Vol. 2, No. 49
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Friday, December 5, 2025
THE GATEWAY TO NASSAU COUNTY SERVING FLORAL PARK, BELLEROSE AND STEWART MANOR
Marching Knights honored by BOE
The Marching Knights of Sewanhaka performed at the district’s board of education meeting on Nov. 25
Photos courtesy of the Sewanhaka Central High School District
The Sewanhaka Central High School District community enjoyed front-row seats to a memorable performance by the district’s award-winning competitive marching band, the Marching Knights of
The drummers
Sewanhaka, during the board of education meeting held at Floral Park Memorial High School on Nov. 25. Before the performance, Ex Officio student board member Jasmine
Chen, a junior at Floral Park Memorial, opened the meeting with districtwide highlights from the fall semester as part of the student’s monthly report. Following the superintendent’s report, Superintendent of Schools Regina Agrusa introduced the marching band. Under the direction of Floral Park Memorial Chairperson of Music John Smykowski and music educator and band leader Matthew Povolny, the band began practices in August, dedicating themselves to mastering the music, choreography and field formations. Their successful season culminated at the New York State Field Band Conference in Syracuse, See page 3
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Sewanhaka poet laureate workshop
On Nov. 20, the Sewanhaka Central High School District proudly hosted its inaugural districtwide poet laureate event, uniting one student representative from each school building for a day dedicated to creativity, community and the power of the written word. Each school nominated a student with a demonstrated passion for poetry. Interested students submitted a portfolio of their work, along with a recommendation letter from either a chairperson or club adviser. Those selected as this year’s poet laureates are Elmont Memorial High School senior Videsh Muneshwar, Floral Park Memorial High School senior Giuliana DePaola, H. Frank Carey High School senior Anne Guadiosi, New Hyde Park Memorial High School senior Angela Vlavianos and Sewanhaka High School senior Manahil Asif. The workshop, led by New Hyde Park Memorial High School Chairperson of English Dr. Graham Otton, invited students to explore a series of guided writing prompts and engage in thoughtful poetry discussions. They also worked together to envision future districtwide literary initiatives aimed at strengthening connections among young writers across all five schools. “It was so much fun getting to meet and work with people who share the same passions as me, and I think we were able to come up with some really cool ideas to implement in the district,” DePaola said. “We really pushed ourselves creatively during the workshop by trying new things with different kinds of poems and writing styles, and I'm looking forward to continuing our collaboration to hopefully share that with more students!” Vlavianos added, “The workshop in general was a huge success, as the other poet laureates and I were able to discuss and further our initiative of expanding the love of poetry throughout our school district. See page 2
Top high school students named PAGES 4 and 6 Centennial Gardens: For all seasons PAGE 12