By Adam Swift
Nine Revere students were presented with the George V. Colella Academic Achievement Awards at the beginning of Monday night’s city council meeting.
One fifth grader from each of the city’s six elementary schools and one eighth grader from each of the three middle schools received a $200 award along with a certificate from the council.
Ward 4 City Councillor Paul Argenzio, who is related to former Mayor Colella, hosted the awards, and thanked former Superintendent and school committee member Carol Tye, who served as the host of the ceremony for a decade.
“Carol’s dedication to the education of young people in Revere is legendary, and her personal educational partnership with Mayor Colella benefitted all of the students of Revere,” said Argenzio.
The awards are presented annually to outstanding students in recognition of their academic excellence and citizenship.
“Thus far, including tonight’s recipients, 99 students will have received the awards in the 11 years of the program, amounting to over $16,000 in award honorarium,” Argenzio said. “Mayor Colella conceived of the awards program and arranged for the personal funding of the program just months before he passed away in 2010. While his accomplishments as mayor of Revere are numerous, his foremost personal legacy was in providing the best quality education for the young people of our city.”
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Dianne Kelly said all of this year’s award winners are worthy and live up to the expectations of what Colella had in mind when he created the program.
“Mayor Colella, Councilor Colella, School Committee member Colella was a champion of young students and he felt that we needed to do more in the early years when students are leaving elementary schools or middle schools and encourage them to continue to work with a strong work ethic that they have already demonstrated through high school and through college,” said Kelly.
The principals or vice principals from all the schools highlighted the achievements of the award winners, as well as read words of praise from the student’s teachers. Many of the students are already looking forward to colleges and careers once they graduate from the Revere Public Schools.
This year’s George V. Colella Academic Achievement Award winners from eighth grade are:
Garfield Middle: Marco David Spiriti
Rumney Marsh Academy: Narolyn Baez Rodriguez
Susan B. Anthony: Tyler Pham
The fifth grade winners are:
Beachmont: Juliette Calderon Tejada
Garfield: Fartun Kastani
Hill: George Fotiadis
Lincoln: Tavleen Kaur
Paul Revere: Gioia Sciaraffa
Whelan: Ariana Delplank Bastianeli
“This is a very important award, and later on tonight, we are going to talk about the (Revere Community Scholarships),” said Mayor Patrick Keefe. “Almost every year when we do a Community Award, a former Colella recipient receives it.”
Keefe noted that for several of the past years, the funding for the Colella Award was provided by former Mayor Brian Arrigo. Keefe said the city is committed to solidifying the funding for the program in the coming years.
“I have to mention this, Carol Tye always talks about how readers are good writers, and writers are good readers, and she always does a little bit extra on the community award,” said Keefe. “She is a special person in our community who has championed for so much, and we are very thankful.”
