An overview of the Great Neck Public Schools Class of 2006 reveals 544 graduates from our three high schools: 241 from North, 290 from South, and 13 from the Village School. Almost 98 percent of the graduates will pursue higher education in either four- or two-year colleges. The remainder historically seeks employment, vocational training, or enlistment in the Armed Services. The North and South High School graduation ceremonies take place on Thursday, June 22, at Tilles Center, C.W. Post Campus, Long Island University, with South's ceremony in the afternoon and North's in the evening. The Village School graduation was held on Wednesday afternoon, June 21, at the school.

In addition to the traditional awards below, several new awards were established this year. These new awards and the student speeches - a vital part of the graduation ceremonies - will appear in future editions of this newspaper.

Valedictorians are Julie Hersh at North High School and Alan Chou at South High School. Benjamin Laitman is Salutatorian at North High. Wing Kay (Grace) Yuen is Salutatorian at South. Julie Hersh is a National Merit Scholarship Finalist and an Advanced Placement Scholar with Honor. She was a writer and editor for four years on the school newspaper, Guide Post, and a contributor to International Tongues, foreign language magazine, and Epiphany, literary journal. An accomplished violist, she took top scores in the NYSSMA All-County Orchestra. She was a three-year member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society and its co-vice president in her senior year. She took honors in the National Spanish Examination and was named a "Young Woman of Achievement" by the National Organization for Women (NOW), Nassau Chapter. Julie plans to attend Yale University in the fall. Alan Chou is a National Merit $2,500 Scholarship Winner, a National Advanced Placement Scholar, and a semifinalist in the Intel Science Talent Search and the Siemens Westinghouse Science Competition. He was a Silver Medalist in the USA Math Talent Search, a Gold Medalist at the Long Island Math Fair, and achieved perfect scores as a member of the Nassau County All-Star Math Team. Alan was an Individual Top Scorer in the American Computer Science League Contest, president of South High's Computer Club, and a Gold Medalist four years in a row in the National Latin Exam. He was Latin editor, and illustrator and contributor of poetry and short stories in Latin and Chinese for the school's foreign language magazine, Mosaic. He played the cello as a member of the All-State String Orchestra, the All-County Symphony Orchestra, and a South High chamber group that performed at the Lincoln Center Young Musicians Chamber Music Competition. Alan is a Varsity Epee Fencer and was a member of the second-place team at the Nassau County Fencing Championships. He is also a Tae Kwon Do Second-Degree Black Belt. Alan plans to attend Harvard University. Benjamin Laitman is an Advanced Placement Scholar with Distinction, and took High Honors at the Long Island Science Congress, Senior Division, and second place at the Rohm and Hass Invitational Science Fair. He was a top scorer in the National Latin Exam. Benjamin was active in North High's Student Government and the Model UN. He was a peer leader, and an editor of the school yearbook, Arista, and the school newspaper, Guide Post. He was an All-Conference wrestler and captain of North's wrestling team. Benjamin was a volunteer firefighter with the Great Neck Vigilant Fire Company. He plans to attend the University of Pennsylvania in September. Wing Kay (Grace) Yuen is a National Advanced Placement Scholar, a National Latin Exam Gold Medalist, an All-State flutist and All-County violinist. She was a participant in the highly selective Columbia University Science Honors Program, a member of South High's Science Olympiad Team, and secretary of and top scorer on the Math Team. Grace was editor-in-chief of Mosaic, the foreign-language magazine, and also contributed essays in Chinese and Spanish. She was a member of South's Varsity Badminton Team and the New York City Badminton Club. Grace plans to attend the University of Pennsylvania.

Julie Hersh and Benjamin Laitman at North (North's valedictorian and salutatorian are traditionally the school's recipients) and David Eckstein and Devra Noren at South are this year's Barstow Award winners. The coveted Barstow Award was established in 1962 by Françoise and William Barstow in memory of their only son, Frederic Duclos Barstow, who died of pneumonia at age 35. The Barstows were prominent Great Neck residents after whom Barstow Road is named. Recipients of the annual Barstow Award must be in the top 10 percent of their class and be "outstanding in leadership, citizenship, scholarship, and service." Each recipient receives a monetary prize.

David Eckstein is an Advanced Placement Scholar with Honor and a Silver Medalist in the National Latin Exam. He was very active in the South High DECA Club, an international association for students and teachers of marketing, management, and entrepreneurship. David took first place in DECA County and State events, and scored among the Top 10 on the International Level. He was school, county, and regional president of DECA. At South High, David was also active in the Key Club, Model Congress, the school newspaper, The Southerner, and the swim team. He plans to attend Washington University in St. Louis in the fall.

Devra Noren is an Advanced Placement Scholar with Honor, a four-year member and captain of the swim team, vice president of her Junior and senior class, and a member of Key Club. She plans to attend Lehigh University in September.

The recipient of the Scott Moss Award, a South High award, is Jessica Rush. This award was established in 1977, in memory of Scott, who was an outstanding South student until his death from cancer. The Award is given to the graduating senior who exemplifies the "service, concern, interest, and ability of Scott Moss."

Jessica Rush is a National Merit Commended Scholar and an Advanced Placement Scholar with Honor. She received the Nassau County Athletic Award and was named a Varsity Volleyball Scholar Athlete. She was also a member of the Varsity Track Team and the Environmental Club. Jessica was a four-year member of the Student Government and was president in her senior year. She will attend Dartmouth College in the fall.

The recipient of the Alan L. Gleitsman Award, a North High award, is announced at North's graduation ceremony (which took place after the press deadline for this article) and will appear in a future edition of this newspaper.