Submitted Photo Honored as "Scholars of the Month" by the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville during its May 22 meeting at the Lakeshore Assembly of God Church in Westfield were high school seniors (front row from left) JonnaMarie Grigelevich, Brocton Central; Anne-Catherine Schaaf (June recipient), Westfield Academy and Central School; (back row from left) Josephine Simora, Chautauqua Lake Central; Anna Sena (April recipient), Chautauqua Lake Central; and Kailyn Gatto, Westfield Academy and Central School.

Academics, the arts and assorted achievements were announced when five high school seniors were given the “Scholar of the Month” distinction by the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville during its May 22 meeting at the Lakeshore Assembly of God Church in Westfield. As these students lead very busy lives, one of the students was an April recipient and another is a June recipient. The five honorees were JonnaMarie Grigelevich of Brocton Central School; Anne-Catherine Schaaf (June recipient) of Westfield Academy and Central School; Josephine Simora of Chautauqua Lake and Central School; Anna Sena (April recipient) of Chautauqua Lake and Central School; and Kailyn Gatto of Westfield Academy and Central School.

In attendance to honor these outstanding students were parents, school officials and members of this Rotary Club. This Scholars of the Month program followed dinner and some club business. Introducing the students and announcing highlights of their many accomplishments were Rotarians Dan Smith, Luci Petrella and Mary Swanson. Rotary Club President Janese Berkhouse congratulated the seniors and presented each of them with a framed certificate.

JonnaMarie Grigelevich, a Brocton Central School senior, is the daughter of Jenean Roth and Jon Grigelevich of Brocton. With an overall GPA of 96.429, she is academically ranked fifth in her class. By the end of her high school career, she will have earned 15 Jamestown Community College credit hours.

Grigelevich has been a member of the National Honor Society and the Junior National Honor Society. With her NHS involvement, she has participated in many community service activities. During her high school career, she has been very busy with various clubs and activities. By working on the yearbook, Grigelevich found a fun, creative outlet that helped her to participate in more school events and to bond with her teachers and peers. She was the president of the art club during her junior and senior years and was vice president of the French club as a junior. Also, she was a member of Envirothon, the school musical, book club, writing club and running club.

In her free time, Grigelevich likes to draw, paint, play tennis, swim, and write. She enjoys writing letters to her various pen pals from around the world. She is fond of creative pursuits, such as writing poetry and taking photographs of her surroundings. Art of all kinds is a huge driving force in her life. In the summer of 2017, she won a Congressional Art Award and had the privilege of flying to Washington, D.C. to see her art hanging in the Capitol Building, where it is still displayed today.

Grigelevich is so grateful for this experience and accomplishment that she was inspired to take a big leap and attend a design school. She currently works in the fast food industry in order to save for college, which she eagerly awaits. This fall she will attend The New School – Parsons School of Design in New York City. Though she is undecided about her major, she is leaning towards getting her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in integrated design or communications design. Though Grigelevich is very excited about moving to the “Big Apple,” she is grateful that she grew up in a small town that has a tight-knit community. It has taught her how important helping one another is, and she plans to continue her community service efforts even in the hectic, big city.

Anne-Catherine Schaaf, a Westfield Academy and Central School senior, is the daughter of David and Jennifer Schaaf of Westfield. By the end of her senior year, she will have earned 17 Jamestown Community College credits. She is also enrolled in SUNY Fredonia’s 3-1-3 Program and is taking three college courses at the Fredonia campus. In addition, Schaaf is enrolled in Principles of Biology through the SUNY College at Buffalo, and she completed Latin I and II online courses through Oak Meadow.

Schaaf enrolled in U.S. History through Johns Hopkins University and also several Advanced Placement courses at Westfield Academy. Because of her strong scores on her AP Examinations, she is a 2017 AP Scholar. At Westfield Academy she is enrolled in various Regents and other courses. This June she will earn her Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation with Honors with Mastery in Science.

By demonstrating the positive traits of character, leadership, scholarship and service, Schaaf was inducted into the National Honor Society during her sophomore year. She is captain of the Academic Bowl Team, and a member of student government, the environmental club and the track and field team. Also, she served as president of the Spanish club.

In her senior year, Schaaf was awarded the prestigious University of Rochester Bausch and Lomb Award for her excellence in science. Also, she volunteered to be a member of the Jamestown Business College’s Leadership Launch Program. She was the manager of the boys’ soccer team, and she volunteered at the Westfield Stray Cat Rescue. She has held employment at Midway State Park. This fall Schaaf will attend the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts to pursue a degree in history and pre-law, with hopes of becoming a lawyer.

Josephine Simora, a Chautauqua Lake Central School senior, is the daughter of John and Jeri Simora of Ashville. Academically ranked in the top 10 of her class, she will graduate this June with an Advanced Regents Diploma. Pushing herself academically, Simora has taken and excelled in many of the dual enrollment courses which her school offers.

She is consistently named to the honor roll and is a member of the National Honor Society. Simora has participated on the high school academic bowl team and has assisted with the costumes for various school musical productions.

Athletically, Simora has played junior varsity and varsity volleyball since eighth grade and has been a member of the Cheetah Volleyball program. Her hobbies include drawing, painting, making pottery, and playing the piano, French horn and ukulele. Also, she volunteers at the Hurlbut Memorial Community United Methodist Church soup kitchen.

After her high school graduation, Simora will attend LaSalle University where she will major in political science and then pursue her law degree. She would like to become a public defender or a human rights activist, and she aspires to one day be a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Anna Sena, a Chautauqua Lake Central School senior, is the daughter of Richard and Carol Sena of Ashville. This June she will graduate with an Advanced Regents Diploma and will have earned the honor of being CLCS Salutatorian of the Class of 2018, as she is academically ranked in second place. She has taken almost every Advanced Placement and dual enrollment course that her school offers, and she has excelled in all of them. Also, Sena was named to the Jamestown Community College’s Part-Time Student Dean’s List, and she was honored as a CLCS Student of the Month.

Active in school clubs and activities, Sena has served in student administration each year as president or vice president. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Science Olympiad and high school academic bowl team. As an integral member of the team that captured first place at the Chautauqua County Envirothon, she will be traveling with the team to participate in the state level of competition. At the end of her junior year, Sena was honored with the Rochester Institute of Technology Xerox Award.

Her other activities include performing at the school and in the community with chorale, band and chorus groups. She has had singing and dancing parts in the school musicals of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Little Women and Bye Bye Birdie.” Sena is a five-year member of and captain of the varsity soccer team, a five-year member of the track team, and a member of the ski club. Outside of school, Sena volunteers for Women’s Service – Chautauqua County in Jamestown, St. James Church and the Salvation Army. In addition, she volunteered at an elementary school in Lima, Peru.

This fall Sena will attend Jamestown Community College for her freshman year, then SUNY-ESF Ranger School in Wanakena, New York, for her second year, and finish her final two years of undergraduate study at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry campus in Syracuse. Sena plans to become a park ranger or conservationist.

Kailyn Gatto, a Westfield Academy and Central School senior, is the daughter of Karl and Cheryl Hoeft-Gatto of Westfield. As a participant in the Jamestown Community College Connections Program, Gatto enrolled in six JCC courses, and she will have earned 23 JCC college credits by the end of her senior year. She is also enrolled in two Advanced Placement courses, as well as other classes. For local high school credit, Gatto is a participant in We The People, a history competition in which she studies the U.S. Constitution and applies the document to real life situations and current events. This June Gatto will graduate with a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation with Honors.

Musically inclined, Gatto is currently enrolled in Music Theory I and Voice classes. She is a four-year member of senior high chorus and she plays the clarinet in the senior high band. Also, she is a member of the McClurg Street String Band and drama club. Plus, she is a member of Westwinds, a select choral ensemble, and Firecrackers, an all-female singing group. Gatto has performed in the school musicals of “A Christmas Carol,” “Into the Woods,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and “Cinderella.”

Because of her strong character, leadership, scholarship and service, Gatto is a member of National Honor Society. She is a past member of Key Club and Environmental Club. During her high school career, Gatto has earned several prestigious awards, including the Bud Beadle Band Award, the Katie Mansfield Award, the George E. Plumb Scholarship and the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle Alumni Association Writer’s Scholarship. During her junior year, she was selected by her teachers as the JCC College Connections Program’s Student of the Year. In the fall of 2018, Gatto will attend SUNY Fredonia to pursue a degree in music therapy. She plans to then earn her masters degree in music therapy, and to have a career as a music therapist.