________ Franklin square/elmont _______
HERALD Spring fair brings family fun
15 scholarships for Elmont senior
Elaine Philips packs a punch
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Vol. 27 No. 24
JUNE 12 - 18, 2025
$1.00
Carey students unite to fight cancer in relay By RENEE DeloRENZo rdelorenzo@liherald.com
Renee DeLorenzo /Herald
Seniors of H. Frank Carey High School’s class of 2025 proudly organized Relay for Life on May 30, revitalizing a community tradition and imparting their heartfelt legacy to future generations of students.
Seniors at H. Frank Carey High School ended the school year with a touching tribute to friends and family suffering from cancer. Coordinating with the American Cancer Society, the seniors spent countless hours over the course of their last year at the high school planning a Relay for Life on May 30 — the first time the school has hosted the event since 2018. As of June 5, over $20,000 was raised — and still counting. “We never had a chance to experience what Relay for Life was all about,” said Magdalena Koutsoumbaris, a senior on the event’s entertainment committee. “We wanted to do something — like one last final thing for our senior year. We were so excited.” The group of students that organized the event, who were juniors at the time, approached H. Frank Carey Principal Jennifer Alaimo in May of last year, Continued on page 9
Sewanhaka student’s horror story frighteningly fun By RENEE DeloRENZo rdelorenzo@liherald.com
Yarlenny Taveras Peña, a seventh grader at Sewanhaka High School, was named one of five winners of the 2025 Young Writers U.S.A. Fright Club’s creative writing contest, beating out about 52,000 entries nationwide. Yarlenny’s mini-saga “Lost Shadows” — an 86-word horror story about a young woman lured into the graveyard by mysterious voices — is now published in the 2025 edition of “Fright Club — Creepy Chronicles.” A free copy was awarded to 12-year-old Yarlenny, as well
as the high school’s library. The Young Writers, founded in 1991 by Ian Walton, runs 10 national writing contests each school year — five for elementary students and five for middle and high school students — p rov i d i n g u n i q u e w r i t i n g prompts for topics ranging from nature, geography, history, fantasy, poetry and even math. According to the organization’s website, its mission is to “captivate and ignite the creativity of students” to boost their confidence and encourage writing, reading and literacy. Yarlenny received a certificate of merit and a bookmark, in addition to her writing credit.
When Yarlenny’s English teacher, Jackie McBrien, handed out a rubric for the competition in October — a fitting time for scary stories with Halloween approaching — Yarlenny recalled scanning topic ideas and decided on “graveyard.” McBrien, whose class has participated in the Fright Club contest for the past three years, said Young Writers does a great job providing free writing tips and supplementary materials to school classrooms to assist and engage young writers in drafting their stories. “We g et them excited,” McBrien said, explaining that kids love getting into the Hal-
loween spirit as the weather gets gloomy and autumn approaches. “We really tap into the setting that’s right outside our window.” McBrien added that many Sewanhaka students have gotten published by Young Writers in previous years — with more than 60 published this year — but this is the first time a stu-
dent actually won the competition. She said Yarlenny’s story undoubtedly stood out, and Yarlenny’s advanced sentence structure enhanced her wellcrafted tale. “She got rave reviews from the judges,” McBrien emphasized. Mark Grist, an award-winContinued on page 23