From the South Orange-Maplewood School District:
Thirty-two members of the Maplewood Middle School Model UN Club recently attended the Model UN Conference sponsored by the International Affairs Society of George Washington University.
The delegates worked for more than six weeks at their after-school club preparing for the conference, which was held on November 7, 2015. More than 400 students from the District of Columbia and several states including New York, New Jersey, Washington, Virginia and Maryland participated in the day-long conference.
The students met at MMS at 4:00 a.m. dressed in the formal business attire dictated by the conference staffers. During the four-hour ride to Washington, DC, students practiced their speeches and helped each other prepare. Once in Washington, students attended opening ceremonies and then went to their individual conference rooms, where they played the roles of ambassadors, UN delegates, and famous historical figures such as former Secretary of State George Schultz and medical doctors from the Centers for Disease Control. They debated controversial issues such as immigration, national and international security, renewable energy, and the containment of food-related illnesses. After closing ceremonies and a long ride home, students arrived at MMS tired but successful at 10 p.m.
The MMS students who attended the conference were Violet Gordon, Phoebe Hill, Gianna LaPalerma, Olivia VandeVusse, Bante Lounsbury, Rafi Aronson, Anthony Florio, Damien Cataneo, Maxine Ostella, Josie Lally, Sophie Ostella, Zoe Ferguson, Ellie Mischel, Julia Ethan, Naomi Gordon, Helena Stepan, Bryn Healy, Maya Krauss, Katie Wilkes, Buchi Amobi, Will Schabacker, John McLaughlin, Kene Amobi, Tai Artis, Amelia Wissel, Alex Gaudelli, Ella Cervi,Katrina Guterman, Milo Obrutz, James Doherty, Zoe Selesnick, and Tim Rohan.
Model UN Club sponsor Mr. Marc Gold, MMS Vice Principal, and Ms. Susan Barry, Youth net volunteer, are very proud of all the delegates. Special thanks to parent chaperones Mr. Lally, Dr. Silvestri, and Mrs. Cervi. The club is looking forward to future conferences at St. Ann’s in Brooklyn and, most importantly, the New York City conference on March 31, April 1, and April 2, 2016.
