Vol. 79, No. 38
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Friday, September 20, 2019
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13 Syosset students named Natl. Merit Semifinalists
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Thomas Rogers (far left) and Syosset High School Principal Dr. Giovanni Durante are pictured with the semifinalists. Photo courtesy of the Syosset School District Syosset Central School District is pleased to announce that 13 Syosset High School seniors have been named National Merit Semifinalists. The students qualified for this distinction by scoring among the highest in the state on the 2018 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Congratulations to Jacqueline Albert, Giulia Barbella, Connor Chen, Caleb Deitch, Ronit Dhulia, Vivian Duan, Sophia Jang, Lance Lampert, Caroline Lee, Cindy Li, Nikhil Vohra, Kevin Xu and Alex Zhuo. Approximately 16,000 high school students nationwide were named Semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors.
A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test. The Semifinalists have qualified to compete for approximately 7,600 National Merit scholarships worth more than $31 million. Finalists will be announced in February 2020, with the winners to be named in the spring. “We are very proud of the 13 Syosset students named National Merit Semifinalists and their incredible academic achievements,” said Principal Dr. Giovanni Durante. “We wish them continued success in their futures.”
Chamber to host ribbon cutting for new offices BY RIKKI MASSAND Do you see yourself or your company in a fully-furnished office space that has flexibility and meeting rooms when you need them, minus the high costs of utilities and maintenance work? If your business or professional service can thrive without a longterm or permanent brick and mortar location, the perfect solution may have arrived on Syosset’s growing Michael Drive business corridor, with the opening this year of GrabSuite, provider of “workspaces for the modern entrepreneur.” GrabSuite’s location at 125 Michael Drive, Suite 105 is hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony, held by the Syosset Woodbury Chamber of Commerce and local elected officials, and its first Open House evening on Tuesday, September 24, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Dorita Faize and her husband Benny, an engineer, are partners with another couple, Dr. Ben Mokhtar and his wife Penina Mokhtar behind the 15,000 square foot GrabSuite’s opening in Syosset. Substantial renovations to the interior of the 125 Michael Drive space, which is directly behind Chase Bank on the south side of Jericho Turnpike, were undertaken with assistance from the building’s landlord Frank Zuckerbrot. Dorita Faize, a Great Neck resident, serves as business director for GrabSuite. She’s made contacts and spread good business news in the community through attending the recent Chamber of Commerce meetings on June 20 at Syosset Hospital and at Naot Footwear in Woodbury
Village on July 18. This year, GrabSuite was a new sponsor of the Chamber of Commerce’s Syosset Street Fair on September 15, and there she set up at tables near Nassau County Legislators Joshua A. Lafazan and Arnold Drucker. In an interview with the Advance and News-Journal at the GrabSuite location, Faize explained the concept of shared professional office spaces emerging in Syosset. Conventional office or building-use leases bind professionals up to five or 10 years, and GrabSuite’s business model is “hassle-free for clients to come and go as they wish.” “We are offering everything under one roof for whoever wants to hold business or client-focused services, especially for entrepreneurs interested in just having a private office model, not sharing space with anyone, that includes complimentary high-speed internet access from three different networks, and controlled climate with heating, cooling not as your responsibility. There is a calming effect to work within the climate and atmosphere, as well as the way offices are set up. We provide a very professional yet very friendly environment,” she said. GrabSuite on Michael Drive was constructed by a developer who specialized in low-voltage facilities, and he serves as the expert on the site’s ViaPhone system, which allows renters of office space access to top-notch phone systems and voicemail. The GrabSuite location is available to its clients 24/7 as the developer also See page 26
Syosset FD loses longtime member PAGE 3 Friends of the Library plan book sale PAGE 10