GARDEN CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

On The LineOn The LineWINTER 2012 Summary www.gardencity.k12.ny.us Vol. 14 • No. 4

(continued on page 2)

2012-2013 Budget Vote

Tuesday, May 15, 2012 6 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Garden City High School Gymnasium

During six Board of Education Budget Work Sessions and Regular Meetings, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen presented his recommendations for the 2012-13 school budget - the first school budget formulated under New York State’s new “2% tax levy cap” legislation. Because the new law is complex, informing the public and addressing the miscon-ceptions surrounding the cap has been a major focus of com-munications from the district and the Board of Education to the Garden City community. Much information has been placed on the district’s website (“Question of the Week” and “Budget Information”), presented at Board of Education Budget Work Sessions, and published by the local media. The “2%” figure, the number most people associate with the new law, is actually a misnomer and has been the source of some confusion. The threshold a school district is limited to under the legislation is not “2%,” but the “maximum allowable tax levy limit.” This number can be higher than 2% (an allow-ance for inflation), depending on each school district’s calcu-lation using the State’s 8-step budget formula. The formula builds in adjustments and exclusions for certain expenditures that may be atypically high, such as contributions to pension systems above 2%, and for interest on debt service. Using the State’s formula, the “maximum allowable tax levy limit” for Garden City for the 2012-13 school year is in excess of 4%. At 3.54%* (with STAR), the 2012-13 proposed budget is below the school district’s “maximum allowable tax levy limit,” and thus, would require a majority of the voters (50% plus one) for passage on May 15, 2012. Under the proposed budget, “Next year’s schools will look very much like this year’s schools,” explained Dr. Feirsen. “We can maintain Garden City as a ‘destination location,’ a commu-nity that people move to and choose to stay in.”

The proposed budget includes no major changes and:

• Requires no building closures• Maintains class size guidelines• Retains special programs such as FLES and Quest• Maintains high school electives• Preserves most co-curricular and athletics programs• Retains full day kindergarten, music, art and theatre• Includes funding for student support services and tech-

nology initiatives• Maintains the current bus transportation policy• Retains funds for staff development, textbooks, tests and

other materials connected with major mandated changes in curriculum, assessment, and personnel performance

Budget drivers in the proposed budget include .97% for pension costs to the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) and the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS), health care contribu-tions of .5%, debt service of 1.24% on the 2009 School Invest-ment Bond, contractual salary increases of 1.94%, and increases in special education of .38%, for a total of 5.03%. Spending reductions were made to reduce the budget-to-budget increase to 3.61% and the tax levy increase to 3.95%. Garden City relies extensively on property taxes (90%) to operate its award-winning schools. State aid has dwindled in the past few years, leaving Garden City ranked as 672 of the 697 school districts in New York State in terms of receipt of state aid (seethroughny.net). At $1,371 per pupil, this places Garden City as the lowest recipient of state aid in our comparator school grouping, including Scarsdale and Bronxville in Westchester County. The same website also notes that Garden City has one of the lowest administrative costs of our comparator groups. To address the inequities in the State’s aid distribution for-mula and express their concern about the unfair tax burden placed on our community, the Board of Education has drafted and unanimously signed a letter to local legislators requesting their support for a review of State funding to Garden City Public Schools. A copy of the letter is available under “Question of the Week” on the district website. As the district approaches the May 15th budget vote, the Board will evaluate the superintendent’s budget recommendations, giv-ing careful consideration to citizens’ input, and present a budget for adoption at the April 17th, 8:15 p.m. Regular Meeting. If the May 15th vote fails, the Board can decide to hold a sec-ond vote in June or go straight to a “contingency” or “austerity” budget. Under the new legislation, if the budget fails a second time, or the Board votes to go directly to a contingency budget, the district must adopt a 0% budget increase. A 0% increase would require a budget reduction of approxi-mately $3.6 million. Further, all of the exclusions to the tax levy cap legislation, such as debt service, pension costs above 2%, capital projects and bus purchases, will no longer apply.

Garden City Public Schools2012-2013 Budget

* Updated tax levy made possible by the April 17, 2012 Garden City Teachers’ Association contract settlement.

www.gardencity.k12.ny.us2

2009 School Investment Bond

Update

K-5 Teachers Delve into CCLS Mathematics In alignment with the State’s mandate, Garden City Public Schools will begin implementa-tion of the K-12 Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) in 2012-2013 school year. To facilitate this transition in Garden City, Dr. Teresa Prendergast, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction, arranged for mathematics staff development workshops for the district’s K-5 classroom teachers. Math consultant, Dr. Scavuzzo-Despagni, focused on “number sense” and mathematical op-erations with the district’s primary and elementary classroom teachers (at right, below), pro-viding methods and concrete examples for strengthening students’ ability to reason abstractly and quantitatively, concepts international testing data indicate U.S. students need to strength-en. Concrete examples were provided and discussed during the workshops. The new standards provide a foun-dational approach to mathematics learning - an essential component of STEM (Science, Technology, Engi-neering and Mathematics) - stress-ing a deeper understanding of basic concepts. “Within a matter of days,” Dr. Prendergast reported, “classroom teachers were implementing the skills and strategies in their classrooms.” Stratford Principal Eileen Vota con-curred, “Our teachers came back from the workshop and ran with the ideas and strategies.” Feedback for classroom teachers was positive, and additional staff development sessions are planned in the coming months to prepare Garden City teachers in best practices for CCLS implementation.

In terms of personnel cuts, $3.6 million represents approximately: 45 teachers, or the entire cost of the Guidance Department, or all school nurses, psychologists and social workers, or all custodial, maintenance and security staff, or all district administrators. Eliminations to meet the $3.6 million could also include the following: raising class size guidelines, cutting academic programs, athletic programs, drama and music, field trips, clubs, Continuing Education, after school child care, the Winter Program for Kids, summer enrich-ment and AIS, and all capital purchases including computer equipment and buses. Additionally, the district would be required to charge all community groups for the use of building and grounds. The stakes for Garden City Public Schools couldn’t be higher, so please, stay informed and make your voice heard on May 15th.

(continued from page 1)

School Budget

Part of the community-approved 2009 School Investment Bond, construction of the additions at the high school, middle school, and Homestead continue to be on time and under budget.

The steel is completely erected and the concrete slab has been poured for the high school music addition (above). Masonry work is scheduled to begin on the exterior walls shortly.

At the middle school (above), the exterior brick work is nearly complete, the concrete floors poured for the interior corridors and locker rooms are being prepped for polish-ing, and the crews are setting up for the exterior landscaping. At Homestead, the exterior masonry work is complete. Below, workers transfer panels to add to the building’s upper roof section. The addition will be completely enclosed by the end of April.

The district’s Energy Performance Con-tract (EPC) was recently approved by the State Education Department. Con Ed Solu-tions, the company awarded the district’s EPC work, has been ordering materials to accomplish the upgrades. Dismantling of the old boilers at the high school, middle school, and the bus garage is currently underway to make way for new, energy-efficient units. To view architect’s renderings of the com-pleted additions made possible by the 2009 School Investment Bond, please visit the district website: www.gardencity.k12.ny.us.

Garden City Hosts Best Buddies Prom The Garden City High School Best Buddies “Under the Sea” Prom on March 12th was a really big deal - a spectacular evening that embraced diversity, tolerance and friendship. The magical night has become an an-nual event for the Best Buddies Club, a global volunteer movement that fosters one-to-one friendships between individuals with disabilities and volunteer high-schoolers. This year, Garden City played host to the Nassau/Suffolk collaborative prom. Club sponsor Tammy Kear and Best Buddies President, Olivia Giordano, spearheaded the school-wide effort to transform the high school gymnasium into an underwater para-dise. From the live music to the amazing art work, the room was a spectacle to behold.“It was a golden opportunity for our children to be in the spotlight,” Kear grinned. -- Nancy Slater Our thanks to Ms. Kear and all the many volunteers who helped make this evening one to be remembered for a lifetime!

www.gardencity.k12.ny.us

Earth Day 2012 is April 22nd

Modeling conservation and sustainability is integral to the district’s mission statement. Garden City Public Schools has reduced its impact on the environment by working with Royal Recycling Solutions in every district building. The latest report summary indicates that the district has saved over 12.70 tons of paper and other recyclables, including 75 cubic yards of plastic and cans, and 205 cubic yards of card-board, from being added to our landfills. Through this ongo-ing “Go Green” initiative, the district has saved 153 trees, 101.6cubicfeetoflandfill,and88,900gallonsofwater.

In alignment with the district’s mission statement, schools around the district are planning a number of activities to celebrate Earth Day 2012, for example, at the pri-mary schools, the high school’s HOPE (Hand On Protecting the Environment) Club will visit classes to perform a skit, make posters, and discuss pollution prevention.

Garden City Prepares for APPR

Garden City Public Schools has been preparing for APPR implementation in 2012-13 using the state-approved Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching model through OASYS (a standardized online data reporting system). Staff training has been conducted with leading experts in the field, Dr. Duffy Miller (above, left) and Dr. Bernadette Cleland. The Danielson framework has been in place for teacher evaluations in Garden City Public Schools for the past four years under the guidance of Assistant Superintendent for Person-nel, Dr. Fino Celano, with staff development training supported by Dr. Miller. Recently, administrators were trained in recognizing instruction that pushed students to higher levels of cognitive engagement, and in “inter-rater reliability,” i.e., consistency of findings when two or more evaluators are observing the same or similar lessons. Last month, administrators used a “Learning Walk Protocol” to visit classes in the various buildings to observe the degree to which instructional practices promoted a higher level of student engagement in learning. Subsequent discussions focused on debriefing evaluators about the evidence they gathered and themes that surfaced. Earlier in the school year, Garden City’s

administrators received training in OASYS data entry (left) to accomplish the manda-tory state reporting required under APPR.

“The Garden City School District has been ahead of the curve in APPR implementation because we have been using the Danielson rubric since 2007,” explained Assistant Su-perintendent Celano. “We continue to refine our use of the rubric, which has provided our staff with an effective evaluation instru-ment, and has resulted in opportunities for ongoing staff development in best practices in classroom instruction.”

For more information about Garden City’s implementation of APPR, visit the Personnel Department’s web page (Under “Departments” on the district website).

Eagle Scout Gives Back Last year, when high school student Ryan Castellano (above right, with his father) began planning for his Eagle Scout project, his first thoughts were to give back to the school district. Ryan contacted the building principals for suggestions to enhance the physical en-vironment around their schools. Having attended Locust a dozen years ago, Ryan settled on a project for the school’s back courtyard. Ryan worked with Principal Jean Ricotta and kindergarten teacher Rose Huntington to develop an outdoor classroom for nature studies and small group assemblies. “This was a perfect project for us,” said Mrs. Huntington. Eighteen Boy Scout troop mates, all district students, contributed to the creation of three new benches, several bird houses, and two planting stations. “We are getting seedlings ready to plant outside and hope to seed the new planter boxes soon,” shared Mrs. Huntington. “I also noticed that we appear to have ‘homemakers’ in the courtyard going in and out of the new birdhouses.” Thank you, Ryan, and thanks to your family and troop mates for giving back to our community in such a meaning-ful way. The students (and wildlife) at Locust will enjoy your generosity for years to come!

Good Causes When it comes to helping others, Garden City students know no bounds. This year, Stewart School raised

the most funds of any school on Long Is-land - $14, 508.73 - for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through its “Stuck for a Buck” and “Pie the Principal” campaign coordinated by teacher Brenda McCarthy.That’s Principal Linda Norton wearing the whipped cream and a big smile!

Want to get involved and help others? GCTA’s Race For a CureSaturday, April 21, 9 a.m.

Zumba for the Malone Foundation Friday, April 27, 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Check the district website under “News” for more information. 3

Starting in September, 2012, all princi-pals and teachers throughout New York State will be evaluated under the new regulations for an Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) plan. APPR will create a 100-point “com-posite effectiveness score” evaluation system for educational professionals consisting of: 20 points for growth on state assessments or determined “Stu-dent Learning Objectives” (SLOs); 20 points for growth on local measures of student achievement; and 60 points based on a classroom observation/evaluation rubric and other measures of teacher and principal effectiveness.

Gallery Showcase

High School: Tim Eschmann (11), acrylic painting. Tim painted this still life in Diane Veitch’s Art 2 class.“The students drew from life and photographs, concen-trating on lights, darks, and high contrast,” Ms. Veitch explained. “From pencil sketchbook studies, they en-larged and painted their work on canvas board.”

4 www.gardencity.k12.ny.us

Please Join Us!The fifth annual 8th-grade unveiling

of the students’ self-portrait installation and Art Reception

will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday,

May 14, 2012 at Garden City Middle School

High School: Katie O’Sullivan (9), pencil drawing. “For this project, students incorporated elements of a self-portrait with typography to create exciting designs with color pencils on black paper,” commented teacher Claire Ellerman.

High School: Jeyn Laundrie (12), photograph. Jeyn is a Photo 4 and Advanced Placement art student whose “wonderful use of silhouetting and stop-action photog-raphy added an ethereal feel to the image,” said pho-tography teacher Jason Karp.

Middle School: Evelyn Chavez (8), collage. “Evelyn created this beautiful collage self-portrait using cut pieces of magazine,” teacher Joseph Wilkonski noted. “The work is highly creative and very well executed.” Middle School: Olivia Guarnieri (8), pencil

drawing. Eighth-graders in Lori Biondi’s class used their names as inspiration for a kaleido-scope design. “The end result was very personal for each student,” Ms. Biondi explained. “There was immense problem solving during the proj-ect!” Can you spot elements of Olivia’s name?

Middle School: Kaleigh Donovan, Isabella Mercandetti, Kaylah Bozkurtian (6), pencil drawing. Teacher Dennis Fediw explained the three drawings: “This project was based on the traditional art of China where nature is a predominant theme. Color, often being seen as unnecessary, was the motivation behind the stu-dents working in black pencil on gray paper.”

Stewart: Mary Foxen (4), mixed media. Fourth-graders in Michele White’s art class created shimmering under-water scenes using colored foils to highlight the animal cutouts. “Students added details to the foil by working with a variety of textured rubbing plates,” Ms. White explained. “The shimmering results were beautiful!”

High School: Savannah DeBrosse (11), pencil draw-ing. Art teacher Loreen McMahon explained: “The skulls were drawn in ebony pencil as part of a unit of study on Vanitas/Memento Mori paintings with the Art 3 classes.”

Locust: Sonia Cherpelis (1), paper collage. First-graders studied the artworks by author/illustrator Eric Carle to create a rooster collage. Art teacher: Amanda Marino.

www.gardencity.k12.ny.us 5

Stratford: Kayla Larocca (3), glue line and watercolor. “This project inspired me to paint the insects I love the most: butterflies!” Kayla explained about her colorful creation. Art teacher: George Lucas.

High School: Jia Kelleher (12), oil painting. “Jia created a beautiful image showing her own point of view on the working class,” commented Advanced Placement art teacher Shawn Uttendorfer.

Homestead: Danielle Curth (1), pastels and paint. Students in Amanda Marino’s art class created birch trees in winter with paint and pastels (above).

At Hemlock, students studied the work of Pablo Picasso to create a Cubist-style dual-view portrait in paints and oil pastels like the one at left by Vanessa Law (1).

For three performances and one dress rehearsal that welcomed over 100 senior citizens for a pre-show buffet dinner courtesy of the Garden City Teachers’ Association, theatre-goers were treated to this endearing musical with memorable characters brought to life by the high school’s talented thespians.Directed by Katie Sckalor and produced by Stephen Mayo, with Michael Stano as technical director and vocal coach Robert Ludwig (who also played piano and conducted the full pit orchestra), the cast delivered a production that moved many to tears, even as they applauded and cheered during the stand-ing ovations the cast received. Congratulations and many thanks to the high school’s talented students and staff for bringing this wonderful “tale as old as time” to Garden City!

Spring Theatre Productions:Beauty and the Beast

Cinderella

On March 23rd and 24th, the auditorium at Garden City Mid-dle School was filled with possibilities as mice were trans-formed into horses and a pumpkin into a carriage fit for a princess, as the Music Box Players performed “Cinderella.” Directed by Kristin Aguilo with musical coaching by Nancy Menges, backstage direction by Kimberly Greenwald, and technical support by Kevin Pollitt, the middle school’s two casts delivered standing ovation performances of this classic rags-to-riches tale. Congratulations to the cast and crew for a truly amazing “anything is possible” production!

The Music Man, Jr.

(more music & theatre news on page 8)

On March 29th and 30th, Stratford families and guests were treated to the fifth-grade’s production of “The Music Man, Jr.” This rousing musical transported audiences to River City, Iowa, for a lesson in wishful thinking - River City-style. Congratulations to musical director Meredith Lavin, the fifth-grade teachers, parents, Mr. & Mrs. Madden, art teacher George Lucas, choreographer Debbie Tavernese, sound director Kevin Pollitt, and the cast and crew for putting on such a memorable musical!

Student

Achievement

6

National Merit Scholarship Finalists

Dead Poets’ Society “Highest Award”

Congratulations to club advisor Julie Zafiropoulos and the student editors and contributors to Dead Poets’ Society (left), the middle

school’s literary magazine, for receipt of the “Highest Award” in New York State for its 2010-2011 publication. The magazine was the sole State recipient of the distinction and one of only 38 student magazines so chosen in the nation. Congratulations also to the staff of the Inkspots (right), the high school’s literary magazine, for being ranked as “Excellent” in the same competition!

www.gardencity.k12.ny.us

ASA All-County ArtSenior Veronica Agarwal (pictured here, center, below her double self-portrait oil painting) received this year’s scholarship award for Gar-den City High School at the Art Supervisors Associa-tion All-County Art Exhibit held at Adelphi University

on Sunday, March 18th. Veronica was joined by her parents, grandmother, and Dr. Nina Prasso (left), Coordinator of Music and the Arts, at the opening reception for the exhibiting art-ists. Thirty-three K-12 Garden City students’ art works were featured in this year’s show.

AIME Two Garden City High

School students, junior Tim Saeli (who placed first) and senior Alina Ranjbaran (who placed second), qual-ified to sit for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME). Tim

and Alina were among the top 2.5% of students who partici-pated in the 2012 American Mathematics Competition (AMC). “I am very proud of you,” remarked Stu Dods (left), 6-12 math-ematics coordinator, “just to get to the AIME level is a very high honor.” The students and Mr. Dods are joined by Principal Nanine Cuttitta (right).

Middle School Science Olympiad

In early March, Garden City Middle School sent two teams (composed of sixth- through ninth-grad-ers) to CP Weber Middle School in Port Wash-

ington to compete in this year’s Science Olympiad. Events there challenged the 44 teams of students with hands-on sci-ence aligned with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) learning. “The students came home with a record-breaking 11 medals!” commented Dr. Paris Zaferiou, Science Olympiad advisor. “As a result of a phenomenal team effort, the students increased their rank by 43% over last year!”

National Merit Scholarship FinalistsCongratulations to Garden City’s 2012 National Merit Schol-arship semifinalists for recently being elevated to “Finalist” status. Pictured above with Principal Nanine Cuttitta (far left) and their guidance counselors (back, left to right), Tim Casale, James Malone, Natasha Khan, and Patrick Doyle, are (front, left to right): Franklin Dickinson, Marisa Su, Alina Ranjbaran, Sarah Odell, and William Clarke. Garden City’s scholar final-ists were chosen from more than 1.5 million entrants from over 21,000 high schools across the U.S. on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success.

“Going Green” WinnerStefan Marchhart, a student in Dr. Steven Gordon’s sci-ence research class at Gar-den City High School, re-cently won second place in the “Going Green on Long Island Using Alternative En-ergy Research Competition.” The competition was open to

students in grades 9-12 and this year received more than 100 entries. The top 4% of research plans were chosen as winners. Stefan researched solar energy and solar panels for his submis-sion, an interest he developed after his father’s recent launch of a green energy lighting company.

2012 Valedictorian/Salutatorian

Class of 2012 Valedictorian/SalutatorianCongratulations to Alina Ranjbaran (left) for being named the Class of 2012 Valedictorian, and to Megan Bader for being named Salutatorian. Harvard-bound, Alina is a National Merit Scholarship Finalist, a Seimens Science Research Regional Fi-nalist, a student in Juilliard School’s Pre-College Division, a NYSSMA All-State musician, and President of the National Honor Society. Megan is a two-season News 12 Scholar Athlete, a National, Spanish, and Latin Honor Society member, and a 2012 National Merit Scholarship Commended Student. Megan plans to attend Duke University in the fall.

“Ocean Pals” Two middle school sci-ence research students achieved distinction in the “Ocean Pals Contest,” an international poster competition designed to help students learn about the importance of protect-ing the oceans’ ecosys-

tems. Dessie Dimino, pictured here at the March 20th Board Meeting with (left to right) President Colleen Foley, teacher Dr. Paris Zaferiou, and Dr. Robert Feirsen, achieved second place in the Regionals, and Caralyn Roeper (absent from pho-to) won third place.

www.gardencity.k12.ny.us

WINTER

WRAP-UP

GO

TROJANS!

7

National, State, and County ChampionsGirls Track Does it Again!

Senior Kimberly Ryan hustles for the ball.Photo: www.newsphoto.com

Winning their sixth consecutive County Championship, the girls varsity track and field team proved an unstoppable force this season. Pictured here with Athletic Director Nancy Kalafus (left) and coach Erica Fregosi (second from left), the team was honored at the March 20th Board of Education meet-ing. With two daughters on the team, trustee Laura Hastings (right) proudly stands with the award-winning athletes. At States, three track titles were captured by Garden City girls: Emma Gallagher - 600m, Molly Josephs, 1500m walk, and the 4x400

by Taylor Hennig, Emma Gallagher, Alexis Yeboah-Kodie, and Laura Jaeger. “At the Millrose Games, Garden City’s 4x800m team (Emma Gallagher, 8th-grader Emily O’Neill, Katie O’Neill and Taylor Hennig) not only took first place (by over 10 seconds), but also ran the NYS #1 and national #1 time, broke the school and Nassau County records, and hit the 10th spot on the all-time high school 4x800m list!” commented Coach Fregosi. The girls track team also performed with great distinction at the Indoor National Champi-onships in Manhattan. Stephanie Gerland raced in the two mile, finishing as the top eighth-grader. The girls mile medley team (Taylor Hennig, Laura Jaeger, Alexis Yeboah-Kodie and Emma Gallagher) placed 3rd, ending the season ranked 3rd in the country. The 4x800m team (Taylor Hennig, Emma Gallagher, Emily O’Neill and Katie O’Neill) placed 4th, and ended the season ranked 2nd in the country, after running a faster time earlier in the season. The 4x400m team (Taylor Hennig, Emma Gallagher, Laura Jaeger and Katie O’Neill) had the best perfor-mance of the meet, placing 2nd, and finishing with a national rank of #2, an achievement that set Long Island, Nassau County, and Garden City school records!

Congratulations to senior Michael Lofrese for winning his second Nassau County Wrestling Championship. Michael is pictured at right with high school principal Nanine Cuttitta and coach Reid Sclafani. Teammates Matt Schmelzinger placed 2nd in the county, Jack Reina placed 3rd, Tom Reina, 5th and Matt Eulau, 6th. Michael went on to the State finals where he finished 6th in his weight division. “The entire Lofrese family has made a tremendous contribution to our wrestling program,” explained coach Scalfani. Michael’s parents ran the “Grapplers” for young wrestlers, grades 1-8. With four brothers and one sister, Michael is the youngest, and the last sibling to graduate from the high school. “Michael has been team captain for the past three years. He works very, very hard and is a great role model. I will miss the entire Lofrese family.”

Great Effort, Lady Trojans!Girls varsity basketball finished the season in second place in the County Class A finalists against North Shore on Saturday, March 3rd. “Coming off last year’s State Final Four season, the team returned four of five starters and com-peted the entire year like the defending Long Island Champs they were,” com-mented coach Anthony Sparacia. “As the #2 seed in the playoffs, we were able to defeat Mineola, Bethpage and Lynbrook, setting up a match-up between #1 North Shore and #2 Garden City for the Nassau County Final. Through tremendous effort for 32 minutes, we fell just short, 74-64. This team is terrific, I couldn’t be more proud of a group of young ladies as I am of this year’s team.”

2x Nassau County Champion!

The entire season for boys bowling, then the Conference Championship, was a three-way battle among Roslyn, Manhasset and Garden City. “The conference title came down to the final match,” recalled coach Crystal Boyd (at left). “The boys were so excited to play because the challenge was on - they had lost 2 out of 3 games to Manhasset the week before and had to sweep the next 2 matches to put themselves in a position to play for the conference title. Seniors Nicholas DeSarno and Alex Passaretti showed their experience by staying cool under pressure and bowling consistently in the 180s for all three games. The Rocco brothers, Tom and Joe, followed suit and with 170 or better for all three games. Garden City swept Manhasset to take the 2011-12 conference title!”

With his fam-ily beside him, Ryan Norton recently signed with Syracuse University on a full football scholarship. The Garden City senior played

varsity football for the reigning Nassau County Champion Trojans for the past three years. Ryan, sporting his new Syracuse cap, was joined at the signing by: (seated, left to right) his father, Michael, and mom, Kristen, and (stand-ing, left to right) Athletic Director Nancy Kalafus, Stew-art Avenue Principal Linda Norton, Ryan’s grandmother and sister Brittany, Mark Ellis, assistant coach David Ettinger and head football coach Tom Flatley.

Woodstick ClassicPlease Join Us!

For a day of lacrosse on Saturday, May 5th, 4:30

p.m. as Garden City High School hosts the

Woodstick Classic. • 10:30 a.m.: GC JV

boys lacrosse game vs. Manhasset

• 11 a.m.: free clinic forgrades1-8inboyslacrosse

• 12 noon: GC and Manhasset alum on the grassfield

• 4:30 p.m.: GCHS vs. Manhasset

Division I Scholarship

Boys Bowling

Colleen E. FoleyPresident

Barbara TrapassoVice President

Angela HeinemanTrustee

Laura HastingsTrustee

Tom PinouTrustee

Robert Feirsen, Ed.D.Superintendent

Catherine KnightCoordinator of Public Information

Garden City Union Free School District56 Cathedral Avenue Garden City, New York 11530www.gardencity.k12.ny.usInspiring Minds,Empowering Achievement Building Community

Non-Profit OrganizationU. S. Postage

PAIDGarden City, NY 11530

Permit No. 22

Resident

GaRden City, ny 11530

T h e D i s t r i c t H o m e P a g ewww.gardencity.k12.ny.us

Y o u r G a t e w a y T o School Pages • Sports Schedules • Forms • More

Round the CloCk • 24 / 7 • At YouR ConvenienCe

Tri-M Music Honor Society

In early February, the Tri-M Music Honor Society welcomed 32 new members to the high school’s chapter. In a touching ceremony, guest speaker Tom Wagner, former 30-year Garden City music teacher at Stewart and Stratford Schools, the first music teacher named Teacher of the Year in New York State, and well-known band leader of the Village Music Makers, spoke about his journey through 65 years of musical performances. He shared stories of his travels and experiences working with some of the biggest names during the Big Band era, emphasizing how music has brought joy and fulfillment to his life. “Please don’t ever forget your music,” he explained. Introduced by vocal teacher Robert Ludwig (at right), Mr. Wagner was presented with a lifetime honorary membership to the Tri-M Society.

Recent Honor Society InductionsInternational Thespian Society

Garden City High School’s chapter of the International Thespian Society (ITS - Troupe #7135) welcomed nine new members in an induction ceremony in New York City on Friday, March 23, 2012. Troupe Director Laura Rebecca (below, far right) hosted the event attended by current ITS members, District Coordinator of Music and Art, Dr. Nina Prasso, and other staff and supporters. Members and guests attended a formal dinner and ceremony at Tony’s DiNapoli Restaurant, followed by a performance of “How to Succeed in Busi-ness Without Really Trying” at the Hirschfeld Theater. Following the performance, the attendees were treated to a “Q & A” with some of the cast members, courtesy of Hirschfeld Theater Lighting Director, Michelle Gutierrez. Our thanks to Ms. Gutierrez and the staff of the Hirschfeld Theater, Dr. Prasso, the Nassau County BOCES Arts-in-Education program, Mrs. Pat Dino and Mrs. Judy Weis, and Mr. Steve Short for their con-tribution to making this evening unforgettable for the students.