SWR High School students shared their research work with the Board of Education at a recent meeting. Kaylee Thomsen and Larissa Verdi, students in Advanced Placement Capstone Seminar and AP Capstone Research, were introduced by English teacher Sara Trenn and social studies teacher Walter Caskie. Kaylee presented on a proposed solution to adopt paid maternity leave in the United States. Larissa presented on the correlation between Advanced Placement students and music students with the theory that listening to Mozart may temporarily boost scores on a portion of an IQ test, known as the Mozart Effect. The presentations highlighted the innovative diploma program that equips students with the independent research, collaborative teamwork and communication skills that are increasingly valued by colleges.

Science Research teacher Dana Schaefer then introduced Matthew Cerniglia, Torre Ann Parrinello, Taylor Peperno, Blythe Wing and Claire Wing, who spoke about the district’s achievements in the school’s chapter of the Future Farmers of America. They were followed by Brianna Donnelly, who shared highlights of the school’s Science Research program. She spoke on the programs A Day in the Life of the Peconic Estuary, Barcode Long Island, and the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair, as well as independent research in science and engineering. The next presenter was Jalal Sawas, who spoke about his participation in Brookhaven National Laboratory’s SPARK program, which he has been involved in for the past four years.