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Back to Articles News Back to Sections Homecoming is Back! By Everton Prospere Volume 2 Issue 2 November 19, 2021 Image provided by Hudl On October 30th, Valley Stream North High School hosted its annual football homecoming game. After a year where the usual festivities were canceled due to the pandemic, VSN students and staff alike were excited to return to a sense of normalcy with the festival and game. Homecoming is typically an event and game that invites school alumni to boost school spirit. With the Homecoming Dance canceled, the administration put in place an alternative: the Homecoming Festival. With a large gathering, many activities, and an exciting football game, this year’s festival was a great success! In preparation for the game, clubs and extracurricular activities were asked to prepare a sale to raise funds while also increasing excitement for the event. The custodial staff and administrative teams arrived early in the morning in preparation for the fun of the day. In front of the overhang of the main entrance by the gym lobby, multiple tables were set up in a market-like arrangement. Volunteers from clubs began to appear on site at 10:00 am, with two hours to put together their booth’s items. At 12:00 noon, the festivities began, with parents, teachers, current and former students, and residents attending. Some activities included a potato sack race from the Students Against Destructive Decisions, in which Mrs. Rieger, Mrs. Italiano, and Ms. Parisi participated. There were also sales for fundraisers: a tumbler — an insulated beverage container — by the Class of 2023 Grade Council, and an air pod case sale by the National Junior Honor Society. At 2:00 pm, the pregame festival concluded, and the football game began. Throughout the game, fans were encouraged to purchase food at Grover’s Grub food truck. A portion of the proceedings made at the truck funded the Class of 2022 and The Spartan Club. The Valley Stream North and Lynbrook High School varsity football teams versed each other in a thrilling battle. Although the Lynbrook Owls quickly took the lead, the Spartans turned the match around with outstanding defense and superb offense. The final score was 28-21, with Valley Stream North victorious at the end. The football team attributed their victory largely due to support from the full crowd of enthusiastic fans and the comical announcing by North’s beloved AP Psychology teacher, Mr. Daddino. This festival could not have been hosted nor so successful without the support and organization from the administrative team, custodial staff, security, the Student Activities Director, Mrs. Italiano, all the club and grade advisors, and North’s Athletic Director. Despite the pandemic, Valley Stream North rallied to host an amazing homecoming, and the bad weather forecast adjusted itself for the festivities. BACK TO TOP

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 8 June 8, 2021 "PERIASTRON" ARTICLES A Goodbye to North By Olivia Neuner Feature Read More A Year Around the World in Four Fairs By Kashmiraa Pandit Art & Culture Read More Ask Ala: Pride By Ala Paruch Advice Read More COVID-19 Crisis in India By Matteo Somma Science & Technology Read More Eid al-Fitr and Ramadan By Charis Hackman Art & Culture Read More Gender and Sex: The Misunderstandings and Differences By Rachel Ezeadichie Feature Read More Goodbye DeBlasio: How the 2021 NYC Mayoral Election is Turning Out By Logan Balsan News Read More Learning about Sikh and Indian Weddings By Elaine Ching Art & Culture Read More My Past, Not Relevant By G Heiss Polaris Read More North Spring Sports Recap By John McCarthy Sports Read More Proud By Eva Grace Martinez Editorial Read More Recent ISS Crew Dragon Mission By Elyas Layachi Science & Technology Read More Soldier By Nora Chery Polaris Read More The Importance of Intrinsic Motivation By Alain Deen Editorial Read More The Season of Summer By Carolina Grace Figueroa Editorial Read More The Wonders of Poop By Cody Sung Science & Technology Read More A Scholarly Quest in Statistics By Ala Paruch and Lucy Wu Science & Technology Read More April Showers Bring May Flowers By Manal Layachi Science & Technology Read More Being a Good Ally By Joseph Evola Advice Read More Desserts to Celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride By Christina Ossa Feature Read More Fun vs. Responsibility By Alanna Tieschmaker Polaris Read More Girl’s Badminton Celebrates the Senior Class By Garrick Neuner and Olivia Neuner Sports Read More How To: Self-Publish By Leah Tyme Feature Read More Letter from the Editor: End of Year Report By Craig Papajohn-Shaw Letter from the Editor Read More Nayib Bukele - Democratic Leader or Autocrat? By Everton Prospere News Read More North's Captivating Courtyard: Spotlight on North's Hardworking Clubs By Ericka Leus Feature Read More Ramadan and Eid in Islam By Nidha Dar and Mairaab Jahangir Art & Culture Read More Senior Interview with Shubhdip Kundlas By Shinedip Kundlas Advice Read More The Culture Society's "Just One Africa" Event By Cody Sung Art & Culture Read More The Presenter and the Friend By Navrosedip Kundlas Polaris Read More The Truth About Vaccination By Aleeza Dhillon News Read More CONTEMPLATION LOAD MORE

Back to Artwork Purpose Back to Sections Kimberly Shrestha - Purple Yellow Study By Kimberly Shrestha November 24, 2020 Volume 1 Issue 2

Back to Articles News Back to Sections MBK Zo Elrington Volume 5 Issue 3 January 14, 2025 The My Brother's Keeper Club at their Project Adventure trip. Image Provided by Ms. Coleman. The My Brother's Keeper (MBK) initiative, started in 2014 by President Barack Obama, seeks to “Change the Narrative” of boys and young men by closing and eliminating the opportunity gaps they face and helping them reach their full potential. Last year, the initiative was brought to the Valley Stream Central High School District. The pioneering members of VSN's MBK embraced the mentoring brotherhood organization at VSN. VSN’s MBK went on a field trip to Brookville Outdoor and Environmental Education Center’s 20-acre land. In conjunction with the other MBK chapters of our Valley Stream Central High School District, the young men participated in adventure education and teambuilding courses focused on developing trust, communication, problem-solving, risk-taking, and cooperation. Spanning over the center’s twenty-acre former NIKE Missile Base, the teams, diversified into six to eight MBK members from each group, navigated a series of field challenges and trials in the chilling cold. Collective Motion In the first challenge, the boys were tasked by their Brookville Sherpas to complete a racecourse wearing giant team skis. The classic teambuilding exercise, amplified by the biting cold and slippery gravel, initially proved challenging for the boys before they applied their MBK tenets to the exercise. They realized the key to the exercise was to unify and actively listen under one leading voice, a tenet they practice in their respective weekly meetings with the aid of a talking piece or stick. After having this epiphany, the boys were able to finish the racecourse in never-before-seen times and fashions - forwards, backwards, and even while facing different directions on the same skis! The important lesson of unifying under one voice provided a solid example and reinforced the initiatives founding beliefs of organized communal collective work to achieve the same goals and in this case, staying afoot. Building Bridges In the second challenge, the boys were tasked by their Sherpas, in riddle like fashion, to transport each brother platform to platform across three wooden blocks spaced ten feet away from each other. The boys could only use two short planks to set transversely across the gap, relying on their brothers to stand and secure the first plank as they walked across to the second one which overlapped the first plank and connected to the next platform. Repeating this process, they placed plank on top of plank and reached the end ensuring that every brother crossed safely, leaving no man behind. The practice reinforced and symbolized the process of building bridges, a tenet important to MBK’s mission to build bridges of opportunity for boys and young men of color. By Each Other’s Bootstraps The next challenge seemed to be the thrill of the day for many of the brothers. The men shot gasps and gawks at the twelve-foot wall that hung amongst the Brookville trees. The Sherpas, demonstrating the danger of the exercise, told the boys what they’d have to do in a serious fashion, losing the blissful ignorance that might’ve been construed by the previous riddles. The boys would have to support each other up the wall and onto the platform above. Those who summited first assisted in pulling the scaler up the wall while those on the bottom boosted their teammates by cupping their feet in their hands and pushing upwards. The coordinated support and trust of the boys secured and simplified the seemingly risky exercise, as they pulled each other over the wall. The overarching message could not be ignored, as they learned the lesson of peer support in overcoming physical and social obstacles in pursuit of improved outcomes. Redefining the idiom, they pulled each other up by each other’s bootstraps above the wall, symbolizing collective assistance in overcoming social inequities, an important goal of the MBK initiative. The Future The junior members, two of whom will attend the MBK New York State Symposium in Albany this year and continue “Changing the Narrative,” cannot wait to have this experience again. They only hope that next time the weather is a little warmer than thirty-five degrees. MBK North expresses its gratitude to Faculty Advisor Ms. Coleman, Mr. Heyward, and the VSCHS District for facilitating this trip. They hope to be featured once again in the school paper with a positive report from the 2024 New York State My Brother’s Keeper Symposium in Albany. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections My Past, Not Relevant By G Heiss Volume 1 Issue 8 June 8, 2021 Image provided by The Guardian It has been hours since the king had been summoned home. He previously was in the mortal realm to take care of affairs and deals people wanted to make. Then his second-in-command called him down in an emergency pentagram. He almost felt sorry for the guy who was probably standing there confused for a while, staring at the scorched ground left in his wake. Why did you summon me here, Corvin?" Since he was in his home now, Varis could feel his energy boost and return to him, large magenta wings now protruding from his shoulder blades and spreading out to their full 11-foot span before folding against his back. Four horns painlessly growing out from his skull, two curling upwards from the top of his head, the other two sprouting out from seemingly the bottom of his brunette head of hair. By this time, his nails had extended to claws, his eyes turned from white and brown to black and red, sharper than average teeth growing more and a whip like tail extending from his lower back. The tail thrashing as it grew before it settled as he waited for his second in command to answer his previous question. Corvin Rex. An ash demon who had a raven animal morph. The two have known each other their whole lives, despite them being away from each other for a long period of time. "Your presence was requested, Varis. An Imp by the name of Zodariis has been causing trouble in the slums and was brought here. His pale skin seemed to vastly contrast from the king's own tanner skin. And when Varis turned to walk to the throne room, one of Corvin's pale hands caught his wrist. Red irises met black and Varis felt himself tense at the rare sight of Corvin's face of concern. "Be wary, Varis.. Something seemed off about this imp…" Varis forced his body not to shudder as he swallowed down his nerves and scowled. "I'm not scared a low-leveling Imp from this ring of hell." His voice echoed in the hall as he twisted his wrist slightly to get the other demon to let go. When Corvin did let go, Varis began to walk down the lavishly decorated hall toward the throne room. The halls were decorated with large pillars and numerous paintings of the previous rulers of the 9 rings. Said pillars were Roman in origin, laced with small golden details that he had never really bothered to look at in the past. Red eyes flicked to the many photos on the walls as his scowl grew. Varis could almost feel the eyes of the previous rulers follow his moments in almost a judgmental way. Calrash. One of the first demon queens to take the throne at the beginning of what the humans call the Cambrian. She was a tyrant to say the least, but she had been the first who dared to challenge Lucifer for the title, and she had been the only successful one at that. "Meus Rex." A distant voice made it way to Varis's pointed ears and immediately his attention is on an incubus guard that was standing in front of his father's painting. Ur'Gest Cicero. Benevolent to the 9 circles that watched his every move. Behind closed doors however, Varis knew better. "The Imp is being held by the best of the guard. It has shown some impressive strength for an Imp." Varis could hear him talking, but his eyes were trained on his father’s own red eyes. The sound of echoed skin on skin was deafening in the castle halls. Each slap of skin was followed by a child's cry of pain. "You were supposed to be the powerful one! Why were you born a runt?!" Guards who passed the door always had a look of sympathy for the child. But none had the nerves to stand up to Ur'Gest. Anyone who seemed to do so, weren't seen the next rise of the blood moon. "What do you mean, father?" A young version of Varis, bruised and red looked up at his much larger father with tear-stained cheeks and unshed tears still stinging his eyes. Then he got picked up by his small wings. Another cry of pain came from the boy as his father tightened his grip on the wings and tossed him aside. "Pathetic. You should be able to fly by now." Varis's eyes widen in fear as the king, his father, drew closer...And closer. Raising a hand to-- "Meus Rex!" The guard choked out, clawing at the hand around his neck and struggling for oxygen. Varis let go of the guard and had a look of regret on his face. "Please, escort yourself to the infirmary to see to any potential wounds. I am so sorry about that, I got lost in thought." The guard bowed his head and quickly walked away to head in the direction of the infirmary. Varis looked down at his hand that had been choking the guard previously, scowling and taking a few deep breaths. His father was gone. Ur'Gest died over 8 centuries ago. While Varis was still relatively new to the throne, having only been king for two centuries, things were already vastly different. Varis had spent most of his "teenage" years in the mortal realm. When he learned to adapt as time went on, he closely observed how the world leaders went about managing their countries. Taking liking to George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte for a short amount of time, Toussaint-Louverture, and Henri Guisan. His magic had allowed him to learn, to study with the children that were "his age." "Your Highness." There was a voice again that pulled him from his thoughts, this one was different from before. When Varis focused, it was two of the most decorated soldiers he had made sure were kept in the army. The two soldiers were kneeling down with their wings folded against their backs with one arm on their knees and the other on the odd-looking Imp. The Imp should've had a red pigment in his skin if  he were to be from the pride ring. Maybe even an orange. However, this one had green. Varis narrowed his eyes to see into the Imp's soul. His real name was Niagron, he died of an assassination and was a greedy man in his life by the name he can only find being Kyoji. A dark aura surrounded the demon king and a low growl came from his throat as he approached the Imp and grabbed its face by its chin. "What do you want, greed spawn?" Venom laced with Varis's voice as the Imp growled back and moved to get out of the king's grasp. "I want to challenge your authority, Cicero!" Every other demon in the room went silent. They all recall just how powerful the last king was and how the king's own wife, Varis's mother, killed him by essentially drowning him in lava. Ur'Gest was a fire demon, his wife, Flanora, a lava demon. It was publicly known that not even Varis knew the full extent of his own power. "We can escort him to a separate location where--" "No." Varis butted in and took a deep breath. "Why do you propose to challenge me, greed spawn?" Murmurs from servants, guards and soldiers rose at this notion. Varis was interested in the fight and the fire in the Imp's eyes reminded him a lot of himself back in his youth. The last challenge to a king that had happened that wasn't an internal matter was when Ur'Gest came into power. And that was nearly 3000 years ago. "I came to challenge your logic! What made you say you had the right to waltz down back into hell and take the place of king? What in your past make you king?!" Another round of silence. The soldiers who were previously holding the Imp backed away as they knew just a fraction of what their king is capable of. The servants are also hyper-aware of his untamed power that had direct ties to his emotions. Especially his anger. The Imp's eyes widen in alarm and any previous fearlessness he had quickly dissipated as the king's appearance began to change. Growing in size in all proportions by at least another ten feet. His previous human looking skin now turning an angry red and his eyes appeared as if they held the infinite space of void. Magenta wings turning a deep shade of scarlet and the tip of his tail igniting in blue flames. " Prior actus non refert …" Varis's voice was loud . The whole castle seemed to echo the deep guttural voice that now belonged to the king. Not even moments later, the screams of the damned could be heard throughout the entire pride ring. Servants of the castle looked at what remained of the Imp with some pity and others looked disgusted. Ashes were quickly swept away as Varis returned to his normal size and his second in command pushed the doors open as if he were in a hurry. "What happened? Where is the Imp? What did he want?" The look on Varis's face alone was enough to shut the ravenette up, black eyes looking to the king's face as he slowly approached. Something was evidently wrong. But Corvin knows better than to pry. "He came to challenge my authority, asking what gave me the right to sit on the throne." Corvin sucked in a tense breath, his jaw clenching at the notion and he gave a strained nod of his head to show he understood why Varis looked the way he did. "And… what did you say?" "My past? Not relevant." Latin Translations: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Meus Rex : My King Prior actus non refert: Prior actions do not matter BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Line Back to Sections Isabella Somma - What is Line By Isabella Somma November 1, 2020 Graphite Volume 1 Issue 1

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections ENL Buddy Program VSN By Alisson Alas Volume 2 Issue 6 April 14, 2022 Image provided by VSCHSD.ORG The ENL Buddy Program, advised by ENL Department Chair Ms. Swinton, is one of the many clubs offered at North . The ENL Buddy Program offers many activities: Students get to go into ENL classes and do fun and creative activities with the ENL students. Students got to make hallway decorations for World Language Week and participated in this year’s PS I Love You Day event. Students got to go into ENL classrooms and make holiday cards for staff members. Students can help other ENL students feel welcomed to North by helping them get around during their first days in the building. According to Ms. Swinton: “The ENL Buddy program is designed to help new and/or struggling ENL students connect to the North community. Mentors, who are current or former ENL students, work with students individually, visit ENL classrooms and facilitate lessons for students that are designed to build community and also lead after-school activities during meeting time.” For me I think joining this club is an amazing idea since I was a ENL student, I definitely feel like the ENL students feel welcomed to North because they have other students who know how they feel and who are willing to help them get around and get familiar with the environment. According to Ms. Swinton: “Mentors are typically current or former ENL students because they have a shared, lived experience with our newest Spartans. Mentors often also share a similar language and cultural backgrounds with the mentees.” Here's what she said about the activities and plans for the year: “This year, mentors have planned and facilitated classroom lessons that speak to the North's core values of respect, integrity, and kindness. Members of the ENL Buddy Program have also helped to create holiday cards for members of the community, participated in PS I Love You Day by creating positive messages and decorating the school hallway with them and designed flags from around the world in honor of World Language Week.” If you like helping, doing fun and creative activities, have been or are an ENL student, this is the club to join. If you share a similar language and cultural backgrounds with the mentees, you would really be able to make someone's day and transition into our school much easier and get that amazing rush of energy while helping somebody else. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Science & Technology Back to Sections Seasons Everchanging By Navrosedip Kundlas Volume 2 Issue 2 November 19, 2021 Image provided by Wallpaper Stock look outside, up at the sky watch the birds fly is it summer or is it spring? each one has something different to bring summer brings fresh ice cream cones while winter brings baked cranberry scones spring's April brings showers Leading to May's flowers red, orange, yellow autumn's leaves are so mellow lay back in your rocking chair breathe in the heavenly air blizzards threaten winter's fun that's when people miss the sun snowball fights and winter lights all of those longer nights not too hot, nor too cold flowers the color of gold animals wake up from their slumber dreading the hot scorching summer lawns are ready to be mowed parents trying not to explode finally freedom is here at last! the horrible days of school are in the past! winter, summer, spring, and fall four seasons in all each brings in new excitement all has their own enrichment which one is your favorite? winter with its hot chocolate summer with its vacation or is it your graduation? fall with apple pie and pumpkins or do you prefer spring's new beginnings Whichever season you think is the best they'll still pop up with or without your request BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Polaris, Fiction Back to Sections Is That Me (Comic) By Nora Chery Volume 3 Issue 4 May 18, 2023 Image provided by Nora Chery BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections Words By Shinedip Kundlas Volume 3 Issue 1 November 7, 2022 Image provided by Adobe I sat at my desk with no thoughts in my mind. Completely blank. I closed my eyes and began to zoom out of the reality we live in. Soon I took off into a whole different world. A world is full of words, characters, forests, homes, and songs. I jumped into a soft pillow-like cushion made out of the softest cashmere. Before my eyes, a book landed on top of my lap. The old pages were torn and looked as if they'd been handed down for years. I began flipping through the dusty pages. Words flying all around me. A flashing light beholds my eyes. I suddenly opened my eyes. My eyes fluttered shut again hoping to go back to the world I was just in. I opened my eyes and looked at my screen. And began typing. Words came, and stories flew in from the window. In a flurry, I typed and typed. Words soon became sentences. Sentences soon became paragraphs. Paragraphs become stories. Stories became a light. BACK TO TOP