West Essex Honors Retirees & Students at June 9th Board Meeting

The West Essex Regional Board of Education recognized a number of outstanding students, staff members, and retirees during its June meeting. Honorees were celebrated for their academic achievements, athletic accomplishments, leadership, service to the community, and years of dedicated service to the district. The evening highlighted the many successes of the West Essex school community and provided an opportunity to recognize those who have made a lasting impact on students and schools.

Honoring Our Retirees

The Board of Education recognized the following staff members for their years of dedicated service to West Essex and congratulated them on their retirement:

• Vincent Carchietta, West Essex High School
• Jenny Thom, West Essex High School
• Adalgisa Trinidad, West Essex High School
• Bonnie Jing, West Essex Middle School
• Diane Levine, West Essex Middle School
• Isaac Guzman, Buildings and Grounds

WEMS WE CARE Recognition Program

The following seventh-grade students were recognized through the WEMS WE CARE program: Hugo Braban Julian Bura, Harper Fargo, Autumn Lesh, Nora Levy, Sabrina Liscio, Margaret Mandek, Giancarlo Minaya, Layla Nabatian, Chase Pinto, Ryan Schiavone, Mason Scialdone, Alex Silberman, Mikayla Tecson, and Oscar Trzepla.

The following eighth-grade students were recognized through the WEMS WE CARE program: Jace Cali, Jude Conti, Anora Dela Pena, Lindsey Galvin, Gia Gencarelli, Mason Guerrieri, Marcos Hernandez, Camryn Kraft, Madison Mazzurco, Matthew Metz, Hayley Nelson, Addison Raniero, Tyler Rapp, Zachary Root, and Shane Zarah.

ShopRite Stars Recognition

Students were recognized for excellence in academics, athletics, the arts, leadership, and community service.

• Academics: Elyana Ghattas (Grade 12) and Zachary Cho (Grade 11)
• Athletics: Brooke Balzano (Grade 12) and Justin Fredella (Grade 12)
• The Arts: Miles Schmidt (Grade 11) and Maddox Van Do (Grade 12)
• Leadership: Samantha Van Ness (Grade 12) and Jasmin Cordero (Grade 11)
• Service to the Community: Kayla Felix (Grade 12) and Ellie Holinstat (Grade 11)

National Merit Commended Scholars

The Board recognized the following students for earning National Merit Commended Scholar status:

• Justin Kim
• Talia Machin
• Darshan Parmar
• Arthur Spritzer
• Kai-An Tsai

Advanced Placement Recognition

• AP Capstone Diploma: Siddharth Sooknanan
• AP Seminar and Research Certificate: Olivia Martin

2026 Unsung Hero Award

• Ivan Hernandez (learn more about Ivan)

Athletic and Academic Team Accomplishments

Wrestling

• North II Group III State Sectional Champions
• District 8 Champions
• 14 Consecutive Dual Meet Victories
• Reid Clausi – 4th Place Overall at 165 lbs.; District 8 Most Outstanding Wrestler
• Christian Bastante – Essex County Most Outstanding Wrestler
• Nine Regional Qualifiers
• Four State Qualifiers
• Mike Markey – District and Essex County Coach of the Year
• Nick Hughes – District Assistant Coach of the Year

Esports – Overcooked

• State Champions
• Undefeated Season
• Competed at Georgian Court University

Esports – Mario Kart

• State Champions
• Competed at Georgian Court University

Boys Tennis - Rohan Vyas – NJSIAA State Singles Tournament Champion

• First State Singles Champion in School History
• Season Record: 25-1
• Entered Tournament as the No. 4 Seed
• Defeated the No. 1 and No. 2 Seeds
• Ranked No. 114 Nationally and Rising

R.O.G.A.T.E. Academic Tournament

Students were recognized for their outstanding performance at the Essex County R.O.G.A.T.E. Academic Tournament hosted by WEMS on May 28. Congrats to the WEMS Varsity Team for earning 2nd Place Overall in Essex County!