What started with a motivational speech at the end of March ended Monday with a giant paper chain wrapped around the Lewiston-Porter Intermediate Education Center parking lot. Students assembled a 534-foot-long chain and shouted, "We are kind!"

St. Peter's R.C. School in Lewiston announces the following students have been named to its high honor, honor and merit rolls for the third quarter marking period.

As part of Niagara Homecoming, the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center, formerly Niagara Falls High School, will be holding its first-ever all-class alumni reunion on Saturday, June 25, from noon to 6 p.m. LaSalle and Trott students are also welcome to attend. Both NFHS and LaSalle memorabilia dating from the 1920s to the 1990s will be on display, and former NFHS students who lost their lives in a war will be featured on a Memory Wall.

The Lew-Port Class of 2011 recently celebrated the end of the school year with the Lewiston Police Department, which presented its annual picnic for the graduating seniors at Fort Niagara State Park. The day featured a parade of uniquely decorated Class of 2011 student vehicles escorted into the park by the Lewiston Police, New York State Parks Police and Niagara County Sheriff's Office.

The Niagara Wheatfield Kiwanis donated $1,200 to West Street Elementary School to support the schools implementation of Steven Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People curriculum.

The Wheatfield Business Association awarded scholarships at its May 16 meeting to Holly Zuch, Adam Donner and Jonathon C. Wilson. The WBA scholarships are opened to any graduating high school senior currently a resident in Wheatfield.

A search committee is being formed by Niagara-Wheatfield Superintendent Carl Militello to find a new principal for the high school.

Pam Kilmer, director of the Early Childhood Education Center at the First Presbyterian Church of Lewiston, offers "kudos" to the art department at Lewiston-Porter High School.

Niagara University, in partnership with the City of Niagara Falls and the P2 Collaborative of Western New York, has been awarded an 18-month, $300,000 grant from The John R. Oishei Foundation for the implementation of "Creating a Healthier Niagara Falls: A Neighborhood Empowerment Approach."

A birthday is celebrating a life. A birthday is remembering a life. A birthday is a time to reflect in the fight back through life's most difficult times. Celebrate, remember and fight back at Relay For Life in Lewiston.

Business First conducted an analysis of 97 of Western New York's 98 school districts by examining four years of test data provided by the New York State Department of Education. Each school district was then given a rating, indicating the general performance of its public elementary, middle, and high schools. Wyoming, the 98th district, does not have a public high school and therefore did not receive a rating.

Jennifer Herman applied white paint to the steps leading up to the Aquarium of Niagara's entrance while Myriam Witkowski heaved 40-pound packages of vegetables onto a truck bound for a Niagara Falls food pantry.

A popular Niagara University program enabling high school students to earn college credits has received national accreditation.

The unusual tie vote for a one-year term on the Niagara-Wheatfield Board of Education was officially broken Monday when candidate Daniel Maerten dropped out of the running allowing Steven Sabo to take the seat.

Mariska Raglow-DeFranco of Niagara-Wheatfield High School is on the first team and Haley Keeley of Starpoint High School is on the second team for Business First's 2011 All-Western New York Academic Team.

Area young people ages 8-17 will have a chance to take to the skies on International Young Eagles Day, June 11, as Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 46 hosts a Young Eagles Flight Rally at the Lancaster Airport.

The Youngstown Free Library is now on Facebook. "One way to learn about events, new materials or to check on our hours is to 'like' the library on Facebook," says the library's Jan Gilgore.

Niagara Catholic High School is proud to announce its 2010-11 "MasterMinds" team achieved first-place honors in Buffalo League 5, comprised of seven area public and private high schools, finishing the season with a 12 wins and 0 losses.

Drs. Mary McCourt and Larry Mielnicki, both Niagara University professors, are seeking females over age 18 to volunteer for a study that aims to detect biomarkers for breast cancer in the urine of women.

More than 100 Niagara University employees will tackle community service projects at 21 locations throughout Western New York on Thursday, June 9, as part of the university's annual Day of Service.

The Niagara Falls Education Foundation Inc. will present Distinguished Alumni Awards for the first time in the history of the Niagara Falls School District to Arthur Elia and Frank Mirabelli, cousins and friends whose families began successful construction related businesses in Niagara Falls.

Hundreds of families and scores of kids visited Artpark on Sunday to partake of the debut "Fairy House Festival." The event was created to reunite video game-playing children with nature through the creation of miniature houses. Buildings, made of sticks, moss, shells and other natural materials, adorned the trees and sat in the fields at the Lewiston performing arts venue.

Generally speaking, it's adults who can't wait to visit Artpark for a concert or special event. But not this Sunday. It's then that children from across Western New York will descend into the Village of Lewiston for the first "Fairy House Festival."

Border Community SERVICE of Niagara University is hosting a free Citizen and Community Preparedness conference at Niagara University on Saturday, June 4. The "Empowering Volunteers" Conference is designed to provide training opportunities and workshops detailing "best practices" in citizen and community preparedness initiatives. The event is for community volunteers and leaders in Niagara County, Erie County and the City of Buffalo.

Niagara University's Castellani Art Museum presents the opening of "Jason D'Aquino: Old Possum and the Fantasticals" from 2 until 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 5.

Niagara Catholic High School's annual "Showcase of Talent" was held Wednesday, May 11, in the Bishop Duffy - Alumni Gymnasium.

Students and faculty of St. Peter R.C. School in Lewiston held an all-school paper drive in recognition of Earth Day this year and they recycled more than 15 tons of paper.

YI-DAN CHA GI Martial Arts Center, 3305 Niagara Falls Blvd., Wheatfield, will hold a special event on Saturday, June 11, hosting the president of the U.S. Martial Arts Hall of Fame, professor Marty Cale.

Danielle R. Forsyth, daughter of Donna and Daniel Forsyth of Lewiston, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hamilton College on Sunday, May 22, concluding the college's 199th year.

The Lewiston Public Library, 305 S. Eighth St., in the Village of Lewiston, announces the following programs, events and activities for the month of June:

Prom is one of those days girls dream about from the time they are a little girl. I remember my prom was a night that I wanted to be picture perfect. The preparation began months beforehand. Much planning goes in to one the biggest nights of your high school career.