Huntington High School’s acclaimed chamber choir performed during Monday night’s public meeting of the Huntington School Board in the Adam Spector Auditorium at Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School.
Directed by music teacher Victoria Garbarino, the choir includes: Soprano I: Isabella Cahill, Livia D’Anna, Abby Semelsberger; Soprano II: Grace Kenny, Madison Lange, Julia Segal, Faith Youngquist; Alto I: Natalie Gonzalez, Lea Laponti, Mia Nitekman, Chloe Wheeler; Alto II: Katherine Eichenberger, Jessica Henning, Isabella Neira, Alexis Smith; Tenor I: Joshua Avidor, Jaiden Erickson, Keenan Lyons; Tenor II: Zubair Ali, Ryan Gibson-Dunne, Carlos Reyes; Bass I: Robert Jean-Gilles, Rashad Michaels, Manuel Reyes, Andy Ulloa; Bass II: Cobin Black, Brenden Garcia, Max Mittleman, Xavier Perez.
Choir members performed Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Jingle Bells and You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.
“This year's chamber choir has been amazing,” senior Natalie Gonzalez said. “We work very well as a group and we work very hard to be the best we could be. Ms. Garbarino is a great chorus teacher and she has taught me so much these past couple of years. I’m so happy that I’ve had the opportunity to be in the chamber choir.”
Flower Hill Has Fun Coding . . .
Flower Hill Primary School students were very busy coding last week. Youngsters from kindergarten through third grade spent time in their classrooms and in the library media center applying a variety of technology skills they had earlier learned to various coding activities.
Director of Assessment, Instructional Technology and Elementary Mathematics Marybeth Robinette and Director of STEM K-12 Jill Johanson visited Flower Hill several weeks ago to introduce the concept of a “Day of Coding” to faculty members. Teachers learned how to access interactive coding programs that students could log on and practice their coding skills.
“Many students earned a certificate of completion and all enjoyed their time coding,” Flower Hill Principal Lucia Laguarda said.
Original Finley Faculty Member Bill Moles Passes Away . . .
One of the J. Taylor Finley Junior High School’s original faculty members recently passed away following a brief illness. News of William Moles’ passing saddened his former faculty colleagues and the students he worked with in the Finley industrial arts program. He was 90 years old.
Born and raised in Spring Valley, New York, Mr. Moles graduated from Spring Valley High School. He earned an undergraduate degree at SUNY at Oswego and a master’s degree at SUNY at Buffalo.
A proud veteran of the US Marine Corps, Mr. Moles and his wife Pat settled in Northport, where they lived for more than half a century, raising their four children and enjoying a long retirement.
Mr. Moles taught industrial arts and science at Finley for 30 years. As a father he was ever-present, usually with an old-time song or a classic poem or a wisecrack and always with a tape measure and a pocket full of nails. He could build anything, fix anything and do just about anything. He filled his children’s lives with exploration and adventure and showed them a profound appreciation for life.
Mr. Moles greatest joys included working in his wood shop, ski trips with family and friends, camping in his beloved St. John, golfing with his buddies, running into former students everywhere, reading, reciting and occasionally writing poetry, making music (harmonica, trumpet and finishing everyone’s sentences with favorite song lyrics), enjoying the birds in his backyard, sitting by the fire with a glass of wine and above all spending time with his grandchildren and great grandchildren, whom he adored and who absolutely adored him back.
Those who worked alongside Mr. Moles at Finley remember his quick wit, hearty laugh and smile. He typically wore a gray lab coat in his shop. At the end of the day he always headed to the front of the building and helped supervise dismissal and the loading of dozens of buses.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years. A celebration of Mr. Moles’ life will be held in January with the date and location to be announced.
Digital Portfolio Presentation to BOE . . .
Huntington School Board members presented with an overview of the new digital portfolio process and contents, implemented with students in grades 4, 6, 7 and 9 during a public meeting in the Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School auditorium on Monday night. The process in the district began on small scale during 2017/18 for foreign language students potentially pursuing a diploma seal of bi-literacy.
The purpose of the digital portfolio is to showcase student growth and build student confidence over time. The portfolio will also provide students with a resource for future use, as they desire, in presenting their work and efforts.
Technology Presentation at BOE Meeting . . .
Southdown Primary School teachers Lynn Hefele and Valerie Murray made presentations this fall at the Long Island Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development’s annual fall conference and at the Long Island Technology Summit. Both presentations focused on use of video creation technology to motivate, engage and educate students in the classroom and gymnasium.
The two Huntington UFSD faculty members shared for trustees and the general public some of the means through which they have creatively implemented a range of technologies, including Flipgrid, Animaker, Do Ink Animation, Green Screen and Buncee. Each of the items has served to promote student voice in the classroom, as well as at home.
Huntington UFSD Receives Donation . . .
Parent Amy Buffone donated a Geoffrey Chi model violin to the Huntington School District’s music program. The violin is valued at $1,100. Huntington School Board members accepted the donation during the public meeting on Monday night.
Trustees Honor Blue Devil Marching Band . . .
Huntington School Board members honored the Blue Devil marching band following another sensational season that saw the group capture second place in the New York State Field Band Conference championships at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.
The group was led by drum majors Mathew Hearl, Jennifer Low and Katie Riley and field major James Obermaier. Professional staff members included Directors Patrick Neary and Jennifer Schmelter, Coordinator Brian Stellato, music arranger Rich Guillen, percussion arranger Jason Giachetti, drill designer George Nelson, color guard designer Mallory Martilla/Patrick Neary and instructors Katherine Adams, Dan DeOliveira, Christopher Wink, Sudwip Debnath, Derek Schmelter, Jarod Sullivan, Corina Antonucci and Sean Lucas.
Flower Hill School Lobby Artwork . . .
Flower Hill Primary School art teacher Jacqueline Plesent’s holiday display in the building’s lobby is visually delightful. It also serves an important person.
Flower Hill students enjoy thinking about how they can be kind to others and then placing a mitten with a message on the kindness board.
A graduate of Half Hollow Hills East High School, Mrs. Plesent received a B.F.A. degree in fine arts and education at LIU Post. She taught third grade at Transfiguration School in Freeport for year while taking graduate level classes in art therapy at Hofstra University in the late afternoon and evening. She had an opportunity to work with children at South Oaks Hospital.
A Huntington UFSD art teacher for more than two decades, Mrs. Plesent obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree at LIU Post. She’s been creating eye-catching artwork for most of her life, but she said her “greatest masterpieces” are her two children.
Washington School Holiday Scenes . . .
The windows flanking either side of Washington Primary School’s main entrance doors feature colorful winter scenes. The artwork has enhanced the mood of everyone visiting the building.
First year Principal Michelle Richards heard that special education teacher aide Terry Moreno is also an artist, so she asked the staff member to work her magic. Mrs. Moreno studied art at Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan and she has exhibited her work at a variety of shows over the years.
Mrs. Moreno went to work early the following morning and everyone agrees the finished product is very impressive.
Trip to Greenkill Outdoor Education Center is Approved . . .
The Huntington UFSD’s sixth grade trip to the Greenkill Outdoor Education Center in Hugenot, New York has been approved by Huntington School Board members.
About 250 students will depart on Tuesday, February 12 at 9:30 a.m. and return on Friday, February 15 at 2:30 p.m.
The 1,000 acre site, which is located about ten miles from Port Jervis, is owned and operated by the YMCA of Greater New York. The three-hour bus ride to the camp is usually filled with anticipation and a sense of excitement.
The trip is being coordinated by teacher Keith Meyers and Woodhull Intermediate School/Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School dean of students Matt Perlongo. Once on site, the youngsters will be assembled in groups and hike through wooded areas with a trained naturalist, study pond and forest ecology, learn about orienteering and survival skills and related outdoor themes. An all-day hike is always popular with the students, who traditionally cook hot dogs and hamburgers over a camp fire.
Jack Abrams, a retired principal discovered Camp Greenkill for the Huntington School District in 1976. Mr. Abrams was working as principal of Jefferson Elementary School at the time. One of his colleagues, Anthony Baressi, who later served as Jefferson principal, helped organize Huntington’s participation in the camp program. Since then the district has sent more about 9,500 sixth graders to Camp Greenkill.
The camp staff is accommodating and operates a structured program that runs smoothly. The grounds have been virtually untouched through the years, enhancing the experience for participants.
Students have cited the all-day hike, cookout along the way and the waterfall and fossil ridge as among the most popular aspects of the trip. In addition to learning more about pond, stream and field ecology and how one part of nature is dependent on another, students will also study topics that include how animals adapt to their environment and how to work as a member of a team.
Washington School Lobby Artwork is Appealing . . .
The lobby at Washington Primary School includes a decorative holiday display created by veteran art teacher Maria Mazzola. It’s a floor to ceiling piece of artwork that the longtime faculty member worked on at home and then brought to the school and assembled. A close look at the large display indicates just how ingenious it really is.
Mrs. Mazzola has been a Huntington UFSD art teacher for more 30 years. She holds a Bachelor of Science in art education from St. John's University and obtained a Master of Art degree in studio art at Adelphi University.
Mrs. Mazzola currently makes polymer clay jewelry as well as various arts and crafts that she sells at craft fairs. Several years ago, she began the Featured Artist of the Month achievement award program at Jefferson and Washington Primary Schools. She has also worked as an instructed in the Lu-Hi summer camp program, teaching arts and crafts.
