From an Ice Bucket Challenge with high school principal Nanine McLaughlin (right) to service learning projects and a wide array of charitable collections, students and staff across the district put others first this holiday season in true Garden City style. To follow are but a few of the many initiatives enthusiastically embraced by students, parents, and staff. At the high school, students raised thousands of dollars for the ALS Association through bake sales and the dousing of Principal McLaughlin. The Key and Miracle Clubs collected sundry items to stuff hundreds of colorful holiday stockings for the Stockings for Soldiers program to be sent to servicemen and women serving overseas. The Peer AIDS Educators collected toys to distribute to AIDS-affected Long

Island children and families. Art students created holiday cards for the Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes, and the Future Business Leaders of America ran a winter coat drive. Garden City Middle School students collected Toys for Tots, as did several of the schools, including Stewart and Stratford (left). Middle schoolers collected canned goods for local organizations, spare change for the Pennies for Patients program, adopted local families with a Giving Tree, and collected food and toys for animals spending the holidays in local shelters.

GARDEN CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

On The Line WINTER 2016 www.gardencity.k12.ny.us Vol. 16 • No. 2

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On The LinePutting Others First

Hemlock Kindergarten Winter Concert

Student Achievement Report At the December 8th Board of Education Work Session, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction Dr. Edward Cannone led the presentation of the district’s 2015 Student Achievement Report (SAR). The annual summary shares many important findings including our students’ assessment results over time broken out by content area and as compared to student results in similar districts.* Dr. Cannone selected the slide above as an important take-away from the report, citing the culture of academic excellence promulgated by the district. “What we see here is that not only do our highest-achieving students (weighted GPAs of 90-100%) take advantage of the district’s Advanced Placement (AP) and college-level courses, but many other students choose these difficult classes as well. This informs us that Garden City students are eager to demonstrate to highly competitive colleges that they choose to challenge themselves academically.” Highlights of the comprehensive 10-speaker presentation include:

• 90% of the Class of 2015 are attending a four-year college; 7% are attending a two-year college; 3% are attending preparatory schools, adult services, have entered the military, or have begun employment

• 86% of the Class of 2015 earned a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation

• 90% of our students took the SAT Reading, Math, and Writing exam (tied with Syosset for the highest percentage of Nassau County students taking the SATs)

• A record 301 high school students sat for SAT Subject Tests• 71% took the ACTs• The College Board recognized 224 AP Scholars including 14

National Scholars

*Cold Spring Harbor, East Williston, Great Neck, Herricks, Jericho, Locust Valley, Manhasset, North Shore, Port Washington, Rockville Centre, Roslyn, and Syosset.

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Photo: MaryVivian Schott

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Homestead Kindergarten Winter Concert

• Garden City’s most recently available Regents results (2014) placed our students in the top four of our comparator group in 10 of the 10 Regents exams; in the top 3 in 9 of the 10; and ranked # 1 in 5 of the 10 exams: Earth Science, (MS), Geometry, Integrated Algebra, Living Environment, and U.S. History & Government

• Ranked 1st in Nassau County on grades 6-8 ELA Assessments

• Algebra 1 Regents Exam students nearly doubled the previous mastery rate (scoring 85% or higher)

• Ranked 2nd highest mastery rate in Nassau County on the Physics and the Global History Regents

• In world languages, middle school students scored 90% or better mastery rates in German, Italian, and Spanish; high school students scored above 90% mastery rates in German, Italian, and French; 100% of all world languages students passed the exams

In addition, Garden City Public Schools achieved top rankings on a variety of school performance metrics:• Ranked # 1 public high school on Long

Island by U.S. News and World Report• Ranked # 3 by schooldigger.com• Ranked # 8 by The Washington Post Dr. Cannone concluded the 2015 SAR highlighting the district’s future initiatives including expanding the high school’s Project Lead the Way offerings, establishing a high school robotics club, beginning a K-12 health education curriculum review, and continuing to support the district’s 1:1 iPad and

Chromebook technology initiative (left, in high school Spanish). To view the complete

report, visit the Curriculum & Instruction page on the district’s home website page: www.gardencity.k12.ny.us

Student Achievement Report

Putting Others First (continued from page 1) Stratford’s Kids Helping Kids collaborated with the high school’s Andy Club to complete a service learning project to benefit a local shelter, and fifth graders collected supplies bound for troops in Afghanistan (above). Stewart students created and sold dozens of handmade holiday gifts at the school’s annual craft fair (right) to raise funds for several local charities.

At the primary schools, parents sent dozens of toys to school with their children to donate to the Toys for Tots program. As a service learning project, after earning monies by being bucket-fillers at home, and with the help of the PTA, Homestead first

graders (left) created 100 “Love You to Pieces” hand-decorated picture frames to be distributed

by Ronald McDonald House to seriously ill children spending the holidays or their birthday in local hospitals.

Thank You, Garden City! In November, district parents and residents answered the call for input by taking one or both of the Common Core Task Force online surveys offered by the Governor and the state Commissioner of Education. As a result, in early December, the Governor issued his recommendations. In alignment with Congress’ reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA - now known as the Every Student Succeeds Act), which calls for a reduction in the amount of time spent on testing and offers states the option to de-couple students’ assessment results from teacher and principal evaluations. The Governor stated, “The Common Core was supposed to ensure all of our children had the education to be college-and-career ready - but it actually caused confusion and anxiety. That ends now. Today, we will begin to transform our system into one that empowers parents, teachers and local districts and ensures high standards for all students.”1

To achieve this goal, the Governor has called for a four-year moratorium linking test results to evaluations, and contracted with a new vendor for 2017, Questar Assessment, that will include teachers in the test development 1. 12/10/15: CommonCoreTaskForce@exec.ny.gov

process. The new tests will also be shorter in length and include more age-appropriate topics and questions. The 2016 grades 3-8 English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics exams, however, will still be provided by Pearson, the state’s former test vendor. On January 13th, the Governor will present his combined State-of-the State and 2016-2017 budget speech including details about school aid, a topic of great concern for Garden City’s Board of Education. In the meantime, the Board’s Legislative Affairs Committee (LAC) continues to work with local and state officials, and in collaboration with its counterparts in

North Shore and Manhasset (at left meeting with Commissioner Elia’s spokesperson), to advocate for public

education. At its December meeting, the committee discussed the transition of LIPA-owned properties within school districts, including power lines and poles, to PILOTs that may impact Class I taxpayers’ adjusted base proportion and play into districts’ future “2%” tax cap budget formulation.

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Registration for kindergarten-aged students entering school in September

2016, will be held at Hemlock School during Registration Week:

January 19 - 22, 2016 8:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. &

1:00 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. Please check the district website to

access all the needed forms: www.gardencity.k12.ny.us,

click on Parents, Registration Resources.

2016 Winter Program for Kids

The District’s Winter Program for Kids is offering exciting classes such as Lego Robotics, yoga, Zumba, and woodworking. Classes for students in grades K - 6 meet on Saturday mornings at the middle school. Meeting dates are as follows: January 16, 23, 30, February 6, 13, 27, and March 5, and 12 (no class on February 20th; snow make-up 3/19). The catalog was sent home with each K-6 student and is also available online. Registration is by mail, or interested parents can register in-person from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting January 8th

in the Continuing Education Office, 56 Cathedral Avenue.

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Snow Removal Reminder Local law mandates that a property owner must clear his/her sidewalk within 24 hours after the end of a snowfall. Property owners whose property abuts a school bus stop must clear the area to ensure student safety.

2016-2017 Budget Calendar

All meetings will be held at Garden City High School, 8:15 p.m.

Community Bulletin BoardEarly Dismissal

Garden City Public Schools has posted an early dismissal notice for parents on the district website under

the Parents drop-down. Please review the policy in case of circumstances requiring an early dismissal from school.

February 9: Budget Work Session #1:Overview of Superintendent’s Budget and RevenuesFebruary 23: Regular Board Meeting; Budget Work Session #2: All Non-Instructional Areas/Administrative and Capital ComponentsMarch 8: Budget Work Session #3: Instructional Components IMarch 16: Regular Board Meeting; Budget Work Session #4:Instructional Components IIApril 6: Work Session #5: Additional Budget Review (if needed)April 19: Regular Board Meeting;District Budget AdoptionMay 10: Work Session; Budget HearingMay 17, 6 a.m. - 10 p.m.: Budget Vote and Election

Locust Kindergarten Winter Concert

Welcome to Garden City!

The district is pleased to welcome two new assistant principals who began their work in November: Dr. Daniel Fasano and Ms. Nicole Hunn. Dr. Fasano stepped into the middle school role of Mrs. Susan Lee who retired from the district. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Fasano worked as a mathematics teacher in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District. At Stratford, Ms. Nicole Hunn replaced Mr. Christopher Uccellini. Ms. Hunn previously served as Oceanside Public School’s Elementary Curriculum Supervisor, and taught grades 2, 3, and 4.

Transition and Support Services Fair

Please join us for the Third Annual Transition and Support Services Fair on Tuesday, February 2nd, 6-8 p.m. in the high school cafeteria. Meet with representatives from support agencies, learn about the role of the social worker, children and adult services, and much more. Call 478-1500; 478-2035 for more information.

Kindergarten Registration

Parent University Mark your calendars for the Second Annual Parent University taking place at Garden City High School on February 25th, 7 p.m. This evening is designed

to empower parents, caregivers, and grandparents through a series of informative workshops on topical issues.

Growing STEAM! At the December Board Meeting, Hemlock Principal Audrey Bellovin and members of the

first grade classes (left)presented the school’s STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) initiative - the installation and planting of a courtyard

vegetable garden with the help of the PTA. Students visited a nearby farm, researched in books, wrote and illustrated stories, tilled the soil, calculated seed distribution, and planted winter crops. The spring will bring new life to the garden as students monitor plant growth with a goal of harvesting the “fruits” (and vegetables) of their labors!

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From Idea To Creation - K-12 Student Art GalleryStratford: Cassidy Baker(4), markers.Fourth grade students in George Lucas’ art classes created Aboriginal X-Ray paintings using colorful markers with metallic marker highlights.“I really enjoyed creating the colorful textural designs,” shared Cassidy.

Stewart: Victoria Williams (5), paint pens. “For this project, students were inspired by the details and symbols included in Art Nouveau-era painter Gustav Klimt’s ‘Tree of Life’,” explained art teacher Melissa Pashayan. “The results were very evocative of the animation of life. Victoria’s piece was highly successful and quite striking to the eye.”

High School: Abigail Cox (9), colored pencil, marker, watercolor. “I found it interesting to manipulate pencils in a surreal manner and place them into such a realistic object,” shared Abigail. “It sounds weird, but the two opposites blended perfectly.” Art teacher: Amanda Marino.

High School: Stephanie Farkas (left foursquare), Andrew Zipicich (center foursquare), Maggie Manning (right foursquare) (all grade 9), marker. “Students created abstract graphic designs based on two or three of their initials,” explained art teacher Denise Holz. “The initials are not obvious in all of the designs, adding more interest and allowing the viewer to come up with their own interpretations. All students used their knowledge of color theory and color schemes within each design.” Above are three students’ designs linked together to create a quilt-like panel.

High School: Grace Mullahey (10), digital photography. “ ‘Levitation” was the focus of this Studio 1 art class,” shared high school teacher Claire Ellerman. “Students created digital images, then manipulated them in Photoshop to create the illusion that the subjects were floating in air. Grace’s image is especially successful at capturing this concept.”

Middle School: Mary Grace Foxen (8), pencil. “My students are learning to look,” said teacher Dennis Fediw. “If you truly see your subject, you will be more successful in creating an accurate work of art. Mary Grace created this self-portrait drawing from life. It is clear that she was deeply engaged in observing and drawing what she saw.” Middle School:

Kerry Maeve Heslin (8), glazed ceramic. “Eighth graders were asked to create expressive characters using a

pumpkin shape as

the basis for this three-

dimensional clay project,” stated

teacher Joe Wilkonski. “The students loved working with clay and were very excited about their finished artwork. I’m very proud of the results; their hard work really paid off!”

High School: Sarah Jones (12), colored pencil. “This project focused on the fascinating distortion that happens when a few objects are submerged in a glass of water,” explained Advanced Placement art teacher Shawn Uttendorfer.

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From Idea To Creation - K-12 Student Art Gallery

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High School: Katie Gillan (12), photography. Vertical panoramic inspired by Richard Silver. “Katie’s photo perfectly captures the essence and spirit of Garden City High School in this beautiful panel,” shared teacher Jason Karp.

Music Achievements

This year, Garden City had 79 All-County music students with another 17 selected to *Long Island String Festival Association concerts: Stewart: Rebecca Barry, Jacque Bass, Melissa Bass, Bryan Boccafolla, Ana Bucevic*, Melina Brivio, Sonia Cherpelis*, Amelia Clarke*, Andrew Cresciullo, Grace Flood, Brian Kern, Ethan Melgar, Tristan Mullahey, Isabel O’Connor, Mae O’Malley*, Athena Psihudakis, Dylan Pughe, Cristina Seoylemezian*, and Timothy Voekler. Stratford: Eric Hartmann, Sophia Betit, Megan McQuaid, Erin O’Connor, Lauren Persaud, Isabelle Sirounian, Morgan Noody, Katerina Smolanick*, and Isabelle Soberon*. Middle School: Lara Abruzzo, Abigail Benzinger, Elle Brandewiede, Jack Brita, Alexandra Davidson, Sarah DeCicco, Simon Ferris, Audra FitzGerald, Billy Golden, Daniel Gregg*, Marybeth Kane, Alexandra Kucich, Corrine Lafont, Nathanael Lau, MaryKate Logler, Molly Madigan, Lisa Samman, Aiden Wu*, Sarah Wu*, and James Zheng*.

High School: Ann Ambach, Robert Brosnan*, Olivia Coffey, Andrea Choi*, Thomas Crafa, Cristin Crowley, Emily Dirks, Liam Dougherty, Emily Economos, Thomas Flanagan, Yianni Flouskakos, Ellen Gane, Brandon Gong, Lindsay Grippo, Olivia Guarnieri, Stephen Iovino, Alan Jian, Rose Kelly, Morgan Lafont, Elizabeth Malaszczyk, Yurie Minamiya*, James Murphy, Mairin Naegele, Andreas Petrides*, Cate Schick, Michael Snyder, Alexis Grace Spera, Erik Thorstenn, Lauren Treanor, Seunghyun Woo*, and Seungmin Woo*.

NYSSMA All-State MusiciansPictured above are Garden City High School’s All-State musicians who performed at the 2015 NYSSMA All-State Concerts in Rochester, NY, from December 3rd-6th. They are pictured above with (left to right) Marching Band director Brandon Psenicka and vocal teacher Stephen Mayo: seniors Emily Economos (Soprano I, alt.), James Murphy (Mixed Chorus, Tenor I), Michael Snyder (Wind Ensemble, Eb Clarinet; Bb Clarinet, alt.), Andreas Petrides (Violin and Jazz Guitar, alt.), Robert Brosnan (Symphony Orchestra, Viola), junior Seunghyun Woo (Violoncello, alt.), and strings teacher Margaret Gullotta, District Coordinator of Music & the Arts Dr. Nina Prasso, and Principal Nanine McLaughlin.

NYSSMA All-County Musicians

Middle School: Grace DeAngelo (8), colored pencil, pen and ink.“Grace referenced her favorite deli meats and created a sandwich that would represent one displayed in a deli showcase,” said teacher Lori Biondi. “The goal was to entice the audience and Grace executed that beautifully! She also demonstrated an excellent understanding of value and color blending.”

Primary Schools: Brendan Campbell (K-Homestead-penguin), mixed media. This project focused on mathematical concepts. Students folded paper into halves, then quarters, and drew and cut ovals for the penguin bodies. They used math skills to calculate the number of triangles for the beaks and feet; Katherine Maresca (1-Locust-leaves), watercolor, pastel. Students observed the colors of the sky and leaves in autumn to create the wind on a cool autumn day; Caroline Carey (K-Hemlock-tree). Students traced their arms for the tree trunk and used their autumnal observations to inspire crumpled tissue paper leaves.

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Alum: Rachel Ludwiczak, photography. Member of the Class of 2015, Rachel’s “Cool Cat” photo was selected for permanent display at NYSSBA’s

headquarters in Albany.

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NHRP ScholarsPictured here with Principal Nanine McLaughlin (left) are seniors named as 2016 National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholars (NHRP): (left to right) Esteban Ortiz, Natalie Garcia, and John Casler. The students were selected from a pool of over 250,000 nationwide who achieved a minimum PSAT/NMSQT/PAA score for the region, earned a GPA of 3.5 or higher, and self-designated to meet the Hispanic heritage requirement.

Garden City’s Shining Stars

Top Prizes in Business CompetitionIn its third year participating in the Young Professionals Chamber of Commerce Competition that included 16 LI schools and nearly 700 students, Garden City High School was the only Nassau County school to have multiple top place finishers. Pictured above are (standing, left to right): Rob Morizio, Joe Doud, Collier Curran, Michael Mortensen, teacher Dr. Erin McKinstry; (seated) Larissa Izzo, Lauren Hagan, and Colleen Maclay. (absent: Kiernan Brown).

Prudential Spirit of CommunityCongratulations to senior William Demaria (left) and sophomore Steven Spirakis, pictured with Principal Nanine McLaughlin, for being selected to represent Garden City at the state-level in this year’s Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. At the school level, eight students were honored: seniors Jennifer Beihoff, Dessie DiMino, Morgan Hermann, Leanna Marciano, Julia Matina, and Yang Liu, and juniors Gabriel Ragusa and Caroline Munn.

Nat’l Merit Scholarship SemifinalistsFive Garden City High School seniors were named 2016 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists. Pictured here are (seated, left to right): Jillian Dane, Yianni Flouskakos, Elisabeth McGannon, Elizabeth Rieger, and Daniel Vuoso; (standing) the Semifinalists’ guidance counselors Tim Casale, Jeanne Kennedy, Natasha Khan, Jim Malone, and Principal Nanine McLaughlin. Since 2009, Garden City has had 25 Semifinalists.

Nat’l Merit Commended StudentsCongratulations to the 13 members of the Class of 2016 for being named as 2016 National Merit Scholarship Commended Students. Pictured above are (left to right): Katelyn Focella, Robert Brosnan, Lindsay Grippo, John Casler, Cristin Crowley, Jake Curry, Keyin Lu, Andreas Petrides, Collier Curran, Yang Liu, Morgan Hermann, John Riceman, and Dessie DiMino and Principal Nanine McLaughlin.

National Top 100 SchoolsGarden 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 for the fifth year in a row. Teachers Reid Sclafani (back, left) and Dr. Erin McKinstry (back, right) were designated as Gold Star teachers and are pictured with students who achieved above 95% (standing) Sean Rode, James Buckley, Brian Leggett; (seated) Joe Gillespie, Zach Mauceri, Jaclyn Baymack, John Schlicte, Colin Paskewitz. (absent: Pierce Senken and Matt Giraldo).

LIAA Scholar ArtistAndreas Petrides, pictured with (left to right) Principal Nanine McLaughlin, strings teacher Margaret Gullotta, and Dr. Nina Prasso, Coordinator for Music and the Arts, was named as one of 20 Long Island Arts Alliance (LIAA) 2015-2016 Scholar Artists. Andreas, a violinist, was honored at the 2015-2016 LIAA Scholar-Artist Kickoff Reception at Half Hollow Hills High School East where this year’s students were congratulated by New York State Regent Roger Tilles.

National Siemens Science SemifinalistCongratulations to sophomore Brandon Gong for being named a National Semifinalist in the 2015 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology. Brandon is pictured here with Principal Nanine McLaughlin and science research teacher Dr. Steven Gordon. “Approximately 2,250 of the best science and math students submitted their work, and Brandon’s project was one of only 460 outstanding projects submitted by individuals or groups selected to receive the National Semifinalist award,” explained Dr. Elena Cascio, Garden City’s 6-12 science curriculum coordinator.

GRAMMY Semifinalist 5x!For the fifth consecutive year, Garden City High School’s music program was named a National 2016 GRAMMY Signature Schools Semifinalist. Pictured above at the December 14th Board of Education meeting are (left to right) Assistant Superintendent for Business & Finance Ms. Dana DiCapua, District Coordinator for Music & the Arts Dr. Nina Prasso, high school vocal teacher Amanda Conte, and Board Vice President Tom Pinou. Garden City will now move forward for consideration as a National GRAMMY Signature Schools Finalist (announced in March, 2016).

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For an amazing 10th time, members of

Garden City High School’s 32 varsity teams earned the New York State Public High School’s Scholar Athlete School of Distinction Award.

To be so honored, teams must maintain a collective GPA of 90 or above. Pictured here at the ceremony held on December 3rd are (left to right): Glen Zakian, President of the Section VIII Athletic Council, Garden City’s Director of Physical Education, Health, and Athletics Dawn Cerrone, Garden City High School Principal Nanine McLaughlin, and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen.

www.gardencity.k12.ny.us

Conference Champions

Long Island Champions!

Capturing its third consecutive Class II Long Island Championship and 19th lifetime total, the Lady Trojans Varsity Field Hockey team coached by Diane Chapman, Newsday’s Nassau Coach of the Year, defeated Miller Place 2-0 on November 8th. Captains Michaela Bruno, Kelly Aneser, Olivia Giarraputo, and Sabrina Milone led the team to its 30th Nassau County championship and 19th consecutive (of its 32) Conference Championship.

Girls Swimming captured its 17th consecutive Nassau County Championship, retaining its place as the team with the longest winning streak in the county.

College Commitment Day

Varsity Boys Soccer (left), Varsity Football (center), and Varsity Boys Golf (right) won their Conference titles. This is the third conference win for Boys Soccer since 2005. For the Trojan football team, this marks the first conference title under new head coach Dave Ettinger, named NY Giants “Coach for the Week” in September. The honor was accompanied by $2,000 to enhance the high school’s football program. Boys Varsity Golf clinched its 10th Conference title in 13 years. “This season, the Boys Varsity Golf Team finished with a 9 and 1 record,” shared coach James Malone (standing, far right).

On December 11th, two Garden City High School students were named as the 2016 Nassau Zone NYS AHPERD Physical Education Students of the Year. Congratulations to seniors Jennifer Biehoff and James Murphy pictured

above at the awards banquet with Michael Gordon, past Nassau Zone President.

Congratulations to senior Michaela Bruno for being named Garden City’s most recent News 12/Bethpage Federal Scholar Athlete. Michaela, who was also named the Newsday’s Field Hockey Long Island Player of the Year, is pictured holding a check for $1,000 with Principal Nanine McLaughlin (left), Bethpage Federal’s Robert Suarez, and Athletic Director Dawn Cerrone.

Nassau County Champions

10X Scholar Athlete School of Distinction

Scholar Athlete

Capturing its third Nassau County Championship and 7th Conference title, Girls Varsity Soccer made it to the Long Island Championship Finals but fell to Suffolk’s Islip on November 7th.

NYS AHPERD Zone Awards

Congratulations to 18 Garden City High School seniors who committed to play his/her sport at the college level. Pictured wearing his/her college shirts are (standing, left to right) Jack Casler, Ryan Brown, Luke McDaid, Dan Confort, Sam Lucchesi; (sitting) Kerri Metzler, Amanda Medjid, Juliana Kubler, Kerry Defliese, Brooke McDaid, Katie Muldoon, Michaela Bruno, Stephanie Gerland, Olivia DeCurtis, Nicole Leto, Kelly Gordon. Absent: Carrie Bonvissuto and Joseph Leighton.

Board of EducationAngela HeinemanPresident

Tom PinouVice President

Robert MartinTrustee

Laura HastingsTrustee

William C. HolubTrustee

Robert Feirsen, Ed.D.Superintendent

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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PAIDGarden City, NY 11530

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ResidentGarden City, NY 11530

“Leading Ladies”

Garden City High School Masquers’ production of Ken Ludwig’s hilarious comedy “Leading Ladies” hosted three performances on November 19th-21st that welcomed nearly 550 audience members. Congratulations to producer Stephen Mayo, director Angela McLaughlin, and the cast and crew (lower left) for bringing this wonderful comedy to the high school stage. Thanks also to the Garden City Teachers’ Association for donating and serving a buffet dinner to 88 senior citizens (lower right) who attended a special free preview show on November 19th.

Fall ChampionsPrincipal Nanine McLaughlin (right) is pictured with the high school’s Fall Champions: (back, left to right) Meghan Martin, Christopher Efthimiou, Thomas Van Noy, Daniel O’Connor; (front) Antoinette Nicholas, Catherine Honan, Virginia Steiner, Jenna Ward, Allyson Kraff, Julia Affronti, and Alyssa Degruccio. (Absent from photo: Maria Neuhedel and James Murphy.)

Garden City’s Shining Stars

Anti-Bullying Poster Contest WinnersCongratulations to Garden City High School freshman Anna Paisley (left with art teacher Dennis Holz) and Stewart third grader Maddie O’Brien (right with art teacher Melissa Pashayan) for having artwork selected as winners in the 2015 Imagine That! Anti-Bullying Poster Contest. Anna’s and Maddie’s designs will be printed and distributed as note cards.

Adelphi Leadership PrizePictured above are three Garden City High School seniors who received the Adelphi University Prize for Leadership: (left to right) Assistant Superintendent Dr. Cannone with Elizabeth Rieger, Jennifer Beihoff, Alexandra Evans, and Trustee Robert Martin. Absent: John Casler, Collier Curran, Keyin Lu, and Elisabeth McGannon.

Cultural Diversity Essay WinnerFor the fourth time in seven years of Hofstra University’s Cultural Diversity Essay Contest, a Garden City High School student, senior Keyin Lu (pictured here with former Spanish teacher Ms. Marie Nuzzi), won first place. Keyin received a $3,000 scholarship prize for her entry.

: GCUFSD