Carmel Church in Silver Creek. Her goal was to raise money for Catholic Relief Services to help families in Ukraine and the surrounding countries. She had a bake sale, 50/50 raffle, and basket raffle with over 60 items. Amanda contacted local businesses to donate food and/or basket raffle items, posted flyers around town, and reached out to community members to donate and attend the event. With the overwhelming support of the public and endless efforts by Amanda to make the event a success, she was able to raise $5,000. All donations will provide people with food, clothing, cash assistance, counseling care, and more. Amanda started planning this event in March, and it is evident she has a passion to make positive change in the world.
Learn more about the Seal of Civic Readiness via the New York State Education Department: http://www.nysed.gov/curriculum-instruction/civic-readiness-initiative