Community Update

February 28, 2025

Dear Syosset Community:

Welcome back! We were busy over the break! Improvements to our performing arts facilities have been in the works for a while, so our facilities team was able to take advantage of the empty building to replace the flooring on the Syosset High School auditorium stage and in the dance studio. It goes nicely with the new carpeting that was installed in the auditorium over the last break. For the small price of a ticket to the Spring musical (School of Rock) coming up in a few weeks, you can see the upgrades in person (proceeds benefit the PTA Scholarship fund)!

Also getting upgraded – the district website. It’s been a mammoth project, but the current site is no longer being supported by the vendor, so we took the opportunity for a redesign and to add some additional features – better support for mobile devices and the ability to subscribe to building-specific calendars, among others. We hope you’ll find it even easier to navigate. Launch date is this coming Monday, March 3rd. As with any big project, we’re holding our breath (just a little), but we’re excited to show you the progress. (Gentle) feedback welcome!

Spotlight on Instruction 🔦

Breaking Borders is a remarkable co-curricular activity started by and led by students. Over a decade ago, student leaders wanted to build connections within our community, and with students from surrounding communities. Yesterday, Breaking Borders held their annual meet up, welcoming 150 students from six other districts to build bonds, and break stigmas and stereotypes.

Months of planning went into this event. The theme this year was “Stronger Together,” and focused on overcoming polarization and uniting diverse Long Island communities. As an ice breaker, students were given cards – some with famous faces, and others with famous names. Everyone had to find their match and join a table with new friends to puzzle out what all the famous faces had in common. Can you guess what Tina Fey, Oprah Winfrey, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, and Florence Pugh all have in common? Turns out, they are all lefties (like me).

As the conversations turned more serious, the students embraced them courageously. They practiced empathy, active listening, and respectful disagreement. By the end of the day, students didn’t necessarily agree on every issue, but they left with a greater respect for different perspectives and a shared commitment to civil discourse as an antidote to polarization. The event was a powerful reminder that with intention, even in disagreement, understanding is possible. I watched in awe as these students became more and more curious about each other, their interests, their differences, but most importantly their similarities.

Congrats to Breaking Borders co-presidents Nikhil Shah and Abigail Wechsler, and all of the other club members, for hosting this amazing and important event. Plus, a special thank you to Breaking Borders Advisor Michelle Rosenoff for supporting this special group of students.

#SyoSports

Syosset Varsity Kickline recently returned from the National Dance Association’s Championship in Orlando with a big haul! Out of 72 teams, Syosset won the national title in Small Varsity Hip Hop! They also came home with Best in Category for being the recipient of the highest hip hop score of the entire competition.

Over 500 teams attended this competition from across the country – and in addition to the two big wins, Syosset also placed 2nd in Medium Varsity Team Performance, 5th in Large Varsity Game Day, and 9th in Small Varsity Jazz. Wow! Congrats to this team for absolutely crushing it!

Also looking for a big win, our Varsity Girls basketball team is taking the next step toward defending their County title – they compete in the Semi-finals against Freeport High School at SUNY Farmingdale at 4pm tomorrow (Saturday, March 1). Stop by to cheer our girls on to the Final!

#SyoStars⭐

#oops – As you can imagine, staying on top of all our news is a daunting weekly chore. And sometimes, we miss someone. In addition to the other students who were selected to have their art displayed at the American Kennel Club’s “Meet the Breeds” Art Contest, I neglected to add freshman Madeline Altman, whose piece was also featured. Congratulations (and my apologies), Madeline!

Senior Derek Chen is among 150 exceptional students from across the country chosen as a recipient of the prestigious Coca-Cola Scholars Award. He was selected out of 105,000 applicants – and will receive a $20,000 college scholarship, along with a trip to a leadership conference in Atlanta. Derek named AP Bio and Pre-med Anatomy & Physiology teacher Carisa Steinberg his “Educator of Distinction” for mentoring him throughout his years in high school. Congratulations to Derek on this accomplishment and to Ms. Steinberg on his recognition!

Two of the country’s greatest young math minds are in our midst! Senior (and valedictorian) Katherine Li and Junior Grace Lu were invited, based on a screening test, to compete for the Math Prize Olympiad through the Jane Street Math Prize for Girls competition. It is the largest math competition for young women, drawing hundreds of students from across the United States. The four-hour test requires students to complete in-depth mathematical proofs, and Katherine took home the silver medal. We’re so proud of Katherine and Grace representing the best of young women in STEM fields. Congratulations!

Earlier this month, our Syosset Science Olympiad team competed in the Eastern Long Island Regional competition. For the fourteenth year in a row, our Varsity team took first place (ok, that’s CRAZY) and brought home medals in 22 out of the total 23 events – winning 44 medals in all. Our Junior Varsity team received 38 medals and our Novice team received 24. The state competition takes place on March 21 where the team hopes to move forward to Nationals for our third year. Seriously, these kids have winning down to a science. Congrats, team!

Bright Spot

Back in December, over a dozen South Woods students in the Patriot Club decorated and stuffed Christmas stockings to send overseas to our troops. The “Stockings for Soldiers” were filled with various toiletry items, candies, playing cards, puzzles, books, and more. The students packed up their gifts and shipped them out – and didn’t expect to hear about it again.

Tomorrow it will be March – but just before the break – we received a special photo of some of our troops holding our stockings in Kuwait! This reminds me of the quote from Mahatma Gandhi: “It is not the reward that matters, it’s the act of kindness itself.” While our students weren’t motivated by recognition and will likely never meet those who were recipients of their kindness, they were delighted by the surprise of seeing the difference their thoughtfulness made to our soldiers far from home.

We are so close to spring, but it looks like winter is going to have at least one more gasp this weekend. Stay warm and be warm!

#SyoStockings (and mittens, and hats)
Tom Rogers