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HERALD $1.00
‘Trunk or treat’ set for E.M.
Q-and-A with an incumbent
What happened at the BOE meeting?
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VOL. 21 NO. 43
OCTOBER 21 - 27, 2021
A passionate educator is the new principal like: Be creative, thankful, kind, bold. Be you. “You see that little light bulb go off when they are Parkway Elementary School’s thinking, ‘Wow! I didn’t think of new principal, Amelia Garcia, that!’ It’s all pretty powerful.” may be unfamiliar to students, Garcia, 43, is originally from but she has been working for the the Bronx. She East Meadow School moved to Long District for nine Island when she years. Beginning as married her husan assistant princiband, Michael, in pal at Bar num 2013. Woods Elementary Her career in eduSchool in 2012, she cation started in was hired for the 2004 when she was same position at hired as a substitute Bowling Green Eleteacher and then a mentary two years few months later as later, before coming a fifth-grade teacher to Parkway in July. at P.S. 54 in the Her work at both Bronx. After workschools helped Garing at C.S. 102 as a cia prepare for her math teacher and current position, she then as an interim said. Perhaps her acting assistant favorite part of the ANNAMARIA principal, she job is visiting classIZZO-BARBIERI accepted a position rooms, which Garcia as an assistant prinsaid she has always Parkway Elementary cipal at M.S. 22, also enjoyed, first as an teacher in the Bronx. A year assistant principal later, she be g an and now as princiworking in the East pal. Meadow School District. “To sit back and see the magic A love of education came of the classroom, to see it unfold- early for Garcia, who as a child ing, is so wonderful,” said Gar- played school with her cousins. cia, in her office where there are But she didn’t pursue it for signs conveying affirmations CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
By LAURA LANE llane@liherald.com
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Media Origin Inc./Herald
King and queen for a day The weather was beautiful last Saturday for East Meadow High School’s homecoming. A large crowd gathered to watch the parade and, later, the game against Port Washington. Matthew Oberhaus and Brianna Mohammed were crowned this year’s king and queen.
Epilepsy walk at Eisenhower brings people together By MALLORY WILSON mwilson@liherald.com
When 8-year-old Cayla Goldstein came home and told her mother, Janet, that her teacher switched topics in the middle of a conversation, Janet knew exactly what that meant. “I was asking Cayla about how her school day was and she told me that something strange had happened that day,” said Janet, who lives in East Meadow.
“She said her teacher was talking about math and then all of a sudden she was telling everyone to get ready for lunch.” Cayla, now 20, was diagnosed with epilepsy after she started experiencing absence seizures at 8 years old, which cause lapses in awareness. When someone is experiencing an absence seizure, it may look like they have stopped paying attention and are staring off into space. They begin and end abruptly, only last-
ing a short time. These types of seizures are more common in children. Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders in the United States, said Tom Hopkins, president and CEO of EPIC Long Island. Located in East Meadow, the organization provides epilepsy training, education and support programs. “Not a lot of people know a lot CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
ven when they’re wearing masks, you can see that the children are smiling when Ms. Garcia is around.