South Middle Community Closet grand opening
The Great Neck Public Schools is pleased to announce the opening of the South Middle School Community Closet. The Community Closet is the newest addition to the district’s services that provide clothing, jackets, and shoes for students in need throughout the school community without interruption to their academic, social, and emotional learning.
The Community Closet at South Middle works collaboratively with the Clothing Pantry at Saddle Rock Elementary School, which opened in 2019. The Closet will focus on clothing items for secondary students, while the Pantry will focus on items for elementary students. Both locations serve the entire district and can be accessed by the GNPS Social Work Team upon request from a teacher, administrator, or parent.
“This additional location at South Middle expands our outreach and allows us to help even more families in need throughout our community,” says Superintendent Dr. Teresa Prendergast. “Being able to provide our students with needed clothing will help them feel more comfortable and confident in school and, in turn, support their academic success.”
The Community Closet is located in a previously unused storage closet at South Middle. The district’s buildings and grounds staff prepared the space with clothing racks and shelves, and South Middle’s technology department created an engraved wood sign that hangs outside the door.
Through their collaboration with the Clothing Pantry at Saddle Rock, the Community Closet already has some clothing, jackets, and shoes available for students in need. Plans are underway to host a clothing drive in the coming weeks.
The Community Closet initiative was spearheaded by South Middle English teacher Kristin Klein, ENL teacher Elizabeth Piperno, social worker Dr. Yeddi Park, and Assistant Principal Ryan Nadherny.
Teams compete at Science Olympiad; South Middle wins first place
Three Science Olympiad teams from the Great Neck Public Schools competed at the Nassau County Regional Middle School Science Olympiad, conducted virtually on March 6. A total of 39 GNPS students participated in the event, with one team representing North Middle School and two teams representing South Middle School.
The competition was comprised of 15 different challenges that require knowledge and skills in engineering, technology, cartography, earth science, biology, forensics, physics, ornithology, astronomy, and environmental science. In addition to team points, medals were awarded to the top competitors in each challenge. An impressive 52 individual medals were awarded to Great Neck participants.
A team from South Middle won first place at the regional competition and qualified for the New York State competition. This team earned medals in all 15 events, with every team member winning at least one medal. The South Middle team members who will advance to the States are: Irina Chiang, Anant Gupta, Nandini Khaneja, Alice Kim, Madeleine Lennox, Ruiqi Liu, Ashley Nguyen, Chloe Ning, Yilin Qiao, Sarah Sun, Erin Wong, Edison Yuan, Sidney Yeung, Jixuan (Jason) Zhang, and Laura Zhang.
The other team from South Middle placed seventh in the competition and earned medals in nine events. Students who won medals are Bryan Chen, Colin Hu, Holly Krause, Caden Li, Issac Liu, Lily Long, Edric Tsai, Josephine Wong, Julia Xu, and Richard Xu.
North Middle’s Science Olympiad team earned medals in four events and placed fifteenth overall. North Middle students who won medals are Todd Eng, Ashley Liu, Katharine Park, Jeremy Shiu, and Emma Wen.
Advisors for the North Middle Science Olympiad team are Donna Plante, Earth science teacher, and Zehava Vitberg, Earth science teacher/North Middle science department chair. Advisors for the South Middle Science Olympiad teams are Randy Lane, technology teacher, and Tobias Hatten, Earth science teacher/South Middle science department chair.
The Regional and State Science Olympiad competitions are sponsored by the New York State Science Olympiad (NYSSO), a non-profit organization that seeks to engage and challenge students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through various levels of team-based competitive tournaments throughout New York State.
GNPS/TV current programs
Programs currently airing on Great Neck Public Schools Television (GNPS/TV) are: South High Tri-M Valentine’s Day Lobby Concert, North High Drama Production, and South Middle Cultural Heritage Celebration.
GNPS/TV programs are available on demand, 24/7, on the school district website, www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/tv. Programs can also be viewed in the incorporated villages of Great Neck on Optimum Channel 75 and on Verizon Fios Channel 32. Airing times in program descriptions below are for Optimum and Verizon Fios viewing.
South High Tri-M Valentine’s Day Lobby Concert
South High Tri-M Valentine’s Day Lobby Concert features performances by talented student musicians in the South High Music Department. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, students selected an instrumental or vocal performance that fit the theme of love. The students recorded their performances, which include solos and duets, and the Lobby Day Concert was edited together by the Tri-M music honor society.
South High Tri-M Valentine’s Day Lobby Concert airs at 8 a.m., and 1 and 6 p.m.
North High Drama Production
In February, North High School’s Junior Players presented a virtual performance of Allyssa Hynes’ play, Poe: Dreams of Madness!, based on the gothic short stories of Edgar Allan Poe. In order to meet health and safety guidelines, Junior Players delved into a completely new way of putting on a show this school year. Student performances were recorded, edited together, and formatted for a virtual audience. Poe: Dreams of Madness! was directed by Ilana Meredith Schikler, with designs by Linda Haase and editing by Michael Meehan.
Poe: Dreams of Madness! airs at 9 a.m., and 2 and 7 p.m.
South Middle Cultural Heritage Celebration
South Middle Cultural Heritage Celebration is an annual tradition featuring entertaining music, dance, and performances that represent the many cultures of South Middle School. This year’s celebration went virtual, with students submitting videos of their performances. The culminating presentation showcases and celebrates the diversity of the school community.
South Middle Cultural Heritage Celebration airs at 11 a.m., and 4 and 9 p.m.
GNPS/TV programming reflects the offerings of the Great Neck Public Schools and the achievements of its students and staff. Programs are student-produced.
For further information, please contact Robert Zahn, director of educational television and broadcast media, by e-mail at rzahn@greatneck.k12.ny.us, and by phone at (516) 441-4676.
South Middle students attend ‘A World of Difference’ Institute
Seventh and eighth-grade members of Adolescent Advocates at South Middle School participated in the Anti-Defamation League’s A World of Difference Institute on March 18–19. A World of Difference is an anti-bias program designed to actively challenge prejudice, stereotyping, and all forms of discrimination. The program was conducted virtually, with students participating in school and remotely.
During this interactive two-day workshop, students worked to develop the skills necessary to be school leaders and social activists against bias and bullying. Over the coming months, students will work together to implement a school-wide activity that combats bias and bullying.
South Middle’s Adolescent Advocates are a group of seventh and eighth graders committed to inclusivity and honoring diversity. Students promote and implement upstander behavior in school and support their peers by helping them to respond appropriately to acts of bias, prejudice, stereotypes, discrimination, and bullying. Faculty advisors for Adolescent Advocates are South Middle English teachers Katie Dervin and Kirsten Kuhn.
Rebels win top honors at county diving & swimming championships
The South High School boys swimming team concluded a successful 2021 season with multiple awards and championship titles at the Nassau County Diving and Swimming Championships from Feb. 24–27.
The Rebels won the 2021 Team Sportsmanship Award, presented by the Nassau County Officials Association. Team captains Nicholas Shen and Justin Whang were named co-MVPs by Section VIII Swimming, and both received Swimmer of the Year honors. Three individual athletes earned County Championship titles in their respective events: Nicholas Shen (diving), Justin Whang (200 IM, 100 backstroke), and Thomas Huh (50yd freestyle).
Diving champion
South High senior Nicholas Shen capped off his high school diving career with his fourth-consecutive Nassau County Diving Championship title. He was also named Diver of the Year by the Long Island Swimming Officials Association for the third-straight year. Nicholas currently holds the Nassau County Diving Record at 580.45.
Nicholas’s diving resume includes qualifying for USA Junior Nationals for the past three years, winning first place at the AAU National Championships, and being named All-American three years in a row. Nicholas will attend Brown University in the fall, where he will participate in the diving program.
Swimming champions
Senior Justin Whang also concluded his high school swimming career with championship titles and impressive records. Justin won the 200 Individual Medley and the 100 backstroke at the 2021 County Championships with the fastest time in New York State. He currently holds two Nassau County records: as an individual in the 200 IM at 1:51.12, and as a member of the 2019 Medley Relay team at 1:34.18. Justin is an All-American Consideration, and he will attend Yale University this fall as a member of the swimming team.
Sophomore Thomas Huh earned his first Nassau County Championship title at this year’s competition. He won the 50yd freestyle event in an impressive 22.23 seconds.
Congratulations to Coach James Morrow, Assistant Coach Jim Burns, and all the members of the South High boys swimming team on their successful season!
