Great Neck South High School
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| Great Neck South High School | |
 Great Neck South High School as it appeared in 2007.
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| Established | 1958[1] |
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| School type | Public school |
| Principal | Mr. Randolph H. Ross[2] |
| Assistant Principals | Sharon Applebaum John Duggan[3] |
| Location | Great Neck, New York, USA |
| Website | www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/GNPS/SHS/index.htm |
William A. Shine Great Neck South High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Great Neck, New York, United States, as part of the Great Neck School District.
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[edit] Academic Excellence
Great Neck South was rated the 31st best school in Newsweek Magazine's recent listing of "America's Best High Schools" in the May 8, 2006, issue, [4] with each twelfth grader averaging 4.321 Advanced Placement courses.
The school ranks number one among large high schools in the percentage of test-takers receiving 3 or better on the AP Psychology test. The school boasts an 80% passing rate for the Advanced Placement Program AP Calculus AB examination and a near perfect passing rate for the AP Calculus BC examination.
The music department presents a full-scale opera performed by the students each year. To date, it is the only public high school opera company in the U.S. The production consists of a full cast and pits orchestra, and is usually performed on the last weekend of March. Past performances include Carmen (2006, 2000), Les Miserables (opera/musical 2005), Sweeney Todd (2005), Die Fledermaus (2004), The Tales of Hoffman (2003), The Magic Flute (2002), The Marriage of Figaro (2001), Pirates of Penzance (1999) and Candide (1998).
The department was selected as a 2005 and 2003 Grammy Signature School among the top 40 high school music programs in the U.S. by a panel from the Grammy Foundation. It has also been named a Grammy Signature School Finalist (top 100) in 2003, 2004, and 2005. The Great Neck District was selected as one of the top "100 Best Communities for Music Education in America 2005" by the American Music Conference.[5]
The Great Neck South High School Chamber Music Society has been selected as a winner of the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society's "Young Musicians' Program" Chamber Music Competition in seven out of the last eight years (2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 & 1998). This regional high school competition selects between eight to ten chamber groups from participating schools throughout the New York metropolitan area, Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Winning ensembles receive three coaching sessions from members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and have an opportunity to perform at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center at the Young Musicians' Concert in April.
[edit] Demographics
The student body in the school year of 2004-2005 consists of:[6]
- 61.1% Caucasian
- 29.6% Asian American/Pacific Islander
- 5.8% Hispanic
- 3.4% African American
[edit] Information
- Address: 341 Lakeville Road Great Neck, New York 11020
- Grade levels: 9-12
- Year-round schedule: No
- Magnet school: No
- Charter school: No
- Coeducational: Yes
- Mascot: The Rebel
- School colors: Blue and Orange
- School district: Great Neck Union Free School District
- Newspaper name: The Southerner
- Yearbook name: Vista
[edit] Extracurricular activities
[edit] Math Team
Great Neck South is widely renowned for its strong math program and math team.[citation needed] The math team runs the league table of the Nassau County Interscholatic Math League, and is second only to Stuyvesant High School in state-wide competitions.[citation needed]
[edit] Literary Magazine
The school's annual literary magazine is named "Exit 33", since the building is located off Exit 33 of the Long Island Expressway.
[edit] Schedule
Great Neck South offers a schedule with nine periods but only eight classes meet each day. Students must take required classes such as American history as well as electives in order to graduate.[citation needed]
This is to be changed in the '07-'08 school year to a normal nine period day, as to add extra lunch periods to accomodate the large incoming freshmen class. Without the change in the schedule, the cafeterias would not be able to appropriately accommodate all of the students.[citation needed]
[edit] Trivia
- Great Neck South High School was renamed in honor of William A. Shine, the district's immediate past superintendent[7].
- Great Neck South High School is most commonly abbreviated as GNSHS or GNS.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Nikki Blonsky, actress who will star as Tracy Turnblad in the 2007 film version of Hairspray
- Quinn Early - National Football League player[8][9].
- Jamie Gorelick- former Deputy Attorney General of the United States
- Mark J. Green - Politician.[10]
[edit] References
- ^ History; URL accessed July 27, 2006.
- ^ Principal's name; URL accessed March 11, 2007.
- ^ Assistant Principals; URL accessed March 11, 2007.
- ^ America's Best High Schools, Newsweek, May 8, 2006
- ^ Best 100 (101!) Communities for Music Education in America, 2005, accessed December 12, 2006
- ^ School Comprehensive Information Report (PDF); URL accessed June 5, 2006.
- ^ South High To Be Named for Bill Shine; URL accessed July 13, 2006.
- ^ "Famous Great Neck Alumni From the 1980's", Great Neck Public Schools; URL accessed March 29, 2006
- ^ "Quinn Early" at ESPN; URL accessed March 29, 2006
- ^ OurCampaigns.com: Mark Green, accessed December 12, 2006
[edit] External links
- National Center for Education Statistics data for Great Neck High School
- On February 28, 2007 the girls varsity basketball team won their semifinal championship game against Garden City at Freeport High School
