School News: Braga Named All-State Again, Smyth Places in French Contest

LBHS Senior Chelsea Braga Named All-State Athlete in Volleyball Three Years in a Row

Chelsea Braga, a senior at Long Beach High School, was named an All-State volleyball player for the third year in a row. This five-year varsity athlete, who captained the team for three years, is also a four-time All-County and three-time All-Long Island player. She was named the All-Long Island Player of the Year. Braga set the school record with 1,709 kills, 1,280 digs and 323 aces, and also holds the fourth all-time record in blocks, with 133. A scholar-athlete, Braga is a member of the National Honor Society and the Foreign Language Honor Society.

LBHS Junior Places Second in Nation in French Essay Contest

Jane Smyth, a junior at Long Beach High School, placed second in the high school level of a national essay contest sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French. The theme of this year’s essay was “Les Antilles Françaises” (The French Caribbean). Smyth competed for this honor against high school students from around the nation. One of the goals of the AATF is to help students understand that French is spoken not only in France, but also in the Caribbean, Canada and several nations in Africa, Europe and South America.

A diploma candidate in her school’s International Baccalaureate program, Smyth is Junior Class treasurer and a member the National Honor Society and Model Congress. In science research competitions, she won a Gold Medal at the 2010 International Sustainable Work Project Olympiad and competed at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. She also writes for her school’s literary magazine, and has won local and state awards for her writing. Outside of school, she practices tae kwon do and ballet.

Smyth’s classmates Joselyn Chuquillanqui and Danielle Rueda also submitted essays and received certificates of participation. AP students Marlena Howard and Giulia Escobar received certificates of participation for their entries in the AATF Poster Contest, whose theme was also “Les Antilles Françaises.”

“We are very proud that Jane was able to eloquently express the real-world relevance of her French studies through this contest,” said Vivian Fiallo, director of World Languages and ELL Programs.