The Wheatley High School team in Nassau County’s East Williston School District is savoring its victory over county rival Clarke High School in neighboring East Meadow. The win in the Region VII championship secures the team a spot in the state tournament in Albany later this month.

Wheatley’s attorney adviser, former prosecutor David Schwartz, praises his team for having a solid handle on the law.

“That last trial was a fierce battle! We pride ourselves in knowing more law than any other team, but when you go up against a traditionally excellent team like Clarke, it was a battle, and they were on their game,” he said.

One of the team’s strengths, according to co-captain Alicia Wang, is that they are not afraid to apply the law in an abstract or unconventional way.

“We kind of like testing things out at trials. We’ve tried different things like incriminating one of our own witnesses in our first trial,” she said. “We like to come up with new things that other teams haven’t done.”

“They call it risk, but I call it just good lawyering,” added Schwartz. “When you get to the point where you become a master of the law and a master of the facts, you don’t need a script. They’ve figured out how to get out of their comfort zone and become terrific attorneys and witnesses.”

Co-captain Michael Bank says the long hours of preparation played a significant role in the team’s success.

“It’s a testament to all this work that we’ve put in. You know it’s helped me realize, that the more time and effort you put into something, the more you get out of it,” he said. “This year we really stepped it up, it was a make-or-break year, and we really wanted this win.”

The hard work has paid off in many ways for team members. Co-captain Adriana Petrizzo is now interested in pursuing a career in law as she heads to college next year.

“After a lot of searching, I realized that I actually did want to be a lawyer,” she said. “I ended up curating like a lot of my extracurriculars around law and criminal justice because mock trial developed such a passion in me.”

Schwartz extols the benefits of mock trial for his students while also encouraging other attorneys to volunteer with a team in their area.

“What better community service is there, than to work with the mock trial team and these amazing students? Mock trial is something that will live with all of them for the rest of their lives and will be an asset and a benefit way beyond this season.”

The statewide Mock Trial program and tournament is sponsored by the New York State Bar Association and funded in part by a grant from The New York Bar Foundation. It brings thousands of high school students together each year to learn about the law, practice public speaking and develop life skills. The state tournament with eight regional teams takes place in Albany each May.

Correction to Mock Trial Article in the Previous Issue (# 204)

Barbara Giarmo Smith (1982) Writes - “The WT Clarke Mock Trial coach is Paul Henning. He is a long-time, well-respected teacher in the school district and community.

Both of my kids graduated from there, and Mr. Henning taught them, coached them for Mock Trial, AND coached them for football.

Correction to San Francisco Bay Gathering Article in the Previous Issue

Susan Stone graduated in 1970, not 1968. Mea Culpa.

San Francisco Bay Gathering Follow-Up

Joel Harris (1972) Writes - “Art, I can’t even begin to tell everyone how much fun (and how honored) I was to attend a High School reunion with my son Bryan, Wheatley 2001. The range of graduations spanned from 1961 to 2001. One of the more interesting facts was that we were all able to speak about our teachers in common. That just doesn’t happen everywhere. Just a few weeks later, I‘m back in the school, participating in local elections. It’s been 55 years in this house, much to speak about and many memories to share.

Another Set of Triplets — And Nine Sets of Twins — In the Class of 2014

Writes Jodi Koelsch - “There was a set of triplets in the Class of 2014, Za” Emory. My daughter, Melissa Koelsch, graduated with them and went to Emory as well.

Writes Newsday - “Wheatley School's Fraternity of Fraternals”

April 19, 2011

A school with one, two or even three sets of twins in a grade is not unusual. But if you take those three sets, multiply by three, and add in a set of triplets, then you're approaching world-record territory. Multiples make up 3 percent of the population, but a group of students at The Wheatley School in Old Westbury blows that statistic out of the water.

There are nine sets of twins and a set of triplets in the ninth grade there, accounting for 13 percent of the 166 students in the freshman class. Only one other school in the world has more, according to Guinness World Record officials. That's a high school in Texas, which, out of 429 students in the junior class, has 10 sets of twins and a set of triplets.

Wheatley's multiples are all fraternal, consisting of seven sets of boy/girl twins, two sets of girl twins and a set of triplet boys. Although the school may fall short of Guinness book recognition, students and school officials have established a track record over the years of fostering strong bonds and individuality among the multiples. "Teachers and students here are connected in ways they simply aren't in other places," said principal Sean C. Feeney.

Besides the high school, the district has one elementary school and one middle school. "Because you can't choose to go to a different school in our district, for better or worse the kids are stuck with each other from day one," Feeney added. "That creates a level of intimacy that works well with the twins. And because none of the multiples are identical, a lot of people aren't fully aware of how remarkable this really is." The siblings, who have attended school together since kindergarten, have found comfort and strength in their numbers.

“I think it's good that we have so many twins in our grade,’ said Michael Lituchy, 14, whose twin is Katie. ‘People understand we're all individuals. If my sister and I were the only set of twins in the grade, I think we might feel separated.’ That connection has also been a source of confidence and motivation. ‘It's just a good feeling to know there are other people in your grade that you can relate to,’ said Daniel Wolff, who with brothers Matthew and Zachary are Wheatley's only triplets. ‘We know what to say and what not to say to our friends because we've dealt with the same issues with our siblings.’

After all these years, their classmates view the multiple multiples in their midst as the norm. The twins move easily in and out of their group of 21. While they might engage in the same extracurricular activities, such as the jazz band, the orchestra and student government, and participate in the same community service projects, such as the annual charity walkathon, socially, the twins comfortably go their own separate ways. When it comes to designing their academic program, there is such a diversity of courses and options, separation seems to happen by default.

‘Most of the multiples are in separate classes,’ said Feeney, whose building also has five sets of twins in the eighth grade, two in the 11th grade and one in the 12th grade. ‘When we're scheduling at the high school level, we take into account a lot of variables, and we look at but do not place a lot of emphasis on it.’

Sisters Jessica and Lauren Perry have the same lunch hour and choose to be in band, public speaking, and Spanish classes together. ‘In kindergarten, I'd cry if Lauren wasn't there with me," Jessica said. ‘By middle school, most of the time I was annoyed when she was around. But now in high school, I don't mind either way.’

Indeed, it seems this grade teeming with twins is no big deal to anyone in the community. Few parents and students, even those in the ninth grade, were aware of exactly how many sets of multiples there were. When a copy of the People magazine featuring the Texas twin record holders was brought to their attention, the whole district was surprised to realize how close they were to Guinness notoriety. ‘Outside of school, if someone finds out you're a twin, they say, 'Oh, that's so cool.' But not here, not really," added Ryan Kenny.

The multiples' camaraderie doesn't mean there's no urge to compete. ‘Having a twin brings out a lot of competition for grades,’ said Ben Goldbaum, whose twin is Sabrina. The other twins agreed, but said the friendly rivalry might also encourage their siblings to try harder.’ ‘I think that who does better on their report card is not so much a problem with our parents as it is between us, admitted Ryan's twin, Melissa.

The students' parents said they are unfazed by the number of twins and triplets at Wheatley, but emphasized they understand the issues relating to identity and individuality that are unique to their children. Though none are twins themselves, they are sensitive to the tug of war between cooperation and competition. ‘We never compare their grades,’ said Cindy Brahms, mother of Taylor and Griffin. ‘They have different skills and different interests. All we ask is that they each work to the best of their ability.’ Brahms echoed the concerns of many parents who said they'd never want one child's strengths and weaknesses measured against the other's. ‘I always say, I treat my boys as if they were individuals in different grades, but born on the same day," said Jane Wolff, mother of Wheatley's triplets.

Cindy Joel, mother of Danielle and Sam, said being a multiple has its advantages. ‘I think they're even more comfortable socially than single children, having grown up together,’ said Joel. ‘They share a lot of the same friends and have friends individually. It's no big deal.’

Though college is a few years away, the togetherness may run its course once high school is over. Only one set of Wheatley's twins said they plan to apply to the same college. Until graduation, the district will continue nurturing its bumper crop of multiples, who are devoted to one another yet remain independent. ‘You can't really explain what being a twin is like . . . it's weird," said Taylor Brahms. ‘But here, you don't have to. There are so many other people who know exactly how you feel.’

A short lesson on multiples

In the past two decades, the rate of multiple births in the United States jumped dramatically. Today, more than 3 percent of babies in this country are born in sets of two, three or more; approximately 95 percent of these multiple births are twins.

But did you know:

Identical twins have the same genes, so they generally look alike and are the same sex. A woman's chances of having identical twins are not related to age, race or family history. Fraternal twins (like other siblings) share about 50 percent of their genes, so they can be different sexes. They generally do not look any more alike than brothers or sisters born in single-birth pregnancies. Women in their 30s are more likely than younger women to conceive multiples spontaneously.

In 2008, the latest year of available statistics, the United States recorded: 138,660 twin births; 5,877 triplet births; 345 quadruplet births; 46 quintuplets and other higher-order births.”

The History of the Beginning of Fencing at Wheatley

Peter Calderon (1961) Writes - The Wheatley Fencing team was formed in the fall of 1960, because all the military academies on Long Island had fencing teams, and there was a high school circuit that include several other schools. Also, the father of my classmate, Richard Amster, was a fencing champion at Ohio State. Richard and the son of my dentist had been fencing locally for a couple of years, and they needed a third teammate, so they recruited me at the end of the tennis season. That first year, we ended up finishing second in the league to Garden City. The coach encouraged me, and I took to it very quickly; I won the Long Island fencing championship in March 1961 after having first touched a fencing blade on November 15, 1960. I then went on to Princeton, and we won the NCAA championships in 1964, which was a big surprise to everyone, including our classmate, Bill Bradley, who was in the Olympics that year and became a New Jersey senator after a career with the New York Knicks.

The real Wheatley fencing star was my girlfriend, Carol Abby. I gave Carol her first fencing lesson, and she joined Wheatley’s Girl’s Fencing Team. She was so talented that after fencing for only three or four months, she won the Long Island Girls Championship. I had no idea that she would be so gifted, although I recall that her Mom was an avid athlete. In May of 1961, Wheatley Principal Norman Boyan presented us with medals on stage during an assembly.

Carol became a member of the of the Women’s US fencing team at the 1968 Olympics and married another fencer, who also trained at our club at the Willets Road School and who adored her. Carol and I broke up during my first year at Princeton. She had sent me off to Princeton with a photograph of herself and written “to Peter, my angel with horns “ — which was very descriptive of our relationship.

Years later, when she turned 60, I tried to encourage her to to join the Veterans Fencing Circuit, which is 50+, and train to join the US team at the Veterans’ World Championships . She didn’t bite. I think she told me that she played golf. I’m sure she must be very good. I finally won the World championship in saber in Limoges, France, in 2015 at 72.

And that’s how fencing began at Wheatley.

Ciao,

Peter

Karen Strumpfler Tucker (1962) Writes - “I was cajoled into joining the fencing team when it was first created. I was not very good, but it was fun. Peter, you were amazing!

Graduates

Fine and Practical Arts Program - June 7, 1957

Foreign Student Exchange Fund Benefit

Music - Color - Design

Peter Calderon (1961) Writes - “Many of my classmates are there by name. I had a crush on several of the girls: Carole Goetsch (with whom I danced to Elvis’ Blue Suede Shoes); Amy Gettinger, Nancy Kurshan (who made my Wheatley year when she invited me to our Sadie Hawkins dance); Judy Schaffel, Paula Ross, Jeanne Messing, and Nancy Simmons. What a crowd?! And I almost forgot Marcia Podell. Marcia was not timid. She was the first girl I ever kissed. Must have been in 1957. And I also spot my sister, Phyllis, Class of 1962.

Nancy Simmons was very pretty and reserved. She lived in East Williston, and I was always excited to be next to her in my Mom’s car. I heard some years ago that she wanted nothing to do with Wheatley. Apparently, she married some high end Frenchman and lives the vie de chateau in France. Perhaps my little palais in Nîmes would impress her enough to acknowledge her roots.

In the Spring of 1957, most of us were not yet 14. We had just finished 8th grade. It was Wheatley’s first year on Bacon Road. My class entered in the 7th grade, making us the first class to matriculate from the beginning.

1961 - Peter Calderon - “I appreciated seeing the photo of Art Engoron (1967) with Tim Jerome (1961)— my classmate, who has remained a friend all these years, together with his companion, Judy Schaffel Rubin. I’ve seen Tim perform on the stage several times.

1963 - Carol Abby Benjamin - “My husband, Mel (whom I met while we were both fencing on Long Island), and I are well, and we continue to stay active. In the 1990s, I took up running and competed in at least a couple of dozen marathons and half marathons. I won a gold medal in fencing at the 1965 Maccabiah Games in Israel, and I returned to the games 48 years later to compete in the master’s half marathon, where I won a silver medal in the age group competition. (See photograph below).

I was on the 1968 Olympic Games Fencing Squad as an official alternate. I was also Intercollegiate champion in 1966, part of the U.S. team at the under 20s World Championship in Belgium in 1963, and a member of the 1965 World Championships Team in Paris in 1965.

Mel and I also took up long distance bicycle touring. After a few cycle-across-Maryland tours, when Mel retired in 1999, we rode across the U.S., from Los Angeles to Boston, averaging more than 80 miles a day over seven weeks as part of an organized tour group. We have also ridden in Ireland, Nova Scotia, Italy, down the Florida Keys, and along the Pacific Coast Highway.

Today, to stay active, I continue to take ballet lessons and bike, and Mel and I walk our dog, Bella, 2 to 3 miles a day.”

1967 - 1979 - 2008 - Wildcat Legal Eagles

L-R - Ishan Dave (2008), Art Engoron (1967), Donald Watnick (1979) - New York City, May 20, 2025

1967 - Art Engoron - In Dim Sum Heaven

With. Father-Daughter Lawyer Team at The House of Joy, 28 Pell Street, Chinatown, NYC, May 20, 2025.

1967 - Andy Summers - Barry Gordon (1965) Writes - “Ken Janowitz (1967), Andy and I were fraternity brothers at Carnegie Mellon University. After graduating from CMU, Andy studied at MIT and became a naval architect. He designed the USS Cole, a US Navy destroyer that Yemeni suicide bombers piloting a small boat laden with explosives, attacked while refueling in Aden Harbor. The blast killed 17 sailors and injured 39 others, leaving a 40-foot-wide hole in the ship's hull. However, Andy's ship did not sink!”

Fan Mail

Administration (Sean Feeney, former Wheatley Principal) - “Thank you for all you do to keep the Wheatley community connected. Your efforts are so impressive!”

1961 (Peter Calderon) - “Thanks for taking the time and interest to publish Wheatley lore.”

1963 (Carol Abby Benjamin) - “Thank you, Art, for all of your efforts in publishing The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter.”

1965 (Barry Gordon) - “Thank you for another great Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter!”

1972 (Joel Harris) - “Thank you for all you do to put together this Newsletter of engagement.”

1980 (Peter Cohen) - “Thank you for the Alumni Newsletter. You do a great job with that!”

The Official Notices

All underlined text is a link-to-a-link or a link-to-an-email-address. Clicking anywhere on underlined text, and then clicking on the text that pops up, will get you to your on-line destination or will address an email.

In the first 24 or so hours after publication, Wheatley Alumni Newsletter # 204 was viewed 4,705 times, was liked seven times, and was commented upon twice. In all, 4,331 email addresses received Newsletter # 203.

The Usual Words of Wisdom

Thanks to our fabulous Webmaster, Keith Aufhauser (Class of 1963), you can regale yourself with the first 204 Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletters (and much other Wheatley data and arcana) at

The Wheatley School Alumni Association Website

Also thanks to Keith is our search engine, prominently displayed on our home page: type in a word or phrase and, wow!, you’ll find every place it exists in all previous Newsletters and other on-site material.

I edit all submissions, even material in quotes, for clarity and concision, without any indication thereof. I cannot and do not vouch for the accuracy of what people tell me, as TWSAA does not have a fact-checking department.

We welcome any and all text and photos relevant to The Wheatley School, 11 Bacon Road, Old Westbury, NY 11568, and the people who administered, taught, worked, and/or studied there. Art Engoron, Class of 1967

Closing

That’s it for The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 205. Please send me your autobiography before someone else sends me your obituary.

Art

  Arthur Fredericks Engoron, Class of 1967

  WHEATLEYALUMNI@AOL.COM

  ARTENGORON@GMAIL.COM

  WWW.WHEATLEYALUMNI.ORG

  646-872-4833