Huntington School Briefs
The Washington Primary School PTA is spearheading a Thanksgiving food drive to benefit the Helping Hands Rescue Mission. Classes have been assigned different food items to collect. The goods will be used to provide needy families with breakfast and dinner on Thanksgiving. Representatives from the HHRM will be at the school on November 18, visiting classrooms, thanking students and teachers and collecting food items.
Next SEPTA Meeting
The Huntington School District's Special Education PTA (SEPTA) will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, November 30 at 7 p.m. at J. Taylor Finley Middle School.
Special education teacher and Huntington parent Jenn Machin will be the guest speaker at the meeting. There will be a follow-up parenting workshop related to the theory and practical application of the research and work of Dr. Carol Dweck, a motivational psychologist and the author of the book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
Discussion topics will include: How different types of praise can encourage or diminish effort; How to reduce learned helplessness and increase independence in your child; How to help your child see struggle as valuable instead of a sign of incompetence; How to help your child respond productively when faced with challenge and/or failure.
Spring Musical on Drawing Board
Fresh off a successful fall production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Huntington High School drama club is already turning its attention to its planned spring musical production of Cinderella.
While auditions and rehearsals are still months away, the spring production is set for Friday, March 30 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 31 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
School Board Meeting
The Huntington School Board will hold a public meeting on Monday, November 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the Jack Abrams School auditorium. Trustees will conduct regular district business. Residents will be given an opportunity to address trustees. A meeting agenda will be posted on the district website at www.hufsd.edu prior to the meeting.
Blue Devil Band Places Fourth in State
The Huntington High School Blue Devil marching band placed fourth in its division at the New York State Field Band Assn. championships at Syracuse University.
The Blue Devils notched a score of 82.3, better than all but three bands in the 12-school division. The co-directors of the band, Jason Giachetti and Brian Stellato congratulated their young musicians on "a great championship performance" and "on an extremely successful competitive season. Your staff is so proud of all your hard work."
Alumni Update on Lindyn Soviero
Lindyn Soviero, a member of Huntington High School's Class of 2004, is associate director of events and communications at Yorkville Common Pantry, which is located at 8 E. 109th Street in Manhattan. She has worked for the organization since November 2009.
Ms. Soviero obtained a BA degree in sociology at Hofstra University in 2008. She played on Hofstra's varsity women's lacrosse team and was a member of Students for a Greener Earth .
Yorkville's food pantry is New York City's largest community food pantry. It distributes grocery packages to as many as 1,800 needy families each week and served two million meals in 2010. The pantry focuses on east Harlem and similar underserved city communities.
Ms. Soviero has also helped coordinate the Jana Lee Piccola Foundation's annual Walk 4Love, which has raised tens of thousands of dollars for pediatric cancer research. Ms. Piccola was a member of Huntington's Class of 2004 and one of Ms. Soviero's classmates.
The Huntington grad interned at The Pearlman Music Program and worked as assistant athletic facilities and events coordinator for 15 months at Hofstra University.
Woodhull Club Advisors
Huntington School Board members have approved a set of Woodhull Intermediate School faculty advisors for the club program at the school. Teachers Christine Barresi and Scott Armyn were appointed to work as the student government advisors. Paul Esposito (School of Rock), Allison VonVange (drama club director), Pamela Jacovino (drama club assistant director), Todd Hiscox (art club and drama club scenery and stage crew) and Keith Meyers (AV coordinator) were also approved for club advisor positions.