How many Colin C. Cubinskis are at Great Neck North High School? I know what you’re thinking: only one, right? He does work harder than all of us after all, so no others are necessary.
Well, apparently, for Halloween 2023, North High’s Advanced Placement Computer Science A class unanimously decided that the answer was nine plus teacher Cubinski himself– oh, and one student dressed as teacher John Zak thrown in there, sporting some sarcastically enthusiastic Islanders gear.
“We were trying to find a way to pull some sort of prank on Mr. Cubinski… [and] we didn’t want to wait until the very end of the year, [so] we came up with the idea of dressing as him for Halloween,” said senior Skyler Damaghi. “Originally it was a joke but soon turned into something we all actually wanted to do. [It was] our way of showing appreciation for all that he has done for us. ”
As a prank on their beloved Computer Science teacher, the ten students organized a joint Halloween costume mob where all the students identically dressed in Cubinski’s iconic graph paper button-down shirts, khakis, glasses, ties, and name tags. Together, they surprised him on Halloween morning in the math office for a group photo.
Of course, one of the students, senior Zach Hyman, wore a Zak name tag and dressed in an Islanders shirt and to reference their teacher’s support for their rival Rangers and poke fun at the math department’s vehement hockey debates. The aptly named “Semicolon Sphere-Out-Snowboards” brought a student-made fake AP CSA exam, complete with an answer key, and a poster board with them to surprise their teacher.
“Mr. Cubinski was overjoyed when all of the new Cubinskis walked into the math office. You would have thought that the Islanders had finally beat out the Rangers with how elated he was… we could tell by his expression that he wished that dressing up as him was something that happened everyday,” senior Ryan Cho said.
The prank was organized weeks in advance, with students forming a group chat in order to coordinate outfits.
Cubinski reacted in an expectedly sarcastic manner, expressing his reluctant approval of the organized mob while highlighting the irony of their lack of dedication to their projects in contrast with the immense effort put into this holiday prank. After having taken a group photo, he even commented that he ought to retire after experiencing such a masterful display of the cultish behavior of his students. Coincidentally, Halloween was one of the rare occasions when Cubinski did not dress in professional attire akin to the costume, nor did he dress up in a costume for Halloween.
“I thought his reaction was great. He was amused and still managed to poke fun at us,” said Damaghi.
This prank was just one of many well-orchestrated costume ideas among the student body, so be sure to take a look at the photo album accompanying this feature to see some more amazing outfits!
