HS Guidance Dept. Needs...Well, Guidance

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HS Guidance Dept. Needs...Well, Guidance

Written by Pete Sheehan, oysterbay@antonnews.com Friday, 18 January 2013 00:00

The Oyster Bay-East Norwich school district’s guidance department needs closer supervision or coordination of the different services that its four counselors and one assistant offer to studentds at Oyster Bay High School, said a consultant at a Jan. 8 board meeting.

“You have so many great things that are going on,” said Nicholas Amato, the guidance consultant for the district. But, he said, closer supervision of the services is needed.

“Nothing happens in the school that doesn’t go through guidance,” said Amato, who had served in the Mount Sinai and Half Hallow Hills schools, both as a guidance counselor and as an administrator, and for the past decade, has operated a consulting business.

Amato, who is completing his year-and-half tenure as a consultant for the district, spoke to the board’s meeting at the Oyster Bay High School library. Among his recommendations that were implemented was adding one counselor and shifting two counselors to the middle school program. The counseling center was also made more of an instructional center with a college and career aide, he explained.

Guidance is concerned with the transition from the middle school to the high school, scheduling, the diverse educational needs of the students, as well as the social environment, Amato said. So the guidance department needs one person to oversee the various roles of the four counselors and working in consort with others.

To an extent, Amato, in his role of consultant, has been helping to provide some of the coordinating unofficially. Some of it has also fallen to Dr. Dennis O’Hara, principal of Oyster Bay High School, and assistant principals.

A supervisor could take any one of several different forms. Board members seemed open to considering the possibility but had questions. Several board members inquired about the cost and whether the district could afford another position due to budgetary constraints.

“The money is available,” said Dr. Phyllis Harrington, superintendent of schools, should the board choose to establish such a position within this year’s operating budget. For next year, additional consideration would be necessary.

“What we are lacking is a job description,” said Maryann Santos, a school board member. Harrington said that a more precise description could be presented now that the board’s interest in such a position has been established.

In addition, the board heard a presentation by Mike de’Venau, a computer technician, about a news system of correspondence between the district and board members. Under the new system, board members would no longer have as much district-related material sent by mail.

Rather de’Venau explained, board members would receive an e-mail notifying them of information for them to read in preparation for meetings, with a link to the necessary information. The new system would reduce the amount of the paper that members receive.

“You are saving trees,” said Ann Marie Longo, board president.

News

Successful ArtWalk Stroll

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 00:00

With notices now coming in, the first ArtWalk on June 2, was a success. Walter Imperatore, co-chair of the Marketing Committee of the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Chamber of commerce offered, “We were generally happy with the results. Jim Perna of Long Island Picture Frame, who’s running this event for the chamber, said that he saw an increase in the number of people on the streets. That being said, we were looking to attract more people.”

ArtWalk also gave several artists the opportunity to share their talent with the public as the Arts & Antiques Walk planned for this summer’s Sundays debuted. It is intended to bring people to the hamlet by adding “eye candy” to the streetscape and Julie and David Heiss of the Madd Potter agreed it did.

How I Love Sagamore Hill

Saturday, 08 June 2013 00:00

The final 2013 lecture in the John A. Gable series was somewhat different from past lectures. The May 16 lecture showcased Xiomaro’s (pronounced SEE-oh-MAH-ro) wonderful and inspiring “How I love Sagamore Hill” photo collection. Commissioned by Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, and displayed in collaboration with the Oyster Bay Historical Society at the Koenig Center, “How I love Sagamore Hill”, derives from Theodore Roosevelt’s well-known quote to his wife Edith on the day before his death.

Sports

We’re Having A Field Day!

Thursday, 20 June 2013 00:00

Hooray! One of the best signs the school year is coming to a close is Field Day, and last week the fields at Friends Academy were swarming with Red, White and Blue as the Middle Schoolers romped through some friendly intramural competition.

Red won the day, but that didn’t dampen the fun for White or Blue. “This is way more fun than sitting inside,” said sixth-grader Nico Santiago. “I’m so pumped. No homework for three months!”

Boys Lacrosse Wins County Championship

Thursday, 13 June 2013 00:00

County title is a first for Quakers and their program

With fans wildly cheering from the sidelines, the Friends Academy Boys Varsity Lacrosse team kept rival Cold Spring Harbor at bay before ultimately beating them 9-4 to capture their first ever Class C Nassau County Championship.

Coach Brian Crocco credits the team’s offensive balance with their success in the championship game and throughout the 14-2 season. “What we have found all season is that while we do have a few serious impact players who contribute quite a bit to our offensive success, what has been most remarkable is that we have shared the scoring well, especially in big games. During the championship game, we had seven different goal scorers contribute for the win — two seniors, three juniors, and two sophomores. We have six guys with at least 20 points each this season, so in crucial situations we have found that any number of guys can make a play.”