New York’s Senator Announces Winners For Memorial Day Essay Contest
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SENATOR LANZA MEDIA ADVISORY – FRIDAY, MAY 15th ANNUAL 4th Grade MEMORIAL DAY ESSAY CONTEST RECOGNITION CEREMONY
Editor’s note: We’ve covered this essay contest in the past. See below for photos from the event and a full list of the winners and the schools they went to. Several private and parochial schools were represented in the list, including St. Clare’s. Another local school, Sacred Heart, previously hosted a Catholic ceremony honoring Our Lady Of Guadalupe.
SENATOR ANDREW LANZA HOSTS ANNUAL MEMORIAL DAY ESSAY CONTEST
Senator Lanza sponsored his annual Memorial Day Essay Contest to award 4th grade students across Staten Island for the exemplary work that they demonstrated within their essays. The essay topic for this year is “What Does Memorial Day Mean to Me?”
Fourth grade students from schools throughout Staten Island took part in this annual essay contest where each essay submission required 150 to 175 words on their own thoughts regarding what Memorial Day means to them. Teachers sent their students’ completed essays to the office of Senator Lanza where winners were selected from each participating school. Those selected were recognized at a ceremony on Friday, May 15, 2026, at P.S 56 at 4PM.
The 2026 “What Memorial Day Means To Me” essay winners are:
|
School
|
Name
|
|
P.S. 1
|
Brynn Murnane
|
|
P.S. 5
|
Isabel Paulos
|
|
P.S. 6
|
William Zanelli
|
|
P.S. 8
|
Mia Rivelli
|
|
P.S. 11
|
Amelia Ramos
|
|
P.S. 19
|
Lady Hernandez
|
|
P.S. 21
|
Valerie Perez Orea
|
|
P.S. 22
|
Ryan Mario Ruiz
|
|
P.S./I.S. 26
|
Yanlyena Zheng
|
|
P.S. 29
|
Enaya Kuriakose
|
|
P.S. 29
|
Davlat Normurodov
|
|
P.S. 30
|
Christopher Kotsis
|
|
P.S. 36
|
Olivia Papandrea
|
|
P.S. 37
|
Hunter Evins
|
|
P.S. 38
|
Andy Huang
|
|
P.S. 45
|
Fiona Hyland
|
|
P.S. 54
|
Dulanya Yapa
|
|
P.S. 55
|
Juliana Acaba
|
|
P.S. 56
|
Nora Eltayeb
|
|
P.S. 56
|
Kyle Saryian
|
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P.S. 57
|
Crystal Morales
|
|
P.S. 58
|
Evan Eltawahy
|
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P.S. 58
|
Nino Leonidze
|
|
P.S. 62
|
David Zemtsov
|
|
P.S. 65
|
Aranza Mendoza
|
|
P.S. 68
|
Francine Lewis
|
|
P.S. 68
|
Belen Rodriguez
|
|
P.S. 78
|
Amer Fadel
|
|
Academy of Saint Dorothy
|
Theresa Florio
|
|
James P. Murphy Staten Island Preparatory School – AHRC NYC
|
Gabriel English
|
|
New World Preparatory Charter School
|
Sophia Ballesteros
|
|
Notre Dame Academy Elementary School
|
Vivian Ornstein
|
|
Our Lady of Good Counsel
|
Rosa DeLessio
|
|
Our Lady of Good Counsel
|
Adriana German
|
|
Our Lady of Good Counsel
|
Patrick McEvoy
|
|
Our Lady Queen of Peace
|
Emily Bosso
|
|
Our Lady Queen of Peace
|
Montague “Monty” Taylor
|
|
Our Lady Star of the Sea
|
Michael Cheng
|
|
Our Lady Star of the Sea
|
Vincent Galante
|
|
Our Lady Star of the Sea
|
Anthony Saulle
|
|
Saint Ann School
|
Dominic Plaza
|
|
Saint Ann School
|
Vincenzo Ruggiero
|
|
Saint Clare School
|
Salvatore Russo
|
|
Saint Joseph Hill Academy
|
Aliette DiStefano
|
|
Saint Patrick’s School
|
Rocco Intoccia
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Saint Teresa – Saint Rita STREAM Academy
|
Joseph Arnone
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Saint Teresa – Saint Rita STREAM Academy
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Caylan Kagaoan
|
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Saint Teresa – Saint Rita STREAM Academy
|
Madison Shearin
|
|
Staten Island Academy
|
Charlie Martin
|
|
The Michael J. Petrides School
|
Yara Atta
|
Banner Image: Senator Lanza Memorial Day Essay Contest ceremony. Image Credit – Senator Lanza
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