Great Neck South High School

Shared Decision Making Committee’s

Year End Report 2017-2018

Committee Members:
Faculty & Administration:​ S​ haron Applebaum, Christopher Beaujon
(Co-Chair), Jane Callaghan, Karen Cuchel, Sheryl Demetres, Danielle Dorkings,
John Duggan, Christopher Erickson, Gala Handler, Brad Krauz (Co-Chair), Donna
Nystrom, Vicki Solomon, Michelle Sorise
Students:​ Andersen Gu, Alyssa Hui, Talia Katz, Nicholas Langel, Megha
Reddy, Crystal Yee, Shayna Zeitlin
Parents:​ Julie Agris (Co-Chair), Ray Beckett, Lily Cheng, Lisa Goodwin
(Co-Chair), Michelle Hung Balkcom, Miriam Kobliner, Debbie Volk

Meetings:
The Committee meets on a monthly basis at 2:45pm and generally ends by 4:00pm.
9-11, 10-2, 11-06, 12-04, 01-08, 02-05, 03-05, 04-09, 05-07 & 06-04
 UNIFYING EVENT

During the Homecoming weekend this year, students, faculty and parents were invited to
participate in new events with the hope of fostering school unity. This event was a continuation
of a goal from the previous year. ​Our objective was to involve students with varied interests and
friendship circles in a school-wide event in an effort to bring together the school community and
increase overall school spirit.

In order to promote and publicize the homecoming celebration, a video was made by the
parents on the Shared Decision Making Committee in collaboration with students and teachers
that highlighted the previous year’s clubs, activities, and athletic teams that exist at South High
(Click ​HERE​). This video was shown throughout school on the televisions and also in
homerooms.

At the end of the school day on Friday, September 15th, the Boys Athletic Association
coordinated the Pep Rally to recognize our fall student-athletes, which included a smoke
machine and a much improved audio system. Following the Pep Rally, clubs and activities
set-up outside the gym to celebrate South High spirit and promote their success. Additionally, a
number of faculty members participated in a volleyball game for students to watch and enjoy
prior to the start of the Friday afternoon athletic competitions. The Pep Rally and the volleyball
game were well attended by students. Efforts were made to schedule as many home sporting
events as possible on Friday, September 15th, and Saturday, September 16th.

Improvements that were implemented from the previous year included increasing our efforts in
communicating Homecoming festivities with the school community (As seen in the pictured flyer
which was posted throughout the school and included in the PTSA E-Newsletter). In addition,
the newly formed South High Google Classroom posted the flyer and reminders from Student
Government. Clubs and activities set up on the west side of the gym exit to ensure students had
a chance to see them as they boarded buses to go home at dismissal. South High’s Facing
History students decorated the hallways with banners and streamers to create a more festive
environment, along with also organized a Homecoming raffle for students that wore orange and
blue to school on Homecoming Friday. Incorporating music and food, perhaps cotton candy,
can continue to grow the success and fun of this event.
 SCHOOL MOTTO / SCHOOL JINGLE

After being informed that the district created a mission statement and is working on creating a
district motto, the committee openly discussed South High creating its own motto. Students and
parents shared their personal connection with mottos, recalling them from their elementary
school days. Consensus was reached that creating a motto would be a great motto, but that it
should be the students that create the motto. The Shared Decision Making Committee teacher
co-chairs met with Dr. Gitz and members of Student Government to determine the logistics of
how students could submit suggestions for mottos to be considered. It was determined that a
Google Form would be created and Student Government would publicize this opportunity. The
flyer that they created is depicted below:

Student Government shared all suggestions submitted by students. As a committee, the

suggestions were narrowed down to the top five to be voted upon by the student body. The five
possible motto's are listed below:

● Rebels with a cause

● GNS: No Regrets, Just Lessons Learned
● Expand your mind, expand your choices
● Learning Today For A Greater Tomorrow
● Our orange and blue starts with an extraordinary you

After another round of voting, Student Government shared the results and the new South High
Motto will be ​“Our orange and blue starts with an extraordinary you” created by senior Kelley
Chiu.

Details on how to incorporate and promote this new school motto will be determined by building
administration and Student Government.

Students expressed an interest in developing a school jingle, as well. This will be an ongoing
goal for the Shared Decision Making Committee in the following school year.
 OPEN GRADEBOOK DISCUSSION

In response to discussion at the district looking into opening Gradebook there was open
discussion about the potential benefits and drawbacks. Both parents and students shared
thoughts/concerns/questions including, but not limited to:

● Parents
○ Currently there are no pluses and minuses to maintain flexibility, doesn't that go
away with opening Gradebook and having access to every grade?
○ A teacher does send a report, currently, that lists every grade and that can be
helpful.
○ For some families this would be helpful, for others it would be torturous
○ Could there be a compromise where if something is off, a parent would be
notified and have the potential to access Gradebook?
■ The goal would be to maintain confidentiality for students, but still offer a
mechanism to keep parents informed when necessary.
○ Understanding that you want to promote independence, it is important to view a
14 yr old entering high school through a different lens than a 17/18 yr old senior
about to go off to college.
● Students
○ It would be stressful to know that parents can see everything a student is doing
○ High school should be promoting independence
○ A bad day or a bad grade (singular) could cause a lot of tension
○ Student Government
■ Increases stress, especially within family
■ There are progress reports, so already informed
■ Progress reports could provide more detail
■ Maybe include grade range
■ Provide more direction as to how to improve, or where the
success lies
○ How families handle supporting students is unique to each family
○ Maybe the focus should be to inform parents the circumstances surrounding
various classes and how grades are determined
○ Seems very impersonal and not a way that a student would want to be judged
○ Some students may not be used to seeing grades in an orderly and transparent
fashion

This will be an ongoing topic of discussion/goal for the committee to address as the district
moves forward with a decision.
 LIBRARY BOND DISCUSSION

Mr. Reader, one of our school librarians, gave a PowerPoint presentation on current discussions
surrounding the renovations to the school library after the approved bond proposal.

Some of the key concepts presented and discussed included, but are not limited to:

● Want the library to be reflective of the latest library architecture; this means that the
space has to be flexible, be able to adapt to new technology, possibly requiring movable
furniture
● Base renovations on 21st century skills
● The common space in the library needs to be redesigned
● Define each area of the library
● A computer area still needs to exist and be separate to give classes the opportunity to
go in
● Potential for an Art Gallery, a Mindfulness Room, a TV/Video/Music Creation Lab, an
Atrium Cafe, and a Collaborative Work zone

As this renovation has yet to begin, this goal will continue to be discussed.