Community Update

February 7, 2025

Dear Syosset Community:

Puxatawny Phil predicts six more weeks of winter and right on cue, we got yesterday’s storm. As snowstorms have been less frequent of late, it’s probably an opportunity to provide a reminder of how we approach weather-related decisions. Generally speaking, we make decisions about school closures or delays at 5:00am, prior to school buses beginning their morning arrival runs. On rare occasion, the forecast appears so certain that we may be able to confidently make an announcement the evening prior, but more often (as with yesterday’s storm) the forecast evolves and moderates overnight so an early decision might turn out to be a premature overreaction that needlessly complicates the lives of working parents and guardians.

Next week, a more significant snowfall is predicted (although this forecast too has been weakening). As I explained at last month's school board meeting, my inclination is to call a “traditional” snow day when outdoor play in fresh snow appears possible. Should we start to exhaust our snow days, we will be more inclined to consider “remote” instruction days. No matter what the eventual decision, our facilities team starts the cleanup super early in order to preserve our options, so I want to give a special thanks to them for the extra effort on Thursday.

Each year, to kick-off their PARP celebrations, Village Elementary staff and parents stage a brief skit for the students. This year, I moved from audience to cast member in a Fairytale/Pop Culture/Music Mashup – combining Harry Potter (played by me), Taylor Swift, Pete the Cat, Wicked… and more. It was fun for the students to see their teachers and principal up on stage in costumes – laughing, dancing, and singing. If this doesn’t inspire lifelong literacy, I’m not sure what will. Thanks to Village for inviting me to play a small part in a big hit!

New Team Name/Mascot Selection

We are moving toward the final stages of determining Syosset’s new team name and mascot. The Mascot Selection committee meeting took place late last month, and the group created criteria to narrow down community submissions to a list of nine for community consideration.

Syosset Storm
Syosset Thunder
Syosset Titans
Syosset Bears
Syosset Sabres
Syosset Sentinels
Syosset Strong
Syosset Cyclops
Syosset Surge

The next step is to narrow the list further in order to identify the top contenders and then more fully flesh them out for consideration.

If you have not done so already, please submit your top four choices at this link by next Friday, February 14th.

Lunar New Year 🏮

Prior to the pandemic, Syosset hosted an amazing Lunar New Year celebration organized by community associations, and I was sad when it was (understandably) canceled when things worsened. So, I’m super proud that energy and excitement has returned thanks to Syosset High School student leaders from several different clubs launching our 2nd Annual Lunar New Year Arts Festival. The event highlighted the Year of the Wood Snake and featured works by artists from Kindergarten through 12th grade, as well as student performances by club members and our Tri-M Music Honor Society. Student photographer Emily Tang captured these photos, showcasing our students’ amazing talent – but also the evolution of skill from kindergarten through 12th grade. Thank you, Emily, for capturing the event so well!

Districtwide Lunar New Year celebrations are ongoing throughout this month – from presentations by our Kindergarteners to their elder peers about the holiday (Berry Hill), to lantern making for good luck (Willits, South Grove, and Baylis), to music compositions (Village), to hallway parades (Robbins Lane and Walt Whitman!).

Spotlight on Instruction 🔦

This Wednesday, February 5th, was Global School Play Day! The national recognition day is dedicated to recognizing the importance of play in the development of young minds. And in Syosset, PLAY is serious business! All across the District, our buildings encouraged students to bring in games to play with their friends and teachers – everything from Boggle to blocks.

And… at HBT, students went so far as to make their own games! Inspired by the creativity and ingenuity featured in the documentary Caine's Arcade, our 8th grade Career and Technical Education students dove into the world of game design. Using recycled cardboard, these young innovators dreamed up and built their own arcade games. They beta-tested the games on World Play Day, but will be sharing them schoolwide during an interactive arcade event in the upcoming weeks. Learning masquerading as play? That’s #SoSyo!

#SyoStars ⭐

Syosset High School has announced the Valedictorian and Salutatorian of the Class of 2025! Please join me in congratulating Valedictorian Katherine Li and Salutatorian Auston Li for their high achievement and hard work! We’re so proud of what you’ve accomplished.

Last weekend, the Syosset High School Adelettes and two quartets competed at the 2025 international Barbershop Harmony Society mid-winter convention in San Antonio, TX. Syo swept the top two places in the Next Generation Quartet Contest – our Lover Girls quartet won and the Denim Dynamics took second. The Adelettes came in second among 22 choirs competing in the chorus competition. We are beyond proud of all these fabulous young singers. Additionally, our Choral Director Kristin Howell officially accepted her award as Educator of the Year from the Barbershop Harmony Society, and our students’ successes illustrated why it was so richly deserved. Congratulations to all!

South Woods seventh grader Skye Suh is now the fourth person in her family to qualify for the official USA Cadet National Team for Taekwondo. She was the winner of the team trials in Oregon, and will now represent the U.S. at the Pan American Cadet Championship in Mexico, and at the World Championships in the UAE later this year. Wow! You’re making your family (and all of us) super proud, Skye!

Bright Spot

“Smiles through Snacks” is the kind of charity that I just go nuts for! Junior members of our Interact Club (and sisters) Emma and Layla Bruno launched a snack drive for students and staff to donate non-perishable snacks like cookies, pretzels, chips, and granola bars. The Interact Club encourages students to think outside the box to help members of our community – so Emma and Layla created this presentation about the project to recruit their peers’ assistance. Members of the club helped Emma and Layla assemble goodie bags, decorated by hand, to be dropped off at the Ronald McDonald House. Emma and Layla work closely with Bake Back America to coordinate their donations among food pantries in New York. Literally all that and a bag of chips, these kids are the salt of the earth!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

#SyoSalty

Tom Rogers