The following information was provided by Union Catholic High School.

The principal, Sister Percylee Hart, RSM, of Union Catholic High School, announced today that Brian Cattafe of Plainfield, Rosa Cuppari of Kenilworth, Taylor Diken of Fanwood, and Dara Maguire of Scotch Plains have been named Commended Students in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program.

A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the program, will be presented by the principal to these scholastically talented seniors.

About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2013 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top 5% of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2013 competition by taking the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

“Recognizing academically talented students plays a fundamental role in the advancement of educational excellence within our nation,” commented an NMSC spokesperson. “The young people recognized as Commended Students represent some of the best and brightest minds in the country as demonstrated by their outstanding performance in our highly competitive program. We sincerely hope this recognition will provide them with additional educational outlets and motivate them in their pursuit of academic achievement.”