Huntington School News

Huntington High School’s 2013 Homecoming Day festivities are now just a fond memory. The float competition was won by the junior class, which compiled 201 points in the judge’s scoring. The sophomore class nipped the Class of 2014 for second place by a single point, 168-167. The Class of 2017 finished fourth with 147 points.

7th Grade Student-Parent Guidance Night

J. Taylor Finley Middle School seventh graders and their parents are invited to Guidance Night on Tuesday, October 22 at 7 p.m. in the Finley LGI. “I’m sure many of you have some questions/concerns about your child’s schedule and his/her transition into seventh grade, middle school units of student, planning for grade eight and high school, etc.,” wrote Kitty R. Klein, district director of guidance in a letter to parents.

“It is important that both students and parents attend this evening event,” Ms. Klein wrote. A question and answer segment will be held at the end of the formal presentation.

For more information contact Ms. Klein at (631) 673-2101.

HHS Open House

Huntington High School will hold an open house on Thursday, October 24 at 11 am. The event is aimed at parents of students in grades 5-8, but parents with children in grades K-4 are also welcome to attend. Parents of students currently attending private or parochial school are also invited to participate.

Parents will be able to meet high school administrators, teachers and students, tour the building, including classrooms, labs, art and music rooms, the gym and auditorium and even the cafeteria. The event, which is expected to run about 75-90 minutes, is sponsored by the district and the Huntington Council of PTAs.

Summary of Class of 2013 Stats

Huntington High School graduated 312 students this past year, including 282 who entered the building with the 2009 cohort. Among that group, 95 percent are attending college, including 70 percent at four-year schools, 25 percent at two-year colleges and five percent who are in vocational programs, the military, engaged in a “gap” year or who went directly into employment.

A total of 93 percent of the 2009 cohort obtained Regents diplomas with 22 percent achieving the new “mastery” in math and/or science diploma seal. A total of 39 percent of the cohort earned regular Regents diplomas, 34 percent qualified for advanced Regents diplomas, 19 percent obtained advanced Regents diplomas with honors, five percent were given local diplomas, two percent earned IEP diplomas and one percent garnered Regents diplomas with honors.

Elementary Math Textbooks Approved

Huntington School Board members have approved the purchase of new elementary grade level math textbooks. Go Math is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The book was earlier vetted and approved by the district’s Educational Development Committee, which recommended that trustees adopt the book for student use.

The cost of the books is estimated at $100,000, which will be covered by building workbook and textbook codes and, if necessary, supplemented by the district’s curriculum and instruction textbook code.

Realtor Breakfast at HHS

Local realtors are invited to attend breakfast and an open house at Huntington High School on Thursday, November 7 at 11 a.m. Those interested in participating are asked to contact District Clerk Joanne Miranda at jomiranda@hufsd.edu or call her at (631) 673-2038.

“Tour our halls and experience our classrooms, labs, art/music programs, sports teams and clubs,” states a flyer promoting the event. “Come to see and hear about all that Huntington High School has to offer!”

The event is co-sponsored by the Huntington School District and the Huntington Council of PTAs.

BOE Adopts List of Religious Holidays

Huntington School Board members have adopted a list of religious holidays for the 2013/14 school year, paving the way for the district to exclude the dates for state aid purposes should attendance drop as a result of the holidays.

Such adoption is an annual event and is intended to protect district taxpayers. “We are able to exclude from the annual calculation for state aid purposes certain religious holidays that may impact the daily attendance that may occur in one or more buildings,” explained Assistant Superintendent Sam Gergis said.

The list of holidays includes the Sukkot (Sept. 19-20), Shemini Atzeret (Sept. 26), Simchat Torah (Sept. 27), Haij (Oct. 14), Eid Al Adha (Oct. 15), Milvian Bridge Day (Oct. 28), Hijra (Nov. 5), St. Nicholas Day (Dec. 6), Epiphany (Jan. 6),  Nativity of Christ (Jan. 7), Mawlid an Nabi (Jan. 13), Tu B’Shvat (Jan. 16), Shrove Tuesday (March 4), Ash Wednesday (March 5), St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), St. Joseph’s Day (March 19), Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (March 25), St. George Day (April 23), Yom Ha’Atzmaut (May 5), Ascension of Christ (May 29), Shavout (June 4-5), Corpus Christi (June 19) and Sacred Heart of Jesus (June 27).

“These holidays have nothing to do with the student calendar, but will be used for computational purposes when the days that they occur are compared to other days of students’ attendance,” Mr. Gergis said. “If a day which was deemed a religious holiday has a low attendance count, we will then be able to exclude that day from attendance calculation.”

AP Latin Textbooks Approved

Huntington School Board members have approved two textbooks for use in the AP Latin course at Huntington High School. The books are estimated to cost $2,065, which will be covered through the World Languages department budget.

The two books are: Vergil’s Aeneid: Selected Readings from Books 1, 2, 3 and 6 by Barbara Weiden-Boyd and Caesar: Selections from his Commentarii DeBello Gallico by Hans-Friedrich Mueller.