Friday, September 27, 2019
Vol. 79, No. 39
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SERVING PLAINVIEW, HICKSVILLE, AND LEVITTOWN
REMEMBERING 9/11
JFK High School’s POBots teach tech, coding BY RIKKI MASSAND
Social studies classes at Hicksville Middle School participated in a variety of creative lessons and activities on Sept. 11 to remember the 9/11 attacks and to understand the impact that they left — and continue to have — on society. Joseph Hartig’s seventh-graders participated in a virtual activity walk on Sept. 11 that covered various aspects of the 9/11 attack.
Town eliminates repair permit fee The Town Board of the Town of Oyster Bay on September 18 unanimously approved the elimination of sidewalk repair permit fees for homeowners. In addition to the cost of actual repair, property owners previously paid the Town of Oyster Bay a permitting fee of $100 per 100 linear feet. The permitting fee will no longer be collected. Councilman Labriola stated, “We recognize that
sidewalk maintenance provides significant benefits to the community while maintaining a safe and useable infrastructure throughout our communities. To remove barriers and financial burdens placed on property owners, the Town Board voted unanimously to eliminate the permit fee related to repairing damaged residential sidewalks. This fee waiver will help enhance the quality of our
communities through proper sidewalk maintenance while no longer burdening residents.” The law approved by the Town Board still requires a permit for work but waives fees if the applicant is an individual who owns or resides at the residential premises for which a permit for the construction or repair of sidewalks is being sought.
Ten students from the Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School “POBots” F.I.R.S.T. Team Competition 353 Robotics team delivered a stellar presentation featuring lessons in technology and teamwork at theCoder School of Syosset, 45 Ira Road, on Saturday afternoon, September 21. Over the summer, high school senior Cameron Robinson from Team 353 worked at three weeklong Coder School camps for students, with two weeks in Syosset and one week at the Roslyn location at 17 Lumber Road. At the September open house in Syosset, he introduced himself as a software engineer “who likes to build through computer programming.” Robinson explained how F.I.R.S.T. -- For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology -- is an international organization with programs spread out in over 103 countries. It was begun by Dean Kamen, inventor of segway two-wheel transportation and Coca-Cola ‘freestyle’ soft drink fountains. “F.I.R.S.T. team Robotics was founded under the idea that building inventions is about helping people, and that teaching the next generation to do that is an amazing thing. Our POBots team is one of many that believes in mentoring the next generation because there is something
amazing in creating things to help other people…...while engineering and programming is something that’s very cool, it’s also a process and ability that changes the world for the better. This is why organizations like theCoder School and other organizations that teach young people to code, design and build carry forward such an important mission,” he said. Amanda Futterman the F.I.R.S.T. Team 353 POBots’ vice president. She said the Robotics experience goes beyond coding and S.T.E.M. activities into a team-building and collaborative atmosphere with assigned roles, similar to high school sports. Futterman worked for theCoder School over the summer as a ‘coding coach’ for Python classes and a WebRox summer camp, where students utilized base web technologies like HTML/CSS and Javascript. “What our team does is design, build and fabricate a new robot every single year based on the F.I.R.S.T. challenge that is released in January. The program really develops team skills among kids, everyone is being collaborative and assertive. Another big aspect is our community service with this program,” she said. Teaching and mentoring the next generation of younger students in Engineering and Programming became an essential part of the First See page 8
Students pursue summer research Fire chief honored for service PAGE 2
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