22 The Great Neck News, Friday, March 10, 2017
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C OSMC M HU ON O ILT Y N ENWESW S
G.N. school budget vote set for May 16 The vote on the proposed 2017-18 Great Neck school district budget will be held on Tuesday, May 16 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Qualified school district residents who live north of the LIRR can vote at Baker School at 69 Baker Hill Road. Those living south of the LIRR can vote at South High School at 341 Lakeville Road. Preliminary Budget Copies of the 2017-18 preliminary budget are now available at the office of the District Clerk in the Phipps Administration Building at 345 Lakeville Road, on school days from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The budget is also posted on the district Web site (www.greatneck.k12.ny.us) and will be available at Budget Meetings, as listed below. Reference copies may be perused in each public school and in the Great Neck Library, all branches. Budget Meetings & Adoption
Budget meetings are scheduled during March, April, and May. Weekday meetings follow student recognitions, which begin at 7:30 p.m. Residents are encouraged to attend the budget meetings and to respond to the preliminary budget. Firm decisions on the budget will not be made until the board listens to the community’s concerns. Meeting dates, times, and school locations follow: —Thursday, March 9, 7:30 p.m., South Middle, 349 Lakeville Road (informal budget hearing). —Saturday, March 18, 9:30 a.m., South High, 341 Lakeville Road (budget discussion with administrative staff). —Monday, April 3, 7:30 p.m., North Middle, 77 Polo Road (informal budget hearing). —Thursday, April 20, 7:30 p.m., South High, 341 Lakeville Road (official
budget hearing and adoption of Proposed 2017–18 Budget). —Monday, May 8, 7:30 p.m., North High, 35 Polo Road (budget discussion only). Voter Registration Residents who have voted in any school or general election since 2013 are automatically registered to vote in the school election on May 16. Residents who have not voted since 2013, or are not registered, may register at the office of the District Clerk in the Phipps Administration Building at 345 Lakeville Road, on school days from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Residents must be 18 years of age or older, a citizen of the United States, and have lived in the district for at least 30 days. The deadline to register is Thursday, May 11. Absentee Ballot Applications Qualified, registered voters can obtain applications for absentee ballots
from the district Web site (www.greatneck.k12.ny.us—click on Budget, then choose Absentee Ballot) or from the office of the District Clerk in the Phipps Administration Building at 345 Lakeville Road, on school days from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Residents who are qualified voters and whose registration records have been marked “permanently disabled” by the Board of Elections will automatically receive absentee ballots. Completed absentee ballots must be received by the District Clerk no later than 5 p.m., on Tuesday, May 16. For Further Information For additional information about the 2017-18 school budget, voter registration, and/or absentee ballots, please phone the assistant superintendent for business at 516-441-4020, on school days.
Cyberbullying lessons in schools
Teen named contest finalist Shaminta Hamidian, a senior at Great Neck South High School, was selected as a finalist in the 2017 Neuroscience Research Prize competition. The title of Hamidian’s project is: “Structural and Functional Connectivity of the Human Hand Motor Area Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Resting State Functional MRI.” Her faculty advisor, Dr. Carol Hersh, provided this project summary: Recent technological advances have enabled exploration of the brain’s functional and anatomical properties. MRI techniques have contributed to our understanding of the brain by allowing noninvasive exploration. In this study, Hamidian de-
veloped a method to use specific MRI techniques to localize regions of the brain involved in particular functions. A specific location for the area responsible for controlling hand function was identified. Hamidian’s research report was among the 15 best from a large number of entries submitted by students nationally. All written reports were carefully reviewed by members of the American Academy of Neurology and only the top 15 entries, designated finalists, were selected for additional reviews. The Neuroscience Research Prize is sponsored by the American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society.
Seniors in Great Neck South High Schools’ Facing History course visited fifth-graders at Lakeville School and Saddle Rock School to present lessons they had developed on digital citizenship, with a focus on cyberbullying. Joining the South High students at Lakeville were several of Bridget Forie’s students in the Outdoor Education Program. In one activity, simulating cyberbullying, South High students read aloud text messages to the elementary students and, with their heads down on their desks and their eyes closed, to not be influenced by their classmates’ responses, the elementary students were asked to put their thumbs up if they felt the message was okay, thumbs down if they found the message offensive, and thumbs to the side if they weren’t sure. Another exercise involved a “Turn and Talk” activity where students discuss with each other a lesson-related question/topic. South High students introduced a cyberbullying scenario and then asked the fifth-graders to discuss prevention strategies with a partner. The cyberbullying lessons taught by the high school students related to digital citizenship taught at the elementary schools, which includes social media etiquette, privacy issues, and strategies to use when evaluating safe and reputable sources on the Internet. In their thank-you notes to the South High students, the elementary students shared these thoughts: “I learned that cyberbullies often don’t stop at one instance, and you should keep
reporting them until the cyberbullying stops. With this new information on how to deal with the situation, now I know how to stop cyberbullying. I also learned that you should block the cyberbully’s e-mail address and cell phone number, and delete him or her from contacts.” “I appreciate that you tried to make the presentation fun and enjoyable. I thank you for trying to let the world know what cyberbullying is and how to stop it.” “I liked how you guys were so open to taking questions. I appreciate how you took the time to
create a presentation and to make it fun with activities such as the head-down game.” The interschool lessons were overseen, at Lakeville, by Jean Reader and Leslie Watnik, technology staff developers; and at Saddle Rock by Nicole Alexander, computer teacher/technology staff developer, and Evan Chen, third-grade teacher. South High facilitators were teachers Brian Fadde, Nicole Kinsey, Damon Reader, and Michelle Sorise.