Huntington School Briefs
Students and parents are invited to stop by J. Taylor Finley Middle School on Friday, September 2 to tour the building, look for classrooms and make sure lockers and combinations are in good working order. The building will be open for seventh graders between 8:30-11 a.m. Eighth graders can visit between 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Guidance counselors Cathy Cain and Phil Lowe will be on hand to answer questions about schedules and related topics. Finley Principal John Amato and Assistant Principal Kenneth Parham will also be available to speak with students and parents.
"There will not be a formal presentation," Mr. Amato said. "This is a student and parent tour and visitation day."
Huntington High School Orientation
Incoming Huntington High School freshman and their parents will participate in an orientation program at the school on Thursday, September 1. The program will begin with introductory remarks at 9:30 a.m. by Principal Carmela Leonardi and Superintendent James W. Polansky. Participants will be introduced to administrators, PTSA leaders, student council officers and advisors and Natural Helpers and peer mediators.
Freshmen will rotate through several sessions with guidance counselors and student leaders during which they will learn more about the clubs and activities at the school, the role of administrators and support staff and the availability of the peer mediation and Natural Helpers programs. There will also be a role play during one of the sessions. Students will be able to tour the building, check on their locker location and try out the combination.
While incoming freshmen are participating in their specialized sessions, parents will be engaged in a discussion in the auditorium with building administrators and department leaders on school policies and procedures and "important things to know about the high school."
The orientation will conclude with an 11:30 a.m. picnic in the courtyard for students and parents.
SCOPE's Annual Dinner Meeting
Huntington School District Superintendent James W. Polansky and new Huntington School Board members Jennifer Hebert and Adam Spector attended SCOPE's 27th annual dinner meeting earlier this month on St. John's University's Oakdale campus.
The event drew hundreds of superintendents and district trustees from across Long Island. Gary McGuey, an author and senior consultant of the Franklin Covey Group made a presentation on "Working Together from a Core Set of Values."
Dr. Joseph J. Del Rosso (SCOPE executive director), Dr. Charles Russo (president of the SCOPE board of directors) and Professor Jonathan T. Hughes (director of the St. John's University Oakdale Center for Educational Leadership and Accountability) also spoke during the gathering.
Major event sponsors included American Investment Planners, LLC, CORE BTS, Inc., Lamb & Barnosky, LLP, School Construction Consultants, Inc., Suffolk Transportation, Inc. and Tetra Tech Architects & Engineers.
Finley Preps for Opening Day
J. Taylor Finley Middle School Principal John Amato plans to have everything in place for the opening day of school on Wednesday, September 7. He recently sent home a letter outlining certain organizational details.
"This year there is a new homeroom starting time," Mr. Amato said. "The homeroom bell rings at 8:00 a.m. to begin the Pledge of Allegiance and the morning announcements. All students are expected to be at homeroom on time every day. The daily bell schedule is available on the district website on the 'Finley' link. For students who take buses, the bus stop information and time will be mailed to homes. For walkers and parent drop-offs, please follow the directions of our security guards, Tracie Philbert and Derek Hankinson. We encourage parents to drop-off students by 7:50 a.m. so that they have enough time to go to their lockers and get to homeroom."
Next School Board Meeting
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Huntington School Board will be held on Monday, August 29, 2010 at 7 p.m. in the large group instruction room at J. Taylor Finley Middle School. The public will be given an opportunity to address trustees.
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.