From G-Star Founder, Greg Hauptner

This is the PB Post front page July 24, 2014:

PALM BEACH COUNTY WORST IN U.S. FOR TEEN ECSTASY USE (also known as “Molly”)!
Los Angeles is 2nd, and San Diego is 3rd.  It gets worse.  PB County high school students are 1st in binge drinking (Miami is 3rd), 3rd in cocaine use (Chicago is 4th below PBC), 2nd in methamphetamines use (Detroit is 9th), and 4th in heroin use (Washington, D.C. is 6th) in the entire nation! 

For 11 years G-Star has been a very safe school…and continues to be so.  I may be the Founder of this school, but I am also a parent of four students who have attended here.  We work hard every day to keep drugs and bullying out of our school.  After reading the article in the Post newspaper, it makes me realize how important our strict drug and bullying policy is at our school.  We want every student to feel safe and every parent to feel confident in knowing that at G-Star, drugs and bullying are not tolerated.  We will continue to dismiss and prosecute students possessing or selling drugs and/or engaging in bullying in order to keep a safe and healthy environment at our school.  We love our students, care about them, and will protect them in every way possible.  Below are some comments written by three of our graduating seniors about their time at G-Star:

“I was a transfer student to G-Star for junior and senior year.  When I first came I was surprised that the students were so diverse and loving.  I escaped the atmosphere of hate and envy from my old school and felt so welcome and I made friends quickly.  I love the liberal and accepting attitudes of the people and students.  G-Star to me is a haven from bullying and hate that is found at other schools and a canvas of self-art that is individuality.”

“G-Star has been a place for expression for me.  Here you are never judged on the way you dress or act. At G-Star I have witnessed some for the best teachers that actually care about their students, and to me that is what drives a student.  I have progressed in school just by knowing that someone cares if I succeed or not.  G-Star has allowed me to have the confidence I now have to pursue my dreams.  I have been given opportunities adults could only dream of, let alone children.  G-Star means a future to me.”

“G-star is safe, fun and it has great teachers and administrators that always take care of you.”

Over 71,000 views of the G-Star NewsBlog!

From G-Star Founder, Greg Hauptner 
Here is the PB Post front page July 24, 2014 headline:
 

PALM BEACH COUNTY WORST IN U.S. FOR TEEN ECSTASY USE (also known as “Molly”)!

Los Angeles is 2nd, and San Diego is 3rd.  It gets worse.  PB County high school students are 1st in binge drinking (Miami is 3rd), 3rd in cocaine use (Chicago is 4th below PBC), 2nd in methamphetamines use (Detroit is 9th), and 4th in heroin use (Washington, D.C. is 6th) in the entire nation! 

 

For 11 years G-Star has been a very safe school…and continues to be so.  I may be the Founder of this school, but I am also a parent of four students who have attended here.  We work hard every day to keep drugs and bullying out of our school.  After reading the article in the Post newspaper, it makes me realize how important our strict drug and bullying policy is at our school.  We want every student to feel safe and every parent to feel confident in knowing that at G-Star, drugs and bullying are not tolerated.  We will continue to dismiss and prosecute students possessing or selling drugs and/or engaging in bullying in order to keep a safe and healthy environment at our school.  We love our students, care about them, and will protect them in every way possible.  Below are some comments written by three of our graduating seniors about their time at G-Star:

 

“I was a transfer student to G-Star for junior and senior year.  When I first came I was surprised that the students were so diverse and loving.  I escaped the atmosphere of hate and envy from my old school and felt so welcome and I made friends quickly.  I love the liberal and accepting attitudes of the people and students.  G-Star to me is a haven from bullying and hate that is found at other schools and a canvas of self-art that is individuality.”

 

“G-Star has been a place for expression for me.  Here you are never judged on the way you dress or act. At G-Star I have witnessed some for the best teachers that actually care about their students, and to me that is what drives a student.  I have progressed in school just by knowing that someone cares if I succeed or not.  G-Star has allowed me to have the confidence I now have to pursue my dreams.  I have been given opportunities adults could only dream of, let alone children.  G-Star means a future to me.”

 

“G-star is safe, fun and it has great teachers and administrators that always take care of you.”

 

 

July 20, 2014 - Over 70,000 views on our G-Star NewsBlog!

IT'S A BUSY SUMMER!

    We’ve been told that people don’t read long blogs.  Maybe so, but you might want to read on to find out how The Beatles were signed on to be the four Hobbits in “Lord of the Rings” and which G-Star teacher did the deal.  Can you guess?

    We've been working hard over the summer to get ready for a great new school year.  As always, we're proud of our "A" school rating and we keep improving our educational methods to better serve our students.  Coming soon you will see a new and improved website that will be more user friendly.  We have hired a new Director of Social Media who will be building our social media contacts with parents and students to give out much more information on daily school life as well as our plans for this school year and the future.  Our goal is to increase our responsiveness to parent's inquires on all subjects. 

    We have a new addition to our expert Film teaching staff this year.  Mr. Frank Eberling is a well-known feature film and documentary filmmaker who has helped create the film industry here in Palm Beach County through his own productions.  His latest feature film has just been picked up for world-wide distribution.  Mr. Eberling will be following in the tradition of Mr. Ron Paolillo (Horshak of Welcome Back, Kotter fame) teaching "Acting for Camera", the program Mr. Paolillo created here at G-Star.  It is the only acting discipline of its type in a Palm Beach County high school - and it is distinctly different from theater acting.  If you want to be an actor in the movies, Acting for Camera is the class for you!

    Did you know that G-Star is the only high school in Florida that films a student-produced professional feature film every year?  The opportunity to work on the professional student film is open to all students.  Students are given a film budget and must follow the complete process from script to screen under professional conditions.  There is an audition process not only for actors, but also for crew members.  Each student must show a portfolio of their work at the school and on professional productions, and do a presentation of their skills before our Film Department instructors.  Each production "hires" 60 to over 100 students to work on the film.  The next time you pull up to the main academic building look at the eight-foot tall movie posters on the side of the building.  Those are the professional student feature films produced each year for the last eleven years.

    In a recent G-Star NewsBlog we noted that our fabulous Drama Department is one of the top in the entire State of Florida.  Each year we go to State in Tampa and garner top thespian awards.  Our Principal, Mrs. Collins, last year was named "Outstanding Arts Administrator" for Florida by the Florida Association for Theater Education that puts on the State thespian competition in Tampa.  We also proudly announced that the PBC Pathfinder Awards, the area's number one competition for all high schools the County, awarded the Best Actor award to G-Star thespians two out of the last three years.  This year's winner was Kyle Douglas.  The Palm Beach International Film Festival's Student Showcase is the film contest for the best in film for the entire State.  The most prestigious award, the Burt Reynolds Scholarship Award for Filmmaking has been won three years in a row by G-Star students.  This year's winner was Raymond Knudsen.  In fact, G-Star has even swept the competition with a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd finish!

    Here's another little known fact: G-Star has the only Entertainment Law course in high school.  The teacher, Mr. Alan Benjamin, is a retired attorney who was a Vice President of both MGM and United Artists where he oversaw films such as all the James Bond and Rocky films during his 25-year tenure.  His course, The Business of Motion Pictures, has not only inspired many students to pursue a law career, he has saved many students from ruining their careers with detrimental contract language.  Mr. Benjamin's course is extremely popular because he has anecdotes for every lesson.  Many are hilarious, but true, such as when his uncle, Robert Benjamin, bought United Artists from Charlie Chaplin on the boarding ramp to an ocean liner as he was being pursued (literally) by the FBI and the Treasury Department; to owning the rights to "Lord of the Rings" when he signed The Beatles (that's right: John, Paul, George, and Ringo) to star in the film as the four Hobbits.  The deal was too expensive at the time for MGM and was eventually sold.

    There are many more programs we are working on for this coming school year including our Hollywood Special Effects program.  On August 3rd from 2-5 PM our G-Star Studios Free Workshop is being offered to learn Hollywood Monster Makeup and Dance, Hollywood Special Visual FX, Film Production & Crew, and Film & TV Acting in a Sit Com.

    Lots more to come!