Back to Artwork Portrait Back to Sections Emily Rung - Portrait - 2 By Emily Rung January 20, 2021 Graphite Volume 1 Issue 4

Back to Artwork Lights On for Education Back to Sections Tones and Shades By Nehilah Grand-Pierre April 22, 2021 Study Volume 1 Issue 7

Back to Artwork Spotlight Back to Sections XSCAPISM I By Osaiyekemwen Ogbemudia March 18, 2021 Volume 1 Issue 6

Back to Articles News Back to Sections MSA Day of Unity Conference Wardah Khizer Volume 5 Issue 5 July 5, 2025 Image Provided by Afas Aswad and Walt Whitman High School On April 11th, 2025, Valley Stream North High School’s Muslim Student Association (MSA) attended their first Day of Unity Conference at Walt Whitman High School. I had the pleasure of interviewing the President of the MSA, Afaf Aswad, and have her share her thoughts on the experience: How did your MSA first hear about the Day of Unity, and what made you want to attend? Aswad: “Dr. Loper and Dr. DiMaio shared details about the fourth annual Day of Unity Conference, following an invitation from Mr. John Murphy, the principal of Walt Whitman High School. Mr. Murphy extended an invitation to our MSA to participate in discussions aimed at promoting unity, diversity, and overcoming prejudice in schools. We wanted to attend because of this year’s theme of "Acceptance" and the core discussions of the Day of Unity Conference align with the missions and goals of our club. The event promotes creating an inclusive environment for students on Long Island, regardless of their religious beliefs and ethnic backgrounds.” Were there any speakers or activities that really stood out to you? Why? Aswad: “ The speakers and activities that stood out to me were the Huntington Anti-Bias Task Force, presented by Joanne Polichetti and Helen Boxwill, which emphasizes the importance of understanding among community members and addresses instances of intolerance, prejudice, and discrimination. Additionally, The Zen Den, led by Kristen McDermott, advocates for peace, tranquility, and the significance of meditation in daily life. Ms. McDermott led a meditation session that was soothing.” Were there any interesting conversations or moments of connection between your group and others? Aswad: “ I thoroughly enjoyed the group activities that took place after each main presentation. Engaging with fellow Muslim students from various schools across Long Island was a wonderful experience. We were frequently organized into groups based on the color or number of our wristbands. I particularly appreciated the opportunity to draw images representing what resonated with me during those discussions.” What did the Day of Unity teach you about unity, faith, and diversity? Aswad: “ The Day of Unity was an informative experience that focused on themes of unity, faith, and diversity. This event featured five presentations from various organizations, including the Huntington Anti-Bias Task Force, the Zen Den, the Eid Holiday Coalition, student presenters, and the Interfaith Initiative. The presentations emphasized the importance of community members being understanding toward one another, the need for individuals to advocate for peace and tranquility, and the necessity for schools across the United States to provide resources and tools for celebrating various religious holidays. Additionally, the event highlighted acceptance through collaboration among different school districts.” Attendees’ Opinions on the Day of Unity Conference: What was your favorite part of the Day of Unity field trip, and why did it stand out to you? Asra Aftab: “ My favorite part was meeting other MSA members from across the county. It was such a pleasant and inspiring experience to see how many students are working toward the same goal, promoting unity, understanding, and appreciation for all religions. What really stood out to me was how different this felt compared to previous years. It showed me that our school, along with others, is making real progress in recognizing and celebrating all religions. Being part of something that brings people together and encourages respect across different communities meant a lot to me, and it made me proud to be involved.” Naomi Gonzalez: “ I enjoyed the meditation aspect of the Day of Unity because I felt like, especially with AP Exams coming up, this was a very needed and calming activity, not only for me but for a lot of other students who attended. In addition, I loved how Walt Whitman High School included students from Suffolk and Nassau and brought them all together. I thought that was a very nice concept. This was truly a day of unity.” BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections Dear Society By Morgan Buly Volume 3 Issue 1 November 7, 2022 Image provided by The Inclusion Solution Dear Society, Why do you tell us to love ourselves, but bring us down? You tell us to be ourselves, as long as we’re doing it the right way. You tell us we can love anyone, any shape or size. Yet you still choose the love of our life. You tell us to love our skin, but kill our kind. You say we’re in a safe place. Yet teenagers are depressed, students are stressed, and laws forbid you from being yourself. Telling us no matter how hard we try, we’re never enough. You're more concerned in gender identity and race than poverty and shooting. You provide people with an internet-based way to harass each other. You teach us to not like our size, ethnicity, hair, clothes and home. You teach us to kill and hate. You took our youth away, You make kids afraid to go to the deli, knowing that there is a chance they could die. You tell us that because of the body they were born in, we must work harder. Sincerely, Me BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Sports Back to Sections NBA 2021-2022 Regular Season By Leah Ally Volume 2 Issue 6 April 14, 2022 Image provided by The Washington Post The National Basketball Association (NBA) has recently finished its 76th regular season, as the playoffs begin to kick off with its most competitive twenty teams. After two abbreviated seasons owing to the COVID-19 epidemic, the NBA returned to an entire 82-game regular season in its customary mid-October to mid-April schedule for the first time since the 2018-2019 NBA season. For instance, the 2019-2020 season was delayed until late July or early August, while the 2020-2021 season began in December and concluded in the middle of July. Throughout the season, only the cities of Los Angeles, Toronto, New York City, San Francisco, and Philadelphia have implemented COVID-19 vaccine mandates for fans at sporting events. While the majority of the league’s players (about 95 percent) have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 97% are fully vaccinated with two doses, players in these identified markets who refused to be vaccinated were not eligible to play in home games throughout most of the season. In addition, the NBA has stated these players would be forced to forfeit money for the missed games. An example of this regulation can be shown from the Brooklyn Nets’s star point guard, Kyrie Irving, who recently made his debut in Barclays Center for the first time this year on March 27th, shortly after New York City ended its vaccine mandate. As a result of his refusal to receive the vaccine, Kyrie lost out on $380,000 every game he missed, making it a total of about $17 million that was cut from his paycheck this year. As of right now, there has been a total of 11 games postponed due to COVID-19 cases and have been successfully rescheduled. On August 2nd, 2021, the free agency began. Longtime Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry announced his decision to sign a long-term contract with the Miami Heat. In addition, young star Lonzo Ball announced he would be signing a four-year, $85 million deal with the Chicago Bulls, joining fellow free agency signing Demar Derozan. The Los Angeles Clippers re-signed superstar Kawhi Leonard, and the Phoenix Suns re-signed superstar Chris Paul. The Brooklyn Nets extended Kevin Durant to a four-year $198 million deal in the East. Not only did the 2021-2022 season offer numerous notable free agency signings, but many transactions and retirement announcements took place. The biggest deal of 2022 happened just hours before the deadline when the Brooklyn Nets agreed to a trade between sending James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Ben Simmons, making it an impactful move for both Eastern Conference contenders. That deal followed a huge one when the Damian Lillard-CJ McCollum era in Portland ended. He joined the New Orleans Pelicans, where he would play alongside Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson. The Sacramento Kings then traded All-Star Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, and Justin Holiday to the Indiana Pacers for promising second-year guard Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, and Tristan Thompson. Some notable retirees this season include JJ Redick (37 yrs. old), Chandler Parsons (33 yrs. old), Tyson Chandler (38 yrs. old), J.R Smith (35 yrs. old), and Jamal Crawford (42 yrs. old). From April 12-15, 2022, the NBA will host a play-in tournament for clubs placed 7th through 10th in each conference. The club in seventh place will host the team in eighth place, with the winner earning the seventh seed in the playoffs. The team in the ninth position will face the club in tenth place, with the loser being eliminated from postseason contention. The loser of the 7th-8th place game will next host the winner of the 9th – 10th place game, with the winner earning the 8th seed and the loser being eliminated. As the 2022 NBA playoffs are the main topic of discussion, the playoffs will begin on April 16th. The finals are planned to start on June 2nd, with a possible game seven on June 19th. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Heckscher Back to Sections Reflection Entry 2 April 14, 2022 Watercolor Volume 2 Issue 6

Back to Artwork Prism Back to Sections Purple 8 Ball By Elizabeth Andre November 24, 2020 Volume 1 Issue 2

Back to Artwork Perspective Back to Sections Nayab Raja - Perspective - 1 By Nayab Raja December 16, 2020 Photography Volume 1 Issue 3

Back to Articles News Back to Sections SPO Club Presentation By Carolina Figueroa and Rachel Ezeadichie Volume 1 Issue 6 March 18, 2021 Image provided by Parents Website The SPO (Student Peer Organization) club, advised by Mrs. Melluso and Mrs. Christiansen, recently presented an educational lesson to the 7th grade. During the event, my classmates and I learned about coping mechanisms and how to control our emotions. As a North student, the balance of school, extra activities (like sports, clubs, etc.), homework and socialization can be stressful, but SPO offered manageable ways to deal with tough emotions. During the lesson, the SPO members taught the 7th grade students how to control and handle our emotions. My favorite activity was modeling the paper. During the lesson, my classmates and I first took a piece of paper and created it into whatever we wanted. I made a paper airplane, but other students created origami, paper snowflakes, folded the paper and so many other ideas. From this first paper activity, I learned that I have control over what the paper comes out as, and it’s the same with feelings. I am in charge of how I act and can only control myself. My emotions reflect on my actions, and if they get out of control, I may say or do things I might regret. Next SPO instructed my class to again design another paper project. After creating our first paper project, we used the same piece of paper and constructed something different. This time I folded my paper and created a bracelet while my classmates though of other ideas like shapes and more. SPO taught me with the second paper experiment that you can adjust the outcome of different situations This shows that with our feelings and emotions, they affect the outcome of a situation, but we can also adjust the issue if it takes an unexpected turn. In the past, I have tried different ways to deal with my emotions. A majority of those methods were good, but they didn’t work for me. SPO gave me a new way to think about the methods I used to work with my emotions. Figuring out and sorting the feelings and situations I can and cannot control made me think about how I used my emotions and how I reacted to them. When I sat down and thought about it, I realized that there are many emotions I can control and some that I can’t. I even did the activities that SPO taught us again, so that I could really reflect. When I was done, I felt a little better about my life because I knew more about myself than I did before. I would recommend that you sit down and think about how you have controlled your emotions in the past. It could help you figure out if you may need to change something in your life that you didn’t realize you had control over. It could also help you realize that you might need to stop trying to change something that you have no control over. Either way, thinking about your emotions and situations can help you better yourself. You can even use the activities specified in the second paragraph to do so! The SPO presentation really helped me progress in dealing with my emotions, and I feel that I learned great ways to help with coping and managing my feelings. I’m really looking forward to writing about SPO’s 2nd lesson! BACK TO TOP