Family Forum

Family Forum: School Nightmares

Which one terrorizes your child?

Have your kids started having those back-to-school dreams yet, the ones in which they go to school in their underwear, get lost in the hallways, are late to class and everyone laughs at them? Parents have them, too, and so do teachers, it may help to know. But what is specifically haunting your children’s dreams and how can you help? Riverhead resident Margaret Sagarese, author of “The Roller Coaster Years” and numerous other parenting books, offers a breakdown of typical trouble areas and strategies to diminish them.           The School Bus The school bus is anything but a joyride. Some worries, such as wobbling down the aisle to find an empty seat or handling the awkwardness of sitting next to someone who seems unfriendly, tend to be …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Liza N. Burby

1:07 pm on Wednesday, August 31, 2011

There have certainly been a lot of distractions this week with the aftermath of the storm, but that hasn't stopped my high school senior from having back-to-school dreams. We've been talking it out, as we do every year, and that helps. Most are silly the way dreams are, so we have a good laugh about it. What are your kids saying to you and how are you handling it?   more ›

Huntington Parents: Back to Backpacks

Preparing for the start of a new school year.

Hard to believe the kids are coming home from camp and preparing to go back to school, but the time is upon us. Here’s some check points for your back to school to do list. School Forms: Submit your school registration (Huntungton, South Huntington) and required medical and emergency forms before the first day of school. New York Public Health Law requires all students be immunized before entering school. Make the necessary appointments with your doctor, dentist and other specialists. Clear out: Children bring home tons of “artwork” throughout the school year. Go through last year's projects, and either toss or recycle them into book covers or wrapping paper. Keep some of their more distinguished creations, and prepare for their upcoming …

• Photos (1)

Town Joins Northport Schools in LIPA Lawsuit

Huntington, Northport-East Northport School District say assessment challenge violates 1997 agreement.

The Town of Huntington has filed a counter lawsuit against LIPA and National Grid, joining the Northport-East Northport School District in charging that the utility companies violated a 1997 agreement when they started litigation last October challenging the assessment on the Northport power plant.   “Aware of the terms of the agreement between LIPA and LILCO, the town upheld its end in not raising the assessment on the plant,” Supervisor Petrone said today. “It is unfortunate that the town is forced to seek a court order requiring LIPA and National Grid to do the same. " LIPA’s suit contends that the Northport plant is worth less than 11 percent of the value reflected by its current assessment, on which LIPA plays a total of roughly $70 …

•  5 Comments
• Photos (9)
• Videos (1)

Kelly Campbell

1:03 pm on Thursday, May 12, 2011

As per Patch usage rules, we have to delete comments that are potentially libelous or defamatory.   more ›

Local School Boards to Vote on BOCES Budget

The overall proposed budget shows a 3 percent spending increase.

School Board trustees from the 18 local school districts that use the services offered by Western Suffolk BOCES will vote Thursday on the 2011-12 administrative budget of $11,078,473.  This is an increase of $665,299 over last year's total administrative budget of $10,413,174, or 6.3 percent. The increase is almost entirely the result of a $675,363 increase in the cost of post-retirement benefits for employees, according to budget documents. That cost is projected to increase from $5,802,301 this year to $6,477,664 next. The administrative budget covers executive salaries as well as equipment, supplies, materials, contracted services, internal services and benefits for both active and retired employees. 
 The total proposed administrative …

• Photos (1)

Terror Threat Made Against School Buses

Drivers have been told to take additional safety precautions.

State and federal authorities are dealing with an apparent terrorist threat against New York State institutions that made a reference to attacking school buses, authorities confirmed. The threatening email, received by state officials April 1, was released to Long Island school districts Tuesday. At least two school districts, Syosset and Huntington, posted the warning on their websites. The email makes specific threats of violence to state office buildings, the state Legislature and school buses. Long Island school bus drivers have been alerted to the threat and told to take additional safety precautions, an official with WE Transport of Plainview confirmed. The official said WE Transport, Long Island's largest fleet of school buses, was …

•  45 Comments
• Photos (2)
• Documents (2)

The Great Escape

Local Premiere of Edie Falco's New Flick, 3 Backyards

The Northport native and Sopranos star talked about 3 Backyards, her new film that was shot partially in Northport, at Cinema Arts Centre Friday.

Soprano's star Edie Falco, a 1981 graduate of Northport High School, came to town Friday to promote her new film, 3 Backyards. The visit had double meaning because, not only did Falco grow up here , but the film was shot in part in Northport and Asharoken. Director Eric Mendelsohn, who won the 2010 Best Director award at the famed Sundance Flm Festival for the new movie, accompanied her to Cinema Arts Centre for a Q and A session with the standing-room only audience following the local premiere. Throughout the film's promotional tour, Mendelsohn has not been shy in his praise of the Northport residents' generosity. "It is a sense of indebtedness that compels me to acknowledge the wonderful army of strangers and townspeople who came …

• Photos (6)
• Videos (1)

School Board Hears Overcrowding Complaints

Huntington trustees are told classes are too big amid demands to reopen Abrams.

It was all about the numbers at Monday night's meeting of the Huntington Board of Education: test scores, budgets, class size and even the number of  open schools. On the agenda were reports from Western Suffolk BOCES on how it will help guide the search to find a replacement for retiring Superintendent John J. Finello; a detailed explanation from Dr. Kenneth A. Card on why Huntington High School was placed on a state "needs improvement" list.  But above all, what brought many members of the audience to the lectern was the size of classes and the related issue of the board's decision this summer to close Jack Abrams School. The overcrowding issue arose first with a complaint by a parent who said that Flower Hill students had no space to …

•  13 Comments
• Photos (5)

kate

8:10 am on Friday, May 13, 2011

Thumbs up David ! You are 100% percent correct. If the district will get a very close handle on who is coming into our schools, they will find out very quickly that a number, large one I might add, are living in illegal housing, or in some cases, not a US citizen. Why does a Real Estate agent get fined for renting out an illegal apt., but LIPA can put 2, 3 or 4 meters on a house w/out any …   more ›

District Residents Criticize School Board at Meeting

Meeting becomes contentious as opponents of Jack Abrams' closing turn out in force.

On Monday evening, the Huntington Union Free School District's Board of Education held a meeting to address the realities of a school year without Jack Abrams Intermediate School. But for a majority of the crowd who attended, this was a reality they would not accept. About 150 Huntington school district residents turned out for the meeting, with most of them demanding answers from the board and fiercely criticizing their decision to close Jack Abrams after a rise in neighborhood violence. The school board spent approximately an hour discussing the possibilities of moving students, teachers, and computers to make way for the incoming students. But when the meeting was opened up for public comment, the crowd unleashed a storm of criticism on…

•  3 Comments
• Photos (3)

Board of Ed Plans For Year Without Abrams

Board uses Monday meeting to discuss moving students, teachers, and supplies.

The Huntington Board of Education dealt with the fallout of its decision to close Jack Abrams Intermediate School at its latest meeting Monday evening. Board members discussed how to move faculty, programs and supplies to account for the now studentless school, but the meeting was dominated by opponents of the closing, who came out in force and spent much of the meeting interrupting the evening's proceedings. The Board of Education, minus trustees Richard McGrath and Emily Rogan, who were unable to attend the meeting at J. Taylor Finley Middle School, focused on class sizes at the district's elementary and intermediate schools, which according to board members will rise to between 22 to 30 students per class. The board had decided to move …

• Photos (3)

Letter to the Editor: Overcrowding Voluntarily?

Huntington resident responds to decision made by school board on Monday night.

The following is a response to the Huntington Union Free School District's Board of Education's vote to remove students from Jack Abrams Intermediate School at Monday night's emergency meeting. To the Editor: This is a very sad day for Huntington. The Huntington Board of Education for School District 3 voted 4-3 on Monday night to close one of our prize schools. The public was not allowed to speak and voice our opinion for either side of the argument. Closing this school is sending a message to the community that Huntington does not care about Huntington Station. I don't know how the school board can overcrowd five of its schools while Jack Abrams sits vacant. Earlier this year, some parents were not happy when Woodhull was voted to house …

•  7 Comments
• Photos (1)