| South Side High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 140 Shepherd Street Rockville Centre, New York 11570 United States |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1892 |
| School district | Rockville Centre School District |
| Principal | Carol Burris, D.Ed[1] |
| Vice principal | Donald Chung |
| Faculty | 108 [2] |
| Grades | 9 to 12 |
| Color(s) | Red and Blue |
| Sports | Baseball, Basketball, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Fencing, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track, Volleyball, Winter Track, Wrestling |
| Team name | Cyclones |
| Newspaper | 'The Sportsman' |
| Yearbook | 'The Colonnade' |
| Website | [1] |
South Side High School is the only public high school in the town of Rockville Centre, New York. South Side serves grades 9 through 12 and boasts a variety of academic, extra-curricular and athletic programs, including the International Baccalaureate (IB) Curriculum in junior and senior years. School district boundaries can be found in Rockville Centre and South Hempstead. Once again in 2008 at #47, South Side is ranked in the top 100 high schools in the nation by Newsweek's The Top of the Class: The complete list of the top 1,300 top U.S. high schools. Year after year, South Side has maintained this distinction, at #44 in 2007, #32 in 2006, #45 in 2005 and #65 in 2003.
The primary address for South Side is 140 Shepherd Street, Rockville Centre, New York 11570. Located further south in Rockville Centre is the "Greenhouse". Established in 1975, the purpose of this off-site school is to provide a different approach to teaching students with academic or personal troubles as well as different scheduling and academic programs. The main building has two floors. The school is currently being run by Dr. Carol Burris.
Contents |
The school's name reflects its status as the first high school on Long Island's south shore, east of Jamaica. It has retained that name though most of Long Island's incorporated villages have established high schools named for their village.
The Shepherd Street address is the third location for the school, its first site (1892–1923) was on College Place, now the Municipal Building of Rockville Centre. Its second site (1924–1954) on Hillside Avenue is now South Side Middle School. The school has served grades 9-12 since 1982-83, having previously been a 10-12 institution with the freshman attending what was then South Side Junior High School along with the seventh- and eighth-graders. The switch occurred as the district's sixth-graders moved to the Junior High, with that institution becoming the Middle School.
The most prominent architectural characteristic of the current building is the colonnade adorning the entrance on the west side of the building. This feature gives its name to the school's annual yearbook, The Colonnade, but is unusual in that it is not associated with either of the school's grand entrances to the north and the south, which face the parking lots and athletic fields.
Since 1917, Southside holds an annual color war, Red&Blue, where the entire female student population (and a few select males) work day and night for 6 weeks to prepare for a competition of sports, skits, song and dance over three nights.
South Side High School has a rich history of athletics dating back to the 1920s, yet only three teams (Boys Lacrosse, Girls Volleyball, and Girls Soccer) have won state championships. By far the most successful team is the Lady Cyclones Soccer Team. In the past 20 years, the Lady Cyclones have won 17 State Championships including most recently in 2011. At the end of the 2009 season, the varsity girls soccer team was ranked #1 in the nation.
The 2003-2004 season was a big year for South Side sports. The men's basketball teams captured championship gold for the first time since 1998. The team went on to beat all of its Nassau County opponents by double digits. Nick Castro hit a Nassau County record 10 three pointers in the semi-finals, while Double A, Alex Anderson led the team in scoring and rebounding. Simoneschi ran the show for the South Side squad who lost to Amityville in the LI Championship.
That season also saw the men's lacrosse program capture the first State Championship in the school's history.
Red&Blue is an annual color war held at Rockville Centre's Southside High School since 1917. "Red and Blue started when girls weren't allowed to participate in team sports".[3] Title IX has since ensured that girls have had equivalent access to sports and other activities, but the tradition has continued on, with approximately 300 participating each year. In recent years, the event has also raised money to benefit Breast Cancer research and support.[4] The event is rather controversial as it excludes the school's male population other than the few males chosen to be Red Boys or Blue Boys. Additionally, those who participate in Red and Blue get to spend an entire school day practicing their acts before their large evening performance while the school's male population must go to class.
| Event | First place | Second place | Tie |
|---|---|---|---|
| Songs | 5pts | 2pts | 4pts |
| Poster Review | 3pts | 1pt | 2pts |
| Emblem | 3pts | 1pt | 2pts |
| Costumes | 5pts | 2pts | 4pts |
| Prop | 5pts | 2pts | 4pts |
| Skit | 5pts | 2pts | 4pts |
| Dances | 7pts | 3pts | 6pts |
| Tumbling | 5pts | 2pts | 4pts |
| Concentration Relay | 3pts | 1pt | 2pts |
| Scooter Relay | 3pts | 1pt | 2pts |
| Floor Hockey Game | 3pts | 1pt | 2pts |
| Fireman Relay | 3pts | 1pt | 2pts |
| Superstar Game | 3pts | 1pt | 2pts |
| Basketball Relay | 3pts | 1pt | 2pts |
| Tug of War | 3pts | 1pt | 2pts |
| Volleyball Game | 3pts | 1pt | 2pts |
| Organization | 5pts | 2pts | 4pts |
| Meet Decorum | 3pts | 1pt | 2pts |
| Attendance | 3pts | 1pt | 2pts |
| Sportsmanship / Citizenship | 10pts | 4pts | 9pts |
1972 "Red Olympics" Betsy Lyons, Mary Zarba
| Year | Team | Captains |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | "Romance in Redville" | Madelena Ryerson, Karen Wecksler |
| "Under the Deep Blue Sea" | Emily Quinton, Alyse Diamond | |
| 2003 | "The Great RED Robbery" | Christina Ferrara, Meg Guido |
| "Viva BLUE Vegas" | Jenna Bruccileri, Natalie | |
| 2004 | "Ruby RED’s Candy Co." | Jillian Daly, Jessica Ryerson |
| "Bibbity Bobbity Blue" | Francessca Ferrara, Nicole Genari | |
| 2005 | "The IncREDible Chase" | Jamie Maggio, Heather Green |
| "Mission BLUEpossible" | Jessica Brown, Ilana Wyler | |
| 2006 | "Professor Time’s REDventurous Ride" | Jenna Carey, Julianne Valls |
| "BLUEty Parlor" | Kathryn Kelly, Maddy Kelly | |
| 2007 | "Seeing is BLUElieving" | KC Connolly, Katie Remy |
| "The REDmagical RTV Guide" | Lauren Riolo, Elizabeth Roe | |
| 2008 | "The Tale of Camp REDwin" | Jamie Carey, Meg Votke |
| "BLUE York State of Mind" | Jackie Femminello, Kelly Reynolds | |
| 2009 | "The Magic BLUE Bus" | Meg Lynch, Meg Remy |
| "Night of the Living RED" | Jenna Wechsler, Lauren Demara | |
| 2010 | "BLUE Side Story" | Dorothy Caccavale, Mersina Onesto |
| "Copyright RED 2010" | Julie Marazzo, Gina Quagliata | |
| 2011 | "BLUE Careful What You Wish For" | Brenna Guinan, Lauren Rovere |
| "Live! from the RED Carpet" | Amanda DiMare, Kathryn Sheppard |
The following notable people graduated from South Side High School: