Lindenhurst Students Busy With Arts, Sciences

LINDENHURST, NY — March has been a busy month in the Lindenhurst schools.

High School Thespians Delight with Spring Production

The Lindenhurst High School Thespian Troupe and music department put on a successful spring production of Little Shop of Horrors in March. Audiences were enthralled by this rock musical’s tale of love and ambition—as well its man-eating plant.

Lead actor David Schrader played the hapless protagonist Seymour, while Julie Ricotta played his flower shop co-worker and secret crush Audrey. In a remarkable feat of puppetry and talent, the play’s killer plant, Audrey II, was brought to life by students Bean Cameron and John Delio and was voiced by Phoenix Desroches. Ayla Jennings played greedy shop owner Mr. Mushnik, Riley Buckley played Audrey’s abusive dentist boyfriend Dr. Orin Scrivello.

Cassandra Herrador, Zayla Rodriguez, and Chihiro Hall played the narrators Crysal, Ronnette, and Chiffon, respectively.

Together, the cast brought Skid Row—the rundown setting of the play—to life, much to the audiences’ delight.

Little Shop of Horrors ran on March 15 and 16, with a special free performance for the community’s senior citizens on March 13.

Visiting Academics from St. John’s U. Talk AI and Classroom Impact

Visiting academics from St. John’s University recently visited Lindenhurst High School for a comprehensive discussion about artificial intelligence and the impact this rapidly evolving technology could have in the classroom.

Dr. James Wolfinger, Dean of the School of Education; Dr. Heather Robertson, Chair of Mental Health Counseling; Dr. Xiajun Chen, Curriculum & Instruction faculty; and Robert Cote, Director of Development/Planned Giving from St. John’s met with student representatives, teachers and District administrators for the discussion, which was held in the high school library.

The group talked about the anxieties surrounding the use of AI, the strengths and weaknesses of the technology as it exists today, the ways in which it can be harnessed as a learning tool, and its potential impact on the job market. The fruitful talk allowed for the different parties to express how they view AI and potentially help formulate school policy about its use.

Computer Science and Physics Students Take Field Trip to Stony Brook

Lindenhurst High School physics and computer science students recently took a trip to Stony Brook University to learn about quantum computing. The visit gave the students a hands-on opportunity to see and learn about cutting-edge computer science principles.

Quantum computers have the potential to revolutionize computing and perform tasks many times faster than the most modern traditional computers today. Stony Brook has become a research hub for this emerging technology, and the Lindenhurst students had the opportunity to interact with the computer science, mathematics and physics experts who are developing this potentially revolutionary technology.

The students also took part in some hands-on activities and experiments that demonstrated some of the theory that underpins quantum physics and quantum computing.

The students were from Mr. Habibi's computer science classes and Mr. Smith's physics classes.