4 Queens H.S. Seniors Aid Mayor On New Year’s Eve

Four seniors attending Queens high schools were among the 12 students who joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg in Times Square on New Year’s Eve to push the button for the ceremonial lowering of the Times Square New Year’s Eve ball. All the students chosen attend New York City public high schools, 12 of which ranked among the 100 “Gold Medal” best high schools in America, according to U.S. News & World Report; every borough in New York City is home to at least one of the 12 high schools. The individual students were selected by their principals to stand with the mayor because of their exceptional academic performance and community service.

Jeannette Raymond is Senior Council President at Townsend Harris H.S., Flushing, where she has participated in school musical productions for the past three years. Raymond co-founded the “Malcontents”, a music, art, and literature club, and the Students Against Animal Cruelty (SAAC) club. She has spent the majority of her free time caring for her parents. Her mother is confined to her home and requires round-the-clock care. Her father, Chief Master Sergeant of the 143rd Air Tactical Division of the United States Air Force, died on December 15. Raymond will graduate with an advanced Regents diploma in June before heading to college next fall.

Miguel Alejandro Peneranda Jr. is a senior at Newcomers H.S., Long Island City, where he is president of the student government and a member of the school’s fitness and tennis teams. Peneranda immigrated to the United States from Ecuador in July 2007. He is actively involved in numerous clubs and community service activities, including Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, City Harvest, the New York City Marathon and Big Brother, Big Sister. Peneranda will attend college next fall and aspires to be a high school teacher, preferably in New York City.

Fiona Porkka is a senior at Queens H.S. for the Sciences at York College, Jamaica. She is a top student at the school, excelling academically while participating actively in extracurricular activities and holding down a part-time job. Porkka is a member of the ARISTA honor society and vice president of the school’s video and photography club. She loves to read and to write fiction. She hopes to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Christina Gomes is a senior at the Baccalaureate School for Global Education, Long Island City. She is a successful student who is on track to earn an International Baccalaureate diploma while participating actively in a broad range of extracurricular and community service activities. She served as president of the student government during the 2006-07 school year and co-founded the school’s Women’s Empowerment Group. Gomes has participated for three consecutive years as an Earth Day volunteer in Socrates Sculpture Park, has tutored elementary school students in math, donated time to support the Salvation Army and the Humane Society, and volunteered as a trailblazer in a national park in Wyoming. Her creative interests include belly dancing, writing, sketching and watercolor painting.

“New York City is the most exciting and important place on earth 24/7, but there’s something particularly special about the last and first few seconds of the year, when more than a billion people around the planet have their eyes on us at the exact same time,” Bloomberg said. “In that brief window, we get to showcase to the world what’s best about New York, and I couldn’t be more proud that these students, who represent everything we’ve done together to turn one of the nation’s worst public school systems into its most promising, will be there with us.”

“[All 12] students represent some of the best schools in the nation, but they also represent the incredible diversity of our city, including recent immigrants and lifelong New Yorkers from all five boroughs,” Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said. “They are scholars, athletes, artists and leaders who give generously to their schools and to their communities. I am extremely proud of them, their peers and the educators whose dedication ensures that our students can look forward to continued success in 2010 and for decades to come.”