Community Update
March 21, 2025
Dear Syosset Community:
Our teachers have hidden talents – several of them play the bagpipes! South Woods’ Thomas Falco and HBT’s Mike Murray were joined by other members of the Northport Pipe and Drum Band to greet students at all 10 of our buildings for a little St. Patrick’s Day cheer on Monday.
I always love being drawn into the life of the schools, so last year, I was totally game when Freshman Bhoomi Jobanputra challenged me in the hallway to a tie-tying race on camera for the high school morning announcements. I should have demurred because she beat me badly! Now a sophomore, Bhoomi just challenged me to a rematch. Well aware this had the potential to become my annual drubbing until she graduated, I proposed tougher terms: Full-Windsor knots with a 5-second bonus for best dimple? Said Bhoomi: “Challenge accepted.” My 35+ years of practice carried the day and now we’re all knotted up at one win apiece. I suspect she’s going to spend the next 12 months scheming up next year’s, um, tie-breaker. I’ll keep y’all in the loop. You can watch us face off at the link below.
NYS Final Four Basketball
Last week, our girls Varsity basketball team came from behind to best Suffolk Champs Brentwood and earn the title of Long Island Champions. The team now advances to the New York State AAA Final Four for the first time in our school’s history. The semi-final is against Liverpool High School tomorrow at 1:30pm. The winner plays the final on Sunday at 11:45 am. To buy tickets, follow this link – or cheer on the team via livestream.
Mascot Update
Spotlight on Instruction 🔦
Berry Hill first graders hosted parents for a stellar culmination of their Skywatchers science unit. Throughout the unit, students explore the sky, learning about daytime and nighttime objects, the Sun’s movement, Earth’s rotation and revolution, and the Moon’s phases. To celebrate, the All Purpose Room transformed into a vibrant Outer Space exhibit, complete with personalized NASA badges and astronaut characters. The event began with a performance of "Big Beautiful Planet," featuring the American Sign Language they’d learned. Students then collaborated with their parents to create Day & Night diagrams and unique projects illustrating the four seasons.
Families had the opportunity to snap pictures at the “Out of This World” photo booth and in front of the students’ “Gallery of the Galaxy” artwork display. It was an exciting cross-over educational experience, spanning science, reading, and art!
#SyoStars ⭐
The District’s last bond project invested to improve the high school science research lab, allowing students to work on competition-worthy projects without the need to travel off-campus. Since then, the program’s exponential growth has presented some happy challenges. To identify the 13 projects our school is allowed to enter in the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair (LISEF), we held an in-house fair to narrow the Syosset field of 52(!) submissions.
At LISEF, Syosset’s 13 representatives presented their projects to a panel of judges alongside hundreds of their peers from around the region. Nine of them moved to the second round – the most of any school district on Long Island – and three of these students won first place. The winners progress to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Ohio later this year. Congratulations and good luck to Gary Han, Grace Liu, and Winston Zhou! Lead research facilitator Heather Hall said these recognitions are the “icing” on the cake, given all of the students now taking advantage of Syosset’s extraordinary research opportunities.
Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry through a nationwide high school recitation competition. Sophomore Savir Peri and Senior Lauren Whitley competed in this year’s state championship, making SHS the only school in the state to have two students qualify for the finals – where Savir was declared the state champion! He will represent New York at the national final in Washington, DC later this year. In the 20-year history of Poetry Out Loud, Syosset has had more New York State champions than any other New York school. Congratulations to Savir and Lauren – thank you for representing Syosset’s tradition of excellence so well!
Bright Spot
During a Veterans Day assembly, South Grove fifth graders Charles and Niko met our local heroes – and the experience left an indelible mark. Charles, who plays piano and clarinet, wanted to find a way to show his appreciation for their service, so he started a band! He recruited his friend Niko, a drummer, to be his bandmate. The two practiced weekly, picking songs they hoped the veterans might enjoy. Charles also composed an original piece called “Happy Time.”
The duo gave their first performance last month at the Long Island State Veterans Home where the performance was very well received. The two are now committed to playing for veterans every three months, in hopes to expand to more performances in the future.
Charles wrote to his principal, Ms. An, to tell her about the new band: “I want veterans to feel appreciated, and I think music is a great way to show that.” Charles and Niko, thank you for using your musical gifts to honor our veterans and spread joy.