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VOL. 71 NO. 44
OCTOBER 26 - NOVEMBER 1, 2023
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Crafting suncatchers at Seaford Public Library library’s meeting room and explained the craft. She walked around the room as they worked, offering help and paint refills when needed. She Children are learning all sorts of crafts, provided all the supplies, including her original artwork. including how to paint scarecrows In order to create the stainedon stained glass, at the Seaford Pubglass suncatchers, Pappas outlined lic Library. the scarecrow design on the sunMichelle Pappas, a Long Islandcatcher with leading, which is a spebased artist, has been teaching cial type of black ink for this kind classes on making glass suncatchof project and can be bought at any ers in Floral Park, where she is craft store. from, but has recently expanded her When coloring the design, she programs to other libraries in Nasused window color paint, which sau County, such as in Seaford. looks and dries like regular paint. During her class in September, According to Pappas, the colorshe gave instruction on a staineding is all done with toothpicks, but glass scarecrow suncatcher design, she gave students paintbrushes and it was a fun-filled fall craft time because she said it would be easier for Seaford children and teens. for them. The artist works primarily with “I always try to tell them that hand-painted stained glass and sells MICHELLE PAPPAS with toothpicks it always comes out her work through her online busi- Artist the best,” Pappas explained. “They ness, Through the Looking Glass. She said she was excited to share her passion make the paint less thin and streaky, and you can get into more detail with them.” with students. Pappas welcomed the students into the
By KELSIE RADZISKI
Correspondent
I
Ron Manfredi/Herald
Homecoming, Plan B Drum Major Nicholas Stallone directs the marching band during MacArthur’s Homecoming activities on Oct. 21. The festivities were moved to the high school gymnasium due to the rain, but the school’s pride was still on full display. Story, more photos, Page 8.
definitely would like to branch out. I think it would be fun to actually (instruct at) a children’s birthday party.
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How could her 5-year-old wander home from school? By CHARLES SHAW cshaw@liherald.com
Weeks after her son wandered away from a Wantagh elementary school, his mother is still looking for answers. Katie Matthies, of Wantagh, a mother of three children who attend Forest Lake Elementary, approached the podium during the public comments section of the district’s Board of Education meeting at Wantagh High School on Oct. 19. Speaking through tears, Matthies asked the board about an incident last month, when her 5-year-old son walked out of the school unattended and made his way
almost a third of a mile to their house. Since then, Matthies said, she has emailed the district at least once a week, inquiring about updates to security measures, and has been told by district officials that the incident was under review, a response she was not satisfied with. “The lack of response at the district level has really caused my family — and I’m sure other families in the district — to lose their trust in the district,” Matthies told the board, “and I just can’t even begin to express to you how awful it is to lose trust in the people that are in charge of taking care of your
children, and that has been the hardest part of this for me and my family by far.” According to Matthies, on the seventh day of kindergarten classes, her son asked to use the bathroom, and was sent unattended. He walked through three hallways, left the building through a front door near the main entrance and made his way home. He showed up on the residence’s security camera, accompanied by a neighbor, who was concerned about his safety. Both of his parents were away at work, so Katie Matthies called the school to alert them that her son had left the building, and the principal, Thomas
Burke, ran to the house to retrieve him. At the board meeting, Matthies asked the trustees to consider increasing the number of aids in the school, installing hard-wired alarms on the doors and revising district policy on the supervision of children. She said she wanted to hear from the board about the
changes it planned to make to enhance their safety. Superintendent John McNamara apologized to Matthies about the incident, and said that the district had conducted a full review immediately after it occurred. Officials reviewed protocols with staff, and tried to determine whether there had CONTINUED ON PAGE 5