6/18/2026

STAMFORD HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL'S NEWSLETTER

55 Strawberry Hill Ave. Stamford, Connecticut 06902

Week Ending Thursday, June 18, 2026

Mr. Matthew Forker, Principal

STUDENTS SHINE AT THE KNIGHT OF EXCELLENCE!

5th Annual Event Celebrates the Best of SHS!

Friday night, Stamford High School hosted the Knight of Excellence, an incredible evening celebrating the absolute best of Black Knight Nation across academics, the arts, and athletics. The festivities kicked off with a red-carpet mocktail hour featuring student-themed drinks like the Stamford Sunrise and the fan-favorite 10th Floor Pool. Attendees also enjoyed a vibrant art walk through the first-floor loop, which showcased hundreds of diverse and creative pieces of student artwork.

The main event delivered a truly professional, award-show production complete with presenter speeches, nominee slides, and a live band to play winners to—and occasionally off—the stage. This year's program highlighted dozens of categories, honoring 165 student nominees alongside over 15 teams, programs, and clubs. This extraordinary tradition is made possible by a dedicated group of teachers and staff who volunteer their time, energy, and creativity year-round to make the night unforgettable.

To experience the magic of the evening, the community is invited to explore the digital event program to learn more about the categories and nominees or watch the full celebration via the YouTube livestream recording.

2026 Knight of Excellence Award Winners

Top Newcomers: Rebecca Notter and Hilary Ho

Lisa Melfi School Spirit Award: Nadav Coll

Individual Performance in Academia: Viktoria Kostyuk

Individual Performance in Visual Arts: Jaqueline Mencos Castillo 

Individual Performance in Performing Arts: Pavla Smid 

Individual Performance in Male Athletics: Midgerson Gelin (Wrestling)

Individual Performance in Female Athletics: Gabriella Mighty (Girls Wrestling)

Top 10 Class of 2026 (alphabetical order):

• Ella Buscemi

• Darcy Churchill-Joell

• Kathryn Diem

• Juan Manuel Garcia Ortiz

• Cal Gillin 

• Nundhini Mariam Mascarenhas 

• Gavin Margerum

• Kripa Rao

• Angad Sohanpal

• Sean Wyman

Department Awards

• Math: Rachita Sharma-Neupane 

• History: Carmela Stephe Belfort

• Business: Joel Donaire Banegas 

• Technology: Ameera Campbell

• Megan Beeney Excellence: Angela Carrillo

• Science: Amitai TelRav

• English: Michael Sarafin 

• MLL: Anastasiia Vasylyk

• World Language: Genesis Fabian Perez

• PE: Darren Hickey 

• Visual Arts: Matthew Golodinskii

• Performing Arts: Ava Carney

ECS Associates Degrees: Alfred Gascon, Ritchie Jara, Shashank Peel, Alec Stark, Nicholas Sutin 

Unified Sports Award: Neel Banerjee & Yeikol Rodriguez Barias 

Renaissance Student of the Year: Joaquin Field

Curtis Tinnin Dedication Award: Princess Stessy Hyppolite 

Milestone Award: Boys Soccer

Team of the Year Athletics: Girls and Boys Wrestling 

Team of the Year Academics/Arts Band

Kyle’s 20

Anthony Evanko, Isabella Kumail, Aiden Vetti, Elliott Browne, Mia Calorossi, Sophia Karipidis, Fiona Petrizzi, Ivana Roman, Natalie Cohen, Tula Keitmeier, Denys Baranovski, Gerrick Stone, Roheem Mcgawn, Jason Chien, Tyson Cantave Gianna LoParco, Skyla Johnson, Brooke Wolly, Yeinmer Zarate Condori, Junnior Contreras 

Service Award: Brandon Newman-White & La Mesa Redonda led by Karol Chavez and Branly Medina

Coach Boone Competitiveness Award: Anne Leydon 

Morgan Gulliver Courage Award: Amanda Cabrera 

Tamarie Sterling Grit Award: Mariah Colas 

Game of the Year: Football vs Westhill - Thanksgiving Day Game

Character in Education - Administrator Awards:

• Cielo Contreras - Mr. Passamano

• Justin Diaz - Mr. Ortiz

• Aidan O’Loughlin - Mr. Paulino

• Wilman Junior Ozuna Acosta - Ms. Carde

• Hosman Reyes - Mrs. Nixon

• Eddie Rohena - Mr. Moynihan

• Yahir Rojas - Mr. Ostasiewski

• Rachita Sharma-Neupane - Mr. Forker

• Cheyenne Terry - Ms. Albrecht

Career Achievement in Academia: Cal Gillin 

Career Achievement in Visual Arts: Laeliah Bailey 

Career Achievement in Performing Arts: Ava Carney

Career Achievement in Athletics: CJ Berlingo 

Performer of the Year in Visual Arts: Matthew Golodinskii 

Performer of the Year in Performing Arts: Zoe Guaman 

Performer of the Year in Academics: Carmela Stephe Belfort

Performers of the Year in Male Athletics: (Tie) John Thomas & Rory O’Halloran 

Performer of the Year in Female Athletics: Anne Leydon 

THIS WEEK’S UPDATE

Here are some quick updates and reminders for the academic week ending June 18, 2026.  Links have been provided, where applicable, to help with further details.  Have a great weekend with your families! 

JUNE DATES TO REMEMBER

June 17: SHS Graduation Celebrating the Class of 2026

June 18: Last Day of School

June 19: Juneteenth (School Closed)

SUMMER WORK

All summer work is now posted on the SHS website!

Go to stamfordhigh.org, then click on Academics to find the Summer 2026

Assignments page, or you can go through this direct link: https://www.stamfordhigh.org/academics/summer-assignments

SHS SENIOR “LAUNCHES” PROJECT

Senior Alexander Barker dedicates his engineering project to the Class of 2026!

As Alex stated: “Apart from being an engineering challenge, I see my model rocket as a symbolic representation of my journey as a graduating high school senior, as a metaphor for ambition and life’s mission. Rockets are often associated with reaching distant goals — whether in space or in life. It is also a symbol of exploration and the unknown. High school graduation is a big milestone for my classmates and me. We will be venturing into new areas of life, study, leadership, and creative expression in search of our personal mission in life. We will be stepping outside comfort zones to explore uncharted territories. Just as a rocket has to be designed, tested, and launched in order to reach its destination, our success in life will depend on finding our mission and persisting towards it through planning, execution, and resilience.”

SHS SENIORS HAVE ARTWORK FEATURED AT “THE BRUCE”

Huge congratulations to Jamie Rosado and Laeliah Bailey!

Their artwork has been selected for the prestigious iCreate Exhibition at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT. This regional competition showcases the very best high school art, and we are incredibly proud of their achievement.

This success is a testament to the talent within our Visual Arts program and the mentorship of AP Art instructor Mr. Eaton-Koch. Jamie and Laeliah recently gifted me copies of their pieces, which I am honored to display in my office.

Exhibition Details

The iCreate exhibition has celebrated student artists for nearly 20 years. This year, all submissions will be featured in a digital presentation, with selected works physically displayed in the gallery.

• Opening Day: June 11, 2026 (Awards and prizes distributed).

• Gallery Display: June 13 – August 23, 2026, in the Mahoney Gallery Lobby.

• People’s Choice Award: Public voting will take place throughout the summer, with the winner announced in late August.

We encourage the entire school community to visit the Bruce Museum this summer to support our talented artists!

SHS SUPPORTS “HOPE IN MOTION”

Recently, the boys soccer program volunteered at Mill River Park to set up for the annual Hope in Motion walk that raises money and awareness for cancer research. 

At this year's walk, there were over 1,000 participants that helped Stamford Health and the Bennett Cancer Center raise a grand total of $516,785. 

As a program, we are proud and honored to be able to help out at a community event as large and impactful as this one.

COLLEGE AND CAREER CENTER

The SHS College and Career Center Newsletter is up to date and can be found HERE. Follow the department on IG for updates and information and daily posts! @shscounselingdept  

2026-2027 SPORTS INFORMATION

Black Knight Athletics Registration – Opens May 5th for the 2026–2027 school year.

Registration for all Stamford High School athletic programs (Fall, Winter, and Spring) will open on May 5.

All student-athletes must complete registration online through Final Forms. A parent/guardian must register the student first – Then the student will get an email in their school email where they will log on and complete the registration. You can register here - https://www.stamfordathletics.org/about

Registration instructions can be found here:
https://www.stamfordathletics.org/about/registration-process

All athletes are required to have a current physical, which must be uploaded to Final Forms and approved by the school nurses (nurses check the website regularly to approve) prior to participation in:

• Any summer activities

• Tryouts for the 2026–2027 school year (Fall starts; golf 8/10, football 8/13 & rest 8/24)

Instructions for uploading a physical can be found here:
https://www.finalforms.com/blog/end-of-year-reminder-how-to-upload-a-physical-in-finalforms

Please note: Student-athletes who do not complete the full registration process (including an up to date physical) will not be permitted to participate.