Serving The Willistons, Albertson, Herricks, Mineola, Roslyn Heights, and Searingtown
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Friday, December 15, 2017
Vol. 66, No. 50
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HOLIDAY GIFT, PARTY GUIDE
LITTLE LEAGUE CHAMPS HONORED
NIFA CUTS $18M FROM COUNTY BUDGET
PAGES 33-48
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STEM’s role central to EWSD planning District seeks community input on 5-year plan BY R E B ECC A KLAR The East Williston School District is starting to plan its course for the next five years. On Dec. 7 members of the community came out to tell the administration what areas they’d like to see the school district improve on. The meeting was the first step toward creating the district’s next five-year-strategic plan, which will serve as a blueprint to guide the district in creating and maintaining programs.
Some parents seem to be caught between deciding whether to continue prioritizing STEM or start focusing on other areas. Amy Rose, a mother of twin fifth-graders at Willets Road School, said she was narrow-minded before the meeting. The Roslyn Heights mom said she was mainly thinking about technology and not other areas for improvement, such as service learning. But STEM programs the district adopted aren’t going anywhere, said Sean Feeney,
principal of The Wheatley School. “Do we have to keep emphasizing that,” Feeney said. “Or can we start focusing on other parts that help make a well-rounded student.” Superintendent Elaine Kanas said it’s important for the public to remember that when one area is prioritized in the plan it doesn’t mean the others are forgotten about. “When you choose something it’s not like saying ‘we’ll never do something with the other areas,'” Kanas said. Continued on Page 67
Boy, 9, brings Christmas cheer to hospital bound PHOTO COURTESY OF D AND J PRINT SHOP
Real news, fake store D and J Print Shop in Mineola was transformed into a 1950s grocery store for an upcoming Martin Scorsese film.
Organizes fundraising drive for NYU Winthrop patients “The less I ask for the more Santa can give to other kids,” It’s a tradition for the Cascio Lilliana recalls her son telling family boys to write letters to her. Lilliana said she told her Santa the night before Thanksson that’s okay, and went back giving. This year, as Lilliana Cascio to cooking. A few minutes later, he was cooking dinner, she said her eldest son Rosario told her came back with another idea. Lilliana said Rosario asked he wasn’t going to ask for much.
BY R E B ECC A K L A R
if he could go through some of his toys in the basement to donate. “I was excited because I wanted to get rid of some of the clutter,” she said. But the 9-year-old came up with yet another plan to help give back to children. Continued on Page 68
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