Friday, April 4, 2025
Vol. 85, No. 14
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Long Island School Syosset HS Chamber Orchestra crowned National Grand Champions for the Gifted to move to OLM building BY GARY SIMEONE
Councilman Tom Hand (right), Councilman Andrew Monteleone (center) with volunteers from Cub Pack 338. The Syosset High School Chamber Orchestra has been honored with the title of National Grand Champions by the American String Teachers Association (ASTA). This prestigious accolade, awarded at the 2025 National Orchestra Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, positions the ensemble as the nation's premier high school orchestra. Under the expert direction of Ms. Stephanie Merten, who has
led the orchestra since 2011, the group delivered compelling performances of compositions by Caroline Shaw, George Walker, Aldemaro Romero, and Dmitri Shostakovich. The students’ exceptional musicianship stood out among 21 top high school orchestras competing for the esteemed title. "This honor is a testament to the dedication and passion of our students,” said Ms. Merten.
“It also highlights our District’s amazing music program and our community’s ongoing commitment to the arts.” This remarkable achievement not only highlights the individual talents of the orchestra members but also elevates the Syosset music program to a national platform, reaffirming its reputation for excellence in music education.
The Syosset Advance Published every Friday by Litmor Publishing Corp. Periodical Postage paid at Hicksville, N.Y. 11801 Telephone 931-0012 - USPS 3467-68 Postmaster: Send Address Change to: The Syosset Advance, 821 Franklin Ave., Suite 208 Garden City, N.Y. 11530 • Meg Norris, Publisher
There will be a new school located inside the former Our Lady of Mercy Academy come September. The Long Island School for the Gifted will move from its Huntington location to the Syosset campus beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. Dr. Patricia Geyer, principal of The Long Island School for the Gifted, said that the new facility will be a much larger and better state-of-theart location to house its current student body. “The former Our Lady of Mercy Academy is 143,000 square feet in size and is exponentially larger than our current building here in Huntington,” said Dr Geyer. “It also contains state-of-the-art science and computer labs, a TV studio and forty acres of sprawling green fields for our students.” She said that the move to the new facility was necessitated after the non-renewal of the lease agreement in the current contract. “We have a hundred and forty students in grades PreK to eighth who travel to attend our school from Queens and the eastern end of Long Island. The new building is only six miles from our campus, so
logistically it is a perfect fit for us.” The Long Island School for the Gifted opened its doors to students in 1980 as one of Long Island’s only schools for students seeking a higher level of education. The mission-driven school features small class sizes and an accelerated academic program to cater to students’ socially, emotionally and academic needs. Dr. Geyer said the main mission behind the school is to cater to gifted children with cognitive abilities who require less repetition in their overall academic life. “We cater to gifted children with unique talents who want an education along with likeminded peers,” said Dr Geyer. “In a normal school setting they might feel different or stand out, but at the School for the Gifted they are classed with students of similar abilities.” She added that in order for students to gain admission to The Long Island School for the Gifted, they must test with an IQ of 130 or better on standardized testing. The Long Island School for the Gifted will be holding an open house on May 9th at their Huntington campus. ProSee page 10
Students shine at engineering fair PAGE 2 NY Islanders street hockey clinic PAGE 4