Huntington School Briefs
Geraldine Green, a retired Huntington School District teacher, passed away in January. She was 84 years old. Mrs. Green began working for the district on April 18, 1966 and retired June 30, 1986.
During her career in Huntington, Mrs. Green taught reading at Woodhull, Flower Hill, Jefferson, J. Taylor Finley Junior High School, Robert K. Toaz Junior High School and St. Patrick's School. (By law, the district provided a compensatory reading teacher to St. Patrick's.)
Mrs. Green, who was predeceased by her husband Ernest in 2004, earned an undergraduate degree at Queens College in 1947 and obtained a master's degree in education, with a specialty in reading, at Hofstra University in 1972.
LEP/ELL Parent Workshops
Huntington School Board members have approved faculty members for Limited English Proficiency/English Language Learner parent workshops during the 2010/11 school year. Carmen Kasper was appointed as the program administrator. She will be paid a stipend of $4,000.
Trustees appointed teachers Luz Marotta, Angela Berner, Donnamarie O'Shaughnessy, Vivian Joseph, Nancy Giorgos and Glenn Edwards to work in the program for up to 10 hours at $48.97 per hour. The program is funded through a Title I LEP/ELL grant.
Math Honor Society
This year's Huntington High School Math Honor Society is led by students David Stillman (president), Sami Aiman (vice president), Meghan Rowland (secretary), Michael O'Connor (treasurer) and Alexandra Kiley (tutoring coordinator). Teacher Monica Raca serves as the organization's faculty advisor.
Long-Term Sub Teachers
At their public meeting on February 7, Huntington School Board members appointed Carly Fiorelli (English, J. Taylor Finley Middle School) and Tina Balducci (special education, Washington Primary School) as long-term substitute teachers.
Ms. Fiorelli obtained a BA degree in English literature at Dowling College in 2007. She has worked as a substitute teacher in Connetquot, a leave replacement and summer school teacher in West Babylon and as a leave replacement teacher in the Valley Stream Central, Kings Park, Farmingdale and Huntington school districts. She has also been a night school teacher in West Babylon since October 2008. Her previous leave replacement stint at Finley saw her working there from January-April 2009.
Ms. Balducci earned a BA degree in psychology at SUNY Stony Brook in 2006 and a master's degree in special education/general education at Hofstra University in 2009.
She has worked at the Building Blocks Development Pre-School in Commack and as a kindergarten and first grade case aide and as a first grade inclusion case aide in the Huntington School District.
District officials reviewed 35 applications, pre-screened eight candidates and conducted four personal interviews before recommending Ms. Balducci for appointment.
Saturday Academy Staff Appointments
Huntington School Board members made additional appointments to the district's Saturday Academy faculty ranks. Trustees appointed teachers Ivona Catanzaro, Lauren Frisenda, Alexandra O'Leary, Lisa Sullivan, Maria Acevedo, Justine Triola, Katharine Hicks, Brian Hansen, John Okula, Peter Ravo and Maria Malizia.
The teachers were authorized to work up nine sessions of three hours each. They will be paid at the rate of $48.97 per hour.
PTA Presidents to Meet
The Huntington School District's PTA presidents are set to meet on Monday, February 28 at 9:45 a.m. in the rotunda at Jack Abrams School.
The PTA presidents will meet with the PTA Council executive board. The group typically meets in closed session once a month and discusses issues at each building and news from regional and state PTA organizations.
Schools Closed but Offices Open
Schools will be closed from February 21-25 but Huntington School District offices will be open on February 22-25. (The district offices will be closed on Monday, Februrary 21 in honor of President's Day.) The central administrative offices are located in the lower level north wing at Jack Abrams School. The entrance and a dedicated parking lot is on Tower Street.