Dear Syosset Community, 

Spring break is just around the corner! A reminder that school will be closed beginning next Thursday, April 6th, through Monday, April 17th. 

The Spring sports season is in full swing (baseball/softball pun, y’all!) and already Newsday is recognizing our amazing athletes. Senior Parker Kim has been named one of Newsday’s top 25 boys outdoor track and field athletes for his amazing accomplishments in weight throwing. Junior Katelyn Lee has been named one of Newsday’s top 100 Long Island girls lacrosse players for being a fierce defender. We can’t wait to see what trophies our teams will bring home this season! 

South Woods Patriots 

As the son of a veteran, I consider it a privilege to pay it forward by supporting our local veterans community. For the last several years, we have been promoting the VFW’s annual Patriot’s Pen competition. The nationwide competition gives students the opportunity to write essays expressing their views on a patriotic theme – this year’s prompt was: “My Pledge to Veterans.” 

Early Monday morning, I was delighted to see two uniformed members of our local VFW in the South Woods lobby. They were about to present medals and certificates to three students from South Woods who were this year’s top three essayists. Commander Caputo and Quartermaster Grehan said our three students’ essays were chosen as the most poignant in Nassau County. We’re so proud of Simon Kontos, Faye Kontos, and Cameron Weiskopf not only for the quality of their writing, but more importantly for honoring all of our men and women in uniform with their thoughts! 

More Board Tour 

As I mentioned last week, the Board hopped on a school bus for their annual trip around the District. They saw more than I could squeeze into my last update, so this week, I wanted to share some details about the ICT classes we were able to visit. ICT stands for “integrated co-teaching” – an instructional model designed to integrate students with learning differences into the general education setting by staffing the classroom with both a general education and a special education teacher. Since all students learn different things at different paces, the flexibility of the ICT model supports every student’s learning difference while keeping peers together as friends and community. At A.P. Willits, we visited a fifth grade ICT classroom where students worked together to produce podcasts, while at Robbins Lane, the fourth grade ICT class designed roller coasters. Our ICT classrooms have been a successful mainstay of the middle schools for years, and our recent expansion into the upper elementary grades and early high school classes have already started yielding benefits.

Spotlight on Instruction

High School students in the College Nanotechnology class (which wasn’t even a thing when I was in college) are working to redesign an age-old device: the rehabilitation ankle boot. Using computer-based modeling programs OnShape and Tinkercad, students designed and built a physical therapy boot that flexes the foot at a 20 degree angle using a wire circuitry unit. One group used our 3D printer to create the boots’ pieces, and the others used a laser cutter to create the foam core inside the boot. The focus of the project was to determine how to use nanotechnology, instead of motors and gears, to make the boot move. Students researched shape memory alloy, noticing that when wire heats up, it contracts. Students are now attaching their handmade circuits to the boots, adding weight and testing for design issues. I broke my ankle years ago playing volleyball in Atlanta and the low-tech rehab took almost a year. I can only imagine how much faster it would have gone with this gadget!

Bright Spot 

Kids, don’t try this at home! (Seriously, don’t!) Junior Kimberly Saltsberg hosted an axe throwing foundation to “Chop Away” Crohn’s and Colitis. Her AXE-cellent event raised over $11,000 for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. Over the past four years, Kimberly and her family have raised over $46,000 to help find a cure for these diseases, which together affect more than three million Americans each year, including some 60,000 people on Long Island. The next fundraiser she’ll be throwing (sorry, I couldn’t resist) will be on May 20th at Adventureland. Way to go, Kimberly!

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You won’t hear from me again until after the break. Until then… 

#SyoSpringBreak 
Tom Rogers

Dear Syosset Community,

Today, the Board of Education Trustees and I toured each building in the District. I know it’s one of their favorite days, not because they get to ride a yellow school bus, but because they have the opportunity to meet students and experience the unique educational experience our staff’s hard work provides. It’s an important opportunity to see how their mission, vision, and resources translate into tangible results for kids. 

With Innovative Curriculum Cross-cutting as a theme, we illustrated how interdisciplinary lessons maximize instructional time and contextualize the content. Unlikely subjects make great partners: Math and Physical Education, Science and Music, even Business and Poetry. 

For example, South Woods leveraged its multicultural week by creating an entrepreneur’s International Food Festival. Students created small businesses by researching and developing an actual food product reflecting cuisine from one of 26 countries, tested and prepared in family and consumer science class, backed by a business plan developed in business class. Navigating around my dairy allergy, everything I sampled astonished me with how appetizing the food – and the marketing pitches – were. The lesson incorporated geography, varied cultures, math, business, writing, teamwork and public speaking skills - not to mention cooking! 

We later stopped by Baylis for a round of Make it & Roll it, a bespoke basketball math game that teaches students number fluency, while also working on their dribbling and shooting skills. This is nothing like the gym classes I remember from my youth. Students at Robbins Lane took us on a thrilling roller coaster ride, where we learned about potential and kinetic energy, and then wrote news stories to inform the community about our new rides. With a total of 10 visits in all, we got our fill of coding, singing, jazz bands, problem-solving, team-working, dulcimer-playing and more. In short, it was another #SoSyo day of learning! 

Science Stars

Our Science Olympiad team is heading to Nationals for the first time since 1986! This past weekend, Scioly (as the cool kids call it) took first place out of 59 teams that qualified for the State competition – achieving their first #1 finish and notching the second highest score in the competition’s history. The team competed in 23 science-related events running from constructing devices to conducting lab experiments, and given the strength of this year’s team, they’ve set their sights on a strong showing at Nationals in Kansas this May. We are rooting for you, Team Scioly! 

SyoBots 

Team Scioly aren’t the only ones headed to Nationals – I was literally dragged off the high school stage between the Honor Society induction ceremonies (congrats inductees!) on Wednesday by our First Robotics team. Their bus had just returned from Hofstra and they couldn’t wait to share the news that they were named “Rookies of the Year” and thus qualified to head to Houston in April. Although we’ve competed in robotics for years, we just stepped up to the premier FRC league (with the biggest, most complex robots). I had stopped by Hofstra earlier Wednesday to see the excitement first hand, seeing competing teams from as far away as Taiwan and watching our team notch two big comeback wins on their way to their Nationals bid.

Spotlight on Instruction

Our curriculum is not all work and no play – in fact, PLAY is a critical part of our students' work. Village Elementary students participated in Global Play Day this week. Students enjoyed a day of unstructured play, which is scientifically proven to foster cognitive, physical, social and emotional development. It allows students to think creatively, imagine, problem-solve, and work on social skills through activities with friends. Throughout the day, students played board games together, completed puzzles and STEAM activities, as well as arts and crafts. We also encouraged students to visit other classrooms and make new friends in different age groups. 

At South Woods, our 7th grade Social Studies students brought history to life by creating a “Living Wax Museum Project.” The students have taken a true “historical journey” from September to now, learning how our nation started as a small outpost in a faraway land and grew to become a sovereign nation. Their studies culminated in a wax museum where students dressed in creative period costumes and provided a one-minute informative presentation in the role of the historical figure. Visitors to the museum tapped red “play” buttons with their feet to “launch presentations” by notable figures such as Queen Isabella (with a pitch-perfect English accent), Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin, and current Vice President Kamala Harris. Museum visitors were also invited to scan QR codes for more information about each historical figure. A creative and engaging way to embrace history!

Bright Spot

Junior Kelsey Jung wants to make sure our local animals are comfortable while waiting for a new home in the shelter. Kelsey recently gathered a group of school friends to purchase materials and make handmade blankets for the Oyster Bay Animal Shelter. The blankets will provide warmth and comfort to the animals under the shelter’s care. Thank you, Kelsey, for bringing together a group of like-minded students to make a positive difference for the furry friends in our community. #SyoSnuggly!

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Have a wonderful weekend! 

#SyoScioly
Tom Rogers

Dear Syosset Community,

The School Board meeting Monday kicked off with a performance of the opening song from our Spring musical Legally Blonde, which broke Syosset box office records exceeding 1,600 attendees over the four performances. Net proceeds go to the PTA scholarship fund, so it’s a double win! 

The high-energy student recognitions continued as the three CEOs of our Virtual Enterprise (VE) businesses delivered their one-minute elevator pitches. The VE program creates instant entrepreneurs by offering teams of students the chance to develop a “start-up” idea like entrepreneurs would – in the process developing a suite of real-world business skills. This year, all three of our teams qualified for the National Business Plan Competition in NYC on April 17th, besting over 100 other schools from Long Island to take three of the top 10 spots! Check out their websites: Drip, Thrive Healthy Living, and Lunch BX. Nationals are a month away – and we are rooting for them to go all the way! 

Around Town

I stopped by Walt Whitman to greet arriving students yesterday and was pleasantly surprised that I got to greet a number of our parents too! They were in the library for our annual Book Fair. We’re so appreciative of our parents for making the time for this important event and so glad to be able to host the event inside this year! I even got some tips on what books are popular with kids these days. 

Budget Update 

Our Board meeting this past Monday covered the program aspects of the 2023-2024 budget. Despite the challenges presented by historic levels of inflation, we’re focused on the goal of maintaining existing programs and adding support for our students’ post-pandemic mental health. We are also planning several facilities projects to maintain our aging facilities. 

Our next Board Meeting and Budget Information Meeting will be on April 18th, at which time we will present the Board with our final budget recommendations for the 2023-2024 school year. 

Start Time Survey

A reminder to share your thoughts on the District survey regarding changing school start times. No matter the age of your children, a change to any school’s start time could shift pickup times for your children. The goal of any start time change will be to allow adolescent students to get more shut eye, but since our buses can only service one school at a time, everything is interconnected. We’ve had questions about the costs of making a change – we intentionally asked the consultant to only develop proposals that would have modest cost increases (which is why they come with some limitations, but might nevertheless require a few more buses). 

This survey is open to all members of the Syosset learning community, including residents, staff, community members, and students. Please be mindful that the responses you contribute, though anonymous, will be displayed for everyone to see. We ask that respect for all opinions is modeled for our younger community members who are also participating.

Please click here to participate in the Thought Exchange. 

#SyoProud moments 

Syosset is the only school in the state to have had two students qualify for the New York State Poetry Out Loud finals last weekend. Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry through a nationwide high school recitation competition. Senior Ayush Kishore recited To have without holding by Marge Piercy, and Junior James Masson recited Poor Angels by Edward Hirsch in the final round of 5 competitors. James won the state championship title, and now will travel to Washington, D.C. to compete for the National title. Way to go, James and Ayush! 

Another highlight to share: South Woods Middle School 6th graders have won the Long Island Water Quality Challenge Competition! Students in the Enrichment Lunch Workshop participated in the STEM competition, which is presented by the Long Island Regional Planning Council in partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The students' project (which you can see here) proposed ways to improve the eco-friendliness of our school’s landscaping and reduce nitrogen pollution. The group was awarded a $2,500 grant to be used exclusively toward the implementation of their proposed project. 

Congratulations to the 10 student participants: Katelyn Chantemsin, Ettan Dai, Brandon Gimm, Arjun Jhaveri, MacKenzie Knox, Jiachen Liu, Eden Roniger, Isabella Sagles, Declan Wiley, and Veronica Zielinski! And, a special thanks to teacher Mr. Aronin for helping facilitate this project. 

Spotlight on Instruction

I’ve seen a lot of amazing lessons during my time in Syosset and I’m excited to share the latest. The molecular biochemical processes inside living cells can often be challenging to visualize (I know first-hand, I was a Biochem major in college). But in Mr. Zito’s Biology Honors class, students solved this problem by creating “stop motion” videos. In this example, a Protein Synthesis process called Translation comes to life through the power of animation. Students transformed ordinary materials like notecards and beads into ribosomes, tRNA (with anticodons dropping off amino acids), mRNA coding for anticodons, and amino acids forming a polypeptide chain. This innovative approach changed the learning process from rote memorization to leveraging creativity and fun to make challenging material much more memorable. Where was this when I was an undergrad!!?? 

Bright Spot 

Sophomore Maya Sharma recently returned from a remote village in South India where she was visiting an orphanage for 12 boys – that she independently funded(!) through the nonprofit organization Angel House. Maya sold handmade bracelets online and at jewelry shows, and in three years raised more than $20,000! The home opened in June 2020, and when Maya got the chance to visit last month, she found the boys flourishing. Even more remarkable, she launched a second orphanage in June 2022 for 12 girls in East India. Now, she’s busy raising funds, hoping to open a third home next year. Maya – you are a reminder of how persistence and dedication can pay off in astonishing ways. You’ve changed two dozen lives (so far) and made us all so #SyoProud!
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Enjoy your weekend! 

#SyoSpring
Tom Rogers

Dear Syosset Community,

So the best thing to happen to me this week was a #SoSyo moment I just have to share. Our tight budget nevertheless has more than enough room to make sure our special students have special opportunities. This Spring, we started a “Challenger Basketball” team and our first home game was last night against Massapequa. I was thrilled to see the HBT gym full of parents, staff and students, joined by our Varsity cheerleaders, all rooting for our athletes (and their opponents!). 

Years of experience have taught me to keep a wary eye on the middle school boys lining the top row of the bleachers, but this group brought a smile to my face and a tear to my eye when, after the first Syosset basket, they chanted the name of their beaming classmate who had just scored. It’s amazing to be part of a community that embraces all its members – living out our values of inclusivity and empathy. I’ll confess, I forgot the final score (it was close!), but I’ll never forget the event being a huge victory. Every last person in that gym – from the athletes to their fans – made me so #SyoProud!

Wonderful programs like this were top of mind for members of the PTA Budget Committee we met with last week. Their number one priority is maintaining our range of student opportunities despite the headwinds of inflation, and I was able to reassure them that we felt confident we’d be successful. The whole point of being thrifty is to avoid programmatic austerity. 

School Start Time Survey 

As I’ve mentioned a few times in this space, the District has extensively studied the challenges associated with establishing a later high school start time. Research shows that older adolescents may benefit from more sleep, but rearranging busing to do so will have a ripple effect that impacts every other school. 

We engaged a consultant to lay out all scenarios that were financially and logistically practical for shifting our school start times to benefit our students. Now we’re seeking the community’s input on these proposals to inform our consideration. 

To gather your feedback, we are using an online tool named ThoughtExchange which will provide everyone an opportunity to share their perspectives. All voices matter, and your participation is crucial and valued. 

Please click here to participate in the Thought Exchange

At this link, you will find descriptions of all proposed start time scenarios and be asked to rate which one appeals most to you. You will then have a chance to rate the thoughts of others. This exchange will be open to all members of the Syosset learning community, including residents, staff, community members and students. Please be mindful that the responses you contribute, though anonymous, will be displayed for everyone to see, and remember that this is a wonderful opportunity for adults to model respectful communication for the younger community members who are also participating.

Sports Update

We had 15 athletes compete in their respective state championship match last weekend in track, gymnastics, and swimming. 

The following students earned All State honors: 

• Parker Kim came in 3rd place in the State in the weight throw;
• The Girls 4x800 relay team (Jessica Alessi, Julie Shaugnessy, Melissa Tanyeri, Ashley Wong) finished in 6th place in the state;
• Swimmer Jack LaBianca finished in 6th place in the State in the 200 meter freestyle; 
• And four of our gymnasts earned All State across different events: Leah Chin, Camryn Platt, Arlene Osei-Pokua, and Ilana Slade.

They’re not the only teams competing at the highest levels, last week our Varsity Kickline team made us proud at Nationals, where over 400 teams competed from 35 states. Syosset placed 13th in the Jazz category, 5th in the Team Performance category, and an amazing 2nd in the Nation in Hip Hop! Congrats, girls! 

We’re so #SyoProud to see everyone’s hard work and talent pay such rich rewards! 

Our students’ athletic success is facilitated by our dedicated coaching staff – their success, in turn, is supported by our Athletic Director Scott Stueber. We are excited to announce that Mr. Stueber was named the Nassau County Athletic Director of the Year by the New York State Athletic Administrator Association. Mr. Stueber just joined us last year after serving the Valley Stream District for many years. We are so lucky to have him as a member of our Syosset Team. 

Off of our campus, but still in our community, I’m excited to announce that Syosset’s Club Hockey team won the New York State Championship this past weekend! They defeated Jamestown 6 to 1. This is the first State Championship win in the team’s history. Congrats! 



DECA Update

Our athletes aren’t the only ones winning medals. Our DECA students went to Rochester for the New York State competition this week. Of the 165 Syosset High School students who attended, 124 of them earned medals… and many won multiple! In total, Syosset brought home 252 medals. Roughly 55 students will move on to compete at the ICDC - the International Career Development Conference later this year. 

Junior Mollie Falkove was elected the New York State President for DECA. She is the first Syosset student ever elected to this position – and will lead all of the students in DECA clubs across the state as a student executive officer. 

Way to go #SyoBiz!

Spotlight on Instruction

The weather hasn’t cooperated, but Robbins Lane second graders are still trying to catch a snowman! Students read the book “How to Catch a Snowman,” and then worked with the enrichment and library media specialists to bring the story to life. They created their own snowman traps, and then used their Ozobots (coding robots) to test to see if the traps would work. The combination of coding and creative reading allowed students to flex two sets of mental muscles simultaneously – and successfully catch that rowdy snowman! 



When they weren’t busy catching snowmen, students at Robbins Lane were dancing in honor of two special holidays: Holi and Purim. Students explored several digital platforms and began learning how to compose their own music. The integration of music with this school-wide multicultural celebration allowed students to share their customs and learn more about others. The goal is to raise awareness of the cultural diversity both in our district and around the world. Next week, students will have their dance break to Celtic Music in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.

Bright Spot 

Sticking with basketball bright spots – this week, our HBT and South Woods girls basketball teams played each other in a friendly matchup. The teams of 8th graders were competitors, but as of this September, they will be teammates on the High School team. The inter-school competitions are among my favorites: the games (like this one) are always well-attended by our community, and in the end, Syosset always wins! 


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A reminder that you still have three opportunities to see Legally Blonde The Musical this weekend. Tonight (within 30 minutes, run!), tomorrow night, and Sunday afternoon. Tickets are on sale at this link.

Daylight Savings Time is this Sunday. Don’t forget to “spring forward” your clocks. This is my favorite time of year, as it greatly increases my chances of leaving work while it’s still light out, and I get to see all of Syosset’s Spring sports athletes out on the fields getting ready for the season! 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

#GoSyo
Tom Rogers

Dear Syosset Community,

I generally avoid myself as a topic in this newsletter – our families and staff should be our newsmakers and I’m content to serve as narrator. But something remarkable happened to me this week that was #SoSyo that I had to share.

I visit lots of classrooms, always as a learner, but seldom as a student. Syosset High School music teacher Paul Caputo learned I picked up guitar during the Covid shutdown and invited me to join his Rock History and Performance class – as a musician. As I entered the class of mostly strangers, I felt a vaguely familiar sensation I ultimately recognized as “new kid jitters” compounded by stage fright. Not to worry, the students warmly welcomed me. Not because of my role or skill (which is meager), but as they explained, their classroom community chooses to value contribution rather than judge imperfection. Wow. It takes special people – students and staff alike – to create special places where risk taking and exploration are cultivated and celebrated. Butterflies averted until Spring!

Speaking of Spring, notwithstanding the first meaningful snowfall of the year this week, Spring sports are starting and it’s still light outside when the late buses are rolling! Spring also means it’s time for our high school musical. Beginning next Thursday, our students will perform Legally Blonde the Musical throughout the weekend. I caught the beginning of a rehearsal yesterday and I know how excited the cast and crew are for you to see them perform. Great seats are still available (yes, it’s reserved seating), and you can buy tickets at this link (I just bought mine!). 

Our Prekindergarten program is another place with great seats still available! We conducted the placement Lottery today, but since the State increased the funding, for the first time we have more seats than students! So if you have a child who will be 4 years of age on or before December 1, 2023, there’s still time to register! For more information, follow this link to our UPK website.

Another programmatic reminder: we are also hosting information sessions for parents interested in learning more about the Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) program the District is offering to Mandarin-speaking English Language Learners entering 1st or 2nd grade next fall. More information about the TBE program can be found at this link.

Spotlight on Instruction

Project Beyond sixth graders are creating, and escaping, their own “escape rooms” using problem-solving strategies. Students write short scripts and create videos that introduce each escape room for their classmates, who then try to solve the challenging puzzles that have been created. Here’s a scenario created by one group: a student steps into the library and opens a book. They fall through it and are transported into a world with mashed up classic fiction stories.The only way to escape the room is to help Alice navigate Wonderland through a series of puzzles, leading them from one hidden location to the next. The problems include algebra, logic puzzles, riddles, cryptograms, and other math-based problems. Students simultaneously become the story-writers, designers, problem creators, and problem solvers all at once. When they are finished, students will have the challenge of escaping from an escape room that another class created. Learning so much has never been so much fun! 

Budget Update 

As I’ve mentioned in previous updates, inflation is not only hitting families in the pocketbook, it’s affecting the District as well. And, like a family, we’re making some adjustments to live within a budget. 

We’ve been fortunate to have had almost a decade with both very low inflation and low interest rates. Our revenues (from state assistance and from local taxes) were able to keep pace with modest cost inflation. And – even though the District has had the second highest rate of enrollment growth since 2015 in all of Nassau County – we were able to accommodate that growth and even identify some efficiencies that allowed us to shift resources to start programs like Virtual Enterprise and Robotics, enhance classroom technology for students, add new sports like Gymnastics and Fencing, and repair our aging facilities.

Scouring the budget for additional efficiencies never stops, but now we’ll be shifting the resources freed up to offset some of the inflationary costs we’re seeing for energy, transportation, and health insurance, to name a few. I mention it to ensure you’re informed, not to make anyone nervous – which would be understandable because we all value the incredible education Syosset provides. 

This thrift will sometimes result in inconvenience: for example, an important field trip might need to be rescheduled so the bus can be shared. But, I want to reassure folks that I don’t think those efficiencies will result in fewer opportunities for students, only the need for patience with the changes in the way they are accomplished. 

As we look ahead to next year, all Districts are planning for continued inflation, but every District’s situation is unique. Syosset is fortunate that the State provided a generous increase in monetary aid, but this funding stream only provides about 10% of Syosset’s current revenue, so its impact on the overall budget is modest. Most school districts in Nassau have been losing enrollment (down 3% county-wide since 2015), but our enrollment grew 13% since 2015.  

Families live in Syosset for the excellent education we provide, and our staff loves working here for the same reason. As we work through this budget process, all of our effort will be dedicated to preserving the excellence of what we do, the things that make us #SyoSpecial.

We will discuss this more in depth over the next couple of months as we go through this budget process. Our next board meeting, which includes a budget information session, will be on March 13th at South Woods Middle School. Feel free to tune in or stop by. 

Bright Spots

Syosset High School Sophomore Zach Kaufman biked 100-miles to raise money for a charity with personal significance. Cancer has had a tremendous impact on the Kaufman family. With the help of the Syosset community, and after 6.5 hours of riding with his dad by his side, Zach was able to raise close to $1,300 for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in South Florida. Zach’s sister, HBT 8th grader Reese, joined him in running a 5k for the same cause. Zach’s varsity soccer and JV basketball teams, and Reese’s gymnastics team all offered their support from home. Aside from their physical accomplishments, this is a victory for those adversely affected by cancer. Way to make a difference, Zach and Reese! 

They’re not the only students making a difference. Robbins Lane students wanted to support the people of Turkey and Syria who are recovering from the devastating earthquakes. Fourth grader Aydin Zakaria, with the help of his family, asked his classmates to bring in blankets and sleeping bags to be sent overseas to help earthquake survivors stay warm. The supplies the students collected were brought to the Turkish Consulate in NYC to start their journey to Turkey to help those in need.

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Enjoy your weekend! 

#SyoSpecial
Tom Rogers