School Newspaper SSUE OLUME DISPATCH I III, V 46 HUNTINGTON HIGH SCHOOL OAKWOOD AND MCKAY ROADS HUNTINGTON, NY 11743 INSIDE THIS March 2017 ISSUE: PAGE 7 PAGE 8 PAGE 13 PAMELA PIFFARD’S LIFE AND CAREER IN PHOTOGRAPHY ton. Huntington High School stu- BY dents have the great opportunity ISABELLA SCARPATI to explore the arts with our thriv- ing program, filled with incredible K-FACTOR Whether seen in a museum, gal- classes and teachers. Among those lery, or even a classroom, the arts is Mrs. Pamela Piffard-Williams, are a wonderful thing to explore. the school’s encouraging, and en- Many high schools may not have thusiastic photography teacher. 2017 the privilege of having an art pro- Mrs. Piffard grew up in Say- Looking for a way to spice up your gram that’s very strong, but this is ville, New York, on the South shore life? Well quit playing games, and certainly not the case in Hunting- of Long Island. She often spent keep your schedule free for March her free time at the beach, as many 3! This year’s sixth annual K-Fac- Long Islanders do. Here a special tor is on its way to being one of opportunity arose—when she was the best! only a little girl Hurricane Gloria With a great lineup of per- struck the region. It was 1986, and, formances, you’ll see skits, dance having lost power and without any- groups, singers, bands and more. thing to do, Mrs. Piffard was given We encourage everyone to come a camera by her mother. She was and support the fight against can- told to walk around the neighbor- cer. hood, photographing the destruc- CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 tion and damage that had been created by the hurricane. As Mrs. Piffard recalls, “That was the first time I used a camera… and I begged to be allowed to use it from that point on.” Mrs. Piffard accredits many of the important PERSONALITY PROFILE CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 Index WANT TO SEND 2-3 School News 4-5 Las Páginas in Español SOMETHING IN? 6 Fashion SUBMIT ANONYMOUS ADVICE QUESTIONS TO ROOM 252 7-9 Op-Ed 10-11 Art Section TWITTER REMIND 12 Puzzles 13-15 Entertainment @HHSDISPATCH TEXT @HDISP TO 81010 16-17 Announcements 18-19 K-Factor 20 Sports FACEBOOK GROUP EMAIL @HHSDISPATCH [email protected] The Dispatch 2 March 1 Dispatch AP SEMINAR A LOOK AT THE NEW COURSE TAKING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF HUNTINGTON BY STORM but a portion of their AP grade,” MAX ROBINS BY MAX ROBINS said Ms. Molenko. Other com- SENIOR EDITORS ponents of the grade are a group MICHELLE D’ALESSANDRO A new class came to Huntington project, followed by a similarly SARAH JAMES High School this past September: constructed individual project. Both projects involve students COPY EDITORS AP Seminar. An exciting new re- search based-course, AP Seminar writing a college-level paper and SABRINA FLORO, JACOB FULLER, the creation of an extensive Pow- AND STEVE YEH is the first part of the two-year erPoint presentation as an elabo- SPANISH EDITOR AP Capstone program offered through the College Board, ad- ration of their papers. ARIANA StrIEB One might question the im- SECRETARY ministrator of AP examinations and the SAT. portance of writing a college-level NICOLE ARENTH Joseph Leavy, chair of Hun- paper in high school. This was the CONTRIBUTING STAFF tington’s humanities department, initial concern of Niamh Condon, TAZZ AKBER, EMANUEL ANASTOS, JONAH a junior currently enrolled in the ANASTOS, ALYSSA BAILEY, ALYSSA BEFUMO, first learned of the program at the National AP Conference in Phila- class. Her worries were quickly as- SONIA CHEMERISOV, DANNY COLLINS, CHRIS- suaged. TIAN BELLISSIMO, KATY DARA, HALLEY DEON- delphia. After a long and extensive ARINE, LUKE FARRELL, WILSON GARAY, JULIA process, which included gaining According to Ms. Molenko, GILES, MAGGIE GILES, CRAIG HASS, CHLOE the support from the administra- “Colleges had complained that LIEPA, ANA LUNA-MANCIA, ILSI MARTINEZ, tion, Huntington finally added it their freshman weren’t ready for MILDRED MARTINEZ, AFRODITI MOUNTANOS, to the 2016/2017 curricula. their classes, so the College Board LAUREN MCGLONE, MARILYN MENJIVAR, ALEX decided to change this and design MULLER, INGRID OLIVA, NOLAN PICCOLA, BEN Mr. Leavy, Dianna Molenko (current AP Seminar teacher), and the AP Capstone program to real- RIBANDO, ROCÍO RIVAS, ISABELLA SCARPATI, ly prepare students. College Board AND LINDSAY SAGINAW English teacher Aimee Antorino created a program that was rigor- ADVISORS visited several high schools offer- ing the program to see if it would ous, current, and reflective—that MS. AIMEE ANTORINO, MR. EDWARD FLOREA, AND be the right fit for Huntington. actually represents the environ- MR. STEVEN KROLL ment of a college class.” After visiting Hewlett High As Ms. Molenko can at- The Dispatch is Huntington High School’s official stu- School and Brooklyn Tech, they dent publication. Written for over 1200 students at- all agreed it would be a great ad- test, AP Seminar is not just an- tending HHS, The Dispatch is distributed to all stu- other English course. “My course dents, staff and school community members at the dition to the high school. Added school free of charge. Leavy, they were “captivated by teaches skills that are transferable to any subject, that you can use at The Editorial Board is the newspaper’s decision-mak- the program, and the ways that ing body, organizing and directing its operation. The the students followed their inqui- any point in your life; whereas, in Dispatch staff has adopted the following editorial pol- other classes you may learn infor- icy to express the rights, responsibilities and philoso- ry through questions and research phy of the newspaper for the 2016-2017 school year. that interested them.” mation. In my class you are learn- ing how to think, research, and The Dispatch of Huntington High School is a public fo- So, what exactly is Seminar? rum, with its student editorial board making all deci- The class features stimulating dis- cultivate arguments. My particular sions concerning its content. Unsigned editorials ex- course is an AP for anyone and ev- press the views of the majority of the editorial board. cussion, enlightening research, and intense debate. eryone who wants to work hard and Letters to the editor are welcomed and will be pub- see what a college class is like. It lished as space allows. Letters are preferred signed, Commencing with a review but may be published by request. The Editorial Board of the summer reading—Char- is the most relevant course of its reserves the right to edit letters for grammar and clari- time.” ty, and all letters are subject to laws governing obscen- lotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (“an in- ity, libel, privacy, and disruption of the school process, credible read,” according to cur- For those who thoroughly as are all contents of the paper. Questions, comments, enjoyed the course, there is one and letters to the editor should be sent electronically to rent seminar enrollee Isabella [email protected] or submitted to The Dispatch McGinniss)—the class segues into much like it for them to take next mailbox located in the main office. discussion and debate over many year. AP Research follows semi- Opinions in letters are not necessarily those of the staff, elements of the book and their re- nar, and involves further thought- nor should any opinion expressed in a public forum be provoking research. construed as the opinion of the administration, unless lation to modern day society. Al- so attributed. though Jane Eyre was written in When asked about her im- the mid 1800s, many parallels can pression of the class so far, cur- The Dispatch’s goal is to provide readers with inter- esting content in a wide variety of areas. Such areas be drawn to the world today. rent enrollee Maggie Giles says, include the news coverage of school and community After the conclusion of the “it’s everything I could ask for in events, as well as features on relevent topics. In addi- a class. It’s enlightening, fun, and tion, The Dispatch will provide opinionated editorials first unit, the course moves into on controversial topics, as well as provide previews preparation for the actual exam. introduces you to things you might and reviews for upcoming school and professional have never learned, researched, or sports seasons and other forms of entertainment. While most AP courses involve a single exam in May, which is a discussed otherwise. It’s a must- The Dispatch would like to specifically thank Erica take!” Vasquez for the handwork she put into making the fli- culmination of the courses’ cur- ers in this issue. riculum, Seminar is a bit different. • • • The Dispatch also welcomes Mr. Steven Kroll to the ad- “Capstone is designed so visory board. that the end of the year exam is The Dispatch March 1 3 PAMELA PIFFARD’S LIFE AND CAREER IN PHOTOGRAPHY Chapman Univer- concert photogra- BY sity for her Master’s pher. ISABELLA SCARPATI in Education. Once The 10th, 11th, again, she gives and 12th grade stu- CONTINUED FROM thanks to her par- dents that comprise FRONT PAGE. ents. It was them her art classes are life lessons that she that encouraged her very diverse, and still carries today to to get a teaching de- not always your typ- her parents. “They gree along with her ical “art” students. taught me above art degree, in order In her classroom, all else to be kind. to ensure job stabil- athletic, academic, They taught me to ity. and artistic students ects.” enjoys spending be honest, thought- Mrs.