Back to Articles Art & Culture Back to Sections Painting Seashells By Carolina Figueroa Volume 1 Issue 5 February 12, 2021 Original photo by Carolina Figueroa Painting seashells is fun, unmasking my creativity and artistry on a medium other than canvas, paper, rocks, or wood. Each piece that I create is unique, detailed, one-of-a-kind, and an amazing work of art! Painting seashells reminds me of the warmth of summer: vibrant colors of the rainbow, the smells of the salty ocean, tranquil sunrises and sunsets, adventures at the beach, and quality time spent with family and friends! Painting seashells is a visual art that allows people to express themselves. I paint my designs freehand with a variety of paint brushes and paint pens for detail. Each painted shell tells a story. Some imaginative works of art I have created include footprints in the sand for long walks on the beach, sunrises and sunsets, sea life images (fish, crabs, seahorses, turtles), sandcastles, mermaids/mermen, surfboards, beach volleyball, llama walks, foods (fruits, ice cream, donuts), camping, swimming with dolphins, and kayaks/canoes. Each image is a remembrance of whimsical and carefree days spent at sun-swept beaches on Long Island and in Florida. The painted seashells always remind me of the sights, sounds, smells, and memories of summertime fun! I have a painted seashell collection of every place that I visited over past summers (dated with that year) to remind me of the fun times that I enjoyed. Fire Island, Long Beach, Florida beaches, and the Jersey Shore is what I envision when painting my shells. I also love to paint shells with inspirational quotes and words of kindness, hope, love, laughter, and encouragement to boost one’s spirits and foster positive morale. One of my favorites is a pineapple painted seashell with the words “Be a Pineapple - Stand Tall, Wear a Crown, and Be Sweet on the Inside”. The types of seashells I like to paint and decorate include natural scallop seashells and round sand dollars, or sea biscuits (from Florida) and large surf clam shells (the most abundant shells found on our area beaches). I use acrylic paints and paint marker pens for my detailed and precise work. Each work of art represents something very special to me. Taking the ocean’s tiny treasures and creating symbolic masterpieces with a variety of designs makes me happy! BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections Seasonal By Elaine Ching Volume 3 Issue 1 November 7, 2022 Image provided by Time and Date Fall. Pumpkin Spice. Autumn. Fall. Changing of the Seasons. People closing up. Layers and layers on top of everything. Bundling up from weather and oppurtunities. Dark dead depressing mornings and nights that used to be warm and bright. Remembrance and speculation all together. Pumpkin Spice. Warm coffee in the right light. Halloween costume ideas splattered anywhere and everywhere. Memorializing the future in the present and specializing the past. The right background for “the” life. Fitting a theme into what should just be natural. Autumn. Trees cry orange and red tears on the road. Cold, crisp wind whips through everyone’s hair. Sunlight becomes shorter and shorter but is as beautiful as ever. Rain pitter patters on long dark school nights. The same new nostalgic feeling of possibilities already lived. Autumn. Pumpkin Spice. Fall. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Sports Back to Sections Spring Recap 2024 Rehmat Kaur Volume 5 Issue 2 November 25, 2024 Image Provided by Sophia Song Girls Varsity Softball had 7 wins and 12 losses. Tiffany Melendez earned All-County and Conference Player of the Yea r. She hit .692 with 45 hits and 38 runs. Alyanna Nadal was All-County and Jainessa Melendez was Honorable Mention All County . Lia Giaconelli won the Nassau County Coaches’ Scholarship . We lost in the quarterfinals to Seaford 7-4 and won the VSCHSD’s Inaugural Team Grit Award. Boys Varsity Baseball was again a playoff team, had a solid season, and lost in the playoffs to Clarke High School, who eventually won the County Championship. Nick Lang and Anthony Rivera were All Conference players. Jimmy Stroehlein was an All-League player. Defensive MVP was Gavin Ferreira . Girls Varsity Badminton had 3 wins and 14 losses, with many new athletes joining the team and few returning. One of their highlights was beating Massapequa over Spring Break. The first singles and Captain, Rehmat Kaur , showed great performance with scores like 21-1 and 21-4, winning in straight sets against Evergreen Charter. Second singles and Captain, Melanie Cevada, gaining victory with her tremendous play against in straight sets with East Rockaway with a score of 21-15. Their first doubles Captain Richmia Erisnor and Marcia Salinas won their match against Westbury with straight sets and an impeccable score of 21-9. The team has greatly improved throughout the season and got some memorable wins. Girls’ Flag Football finished with a 10-4 overall record, making the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. The season ended with a playoff loss to MacArthur High School. Big contributors the past season were Ava Suaza who was dominant on defense prior to her injury. Ryann Blount , caught a touchdown in our playoff game. NORTH STAR’s own Sports Photographer Sophia Songveeratham had several flag pulls, Victoria Singh ran the ball well, and Gianna Acevedo , an unsung hero, played center, caught a touchdown, made key blocks, catches, and helped our offense be successful. Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse completed their season with 5 wins and 11 losses with scores of 6-1 (Uniondale), 6-0 (Lawrence), 7- 4 (Freeport), 5-4 (Hempstead), and winning their last game against Uniondale with score 7-6. Captains Imran Paul and Luke Tartamella both played tremendously throughout the season with great shots, goals and assists. Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse ended their season with 2 wins and 12 losses. Freshman at the time, Eshal Ikram made her Varsity debut as goalie and made over 75 saves for the season. Hailey Quinlan mastered defense for the second year in front of the goal as well as Addison McGrath , second-year starter with leading assists. Ariella Vera , Milania Rivera , Juliana Dekel and Sabrina Garufi added to the District's attack and midfield showing potential for the next season. Gia Piccolo and Aryana Phillips truly added to the teams attack and midfield scoring goals and keeping defenders away. Aleeza Dhillon , Jennifer Larosiliere , Mia Graine were excellent defenders causing turnovers and helping transition the game from one end of the field to the other. It was an exciting season with a brand-new team that really worked hard and got better throughout the season. Girls’ Varsity Spring Track : The girls won the Division Championships. However, they lost the Conference Championships and County Championships. All-County Paige Fessler County Champion – High Jump, 3rd place – 400m Hurdles Moanna Thelusca County Champion – Discus, 2nd place – Shot Put Nattaly Lindo County Champion – Shot Put Brooke Fessler 2nd place – High Jump Chantelle Gamory 3rd place – Pole Vault Gabriela Bonilla 3rd place – Pole Vault All-Division Jazmyn Dorsey Division Champion – 4x100m Relay, Long Jump and Triple Jump Lexie Sowerby Division Champion – 4x100m Relay and 100m, 2nd place – 200m Paige Fessler Division Champion – 400m Hurdles and High Jump Nattaly Lindo Division Champion – Shot Put, 2nd place – Discus Moanna Thelusca Division Champion – Discus, 2nd place – Shot Put Alyanna Nadal Division Champion – 100m Hurdles Uzoma Nweze Division Champion – 4x100m Relay Alissa Azor Division Champion – 4x100m Relay Arielle Tieschmaker 2nd place – 1500m Cianna Nadal 2nd place – 100m Hurdles Brooke Fessler 2nd place – High Jump Dadiana Delance 3rd place – 1500m Chantelle Gamory 3rd place – Pole Vault Boys Varsity Spring Track : The boys won the Conference Championships and the Division Championships. However, they lost the County Championships. All-County Raphael Baez 2nd place – High Jump, 3rd place – Long Jump Jayden Gonzalez 3rd place – High Jump Mathew Olivencia 3rd place – Pole Vault Sedgeley Duperval 2nd place – Long Jump, 3rd place – 400m Matteo Somma 3rd place – 3200m All-Division Raphael Baez Division Champion – Long Jump, 3rd place – 200m Matteo Somma Division Champion – 3200m Kevin Beltran Division Champion – 1600m Michael Muoio Division Champion – Pole Vault Antonio Casoria Division Champion – Shot Put Jayden Gonzalez Division Champion – High Jump Jaden Frederique 2nd place – Discus, 3rd place – Shot Put Samuel Onuoha 2nd place – Triple Jump Danial Haq 2nd place – Shot Put Nigel Monrose 2nd place – 400m Hurdles Matthew Hunt 2nd place – High Jump Mathew Olivencia 2nd place – Pole Vault Dominick Rios 3rd place – 400m Hurdles Marcus Chiu 3rd place – 110m Hurdles Maxximus Estrada 3rd place – Pole Vault BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Advice Back to Sections Ask Ala: Pride By Ala Paruch Volume 1 Issue 8 June 8, 2021 Image provided by TED Ideas Hello dear readers! With the PRIDE month here, we want to celebrate our LGBTQ+ community and show them how much we care for them. As an ally myself, I encourage everyone to support and listen to your friends, not only during pride month but every day. Here is some advice for the LGBTQ+ community from the Alliance Club: From Grace So, you've decided to come out. First things first, I'm proud of you! Coming out is a big step, and it requires tremendous amounts of effort to reach that level of comfort with yourself. However, coming out can be tricky, and while we have made progress on LGBTQ+ rights and protections, it's important to know that you know your situation best. Your safety is the biggest priority when coming out. If you feel that coming out may create threats to your safety (whether that is physical, mental, financial, or otherwise) ‒ then it is probably not the right time to come out. I know it can be painful to hide such a large part of yourself from people you love, your identity is a big part of you! It's something to be celebrated, not shunned. Nonetheless, until you feel 100% sure that it won't impact your safety, it may be best to lay low. Of course, as I said before, you know your situation best, but remember ‒ safety should be your #1 priority. From Anonymous Coming to terms with your sexuality or gender can be an incredibly difficult process, from acknowledging who you are, trying to figure yourself out and then finally accepting yourself, it can be a process filled with immense inner turmoil. First and foremost, you have to stop making up excuses and start telling yourself it’s okay to question and explore. Trying to repress your feelings only makes the struggle worse, learn to accept the fact that the feelings you have are normal and valid. Then you can try to gain a deeper understanding of those feelings. Go and research, ask others questions and take your time thinking about it! (There’s always someone in The Alliance who’d be willing to talk to you!) However, it is important to remember that you never need to label yourself if you don’t want to. This is all about what you feel, and so you decide what you get to do with those feelings. Lastly, you have to accept yourself. Besides allowing yourself to feel your true feelings, you also have to accept yourself and therefore those feelings too. Find beauty and strength in your experiences and live them out to the fullest! After going through these struggles, you deserve it! I am so proud of you for being here and for trying your best! You will find happiness, and it does get better. From Cairo “Coming out” is usually seen as this huge, one time, make it or break it event; but honestly, it’s really not. As a queer person, you’ll have to come out for the. rest. of. your. entire. life . That was a bit of an exaggeration, but the point still stands. Although you don’t owe anyone an explanation about your identity, you’ll most likely have to “come out” to new people you meet for the rest of your life; not to mention that sometimes your identities change, so you might “re-come out.” Being able to come out in the first place while keeping calm is something that takes time and practice. But if you want to make it easier on yourself, try writing some kind of script and memorizing it. So, when the time comes, it’ll be easier to explain your identity. Also try to keep track of common questions people ask so you’ll be better prepared to address them if someone happens to ask. From Joseph [Excerpt from Being a Good Ally ] First, be calm. Reacting with a surprised tone can come off as negative or demeaning during this experience. Second, be kind. From what I previously said, it's very tough and scary for someone to come out to you, so make sure that they know how much you care about them. An example of this is showing them that you still love and support them, and show them that you will stick up for them. Third, be proud. This will contribute to the aspect of being kind. By fully and openly supporting your friend shows them how proud you are of them, who they are, and the courage it took them. An example of this is how all of my friends took me to the Pride parade in NYC in 2019 to show their support. Finally, be understanding. Someone who is doing all of this is going through a lot of trauma, and they might be frustrated with other people's reactions or just the stress of coming out. So if they might be struggling at being a good friend or whatever it is, understand that they are going through something that not many people experience, and they are just struggling. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Sports Back to Sections The Valley Stream Challenge By Manal Layachi Volume 2 Issue 6 April 14, 2022 Image provided by Elyas lLayachi The 17th annual Valley Stream Challenge, an invitational track meet, took place at our school, Valley Stream North High School, on April 2nd, 2022. The following thirty schools came to our school to compete: Bayside High School Chaminade High School Elmont Memorial High School Friends Academy (Long Island) George H. Hewlett High School Harlem Children’s Zone-Promise Academy Holy Cross High School Kellenberg Memorial High School Kings Park High School Long Beach High School Malverne Senior High School Massapequa High School Midwood High School Mineola High School Monsignor Farrell High School New Hyde Park Memorial High School North Shore High School Notre Dame School of Manhattan Oceanside High School Our Lady of Mercy Academy (Catholic High School Athletic Association) Poly Prep Country Day School Roslyn High School Sanford H. Calhoun High School South Side High School Spring Creek Community School St. Francis Preparatory School Valley Stream South High School W. Tresper Clarke High School Wellington C. Mepham High School Xavier High School There were 2,000 people at the meet. Some events that took place include the steeplechase, running events, hurdles, relay races, the long jump, the triple jump, the pole vault, the shot put, and the discus throw. A lot of preparation had to take place for this event, and it took the whole track team to do it. We all worked together and had a lot of fun. The challenge was eight hours long. You can find the results using this link: https://elitefeats.com/t-Results?ID=22494 Below are what two track stars said about the meet: Elyas Layachi: “The meet was a very great experience. Although I wasn’t able to race this time, it was nice to see so many schools, their student-athletes, and their spectators all in one place. It brought about a greater sense of community and school pride. Plus, the races were fun to watch!” Sienna Munro: “My favorite part of the invitational was getting to see so many teams in one spot, which brought more competition. When I first saw how many schools were there, it made me nervous. I competed in the 400 and 800-meter races. I think that the meet went very well.” I also interviewed the coordinators of the challenge, also known as the amazing coaches of the North’s Track team, Science Teachers Mike Frazer and Tim Boyens: Mr. Frazer: “I love hosting the Valley Stream Challenge Invitational Track & Field Meet. This is the 17th year we have hosted it. I like hosting it because it's a chance to show off North High School. It's a great school, and now with the brand-new track and turf field, we should all have Spartan Pride and host other schools whenever we can. I also like how the members of the Track & Field team worked together to put on an excellent event. Plus, it's super fun! This meet is normally very big. This year we had 1,734 registered athletes compete. 24 boys’ teams and 21 girls’ teams! It's fun to see lots of people here, especially since the past two years we couldn't host the meet due to COVID. Big meets do not shock me, as I have been on the state committee in the past and helped put on the New York State Championships! I think the Challenge was fantastic! It ran very smoothly, and all of the results were immediately posted online with the athletes’ pictures. Results and pictures can be found here:  Race Timers New York Long Island elitefeats Results . Also, Ryan John set a new meet record for the Spartans in the Triple Jump with the #1 jump in New York State so far this year! Coach Boyens and I look forward to hosting this meet for many years to come!” Mr. Boyens: “My favorite part of the challenge is when the gun goes off for the first race! Everyone is excited and the excitement is palpable. It was great to see so many schools come to VSN and be a part of the Challenge. We are very proud of our track and track team and the challenge is a great chance to ‘show off’ both. We got tons of positive feedback about the day from coaches, athletes, and parents. It was a great day for VSN.” P.S. - NORTH STAR readers, don’t forget to cheer the boys’ and girls’ teams at track meets hosted at North. Go Spartans! BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Portrait Back to Sections Isabella Feldman - Portrait By Isabella Feldman January 20, 2021 Photography Volume 1 Issue 4

Back to Artwork Nostalgic Musings Back to Sections Sophia Song - Nostalgic Musings - 4 By Sophia Song February 10, 2022 Photography Volume 2 Issue 4

Back to Articles Sports Back to Sections One Swing By Ryan Restivo Volume 1 Issue 2 November 24, 2020 Image provided by Victor Decolongon BANG! There it went, straight over the left field fence and onto the batting cages. The parents on the bleachers going nuts, my dad about to lose his voice, and my heart beating so fast it just might explode. Indeed, a fantastic feeling, but it was not easy getting there. Baseball was my life. I watched and played it all the time. I thought I would love the game forever. I was wrong. Everything seemed great until I played travel baseball. I figured I could handle the pressure; however, as the season got closer, I felt myself losing interest. The game I loved felt like a chore. With every Sunday practice, I experienced something rare… nerves. I felt the nerves the second I woke up to the second practice ended. The nerves intensified. My stomach, sick, as if someone was taking a bat, battering my stomach. I did not know how to stop this feeling. I thought it would go away over time. It got worse. Worse to the point where I was throwing up, then walking into practice like nothing happened, pretending to have fun. I could not do this anymore. The immense pressure and extreme nerves were too much. I made a tough decision that felt right at the time. I quit the team just days before the first game. This decision destroyed my confidence, because I was giving up. My confidence was shot, and it affected my life. Waking up nervous on Sundays for baseball was one thing, but waking up nervous every day for school, or just life in general was another. I realized this had nothing to do with baseball. This was a confidence issue within me. It affected me in the most unlikely places, like school recess. The highlight of every kid’s day was the opposite for me. I refused to join all the kids having a blast outside. Why? Because of the paranoia of everyone staring, the fear of embarrassment in front of all to witness. Instead, I would stay inside. Alone. Every day. Sometimes I would even hide in the bathroom until recess was over. Even with therapy and a school psychologist, I still felt like a spider tangled in its own web. I wondered if anything could ever get me back to normal. The decision to quit baseball a year ago still haunted me. I missed it tremendously. Although I was not playing baseball anymore, I still watched baseball all the time. After all, it remained my favorite sport. Watching the stars of the game like Mike Trout and Dee Gordon thrive on the field really made me second guess my decision. I never want to look back in life with regrets, and I feared that not playing would be something I would regret. My mom always told me that the day I quit would be a day I regret. I belonged on a baseball field. I needed to get myself back out there and play. Through some words of wisdom from my family, and unintentional inspiration from MLB stars, I found myself back on a baseball diamond, where it all slowly started to come together. BANG! There it went… My first home run. It’s every baseball player’s dream to hit a home run during a big game, so the player in me was thrilled! However, the average everyday human in me felt different. This change in confidence I had on the field transferred to my everyday life. Just like my nerves had, but in reverse this time. I was no longer tentative to live my life. I was my own worst enemy; nothing held me back besides myself. I found it within me to play again, and one swing had finally changed everything. One swing I will never forget. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections Precious Memories Navrosedip Kundlas Volume 4 Issue 1 November 6, 2023 High school life, what a ride, As a junior, with dreams so wide. Books and tests, and late-night cram, Sometimes, it feels like a big exam.   Lockers jammed with secrets and chatter, Every day, something new to matter. Prom on the horizon, we're almost there, Hoping for a date, and the perfect hair.   Teachers, some strict, some really cool, In this high school world, we're no fool. Homework piling up, stress on the rise, But with friends by our side, we'll reach the skies.   Lunchtime gossip, and cafeteria food, Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's crude. Navigating cliques, and teenage drama, As a junior, life's like a never-ending saga.   But as we grow, we learn and find our way, With each passing moment, we seize the day. Junior year, it's a journey we'll survive, For in these high school memories, we'll thrive. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork The Memory Project Back to Sections Abraham- Matteo Somma Matteo Somma February 24, 2023 Volume 3 Issue 3