The Tuxedo Top 10

George F. Baker High School students reiterate the significance of a small school setting in their academic success, By Nancy Kriz TUXEDO - Smaller class sizes. Personal relationships with teachers. The ability to know everyone on campus. All with the opportunity to participate in sports, clubs and honors/advanced placement coursework. All with the academic tools to succeed. These are some of the benefits Tuxedo School District administrators frequently articulate about George F. Baker High School, one of the smallest area high schools in the area. With only 107 members of the Class of 2011, officials are proud of the small school advantage available to their students. And, students feel the same way. With less than two weeks until graduation, The Photo News visited the Baker campus and asked the “Tuxedo Top 10” to respond to this question: “How has a small school like Baker contributed to your success?” 1. Valedictorian Ann Murphy “Being in a small school allows you an intimacy you don’t get in a larger school. You never feel like you’re unknown. In a small school environment like this, everyone gets the same attention and opportunity.” Murphy attributes her success in high school to determination and hopes this will guide her throughout college and life. She has been involved in various clubs and activities such as Student Government, Interact Club, and community service projects. She is currently vice president of the school’s chapter of the National Honor Society. Murphy has taught religious education throughout high school and was one of the founding members of the recently established Greenwood Lake Youth Council. During her free time, she baby-sits, works, and spends time with her family and friends. Murphy will attend Fordham University at Rose Hill in the fall with a full tuition scholarship. She is currently undecided on her major but plans on declaring a major in economics and perhaps pursuing a career in law. 2. Salutatorian Noreen Goldberg “It allows you to do more and to get to know people on a personal level. You’re able to participate more in things and people can recognize that. Socially, you can know everyone in your school. I take the good from it. It allows everyone to be like a family.” Goldberg is president of the school’s chapter of the National Honor Society. She and has been president, vice president, and treasurer of Student Council; secretary of the Interact Club; and president of the Spanish Club. Goldberg has also participated in Senior Council, yearbook, literary magazine, and bowling club, and is very active in the performing arts programs at school. Since third grade, Goldberg has been involved in musical productions and has landed leading roles in “Once on this Island” and “Little Shop of Horrors.” She is a gifted vocalist and has been a member of the school’s Concert Choir and Vocal Ensemble, the elite choral group of the school, for four years. She has sung the national anthem at many major school events during her high school career and in March 2010 performed in New York City at a ceremony to honor a Medal of Honor recipient as part of the American Fallen Soldiers Project. Goldberg likes to write music and hopes to pursue a career in the music industry. She will attend Westminster Choir College and plans on pursuing a career in music business and production. 3. Brian Duckworth “With a small school population, you have to be one of the few to push yourself beyond average. You have to continue to challenge yourself regardless of the competition around you.” Duckworth is a three-year varsity soccer player and a member of the National Honor Society. In addition to playing soccer, he was on the school’s rowing team and bowling team for two years. He was recently named the Scholar Athlete and has volunteered at Saint Anthony Community Hospital in Warwick for the past two years. Duckworth will attend SUNY Binghamton where he will pursue a career in bioengineering. 4. Harry Decimo “You have a lot of interaction with teachers. You’re more motivated to study and succeed. It’s a more personalized experience.” Decimo is a member of the school’s Concert Choir, Vocal Ensemble, and Jazz Band, and has held roles in the school’s drama musical productions throughout his high school career. For two years, he has been a participant in Citywide Youth Opera, an organization that provides classical voice training to high school students in the tri-state area. In 2008, he played as a guitarist in the Rockland Youth Jazz Ensemble, a select group of young musicians from the Hudson Valley. He has performed in multiple All County and NYSSMA Festivals, and attended the 2008 New York State Music Festival at Oneonta. Outside of music, he has been a member of the Interact Club, Protectors of the Earth, and a participant in the school’s “Haunted Hallways” fund raiser as well as the Tuxedo Clean Sweep, a program devoted to keeping the streets of Tuxedo litter-free. Decimo will attend Ithaca College to major in music performance and education. 5. Emily Turi “There’s less kids here and we have a larger focus on academics. I have relationships with my teachers so it makes it easier to listen and learn.” Turi is a member of the school’s chapter of the National Honor Society, is co- captain of the Tuxedo Crew Team, and a member of the Senior Council. She is also a member of the Interact, yearbook and math clubs. Her volunteer work includes being a part of the annual spaghetti dinner for an autism foundation. She also volunteers at the Elant nursing home, making crafts projects with elderly residents. Turi will attend Providence College. 6. Michelle Cloutier “I think it’s the small atmosphere… it promotes a great learning environment. The teachers can really help you and it’s more concentrated on students. There’s a really small ratio of students to teachers.” Cloutier is a member of the school’s chapter of National Honor Society, treasurer of the yearbook, secretary of the Interact Club, president and vice president of the Math League and captain of the volleyball team. She attended states with the crew team, is a NYSSRA scholar athlete, an OCIAA scholar athlete. She also participates in the New Vision Engineering Program, and volunteers at Good Samaritan Hospital. Cloutier will attend the Stevens Institute of Technology and major in engineering physics in addition to playing on the college’s volleyball team. 7. Gregory Brunner “I got to know my teachers more and they got to know me and how I studied and what tricks helped me to know the material better. With any small school scenario, I was able to get more attention from my teachers than I would in a larger school setting.” Brunner is a member of the school’s chapter of the National Honor Society, and is a band and choir member. He is also a member of the National Technical Honor Society as well as the New Visions Engineering program. He is also an Eagle Boy Scout and a member of Boy Scout Troop 121. He was selected to attend the American Legion’s Boys State program. Brunner is a three year member and captain of the varsity soccer team and a four year member of the varsity wrestling team, where he was four time Section 9 Wresting champion. He also played varsity baseball for two years. Brunner will attend Syracuse University and plans to study mechanical engineering. 8. Alyssa Finnegan “You get to know all the teachers a lot more. You know everybody. It’s more personal. It’s more comfortable.” Finnegan is a member of the school’s chapter of the National Honor Society as well as the Interact and bowling clubs. She also participated in the school’s annual musical production. Finnegan dances six days a week and teaches young children at a local dance studio. She will attend Rider University. 9. Rebecca Monaco “In a small school setting, you’re able to get more confidence you need for the real world. It helps you to achieve small goals that come together as larger goals. Everything is more personalized. There’s more discussion in the classroom.” Monaco is a second degree black belt and certified instructor in taekwondo at United Martial Arts Centers. She teaches children’s classes as well as adult classes and is a part of the demonstration team. She competes in martial arts and attended the World Taekwondo Cultural Expo in South Korea where she took home two silver medals on a national level. She also attended the West Point Summer Leadership Seminar in May 2010. Currently, she works at Reflections Spa in Vernon, N.J. Monaco will attend St. John’s University. 10. Graham Kilduff “It is certainly nice to have a smaller class and have more personal relationships with your teachers. It was less competition because of the smaller numbers of kids. It’s nice to get to know everybody, especially in the honors classes. We all got to know each other pretty well over the course of four years.” Kilduff is a senior officer in the school’s chapter of the National Honor Society, and has been captain of the boys’ crew team for two years. In addition to the honors and AP courses he has taken throughout high school, Kilduff has participated in JV soccer, varsity cross country, and several drama productions. Kilduff will attend SUNY Binghamton.

With a small school population, you have to be one of the few to push yourself beyond average. You have to continue to challenge yourself regardless of the competition around you.” Brian Duckworth

The Top 10 students at George F. Baker High School in Tuxedo
1. Ann Murphy
2. Noreen Goldberg
3. Brian Duckworth
4. Harry Decimo
5. Emily Turi
6. Michelle Cloutier
7. Gregory Brunner
8. Alyssa Finnegan
9. Rebecca Monaco
10. Graham Kilduff