Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School

Infobox US school| name = Plainview-Old Bethpage
John F. Kennedy High School


image caption =
motto = "Excellence in Education"
established = 1966
type = Public School
district = Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District
grades = 9^th through 12^th
principal = Mr. James Murray,
"Principal"
Mr. Thomas Sena, "Associate Principal"
Mr. Paul Dallara,
"Assistant Principal"
Mr. Jonathan Silkowitz, "Assistant Principal"
city = 50 Kennedy Drive
Plainview
state = New York
country = USA
campus type = Suburban
campus size =
enrollment = 1500+
faculty = approx. 130
ratio = 12:1
mascot = Plainview Hawks
mascot

colors = Blue and White colorbox|Whitecolorbox|Navy
conference = NYSPHSAA Section 8
newspaper = The Hawkeye
information = [phone]
ceeb = 334532
homepage = http://pob.k12.ny.us/pobjfkhs

Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School (POBJFKHS) is a four-year coeducational public high school located on Kennedy Drive in Plainview, Nassau County, Long Island, New York. Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School is the only high school in the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District. It is fully accredited by the New York State Education Department. This school is registered with the College Board as Plainview-Old Bethpage/JFK High School, and is often referred to as Plainview JFK, especially for athletic purposes, to avoid confusion with nearby Bellmore JFK.

History

The school was opened in 1966 as John F. Kennedy High School, Plainview's second high school. Originally, all senior high school students went to Plainview High School, but were split by residential location when JFK High School opened. In 1991, Plainview-Old Bethpage High School and John F. Kennedy High School were merged into the John F. Kennedy High School building and renamed Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School. The newly merged school abandoned Plainview High School's colors of green and yellow as well as their mascot (The Gulls) in favor of John F. Kennedy High School's blue and white Hawks. It is now the only public high school for residents of the community of Plainview and Old Bethpage.

Overview

POBJFK contains classrooms, science labs, a multiroom/bi-level library with a Women's Center and Holocaust Remembrance Center, a large group instruction/auditorium, a gymnasium (named "The V" in honor of former teacher Mr. Lucian Veneziano), a swimming pool, a state-of-the-art weight room and dance studio, a radio station, a television studio, a media arts classroom, a photography darkroom, art classrooms, technology classrooms, and computer labs, including a specialized computer lab for the Languages Other Than English Department.

POBJFK grades on a 100-point scale. Students are awarded numerical grades for courses, with the exception of physical education, which is pass/fail. AP courses are weighted 7% and Honors courses are weighted 5%.

For the 2006-2007 school year, the student body of POBJFK was 86% white, 12% Asian, and 2% Hispanic. All other races or ethnicities made up 0-1% of the student body. In 2006-2007, average class size ranged from 19-24 students. The annual attendance rate for the school was 97%. Seventy-six percent of teachers had a master's degree plus 30 hours or doctorate degrees. For 2007-2008, the school was rated a school in Good Standing in all areas as determined by New York State's accountability system regarding the No Child Left Behind Act. [https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb-rc/2007/b9/AOR-2007-280504060010.pdf The New York State School Report Card, Accountability and Overview Report, 2006–07]

For the 2006-2007 school year, 95% of graduates received a Regents Diploma. Of those, 71% of graduates received an Advanced Regents Diploma. Seventy-nine percent of 2006-2007 graduates went on to four-year colleges and 17% went on to two-year colleges. One percent went to the military and 2% to employment. [https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb-rc/2007/b9/CIR-2007-280504060010.pdf The New York State School Report Card, Comprehensive Information Report, 2006–07]

Academics

This school follows the curriculum of the Board of Regents under the University of the State of New York. The school currently offers 22 Advanced Placement Program (AP) courses [cite news|author=Michael Ebert |title=AP Classes on LI |url=http://www.newsday.com/news/local/education/ny-sundexm5536547jan13,0,923466.htmlstory |publisher=Newsday|date=2008-01-13 |accessdate=2008-01-17 ] , as well as College-credit and honors courses, in various subjects in every department. POBJFK has many honor societies, including the National Honor Society, the French National Honor Society, the Spanish National Honor Society, the New York State Science Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society, and the Italian, Art, Business, and Thespian honor societies.

AP Macroeconomics

Based on a report released on January 24, 2005, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK "was ranked as achieving the best overall performance last spring on an Advanced Placement test in macroeconomics," meaning that Plainview has the "strongest AP macroeconomics course in the world among schools in (its) size range," according to the College Board. This data referred to AP exams given in Spring 2004. The Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District attributes this success to the district's sole macroeconomics teacher, Ms. Jane Behrens. [cite news|title=POBJFKHS Holds Strongest Advanced Placement Macroeconomics Performance in Nation|url=http://antonnews.com/plainviewoldbethpageherald/2005/02/04/news/ap.html |publisher=Plainview Herald |date=2005-02-04 |accessdate=2008-03-14 ]

Science Research

Plainview is known for its top-tier science research program. During the 2005-2006 school year, then-seniors Abhinav Khanna and Ben Pollack placed second nationally in the Siemens Competition (formerly Siemens Westinghouse Competition). During the 2006-2007 school year, then-senior Jinju Yi was a National Finalist and Regional Winner in the same competition. On December 3rd, 2007, Class of 2008 Seniors Janelle Schlossberger and Amanda Marinoff were named national winners in the Siemens Competition team category (for a $100,000 scholarship), with the creation of a molecule that can inhibit the production of drug-resistant tuberculosis strains. [cite news|author=Catherine Arnst |title=Girls Dominate the Siemens Competition |url=http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2007/tc2007123_368568.htm?chan=technology_technology+index+page_science |publisher=Business Week|date=2007-12-03 |accessdate=2007-12-06 ] [cite news|author=Amanda Millner-Fairbanks |title=Girls Make History by Sweeping Top Honors at a Science Contest|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/04/nyregion/04siemens.html?_r=1&oref=slogin |publisher=The New York Times |date=2007-12-04 |accessdate=2007-12-06 ] The 2007-2008 year was also very successful for Senior Paul Chang, who had a 2nd place finish at the New York State Science and Engineering Fair for his work on Caribbean Drosophila melanogaster.

Music

Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School has a very highly-regarded music program. Students from POBJFK are selected to participate each year in the Nassau Music Educators' Association All-County Music Festival as well as New York State's All-State Music Festival.

Band

POBJFK has two bands which meet daily, symphonic band and wind ensemble. The symphonic band consists of players of all ability levels, while the wind ensemble consists of players with advanced playing ability. POBJFK also offers two jazz groups. One called the Lab Jazz Band and the Jazz Ensemble. The lab jazz is for any musician that wants to play in a jazz band and the Jazz Ensemble is for advanced jazz students. The symphonic band, wind ensemble, and jazz band perform two concerts each school year. In the spring the Jazz bands perform a concert with the two middle school jazz bands on the districts "Night of Jazz". In addition, POBJFK has a marching band, which, aside from performing at POBJFK athletic events, participates in the Newsday Marching Band Festival at Hofstra University every year. The marching band also performs every year at one of Long Island's Pearl Harbor Day ceremonies as well as in Plainview-Old Bethpage's Memorial Day Parade.

Choir

There is a long history of excellence in the choral program at this school. For many years, the Kennedy Choir, under the direction of Mr. Ronald Cohen (now retired), was viewed as one of the finest high school choral groups in the country. Currently, under the direction of Mr. Adam Paltrowitz, POBJFK offers a treble choir and mixed choir. Both choirs perform in two concerts during the year as well as at various other functions. In the past, the choirs have performed at the NYSSMA Major Organization festival and received grades of Gold with Distinction on Level 6, the highest grade awarded on the highest level of competition. POBJFK is also known for its student-run a cappella groups, including Chock Full of Notes, The B Sharps, On A High Note, Drastic Measures, The Project, and Noteworthy, which perform at their own a capella concerts twice each year, as well as at various other school and community events.

Orchestra

There is a string orchestra which meets daily and consists of students of all grades. This orchestra performs two concerts over the school year. There is also an exchange concert every year with the orchestra of Elwood John Glenn High School. The orchestra also host an annual Orchestra Tea in the spring, where students perform solos or in small groups. Additionally, POBJFK boasts a chamber orchestra, made up of the most talented students in the string orchestra, as well as a full orchestra, consisting of the string orchestra and selected students from the wind ensemble. Both of these groups perform at the semi-annual orchestra concerts. The string orchestra has competed at the NYSSMA Major Organization festival every year for the past 17 years. In recent years, the orchestra has only received grades of Gold and Gold with Distinction, including Gold with Distinctions in 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Athletics

The Plainview Hawks compete in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Section 8. Each year, Plainview's teams produce All-Conference, All-County, and All-State athletes. Plainview offers a wide variety of athletics, including:

& - The cross country team is Co-Ed
% - The gymnastics team is combined with Bethpage High School.
# - The ice hockey team is combined with Hicksville High School.

Extra-Curricular Activities

Extracurricular activities [ http://pob.k12.ny.us/pobjfkhs/POBJFKHS-Club%20Activities-2006-07.pdf POBJFKHS Club Activities 2006-2007] include (but are not limited to):
*Anime Club
*Art Club
*Broadway Theatre Club
*Community Service Club
*"Creative Patterns", the district's literary-art magazine
*DECA, the business-marketing club
*Drama Cadets, who produce a Fall play and Spring musical each year
*Federal Challenge
*Foreign Culture Club
*"Images", the school's literary-art magazine
*Increase the Peace (formerly Students Opposing Violence and Hatred)
*The "Hawk Eye" (formerly the "Spectrum"), the school newspaper
*Mathletes
*Model United Nations (METMUNC), which has hosted a conference every fall since 1971
*Moot Court Club
*The "Odyssey" Yearbook
*Photography Club
*POBOTS, the school's robotics team
*POBTV
*Quiz Bowl team
*Students Against Destructive Decisions, which hosts two blood drives and a substance-free sleepover each year
*Science Olympiad
*STRIDES, the gay-straight alliance
*Student Government, which sponsors the annual Battle of the Classes along with various other activities throughout the year
*Technical Service
*Wall Street Investors
*WPOB Radio
*Youth Against Cancer

Additionally, POBJFK is the only school on Long Island to host a SING! production every year, in which the classes in teams of Freshman/Sophomore, Junior, and Senior compete in skits that each team writes and performs.

WPOB

The school's radio station, WPOB, can be heard from 7:00AM - 2:30PM on 88.5 FM in Plainview-Old Bethpage and the surrounding area. WPOB has been broadcasting since 1972. The station is run as part of the Business Department. WPOB is broadcast by students partaking in a three-year course in radio engineering, producing, and broadcasting. POBJFK shares the frequency with nearby Syosset High School's WKWZ, which broadcasts on the frequency from 2:30PM - 11:00PM.

Senior Prank

POBJFK made headlines when the Class of 2006 pulled a senior prank in which students placed a car on the school's roof on the last day of classes. The car, or rather shell of a car, which was painted hot pink and covered in green question marks, was lifted onto the school's roof directly above Principal James Murray's office. Mr. Murray responded to the prank by wearing a hot pink tie with green question marks on it to the 2006 graduation.

Notable Alumni

Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School (1991-Present)

* [http://z100.elvisduran.com/pages/bios.html?feed=132276&article=512401 Scotty B] , class of 1993, Z100 DJ
*Aaron Karo, class of 1997, comedian
*Brian Mandelbaum, class of 1999, "The Apprentice" season 4 contestant
*Jason Rutcofsky, class of 2001, musician in the ska band High School Football Heroes
*Jamil Soriano, class of 1999, a member of the New England Patriots for the 2003 and 2004 seasons

John F. Kennedy High School (1966-1991)

* [http://imdb.com/name/nm0292774/ David J. Frederick] , class of 1975, cinematographer
* Brad Greenberg, class of 1972, the head coach of the Radford University basketball team. Previously, he has been an assistant coach at multiple colleges, as well as in the National Basketball Association with the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Clippers
* Seth Greenberg, class of 1974, graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University and is the head coach of the Virginia Tech men's basketball team.
*Marc Iavaroni, graduate of John F. Kennedy High School and the University of Virginia, played for three National Basketball Association teams between 1982 and 1989, including the 1983 NBA Champion Philadelphia 76ers. After finishing his playing career overseas, Iavaroni began his coaching career as an assistant at University of Virginia in 1992. After serving as an assistant coach for three NBA teams, Iavaroni was named the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies.
* [http://imdb.com/name/nm0578857/ Eric Mendelsohn] , actor, writer, director

Plainview-Old Bethpage High School (ca. 1960-1991)

*Jeffrey Miller, class of 1968, who died at the May 4, 1970 shooting at Kent State University. Recently, the students of POBJFKHS erected a memorial in Miller's honor. His mother was a secretary at JFK High School in the late 1960's.
*Robin Young (fka Robin Cardwell Youngs) class of 1968 is a Boston-based radio host and local television personality with work reaching back into the mid-1970s when she hosted Evening Magazine for WBZ-TV. She currently hosts Public Radio International's daily news magazine Here and Now which is produced at WBUR in Boston.She's been a correspondent for ABC, NBC, CBS and the Discovery Channel and she has won both the Peabody and CableACE Awards for documentary film making and five Emmy Awards for excellence in broadcasting.

External links

* [http://pob.k12.ny.us Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District]
* [http://www.pobct.org Plainview-Old Bethpage Congress of Teachers]
* [http://www.thehawkeye.net The Hawkeye]
* [http://www.wpob.com WPOB]
* [http://www.jfkbands.org POBJFK Bands]
* [http://www.geocities.com/chockfullofnotes Chock Full of Notes]
* [http://thepobsharps.tripod.com The BSharps]
* [http://wearenoteworthy.tripod.com Noteworthy]
* [http://www.freewebs.com/pobjfkmetmunc METMUNC Model United Nations Club]
* [http://www.newsday.com/news/local/education/ny-lisiem1204,0,4637099.story Plainview students win top Siemens science prize]

References