William A. Shine Great Neck South High School

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William A. Shine Great Neck South High School
Location
341 Lakeville Road
Great Neck, NY, 11020
USA
Information
School district Great Neck School District
Principal Mr. Randolph H. Ross[1]
Enrollment

1,188 (as of 2005-06)[2]
Faculty 101.0 (on FTE basis)[2]
Student:teacher ratio 11.8[2]
Type Senior high school[3]
Team name Rebels
Color(s) Orange and Blue
Yearbook Vista
Newspaper The Southerner
Established 1958[4]
Information 516-773-1600
Homepage School website

William A. Shine Great Neck South High School or simply "Great Neck South" or "South High School" is a four-year public high school located in Great Neck as part of the Great Neck School District, serving students in grades 9 through 12. The South campus is located in a portion of the district within the Lake Success village limits, and also covers parts of Manhasset Hills and New Hyde Park.

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,188 students and 101.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 11.8.[2]

Contents

[edit] Academics

South High School offers major sequences in several fields of study. In addition to courses required for graduation, students elect many others according to their abilities, interests, and future plans. Also offered are an independent study program that provides an opportunity for students to explore their own academic pursuits, guided by a teacher; a music program that has earned international, national, and state awards; and a choral program that results in a full-scale opera each year. Educational opportunities include Advanced Placement (AP), Independent Study, Honors (H), Regents, accelerated courses, career training, special education, TESL, nine languages, including Mandarin Chinese and American Sign Language, and remedial education. AP courses are available in art, art history, biology, calculus, chemistry, computer science, economics, English, French, government, history, Latin, music, physics (both algebra based and calculus based), psychology, Spanish, and statistics.[5]

Great Neck South was rated the 31st best school in Newsweek Magazine's May 2006 listing of "America's Best High Schools" [6] with each twelfth grader averaging 4.321 Advanced Placement courses (the school has been cited in Newsweek's public school rankings on several other occasions). In the U.S. News & World Report 2008 ranking of American High Schools, Great Neck South was ranked 43rd in the nation, making it one of only 100 schools awarded a 'Gold Medal' and the highest ranked school on Long Island.[7] More than 82% of South High students achieve a “B” average or better. Over 98% of the South High School Class of 2006 entered college. Eight percent of the school's approximately 1,230 students in 2006-07 were recognized as Finalists or received Letters of Commendation from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.[5]

The school ranks number one among large high schools in the percentage of test-takers receiving 3 or better on the AP Psychology test.[8]

The music department presents a full-scale opera performed by the students each year. To date, it is the only known public high school opera company in the U.S. The production consists of a full cast and pit orchestra, and is usually performed on the last weekend of March. Past performances include Into the Woods (2007), Carmen (2006, 2000), Les Miserables (opera/musical 2005), Sweeney Todd (2005), Die Fledermaus (2004), The Tales of Hoffman (2003), The Magic Flute (2002, 2007), The Marriage of Figaro (2001, 2008), Pirates of Penzance (1999) and Candide (1998).

The department was selected in the years 2003, 2005, and 2007 as a Grammy Signature School, rendering it among the top 40 high school music programs in the U.S. as determined by a panel from the Grammy Foundation. It has also been named a Grammy Signature School Finalist (top 100) in 2004 and 2006[citation needed]. 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.[9]

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 as of 2004-2005 consisted of:[10]

[edit] Information

[edit] Extracurricular activities

[edit] Math Team

Great Neck South has a strong math program which is shown in the ranking of its math team in state and county math leagues. The math team is part of the Nassau County Interscholastic Math League [2] where it has placed 1st in six of the past seven years; 2000,[11] 2001,[12] 2002,[13] 2003,[14] 2005,[15] 2006,[16] it also placed 2nd in 2004.[17] During the Spring 2006 UTD/UWW Mathematics Meet the math team has also placed 2nd out of 538 teams.[18][19] The advisor is Ms. Joyce O'Connor.[20]

[edit] Hunt

The School has a yearly (and sometimes biannual) Puzzle Hunt. Similar to the MIT Mystery Hunt, students complete puzzles and search the school for clues. The Hunt is run by Thomas Weisswange of the Math department who also works on the MIT Mystery Hunt. In recent years, there have been Pre-Hunts published in The Southerner which help teams competing in the regular Hunt. The Pre-Hunt is not required to participate in the main Hunt.

[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. The Faculty Advisor is Mr. Richard Ehrlich.

[edit] The Southerner

The Southerner is the school's monthly newspaper. It typically covers news and events within the school but also includes editorials and news from the surrounding community. The advisors are Mr. Norman Wheeler and Ms. Jennifer Hastings.[21]

[edit] Miscellaneous

  • Great Neck South High School was renamed in honor of William A. Shine, the district's immediate past superintendent.[22]
  • The school is commonly abbreviated as GNSHS, GNS, or South.
  • A student threatened the school in an April 2007 Internet posting, and was arrested.[23]

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ Principal's name; URL accessed March 11, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d Great Neck South High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 12, 2007.
  3. ^ Type of school; URL accessed October 18, 2007.
  4. ^ History; URL accessed July 27, 2006.
  5. ^ a b [1] Great Neck Public Schools Web site, PDF document titled "Great Neck Public Schools: South High School", accessed April 28, 2007
  6. ^ America's Best High Schools, Newsweek, May 8, 2006.
  7. ^ 2008 High School Rankings, U.S. News & World Report. Accessed February 14, 2008.
  8. ^ Advanced Placement: Report to the Nation p66; URL accessed May 9, 2007.
  9. ^ Best 100 (101!) Communities for Music Education in America, 2005, accessed December 12, 2006
  10. ^ School Comprehensive Information Report (PDF); URL accessed June 5, 2006.
  11. ^ TOP THIRTY TEAMS 1999-2000; URL accessed May 9, 2007.
  12. ^ TOP THIRTY TEAMS 2000-2001; URL accessed May 9, 2007.
  13. ^ TOP THIRTY TEAMS 2001-2002; URL accessed May 9, 2007.
  14. ^ TOP THIRTY TEAMS 2002-2003; URL accessed May 9, 2007.
  15. ^ TOP THIRTY TEAMS 2004-2005; URL accessed May 9, 2007.
  16. ^ TOP THIRTY TEAMS 2005-2006; URL accessed May 9, 2007.
  17. ^ TOP THIRTY TEAMS 2003-2004; URL accessed May 9, 2007.
  18. ^ Online Mathematics Meet Co-Sponsored by UTD and UWW; URL accessed May 9, 2007.
  19. ^ Spring 2006 Meet -- Winners; URL accessed May 9, 2007.
  20. ^ Math Team; URL accessed May 12, 2007.
  21. ^ Southerner; URL accessed May 12, 2007.
  22. ^ South High To Be Named for Bill Shine; URL accessed July 13, 2006.
  23. ^ Student threatened the school; URL accessed April 29, 2007.
  24. ^ Fischler, Marcelle S. "For ‘Hairspray’ Star, ‘My Darn Dream Come True’", The New York Times, July 8, 2007. Accessed July 11, 2007. "In her sophomore year, unable to find her niche, she switched from the John L. Miller-Great Neck North High School to the Village School, the district’s alternative high school, with 50 students. After class, she joined the theater program at the William A. Shine Great Neck South High School..."
  25. ^ "Famous Great Neck Alumni From the 1980's", Great Neck Public Schools; URL accessed March 29, 2006.
  26. ^ "Quinn Early" at ESPN; URL accessed March 29, 2006.
  27. ^ a b c Famous Great Neck Alumni from the 1960s, accessed May 12, 2007.
  28. ^ OurCampaigns.com: Mark Green, accessed December 12, 2006.

[edit] External links