Community Update

School’s out for Winter Break and right on time, we got a little dusting of snow in Syosset – the perfect excuse for our early dismissal drill! We will welcome our students back to school in 2025 – on Thursday, January 2nd.

While we’re on the subject of our vocal music program, this year is ending on a high note. At last night’s Winter Concert (which was just extraordinary…), we welcomed to the stage Joe Cerutti, Director of Leadership Engagement for the Barbershop Harmony Society, who had driven all the way from Washington DC. He announced to the audience, and to our very surprised High School Choral Director, Kristen Howell, that she has been named Barbershop Educator of the Year by the Barbershop Harmony Society and National Association for Music Education. I especially appreciated how Dr. Hale, our Coordinator for Fine and Performing Arts, introduced the award by quoting composer Gustav Mahler: “Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.” Ever since the torch was passed to her 24 years ago, Ms. Howell, herself a Syosset graduate and former Adelette, has kept Syosset’s rich acapella traditions burning brightly. Congratulations, Ms. Howell, on this wonderful recognition.

South Grove students and Girl Scouts Emily Napolitano, Chloe Conner, and Juliet D'Angelo participated in a Wreaths Across America event at the Long Island National Cemetery. The three braved the cold to lay wreaths on the graves of fallen soldiers to honor their sacrifice. Thank you girls for your commitment to their memory and in so doing, honoring all those who served our country.

And last Sunday, more than 50 volunteers flooded H.B. Thompson’s cafeteria to wrap over 1,200 toys that were donated for families in need across Long Island. The “Holiday All Stars” Toy Drive was sponsored and organized by Unity SME, a non-profit co-founded by one of our Syosset families. Ninfa Mehta started this event 15 years ago as a grass roots project to help teach her own children the importance of social responsibility. Her children, Aayan, Sanam, Savi, and Siya, have been volunteers since the beginning. For the past three years, the organization has partnered with volunteers from a Syosset High School club (this year, the Interact club). The wrapped toys are headed to two different hospitals, two homeless shelters, and two charitable organizations. Toys alone can’t change lives, but I’ve discovered that every gift enriches both the recipient and the giver.