From a SOMS parent:
History was made for the Model UN Clubs from Maplewood Middle School and South Orange Middle School when both teams joined together to represent the district at the New York City Invitational Model UN Conference held at St. John’s University on Saturday, May 21st, 2016.
Seventeen students from MMS and SOMS took on the roles of UN delegates from Canada, Peru, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia in such committees as the Security Council, UNDP, UN Women, UNEP, and the Organization of American States. They spent the day in committee sessions, grappling with serious world issues – peace keeping reform,sustainable development for youth, maternal health, protecting marine ecosystems, and the rights of migrants.
What made this event even more remarkable is that our delegation was the only middle school group represented there; all other delegations were comprised of high school students. SOMS and MMS students received the praise and commendation of the conference organizers and staff for their level of preparedness, knowledge of subject matter, and speaking expertise. We are especially proud of two SOMS young women – Hazel Allison-Way and Abigail Ratner, who won First Place Distinguished Delegation for UNDP from Canada!
Students who attended the conference from SOMS were HazelAllison-Way, Abigail Ratner, Ellis Gordon, Jeremy Giles, Ben Svitasvky, Evan Fagan, Alex Glynn, and Kiran Sharma. They were accompanied by advisor Barbara Tsioni, teacher at SOMS; Katerina Karis is the advisor to the club as well.
MMS students who attended were Naomi Gordon, Kene Amobi, Buchi Amobi, Tai Artis, Julia Ethan, Alex Gaudelli, Armaan Jahangir, Tim Rohan, and William Schabacker; advisor Susan Barry accompanied the students to the conference. MMS Vice Principal Marc Gold and MMS teacher Meredith Hansen also sponsor and advise the club.
Based on the impressive success of this venture, the club members in both schools are eagerly planning and looking forward to more collaborative efforts in the future.
