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GARDEN CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
On The LineOn The Line E-Newsletter www.gardencity.k12.ny.us Vol. 5 • No. 1
Online...OnlineInspiring Minds, Empowering Achievement, Building Community
Student Achievement Report Dr. Teresa Prendergast, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction (pictured above), along with district and building administrators, presented the ninth annual Student Achievement Report on Wednesday, November 5th, at the Board of Education Work Session. The annual Report is designed as a comprehensive review and assessment of Garden City’s educational program. “We look at a three- to four-year span with regard to achievement,” explained Dr. Prendergast. “We share comparative data when available, acknowledge student awards and accomplishments, as well as observations and analyses with regards to student progress and the effectiveness of our program.” “There is no doubt in my mind, that the culture of Garden City is to succeed,” stated Director of Guidance Gina Christel. “It permeates every classroom, hallway, club activity, and on the athletic field.” Ms. Christel and other presenters shared the good news, and there was much of it: • 95% of the Class of 2014 are attending
four-year colleges (4% are attending two-year colleges; 1% are attending a preparatory school, serving in the military, or are employed)
Please join us on Friday, November 21st and Saturday, November 22nd at 7 p.m. as Garden City High School’s Masquers present Neil Simon’s “Rumors,” a comedy all are sure to enjoy. A special performance for Garden City’s senior citizens, students, and teachers will take place on Thursday, November 20th at 4:00 p.m. Refreshments for our senior citizens will be supplied by the GCTA at 3:30 p.m. in the high school library. For ticket information, please contact Mr. Stephen Mayo, 478-2531 or email: [email protected].
The Board of Education’s newly formed Legislative Affairs Committee has developed a robust agenda for the 2014-2015 school year centered on achieving the committee’s dual goals of advocacy and education. By assessing the impact of existing and proposed state and federal education legislation, promoting legislation that supports the district’s mission, and communicating vital information to our residents, the committee will champion the unique needs of Garden City Public Schools. Effectively communicating these needs to our representative legislators in Albany and Washington has never been more critical. Preserving the excellence of our educational program, an integral factor in maintaining Garden City as a “destination location,” requires joining together to make our voices heard. Pictured above are the volunteer committee members (left to right, back row): Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen, Mr. Joseph Ardito, Mrs. Christine Alkin, Board President Mrs. Barbara Trapasso, Assistant Superintendent for Personnel Dr. Fino Celano, Mr. Douglas Bohn; (front row) Coordinator of Public Information Dr. Catherine Knight, Mrs. Elizabeth Golden, Mrs. Stacey Young, Mrs. Michelle Kaiserman, and Board Trustee Robert Martin. To learn more, click on the photo of Dr. Feirsen below. CLICK on each image to see more: (continued on page 2)
Legislative Affairs Committee
• In a four-year analysis of the highest initial college enrollments, the top 25 colleges included three Ivy League colleges
• In a four-year analysis of Garden City’s 49 Ivy League college attendees, 32 were accepted for academic performance; 17 for athletics
• 86% of the Class of 2014 were accepted to at least one of Princeton Review’s Best Colleges
• A total of 64 students during the past four-years were named as National Advanced Placement (AP) Scholars (the highest level possible) by The College Board; 206 AP Scholars were designated in 2014 alone, and 803 were so named in the past four years
Legislative Affairs Committee Storybook Parades & HalloweenHomecoming 2014
See page 4 for more about Homecoming and Spirit Week.
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• In Mastery Levels (85% or higher) on the most recent Regents exams available for comparison (2013), Garden City students scored in the top five of our comparator group* in 9 of 10 exams
• On the English Regents exams, Garden City students achieved the highest Mastery Level on Long Island; the 5th highest in New York State
• On the Integrated Geometry Regents exam, our high school students achieved the fourth highest mastery rate on Long Island
• Our high-schoolers earned the fourth highest mastery rate in the County on the Algebra 2/Trigonometry Regents
• Grade 7 ranked first in New York State and in Nassau County on the 2014 math state assessment
• In science, our high school students achieved the second highest mastery rate on Long Island on the Living Environment Regents and the Physics Regents, and the third highest on Long Island on the Chemistry Regents
• On the U.S. History Regents, our students achieved the highest mastery rate on Long Island, and the fifth highest on the Global History Regents
• 136 high school students are currently enrolled in five college level languages: French, German, Italian, Latin and Spanish, and taught by our own college-certified teachers
• The high school was named a Top 100 school nationally for financial literacy
• In 2014, 19 Advanced Placement art students earned $1.4 million in four-year college scholarships
• Music students continue to achieve: 73 students performed at the All-County Music Festival, two students and three alternates were selected to perform at the All-State Festival, and the Marching Band won the state championship including Best Music, Visual, Guard and Percussion awards
• For the ninth time, the high school was named a NYSPHSAA School of Distinction for all 32 varsity teams maintaining a collective GPA of 90 or higher
• At the elementary level, fifth-graders ranked third in English Language Arts and fourth in mathematics in Nassau County on the 2014 state assessments
These are just a few of the many recent distinctions earned by Garden City Public School students shared at this year’s presentation. To learn more, readers
can view the 2014 Student Achievement Report in its entirety by clicking here.
To learn more about the Class of 2014, click on the High School Profile image at left.
Student Achievement Report(continued from page 1)
*Cold Spring Harbor, East Williston, Great Neck, Herricks, Jericho, Locust Valley, Manhasset, North Shore, Port Washington, Rockville Centre, Roslyn, and Syosset.
Do You Speak “Tweet”?Follow Garden City on Twitter to receive the latest news and announcements. From achievements to reminders, sign up to follow our various feeds:
District: GCUFSDHigh School: Garden City HSStewart: StewartSchoolGCStratford: StratfordAveGC
Locust: LocustSchoolGC
Has someone in the district gone above-and-beyond to help you, your child, or someone in your family? Please consider
honoring them with a Success-o-Gram. It’s easy - just click here and share your story. Selected submissions will help us honor the school district’s deserving employees.
We’d Like to Hear From YOU!
Honoring Our Veterans
Stewart School’s Mail Callp In a heartwarming tribute on November 7th, students at Stewart School honored Veterans who served in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the two Gulf Wars, as well as two who are currently serving our country. Fifth-graders wrote letters of appreciation read by several of the Veterans aboard the September “Honor Flight.” To view the broadcast of CBS News Anchor Jennifer McLogan’s coverage of this wonderful event, click on the photo above.
Hemlock Welcomes Veterans
Six Veterans visited with students at Hemlock School on November 14th to share their experiences serving in the military. Each Veteran had a connection to a student at the school. Kindergartners and first-graders gave a warm welcome to each speaker in turn, listening carefully as they explained the jobs they performed. To see an a photo album of the assembly, click on the image below.q
Telling Our Story
GARDEN CITY HIGH SCHOOLClass of 2015 Profile
District and High School Distinctions
170 Rockaway AvenueGarden City, NY 11530
516 478-2012; Fax: 516 747-4647Click here for Garden City High School website
CEEB Code: 332040
• NationalGoldMedal“BestHighSchool”:U.S. News• “America’sTopHighSchools”:Daily Beast
• “America’sMostChallengingHighSchools”:The Washington Post• Ranked8thofallhighschoolsinNYS(of1,079):SchoolDigger.com
• NewYorkStateEducationDepartmentReward School• NAMMBest Communities for Music Education
• GRAMMYSignature SchoolSemifinalist•W!SE:Top 100 Schools for Financial Literacy
• Nine-timeWinnerScholarAthleteSchoolofDistinction:NYS Public High School Athletic Association
High School AdministrationNanineMcLaughlin,Principal
DavePerrotta,Assistant Principal KevinSteingruebner,Assistant PrincipalDawnCerrone, Director of Athletics
Central AdministrationDr.RobertFeirsen
Superintendent of SchoolsDr.TeresaPrendergast
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction
Dr.FinoCelanoAssistant Superintendent for Personnel
Ms.DanaDiCapuaAssistant Superintendent for Business &
Finance
Counseling CenterGinaChristel,Director of Guidance:
High School CounselorsTimothyCasale
Board of Education
BarbaraTrapassoPresident
AngelaHeinemanVice PresidentTomPinou
TrusteeRobertMartin
TrusteeLauraHastings
Trustee
This year, Garden City’s Board of Education has been taking its Regular Meetings on the road to the district’s schools. Each meeting offers a tour of
the building for community members since the initiation of the Bond and EPC work, and each building principal shares a presentation highlighting
what makes the school unique. In October, the Regular Meeting was held at Homestead (below, left); in November, at Stratford (below, right). On December 16th, the Board will hold a tour of Garden City Middle School at 7 p.m. Principal Dr. Peter Osroff will present an overview of life at the middle school at 8:15 p.m.
Stratford School's Board presentation focused on its mathematics program. Second- and fourth-graders were featured in a video, third-graders demonstrated math manipulatives to the Board members, and fifth-graders shared their applied study of parabolic curves through bridge building. Click on the photo below to see more. q
p At Homestead School, being a “Bucket Filler” - a responsible, caring person - is at the core of the school’s character education program. Here, Dr. Viscovich asked first-graders to kick off the meeting with an explanation of what it means to be a “Bucket Filler.” Click on the photo above to view a short video “catching” Homestead students in acts of kindness.
Garden City’s Shining Stars
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Nat’l Merit Scholarship SemifinalistsTwo Garden City High School seniors were named 2015 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists. Pictured here are (left to right): Director of Guidance Gina Christel, guidance counselor Patrick Doyle, semifinalists Michael Crapotta and Ryan Smith, guidance counselor Jim Malone, and high school Principal Nanine McLaughlin. Michael and Ryan become Garden City’s 19th and 20th students named as semifinalists in the competition since 2009.
Nat’l Merit Commended StudentsCongratulations to the five students recently named as 2015 National Merit Scholarship Commended Students. Pictured here (left to right) are guidance counselors Jim Malone and Patrick Doyle, Commended Students Brandon Choi, Alexis Leighton, Danielle Heavey, Leslie Wann, Matthew Mage, and guidance counselors Jeanne Kennedy and Karen Whiston, and Principal Nanine McLaughlin. Since 2009, Garden City has had 61 Commended Students.
Adelphi Leadership PrizeNine Garden City High School seniors were awarded the Adelphi University Leadership Prize. The $1,000 award also includes two free courses at Adelphi. Pictured here with high school principal Nanine McLaughlin are this year’s winners (back row, left to right): Anne Ostrowski, Alison Hoge, Lucas Hildreth, Bobby Clarke, and Michael Crapotta; (front row) Annemarie Kane, Shannon Tierney, Bobby Menges, and Bridget Bingham.
National Top 100 SchoolsFor the fourth year in a row, Garden City High School was recognized by W!SE (Working in Support of Education) as one of the top 100 schools in the nation for financial literacy. Dr. Erin McKinstry (left) and Mr. Reid Sclafani (right) were named “Gold Star” teachers, and their business students were awarded a “Blue Star” for their high level of achievement on the W!SE 2013-2014 financial literacy test.
All-County MusiciansCongratulations to 80 of Garden City’s young musicians - the highest number of students ever selected from the district to the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) All-County Music Festival Concerts to be held at the Tilles Center in January. “We had 26 students chosen from the elementary level alone,” explained District Coordinator of Music and the Arts Dr. Nina Prasso.
Nat’l Schools to Watch Re-designationGarden City Middle School teachers Kimberly Greenwald and Melissa Wolk, and guidance counselor Mrs. Robyn Weiner travelled to Arlington, VA this summer to accept the Schools to Watch Re-designation Award at the 2014 National Forum Schools to Watch Conference. Middle school representatives attended the September 16th Board of Education to be recognized here in Garden City for the re-designation.
New York State Reward SchoolsStratford Avenue, Garden City Middle School, and Garden City High School were recently named 2014-2015 New York State Reward Schools. A Reward School is a public school that has made significant progress or has the highest performance with no significant gaps in student achievement.
National Science SemifinalistBrandon Gong, pictured here with Garden City High School science research teacher Dr. Steven Gordon, was selected as a semifinalist in the 2014 Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology & Engineering for Rising Stars). “This honor places Brandon among a select group of 300 semifinalists named from more than 6,000 nominees throughout the United States,” explained Dr. Elena Cascio, district coordinator for science.
NYSSMA All-State MusiciansPictured above are Garden City’s 2014 All-State musicians with (left to right) Board President Barbara Trapasso: juniors Jack Casler (alternate - clarinet), Andreas Petrides and Lindsay Grippo (Symphony Orchestra), and Michael Snyder (alternate - clarinet), Coordinator of Music & the Arts Dr. Nina Prasso, and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Teresa Prendergast (absent: senior Andrew Andron (alternate – jazz piano).
Barbara TrapassoPresidentAngela HeinemanVice PresidentTom PinouTrusteeRobert MartinTrusteeLaura HastingsTrusteeRobert Feirsen, Ed.D.Superintendent of Schools
Catherine Knight, Ed.D.Coordinator of Public Information
Garden City Public Schools56 Cathedral Avenue Garden City, New York 11530www.gardencity.k12.ny.us
Inspiring Minds, Empowering Achievement, Building Community
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Shining Stars
Scholar AthleteCongratulations to Garden City High School senior James Sullivan III for being named Garden City’s newest News 12 Scholar Athlete. James is pictured here with Ms. Dawn Cerrone, Director of Physical Education, Health and Athletics (left) and Principal Nanine McLaughlin, just prior to his television interview with News 12 correspondent Kevin Marr.
Marching BandGarden City’s Marching Band won the U.S. Bands Division 2A New York State Championship held on Mitchell Field. They received a final score of 79.325 and swept all categories: Best Music, Best Visual, Best Guard, and Best Percussion. On November 9th, the Marching Band traveled to the National U.S. Bands Finals in Allentown, PA where it finished 13th, scoring 86.9.
NYSSBA ArtistsSophomores Carlos Africa and Emily Schaubeck, Garden City High School art students of Ms. Denise Holz, had work (“Deconstructed Cartoon Kicks”) selected to the New York State Art Teachers Association Student Art Exhibit to represent Garden City at the 95th New York State School Boards Association Annual Convention held in Manhattan on October 26th-28th.
Each school celebrated Spirit Week with a variety of activities designed to raise Trojan spirit, culminating in an amazing Homecoming, 2014. Check out performances by Garden City’s cheerleaders and kickline at the high school Pep Rally by clicking on the kickline photo to the right.
Recorded by GCHS alum Paulina Zaferiou
Stewart
LocustHigh School
Homestead
Trojan Spirit sculpture created by art teacher Shawn Uttendorfer’s students. And Unity Day
Unity Day, a nationwide “Unite Against Bullying” observance, fell in the middle of Spirit Week. It was a sea of orange across the district as students and staff wore the color to signify being an“Upstander” for safe and supportive schools. Many thanks to social workers Lori Kuster and Michele Vincent. Middle School
Hemlock
Stratford
Rocking Spirit Week
High School