The Greater Bustleton Civic League awarded special recognition to five local grade school students last week for their achievements in academics and community service.
The Greater Bustleton Civic League awarded special recognition to five local grade school students last week for their achievements in academics and community service.
For the annual Student Community Service Awards, the GBCL asked faculties from five neighborhood grade schools to each select one student based on the pupil’s classroom performance and community volunteerism. Four of the five winners attended the civic group’s monthly meeting on May 27.
“The students here represent the majority of students who really work hard and do good in the community,” GBCL Vice President John McKeever said.
Parents and siblings of the winners filled the community room at American Heritage Federal Credit Union, alongside state Rep. Martina White and representatives for Congressman Brendan Boyle, state Sen. Tina Tartaglione, state Sen.-elect John Sabatina, state Rep. Kevin Boyle and City Councilman Brian O’Neill.
The awardees included:
• Ethar Bakri of Baldi Middle School. Bakri has had perfect attendance for three of the last four years, is a member of student council, played field hockey and lacrosse, works with special education students in the buddy program, volunteers for the March of Dimes, tutors students in the summer and recently used her artistic talent to make signs for a bake sale to benefit the family of a fallen police officer. She was a National History Day presenter, competed in a science fair at Penn State and attends the American Sudanese Society of Greater Philadelphia during the summer.
• Ryan Boone of Anne Frank Elementary School. He was described as “bright and conscientious, a good student, friendly and athletic.” He has played baseball, football and basketball for the Bustleton Bengals for six years and has been a school safety for two years. This year, when he learned about a fellow student who was in cancer treatment, he raised over $200 through the GoFundMe website to benefit pediatric cancer.
• Alex Coelho of Maternity BVM School. Coelho is a member of the school band and Teen CYO. In the classroom, he is always eager to raise his hand as a volunteer or to answer a teacher’s question. He has received Peacemaker of the Month award and is consistently an honor student. Outside of school, he is a Boy Scout and has helped many community projects.
• Thomas Curran of St. Albert the Great School. He was described as an “attentive, conscientious and well-prepared” student who works hard, participates actively, maintains good grades and helps his classmates when needed. He has been a member of CYO soccer and basketball teams, plays soccer for the Lighthouse club, has been involved in school plays and participates in Lunch with Santa and the school’s annual Easter Egg Hunt. Each summer, he volunteers at the school’s Bible Camp. He has participated in Change for Global Change, raising funds to support sustainability projects in third-world countries.
• Livia Telushi of Greenberg Elementary School. She is an A student, member of the school lacrosse team, eighth-grade yearbook staff member and member of National Junior Honor Society. She plays the piano and applies her creativity to her classwork. She was described as “very helpful to her teachers and fellow students” as well as “an excellent leader, student and all-around great person.”
In a separate agenda item, the civic group approved a zoning application that would allow the owner of 9990 Bustleton Ave. to open a new AutoZone to replace a gas station on the southwest corner of Bustleton Avenue and Red Lion Road.
Members voted 22–5 to approve the “special exception” allowing the retail auto parts use, on condition that the new business eliminate one of two existing entrances on Red Lion, that it restrict vehicle entrances and exits to “right turn only,” that the business remove underground fuel storage tanks and that it install new landscaping, including stormwater management. ••
