Huntington School Briefs
A trip to Washington, DC to compete in the US Department of Energy's National Science Bowl finals was an enlightening experience for Huntington High School science research students Aron Coraor, Jacob Roday, Brian Gilbert and Marc Feldman. The group was accompanied by science teachers Lori Kenny and Dame Forbes.
The students wore athletic-type jackets of the sort usually reserved for Blue Devil sports teams. The Rock at the high school was even painted in their honor as a send-off before they left for the nation's capital.
"We arrived there on Thursday afternoon and left Monday night," Mr. Coraor said. "On Friday we were allowed to attend two of five or so different lectures by guest speakers on topics as diverse as the environment and conservation, modern synthetic body armors, and the building of the newest supercomputers. Brian, Marc and I attended the latter two of these."
The Huntington students also participated in a guided tour of various famous monuments and visited the National Mall. "The actual competition that we participated in was held on Sunday," Mr. Coraor said. "It was very interesting and all of us had quite a lot of fun. It was very educational, even if we didn't win. So it was definitely worth the trip down, even just for the experience."
Smoot to Attend Univ. of Rhode Island
Huntington High School senior Nikki Smoot plans to attend the University of Rhode Island in the fall where she will study in honors program in the College of Nursing. She intends to become a registered nurse and then go graduate school to become a nurse practitioner or to specialize in a specific area of medicine.
"I decided to go to URI for many reasons," Ms. Smoot said. "I love its location because I'm only 5-to-10 minutes away from the ocean, about three and a half hours from home and I'm close to Newport and Providence. The nursing dorms are brand new at URI, which I also really like. Nursing is their second hardest major to get into, so they really value their nursing program at URI. I'll have access to many great hospitals for my clinicals and feel confident that URI will help prepare me for working in the field of nursing and eventually getting into grad school. I'm really excited."
Teacher Appreciation Week
This week was Teacher Appreciation Week in the Huntington School District. Superintendent James W. Polansky wrote to faculty members on Monday. "I'd like to take this opportunity to share my sincerest appreciation for what you do in the classroom each and every day," he said. "Our kids continue to make great strides as a result of your efforts and positive influence; your contributions do not go unnoticed. There is no doubt that their learning has been and will remain your foremost priority. Please take a moment to reflect upon and take pride in the many students whose lives you have touched. Once again, many thanks for all that you do."
Pam Piffard on Molly Prep
Huntington High School photography teacher Pamela Piffard has formed a close bond with senior Molly Prep over the years. The Long Island Arts Alliance honored the teenager and fellow Class of 2013 member Francesca Gray with the group's Scholar-Artist Award during a recent gala held at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of LIU Post.
"One word comes to mind when I think of Molly; phenomenal," Ms. Piffard said. "Getting to know Molly over the past three years has been a privilege. She has such a big heart and she is so creative and hard working. She has allowed me to share my passion for photography while also sharing her hopes and fears for life in general. She embraces her own personal growth and is such a mature and grounded young woman always looking to be the best person she can be."
About 200 Long Island students were nominated the LI Arts Alliance honor with ten award winners selected for each of Nassau and Suffolk counties. Nominees were asked to submit artwork and essays on "how are has helped you", along with recommendations.
"Art saved me from my past and is helping me discover who I want to be," Mr. Prep wrote in her essay. "In eleventh grade, I signed up for Introduction to Photography. In taking pictures, it was as if the viewfinder of a camera was a lens to my eye. I could see clearly beyond my restricting blinders to the detail, beauty and mystery of life. As I took more pictures, I focused in on this wondrous ability. I intended to try to see the world for something greater than the way people defined it otherwise. Suddenly, while training to see without the eye of the camera, I noticed more moments I wanted to capture and preserve. From the simple bend of a branch to the innocent glimmer in a child's eye, I saw moments before they happened, and yearned to record them. For the first time, my view of the world seemed to matter; not just how the world viewed me. I was newly able to create an artistic identity for myself, instead of being trapped in the mold of my past. I received pity-free criticism on my photography and worked hard to earn praise."
Ms. Prep plans to attend New York University in the fall where she hopes to expand her existing passions for writing, photography and the field of psychology as well as discovering new interests.
"As Elbert Hubbard once said, 'Art is not a thing; it is a way,'" Ms. Prep wrote in her essay. "I've found that photography has allowed me to see who I am, instead of a walking symbol of who I was. Thanks to art, I can create moments of my own, ones to be remembered, rather than being caught in moments of the past. Thanks to art, now I am free."
HHS Poetry Café
Huntington High School's National English Honor Society chapter recently sponsored a poetry café after school in the library. The café was open to any student. This year's theme was "time." More than 100 students turned out for the event and about 30 poems were read. The event was free. Unlimited food and drinks were made available for $3. Proceeds were earmarked for the society's book drive fundraiser. Faculty advisors Aimee Antorino and Helen Guarino were pleased to see so many students in attendance.
Huntington senior James Ferraiolo was one the students who read a poem:
| Time for the Next Step Graduation is 'round the corner Caps and Gowns will be in order. Now's the time to take the next great step. A leap of faith with no regrets. We've known each other for many years. This day can't pass without some tears. Next year we'll go to different places, Find new friends with smiling faces. But for now we have this one summer, To have fun with one another. Time will fly, I can promise you that. Standing now on world's welcome mat. Where ever you go, the east or west, Know that you are Huntington's best. We say good-bye to great traditions And move into new positions. Where do we go now? What can we do? The answer is it's up to you! No more classes with period bells. What will happen next? Only time will tell. |