SCHOOL DESK

Beekeeping at SAR yields honey

Posted

Salanter Akiba Riverdale High School students put on their jackets with a veil hat as they entered a bee arena.

Last year two sisters, sophomores Jordana and Sabrina Waxman, founded the high school’s beekeeping club. The club has grown to 15 people.

To be successful beekeepers, there is an important rule. And that is to know the bees. The club learned about the insect with four wings and its social castes from Rabbi Daniel Senter, an apiarist extraordinaire.

Once the weather warmed up, faculty advisor Dr. Qiao Fenger and the club installed two beehives on the roof of the building.

It was just their luck that after regularly checking over the school year, the hives produced their first batch of honey, just in time for the Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashana.

As the hives mature, 200,000 plus bees will produce even more honey in the coming years, according to the school.

Rosh Hashana, one of Judaism’s holiest days, marks the beginning of the New Year. Eating apples is a tradition. In ancient times, Jewish people thought that honey was a healing property.

National Guard promotions

Alexis Gil from greater Riverdale, assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment, has been promoted to the rank of private.

Major Gen. Ray Shields, the adjutant general for the state of New York, announced the promotion of members of the National Guard in their leadership responsibility.

The guard promotions are based on performance, attitude, leadership ability, and development potential.

The New York National Guard — a division of military and naval affairs — is responsible for governing and managing New York’s military forces. These forces consist of 20,000 members.

Gil, along with 225 others, was recognized as a qualified soldier. The promotion also attracts the highest caliber citizen soldiers for a career in the near future within the guard.

Similar to Gil, the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment recognized several soldiers for outstanding performance during a deployment.

Pfc. Ryan Diaz, a combat engineer assigned to the alpha company, received the Army Achievement Medal. Earlier this year, the guard recognized Diaz for outstanding performance during pre-mobilization training at Fort Drum.

The 69th infantry has a distinguished history dating back to the Civil War. The Battalion is the subject of Irish folk songs, “The Fighting 69th” and “fighting 69th,” a movie about its exploits in World War I.

The Battalion was called to active duty earlier this year and is preparing for an overseas security mission.

 

 

New York National Guard, Alexis Gil, Ryan Diaz, SAR high school, Jordana Waxman, Sabrina Waxman, beekeeping

Comments