Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections Shower Caitlyn Hunte Volume 6 Issue 3 June 8, 2026 Image Provided by Unsplash I want to know what you think when you shower Not in a weird way though When you feel the water rushing down When you peer down at your toes What goes on in your head Oh, how desperate I am to know Are you thinking about your body? Are you neutral, proud, ashamed? Are you thinking about things that never should've happened? All the days you can't regain? Things that can't be removed? The rest of what remains? Are you thinking about your friendships? What's gone and who still stayed Do you ponder whether you should stay with them? If they really are what your brain made? Do you remember that one girl Do you want to braid her hair? Is that guy still on your mind? Has he proven that he cares? Maybe careers in the future, Maybe dreams lost in the past What could've happened if you didn't move fast enough? Would it still be here, in your grasp? Are you just thinking of butterflies and snow? Music that inspires you to grow? What happens in the afterlife? What lies down there, below? Is it your aunt, is it your dog? Is it an ant? Is it the crisis of smog?  Is it an alleyway? Is it sound? Is it lost, can it ever be found?  Is it me? Is it the trees? Is it a breeze, does it carry you away?  Is it the rain? Is it your god? Is it writing that makes you want to stay? I want to know. I want to know you I want to feel how you do I want to see you Have deep conversations with you What is it? That you think about? When you're in the shower? BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Junior spends summer in VietNam By Stephy Varughese Volume 3 Issue 1 November 7, 2022 Image provided by Hotels.com For summer vacation,11th-grade student and North Star/Polaris member, Catherine Duong, traveled to Southern Vietnam for two months to visit her family. Catherine was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Southern Vietnam. Her ethnic background is of both Chinese and Vietnamese descent. Health and safety concerns forced her family to move from Southern Vietnam to the US when she was two. I interviewed Catherine to discover more about her visit to Vietnam and to learn more about her recent experience there. --- Why did you go to Vietnam? Whom did you go with? "I went to Vietnam to reconnect with my mom's side of the family after a few years since I've traveled due to COVID. I went with my younger sibling and my mom for the two-month vacation." What was the terrain like? "Vietnam's general terrain is mountainous and mostly jungle." What sites did you see? What were your favorite spots? "I didn't go sightseeing this year, but I've encountered a lot of large religious temples and some mountains!" Where did you stay? "I stayed at my grandma and grandpa's house, having three floors in total." What did you do? "During my vacation, I have mainly spent good quality time with my mom's family, having one grandma/grandpa, four cousins, and four aunts and uncles. We visited the beachside in Vung Tau, Vietnam, going on a yacht ride, to the HUGE malls, and simply playing board/card games." How was the food there? Are there any special dishes? "The food in Vietnam commonly has some spicy flavor, whether it's Sriracha sauce or peppers at the side or incorporated. Vietnam also is somewhat known to use the freshest ingredients to make their dishes by buying from outdoor/night markets that have the animal still alive. Dishes like Pho and Banh Mi (baguettes) are some dish examples that are famously known and enjoyed across the world!" What surprised you about Vietnam? Did you learn anything new while you were there? "I'm surprised that I didn't know this at the start, but one thing I've noticed is that in EVERY house/store you come across, there will be at least one small Buddhist shrine. Vietnam's main religion is Buddhism, and based on that observation, I can assume they are semi-religious or fully." Are there any celebrations/traditions you were part of while in Vietnam? "There was one! It was where I was at the yacht party for a family member's birthday, and that was a fun time for sure. A personal tradition my family would do is they would have a full family feast once in a while at a fancy restaurant." Was there a language barrier? "Between my family, there is barely a language barrier since most of my family knows how to speak English or understood the basics, but between strangers? Yes, there was. The problem I have was to speak back in Vietnamese (which I didn't study much of) in order for me to communicate to them, but I've been relying on my mom for translating and communication." What do you dislike about Vietnam?  "I will say that how Americans view Vietnam is what I dislike since the Vietnam War has been seen to be some kind of joke (the "Vietnam flashback") and how communism restricts citizens/foreigners from [discuss]ing certain topics. I've tried talking to my family about communism, which made them very uncomfortable." What do you want people to know about Vietnam? "I want people to know that between Vietnam and the USA's inflation rate is VERY high. Having one dollar is equal to about 23,865 Vietnamese Dollars (VND)! Even a penny is worth a lot in Vietnam, which citizens in the US have the upper hand with the economy." Do you recommend people to visit Vietnam? "Since I've only been to Southern Vietnam of Ho Chi Minh City, I can recommend people visiting there! Just be sure to bring LOADS of sunscreen and swim gear since Vietnam is known for its humid weather and wet/dry seasons. If you are a person who loves to go out to shop, whether it be day or night and explore, then Vietnam will be a perfect place for you! " -------- It was interesting to learn about Vietnam from Catherine. There were things I didn't know about Vietnam, such as its many Buddhist temples and the different foods there! I was fortunate to view the many fascinating pictures she shared with me, which leads me to believe that Vietnam is now a beautiful place to discover and enjoy. It’s truly a wonderful place to explore. If Vietnam seems like a place you'd want to visit, put it on your bucket list for your next vacation! BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections ENGLISH TEACHER Interviews - Grammar Issues Rehmat Kaur Volume 4 Issue 2 January 16, 2024 Image Provided by Picture by PaperTrue Grammar is a set of rules that helps us organize our sentences. It covers a variety of features of the English language. We all make grammatical errors on a regular basis, whether we are writing or speaking. I asked our amazing English teachers about the grammatical problems they see students have all the time. Capitalization A reader can benefit from capital letters. They indicate the beginning of a sentence, highlight essential words in a title, and they indicate proper names and formal titles. In English, the initial word of a phrase and all proper nouns (words that name a specific person, place, organization, or object) are capitalized. “Students forgetting to use basic capitalization really icks me!! That's text speaking crossing over to formal writing (Ms. Belbol). Similar Sounding Words “Older teens and adults mix up terms that can be easily corrected by a quick Google search like "their, there, they're" or "you're" and "your" (Ms. Mclarney). Words that sound the same but have distinct meanings and spellings might be difficult to distinguish. People are frequently perplexed by three extremely common ones: their, there, and they're. The words their, there, and they're all sound the same. The possessive pronoun their implies "belonging to them," as in "their house is new"; there is used to designate a specific area or location, as in "don't go there" and "there is a shop"; and they're is a contraction of "they are," as in "they're winning the game." ‘"there" is written when the writer means "they're" or "their"’ (Ms. Mansfield). Using you're and your wrongly is one of the most prevalent writing mistakes, especially when writing anything fast like an email or text message. You're is an abbreviation of the phrase you are, as in "you're wearing blue", "you're needed in class", and "make sure you're on time". Any of these lines would read the same if you were substituted with you're . Your is a possessive adjective that indicates ownership. There is no contraction here. Your is generally followed by a word, such as "Your seat is close to the window", "check your phone", or "I need your papers". If you’re was substituted for your in these example sentences, it would not make sense. Incorrect Usage of Apostrophes "My biggest grammar ick is the misuse of the apostrophe. Either people don't use it at all, so they have contractions and possessives without an apostrophe, OR they use it anytime there is a word that ends in an "s"" (Ms. Modzelewski). To express possession when the name is singular, add an apostrophe followed by a "s" to the end of the name (e.g., Mike's jacket). If a name is single but ends in a "s," you should always add an apostrophe to emphasize possession, but you can also add another "s" after the apostrophe if you choose (e.g., Lucas' car OR Lucas's car). If the name is plural, just add an apostrophe at the end to indicate ownership (e.g., the Miles' house). Forming a contraction with a name also requires adding an apostrophe with a "s," therefore examine the context of the phrase to ensure that the meaning is obvious. “Since it's holiday time, my BIGGEST ick is when people use an apostrophe with their names. It's wrong to say "Love, The Belbol's" because the Belbols don't own anything here; just put the s: "Love, The Belbols" (Ms. Belbol). “In a piece of student writing? Hm...so many grammar problems, so little time. But we have a virtual epidemic of missing possessive apostrophes in students ' (plural, possessive) writing today (Mrs. Mansfield). ” (Ms. Mansfield). Usage of “wanna” and “gonna” “I really despise when students use: wanna and gonna.... they are NOT words!!! Write want to or going to (Ms. Melluso). Formal English writing should be flawless, which means the writer should have chosen words with precision. When used in writing, "gonna" and "wanna" seem informal. Using "going to" and "want to" will improve the quality of your writing. These are just a few of the numerous grammatical errors that we make, as shared by some of our amazing English teachers. This involves not capitalizing when needed and getting confused between similar sounding words like "there" "their" "they're" and "your" "you're". The incorrect use of apostrophes is a typical error in student writing and using informal words like “gonna” and “wanna”. To improve our writing, we should proofread and check for grammatical errors. Sources Referenced: https://thewritepractice.com/grammar-vs https://omproofreading.com/grammar-vs-punctuation BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections Behind the Meme – Drake is the Type of Guy to__ By Augustine Magapan Volume 2 Issue 3 January 14, 2022 Image provided by Reddit “Drake is the type of guy to say, ‘You silly goose,’ when someone makes a joke,” says one of my friends. “Drake is the type of guy to get a lightbulb over his head when he has an idea,” says another friend.” “Drake is the type of guy to say, ‘mimimimi,’ when he sleeps,” a teacher says. Walking through the school halls, talking to my friends, and looking through my phone, I hear these phrases a lot of the time; a number of these jokes trend on social media apps such as Tiktok and Reddit. But how did this meme come to life in the first place? We dove into the meme and found what’s behind it. The first part of this “Drake is the Type of Guy” meme originated from his new album. On September 3rd, 2021, Drake, a famous rapper, released a new album called, “Certified Lover Boy,” containing 21 songs. To promote and refer to the song, Drake shaves his hair into a heart which he captured and then posted on Instagram. Once the audience saw the picture, they started gossiping increasingly about the look and couldn’t believe what they saw. Many people described him as a soft person who is overly sensitive and emotional. A simple tweet on Twitter let out a joke of Drake on what type of person he is. The joke goes viral leading to more jokes about the rapper. In short, the implications of this meme are impeccable; it highlights the evolution of meme humor. Over the years, meme culture has become less obvious, and increasingly subtle. For example, the earliest memes consisted of simple pictures, with rather obvious tones. Memes now are more illogical, which sometimes makes them more laughable. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Editorial Back to Sections Favorite Fonts from a Font Fanatic By Lucy Wu Volume 2 Issue 2 November 19, 2021 Image provided by The Trendy Timber Usually, I try not to develop strong feelings on any topic, but this time I’ll allow myself to unapologetically voice my opinions. No one asked for this article, but here I am revealing my innermost thoughts on a seemingly minute detail of life: fonts. But typeface permeates (nearly) everything. Personally, I believe how you choose to present these letters matters as much, and dare I say even more, as what you choose to say in those words. Each font tells a story, evoking a subconscious emotion in the reader from infusing each phrase with its personality. Like metaphors, onomatopoeia, and imagery, typography should be deemed a literary device, or a visual one at least. With all that said, some certainly function better than others to accomplish your goals. Note: Serifs refer to the little annexed feet at the ends of each letter stroke. (If you look closely, this font has serifs for example.) Sans-serif is the opposite: it lacks any extraneous tips. The Good Ones Times New Roman – The Classic Even if you’re not a font connoisseur (a.k.a. someone with a mildly unhealthy obsession with the way letters look on a page who is totally not me), chances are you can easily identify this font, because it’s so universal. That book from English you’re (not) reading? Probably Times New Roman. It strikes the balance of classy and sophisticated perfectly, without being overbearing and gaudy. Arguably, this is the best serif font because of its steadfastness over time and trustworthiness as sworn by from professionals of all kinds. Not to mention, it’s incredibly versatile for any application in life: long research papers, an essay you drafted at 11:26 PM due at 11:59 PM, or even an email to the dean explaining how you definitely did not cut class 8th period and that the sub just neglected to take attendance that day even though you were clearly alive and present (just a hypothetical situation, of course). Times New Roman doesn’t imply anything you don’t want it to: it’s neutral and unassuming. Plus, if your favorite hobby is procrastination from indecisiveness (which is totally not me), it gives you the peace of mind of choosing because it’s unobtrusive and understated in its simplicity, but still elegant enough to show you care (at least a little). And let’s be honest, even the name sounds cool too. While Times New Roman can be perceived as boring or old fashioned, everyone knows it’s the safe choice. When in doubt, use Times New Roman. Century Gothic – The Beauty When I’m not writing academically, I love using Century Gothic for headings to accent my work. But I didn’t always know this font existed. In 8th grade, our social studies teacher Mrs. Kovalsky, used a certain font with Times New Roman body text to accentuate her titles. She used it so much so, that it became part of her personal brand and we accordingly dubbed it the “Kovalsky font.” While some loathed her vocabulary lists or never-ending packets, I developed a deep veneration for this woman because she understood typography and knew how to use it well, employing it to keep the class organized and stable. After much speculation and a subsequent deep investigation, I uncovered her signature font was none other than Century Gothic. For me, looking at this font gives me internal tranquility and constancy. Oddly enough, it’s nostalgic, reminding me of a time when life could be reduced to a few vocabulary lists and the chaos of high school did not exist yet. Even if you didn’t have the experience I did, just look at the perfect circles of ‘o’ and the precision of lines in ‘x.’ Nothing is wasted with this font, and I can appreciate the geometric design and succinct aesthetic as much as the orderliness it evokes for me. The Less Good Ones Arial – The Default Ack. All I can say. Something about it just irritates me on a sub-dermal level. The way the letters are shaped is just so banal. To the untrained eye, it looks like any other sans serif font, but I can assure you it is not nearly as deserving of the praise it receives. If I told you that you live in a world where the dot of the ‘i’ is not a circle, but a square , can you still have faith in humanity? Exactly. I can’t quite pinpoint overarchingly what it is about Arial that annoys me, but maybe that in of itself is enough to say “no thanks.” Please, do yourself a favor and change your default font on Google Docs from Arial to something much more respectable and reputable, like Times New Roman. Comic Sans – The First Grader To preface this discussion, it’s easy to lose friends over the strong emotions that Comic Sans elicits, so read on with your own caution (don’t say I didn’t warn you). If you’re in first grade or younger, I’ll give you a pass. This the only age range where font typography should that closely resemble bad handwriting. From that point forward, it would be a disservice to impressionable young children to use a font that has zero structure. Just look at each character. Not one of them has a spine, and if anything, it adds little wobbles and bends to each letter. It doesn’t even commit fully to those imperfections, which otherwise could have made it an interesting font. The fact that I live in a world where this font exists makes me shudder to even think about it. The reaction to this abomination of a font is visceral for me. I can’t remember when I started hating this font (yes, I know hate is a strong word, but this is justified), but I can’t remember a time when I remotely liked this font either. On a brighter note, a friend had mentioned dyslexics particularly benefit from using this font, because of its unorthodox lettering pattern. If you’re dyslexic, you get a pass, too. Everyone else? We may have to reevaluate our friendship if you feel otherwise. Jazz Font – The Nightmare This one is not explicitly used as a conventional writing font, but if you play a non-string instrument or experienced the misfortune of encountering this writing style, you know exactly what I’m talking about. (For those of you who don’t, here it is: https://www.mozart.co.uk/about-mozart/fonts/mozartjazzfont.htm .) It’s like taking Times New Roman, a perfectly readable and elegant font, and unnecessarily italicizing and bolding it so already complex chords bleed into each other. It’s sacrilegious. Seriously, why is all jazz or syncopated music written with this font?? I’m certain the creators must think it helps me “feel the swing,” and I can’t fault them for that sentiment. But this is one of the rare times writing in a style is not conducive to producing the desired effect because of the poor execution. From my perspective, if I’m reading a chart for the first time and my part is the integral baseline, I can’t be squinting at my notes, trying to decipher them (plus I’m nearsighted, so this really helps no one). If anything, now I’m confused if my E flat minor augmented chord has an extraneous double flat on the D, or if it’s meant for the B. And merged with the other chords in the measure, I might as well throw away any hope of trying to read what’s happening. Don’t even get me started on trying to interpret if there are now six or seven sharps among the five thousand key changes because I guess half the time. Yeah. If the goal was to hinder my ability to read the music so much so that I resort to inventing new chord progressions to enhance the jazz-icantplaythecorrectnotesanywaysbutitsjazzsoitdoesntmatter, then I guess they succeeded on that end. North Star Fonts Lastly, because you’ve read this far, I’ll let you in on the intentional but subtle secrets of North Star’s typography. Getting the intricate and minute details right was an unexpectedly important part of the process for designing this website since I wanted to emphasize a fresh modern take, but still remain professional for our publication. Futura – The Sans Serif I’ve always liked this font a lot. I like the thin lines and its uncomplicated design. It’s clean and modern, everything you can want in a sans serif font. It’s Century Gothic’s younger sister, if you will. What more can I say? When I had the option to pick a font, this font saturated the thoughts in the back of my mind. Eventually, I realized I would need a thinner font anyways to accommodate for the sizing constraints of the website, so the decision was fate. (Sidenote: how do you pronounce the name of this font? Future – ah or foo-tur-ah? It makes sense the first way but intuitively I’ve just pronounced it the latter way. Please help because I’ve never figured it out to this day.) Museo – The Schrödinger However, I still wanted a statement font, something to make us truly unique. I was in the midst of debating serif or sans-serif for the main North Star font, a looming choice which caused me much stress, to be completely honest. I felt serif would be playing it safe, but I didn’t want to be safe, I wanted to be unapologetically bold. At the same time, a sans serif font with Futura, which is already a strong sans serif, felt unnecessary and didn’t provide enough contrast. Plus, it would all be a little too modern, taking away from the literary experience. Not to mention, this would be the first font seen by those who visited the website, and thus the one to make a first impression: an invaluable experience. Thus, it needed to be perfect . So when I stumbled across this font, I immediately knew it was a top contender because it is neither serif or sans-serif but the perfectly unique mix of both all at once. What finally sold it for me though, was not the font itself. ‘Museo’ is a Spanish cognate for ‘museum’ in English, which functions perfectly if you view the body of work on North Star as a collection of student masterpieces set out for display. Additionally, the word can also be interpreted to mean ‘muse,’ or someone who inspires artistic thought, which is exactly what our publication strives to function as. And because we all know I love a word with multiple meanings, the stars aligned for a brief moment, and thus it was settled. The rest is history. With that, I conclude my list of good and less good fonts, alongside my reasoning for each. Alas, you exclaim “ how dare you bash Comic Sans, my favorite font!” Firstly, that’s a hot take, but if you want to contest my unabashedly intense opinions, I gladly challenge you to a (friendly) duel in the next North Star article. Until then, I implore you to choose common sense over Comic Sans. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Prism Back to Sections Nayab Raja - Prism By Nayab Raja November 24, 2020 Volume 1 Issue 2

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections Dolores By Nora Chery Volume 2 Issue 7 June 13, 2022 Image provided by iMedia The house was silent, warm, and, most importantly, freshly clean. Martha sighed, rose from her knees, and plopped the red-stained cloth into the equally red water of the bucket. Rippling from the sudden impact, red water sloshed into the dark wood floor. The woman glared at the red puddle but was interrupted by the booming ticks of the grandfather clock. She was late for work, once again. The bucket and puddle were neglected in exchange for her heels and inexpensive coat, which she promptly grabbed. When her hands reached for her purse, she paused and shifted her gaze to the top of the staircase. "I'll get you something better to eat as soon as I get back!" she called sweetly, and she was off. She walked from the edge of the street to the Southern rural town. This was a typical morning for Martha Furguson. Martha was a polite and modest lady around her late thirties and, like most of the women around her age in town, loved to chitchat, hated pests, and loved nothing more than the lovely clothes from the boutique. With two eyes and two small hands, using them to grimace at the price of the beautiful dress she wanted, she looked like most the women in their late 30s. As stated before, she was a polite and modest lady, and everything about her was polite and humble. Most people in town would have agreed if it wasn't for her living in a haunted house. Most children would describe her home as horrifying, and older townsfolk would admit it gave off eerie vibes. If you were a new, freshly moved-in citizen and saw the house, you would've been confused by the rumors. It was a lovely little white house, the kind you would want your old, retired self to live in. It had the basics of a house; electricity, clean running water, and a solid green roof. There was one factor that gave the house its reputation; the child that lived in it, Dolores Furguson. To many, she was a mysterious entity, a tiny malevolent phantom. However, her only crime was hermitage. Some say screams resonate from inside the house, particularly Dolores's room. Rumors had flown as they always do, but Martha always giggled at them when confronted about it. "Why those are just tall tales told by little children" she'd claim with a defensive smile. "Dolores is just a sickly child, that's all, nothing spooky about it." Being the mother of a child with an unfavorable social status resulted in her having little to no friends. Still, she reassured herself multiple times that it was okay. She had her Dolores to look after. But the memory of what happened to her daughter still stuck to her like a permanent splinter; it still hurt from time to time. She was in her early thirties and sleeping next to her husband. She remembered strange high-pitched noises coming from downstairs in the kitchen. Her husband sleepily descended to investigate, yet all Martha could hear was his frightened mumbling. Then came the screaming. First, her husband, then someone (or something) else. Frozen in bed, all she could think about was her daughter, who was hopefully sleeping in the other room. Forcing herself from her bed, she snatched a letter opener off her desk; she would do her best to protect her daughter. As she stepped into the kitchen, all she saw was her daughter. There, Dolores stood in the center of an empty kitchen, crying with a bloodstained mouth. The police came to question Marget and her daughter, and an officer was kind enough to help her hang missing posters for her husband. Yet, some part of Marget knew it was too late; her life had been changed forever. Dolores was a sweet, bubbly child, but after that tragic night, it faded immediately. Dolores stopped eating and playing; some days, it seemed like Dolores had never even moved an inch. Martha always suspected Dolores was more active when she wasn't home, working a late shift. The day Martha came home to see Dolores covered in red, she knew her worst fears were confirmed. Nothing would change, and this was never getting better. She stared at her daughter, momentarily horrified due to her monstrous appearance, elongated teeth, and nails, pupils transformed to slits. This creature was her daughter, but a form of her daughter that would never see the light of day. Martha's daughter was barely a human, just a tiny animal in her daughter's skin. She did her best to remind herself that, despite all, Dolores was still her daughter, even if she smelled like blood and death. Martha kept her head up. She went to work and took care of the flowers, the kinds that Dolores used to love, though Dolores now didn't seem to know what flowers were. When Martha earned enough money to go clothes shopping at the boutique, she treated herself to a few beautiful dresses and shoes. She attempted to bring Dolores home a dress, but her daughter ran at the sight of the dress as if one touch could kill her. Margret struggled to dodge the pain of her daughter's continued rejections. As she passed a happy couple and their children, a twinge of pain filled her chest; why couldn't her family have just been normal? On the worst days, she sat with her back pressed to her daughter's bedroom door, dreaming about the tranquil domestic life she lost that fateful night. BACK TO TOP

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Back to Articles Advice Back to Sections Gas leak at North surprises all, results in evacuation By Alicja Paruch Volume 2 Issue 5 March 28, 2022 Image provided by Forbes Hello Dear Readers, Today I would like to give you a piece of advice concerning some recent occurrences in our school building. This school year has engulfed us, as both students and staff, in many tragedies and forced us to take responsibility for ourselves and others and, as a consequence, make crucial decisions. Because of all of this, sometimes being in the school building can feel not totally safe and any surprise event or break in a routine can add to, or trigger, stress. In January, the students of Valley Stream North walked into the building, and they immediately encountered a strong gas smell. Not even five minutes into the first period of the day, most classes changed locations and settled in the gym. While in the aura of uncertainty, students tried to figure out what would happen next, Ms. Bounaspina had to step up and take sole charge of the building, as both Dr. Small and Mr. Jara happened to be absent. As trivial as this event may seem, and students spent around an hour supervised in the gymnasium, this unexpected event could have resulted in stress for students (as well as staff members). If you, my dear reader, find yourself in a similar kind of situation, or any time you feel yourself tense up and want to manage your stress quickly, try these fast-acting techniques: 1. Steady your breathing Take some deep breaths until your breathing becomes steady. Try a slow inhale, hold your breath for 4 or 5 seconds and exhale. 2. Consider your situation Try to gauge the situation you are currently in and remember to see if someone is already taking care of the situation. Look for the safe and familiar aspects. 3. Ask questions If you can, ask questions! People around you will be more than willing to help. I hope this helps calm you down in any stressful moment! BACK TO TOP

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