Tumbling to success

Ciara Hermann and Kylie Alicea have been nominated for this week’s Superintendent’s Spotlight because they exemplify the attributes that make up the Warwick Valley Central School District’s “A Portrait of a Graduate.”

Both Warwick Valley Middle School students, Hermann, a sixth-grader, is on the Blue 6 team in Anthony Gray’s and Teadie Becker’s classes. Alicea, a fifth-grader, is on the Green 5 team in Stephen Garby’s and Hayley Mistler’s classes.

Hermann, 11, and Alicea, 10, perform competitively in gymnastics through the Orange County Sports Club in Florida in its ACT program. Their dedication to the sport can be seen in their commitment to their practice schedule. On Mondays and Fridays, they leave school to practice for four hours. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they must leave school an hour before dismissal to attend practice that runs from 2-4 p.m., then take a 45-minute break for dinner and homework, and then return to the gym to practice for another four hours.

In total, each of them puts in 20 hours a week in practice, often coming home after 9 p.m. Their weekends are dedicated to competitions across the region and sometimes well beyond.

“When looking to nominate students for the Superintendent’s Spotlight, we always look for students who capture ‘A Portrait of a Graduate’ attributes,” said Secondary Associate Principal Christopher Radon. “You have two students here who work very hard academically. They walk around with smiles on their faces all day. They are extremely friendly and polite. And, they actually have to leave school an hour early two days a week because they are phenomenal, top-tier gymnasts.”

Radon said they they are collaborators and communicators because they work with their teachers and classmates to make sure any missed classwork is made up. They are resilient to be able to practice until 9 p.m. each night and show up ready for school the next day as well as doing their homework at the gym with the noise and distractions there. And, they are problem-solvers as they stay in during recess to do their homework.

“Just to have the drive at such a young age to come to school, have a good group of friends, be polite to the adults, get good grades and then take it to the gym and hit it there too is just super impressive to us,” Radon added.

Hermann said her top subject is social studies while Alicea likes math and social studies. For both, their favorite gymnastic events are uneven bars and floor exercise.

“I like hard math and complicated stuff,” Alicea said, adding that in social studies, she likes to learn about the past, North America and the states.

With gymnastics, they have goals that are driving their journey but they are also trying to have fun.

“I do gymnastics because my goal is to make it to college for the (University of) Florida Gators,” Hermann said. “I love it. And, it’s basically my life.”

“I also do it to get to college too,” Alicea said, “but I also do it because it takes different types of higher skills and to learn what people do in the Olympics.”

“They are two impressive girls right here,” Radon said. “How impressive it is to put that much time and effort into something out of school and be so committed to it and be really good at it? And, they don’t walk around full of themselves, either. You probably wouldn’t even know if you didn’t ask them about it. They get their homework done. They get good grades. What overall students they are and they really represent the ‘Portrait of a Graduate.’”