Huntington School Briefs
J. Taylor Finley Middle School eighth graders Josh Solomowitz, Kevin Solomowitz, Kathryn Petrozzo, Alexis Weitzner, Joshua Morris and Jessica Baik earned Outstanding Achievement awards in social studies at this past spring’s academic awards night.
Brent Filippini, William Hannon and Megan Hansen won similar awards in Earth Science and Jennifer Polster, Jonathan Wood, Kylee Kiesel, Daniel Moya and Molly Prep were honored with English department awards.
Teacher Returns to Huntington
Joan Castles is returning to the Huntington School District after an eight year absence. She has been hired as a long-term substitute special education teacher at the high school at least through the first semester of the 2009/10 school year.
Ms. Castles earned an A.S. degree in health education at Nassau Community College in June 1988 and went on to obtain a B.A. in health education at Queens College in December 1991 and an M.A. in special education at C.W. Post College in January 1997.
After serving as a health teacher at IS 93 in Ridgewood, Queens from October 1993 through June 1998, Ms. Castles came to Huntington to work as a special education from September 1998 through June 2001, when she left to raise a family.
Enrollment Projection Report
Assistant Superintendent Joseph Giani pegs the district’s projection 2009/10 enrollment at 4,455 students. Current projections are for 1,253 students at the high school level, including 354 freshman and 256 seniors, 682 at J. Taylor Finley Middle School, 534 at Jack Abrams Intermediate School, 530 at Woodhull Intermediate School, 380 at Washington Primary School, 372 at Flower Hill Primary School, 355 at Jefferson Primary School and 349 at Southdown Primary School.
Homecoming Day Update
The Huntington High School homecoming parade is scheduled for Saturday, October 17 at 11:30 a.m. It will start at Gerard Street, proceed down Main Street and then up New York Avenue, before heading west on Holdsworth Drive to the school. The parade will be followed by a 2 p.m. football game between the Blue Devils and Harborfields. A dance for students will be held in the gym from 8 p.m. to midnight.
Informal alumni gatherings are expected to held at various locations in Huntington village throughout the weekend. The Class of 1959 will be holding its 50th reunion over the same weekend.
September’s Special
The Huntington School District will celebrate Spanish Heritage Month during September. Various special activities and displays are planned in individual buildings.
All-County Music Festival
This year’s All-County Music Festival is slated for Thursday and Friday, November 19-20 at Hauppauge High School. A rehearsal is set for Thursday from 3 – 9 p.m. and on Friday from 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. A full concert will be held on Friday at 8 p.m.
For more information contact Director of Fine and Performing Arts Joan Fretz at 673-2106 or jfretz@hufsd.edu.
Leaves of Absence
Huntington School Board members granted child care related leaves of absence to Jack Abrams School classroom teacher Adrienne DiMaggio (Sept. 1 – Jan. 29, 2010), Washington School speech therapist Blake Woodworth (Sept. 1 – Jan. 29, 2010) and Jefferson School classroom teacher Jennie Higgins (Sept. 1 – Nov. 30).
Music Donations
Huntington resident Sharon Garfinkel has donated a Ludwig Accent power drum set with cymbals to the band program at J. Taylor Finley Middle School. The equipment is valued at $600.
Resident Gina Caroll has donated a used Benjamin Adams trumpet to the music department. It is valued at $200.
Magazine Bid Awarded
The Huntington School District participates in a cooperative bidding program with other districts through Educational Data Services. Recently EDS opened four bids for magazines. Galaxy Magazine Service was determined to be the lowest responsible bidder meeting the specifications. Huntington’s share of the bid came to $8,520.70.
Budget Transfers
At their meeting this past Monday night, Huntington School Board members approved two budget transfers from one account to another to cover costs associated with curriculum projects in the English and social studies departments ($2,000) and fifth grade science workbooks for students at Jack Abrams Intermediate School ($2,200).
SCOPE Membership
Once again, the Huntington School District will be a member of SCOPE Education Services. The membership year runs from September through the following August. According to its website, SCOPE “is a not-for-profit, private organization permanently chartered by the New York State Board of Regents to provide services to school districts. Founded in 1964 by school superintendents, it is a cooperative venture for sharing resources to deal with common concerns.”
The district will pay a membership fee of $3,840 for the year. Membership benefits include various publications, discounted tuition for School Board members, administrators and teachers at SCOPE conferences, seminars, workshops and special events, discounted fees for customized staff development program and School Board seminars, access to user-fee programs such as teacher and administrative placement, child care, management and demographic studies, longitudinal financial analysis, security-safe school assessments, fingerprinting of new employees, outdoor learning programs, child abuse prevention courses, continuing and adult education programs, paraprofessional training and assorted other programs and services.
Next School Board Meeting
The next regular meeting of the Huntington School Board is scheduled for Monday, August 24 at 7 p.m. in the J. Taylor Finley Middle School large group instruction room.
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