Half Hollow Hills Central School District (#5) is located in Dix Hills and Melville, New York. The district includes parts of both Huntington and Babylon townships. The school district contains eleven schools (seven elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools). The current superintendent of schools is Mrs. Kelly Fallon.
The district continues to annually have large population increases due to extensive development within its borders. As a result, most of the schools have recently undergone expansions to accommodate additional students.
Contents |
High Schools (9–12): High School East ("Hills East" or "HSE"), High School West ("Hills West" or "HSW")
Middle Schools (6–8): Candlewood Middle School, West Hollow Middle School
Elementary Schools (K-5): Chestnut Hill Elementary School, Forest Park Elementary School, Otsego Elementary School, Paumanok Elementary School, Signal Hill Elementary School, Sunquam Elementary School, Vanderbilt Elementary School
High School East is located at 50 Vanderbilt Parkway in Dix Hills, New York,[2] across the street from the Dix Hills branch of the The Half Hollow Hills Community Library. Hills East is fed from West Hollow Middle School and is the larger of the two high schools in the district. The current principal is Dr. Jeffery Woodberry, who started in Fall of 2007. The building was once used as both a middle school and a high school, which were located side-by-side and connected to one another, so the building is sprawling. For the same reason, Hills East has redundant facilities: two main offices, two nurses' offices, two gymnasiums (and two pairs of men's and women's locker rooms), two auditoriums, and two cafeterias (one has since been converted to a weight room). The class of 1978 was the last class where East was the exclusive high school in the district; commencing in 1979 there were graduating classes from both high schools.
High School East features a Planetarium, located one floor above the main office. It features a Spitz A3P planetarium projector, and is usually used to host class trips from the middle and elementary schools, in addition to being the home of the Hills East Astronomy Club, where students are taught about the night sky, astronomy and mythology by fellow students and teachers.[3]
High School East also contains the Eugene Orloff Auditorium, which seats a total of 2,200 on two levels, making it the second largest not-for-profit auditorium on Long Island. It hosts various school events throughout the year, including the Spring Musical, Graduation, Academic Awards, and Athletic Awards. The space is also rented out to local companies for events throughout the year. The stage is a full Broadway-sized stage (88 feet wide, 49 feet deep, three stories tall for fly space (hanging scenery)). The stage has a orchestra pit containing two pistons (although only one functions) that are capable of raising and lowering the pit. The Eugene Orloff Auditorium is infamous for its low quality acoustics, as it was constructed of concrete and never completed. The music wing of the school is located in the hallway right behind the stage. The school also has a recently renovated Lecture Hall. It is usually the host of small gatherings and meetings, as well as Advanced Placement exams.
Hills East was recently named to the Newsweek list of Best High Schools for 2007 and was ranked #209. Hills East is also a part of the Long Island Forensics Association, and has had been extremely successful with Speech and Debate, Quizbowl, We the People, tennis and Science Olympiad. Recently, the school has formed its own chapter of the National Federation of American Students. In the 2010–2011 school year, a District Student Government was initiated by students from East.
The school mascot of Hills East is the Thunderbird, which wears the school colors: red, black, and white.
High School West (HSW), commonly referred to as "Hills West" within its district, is located at 375 Wolf Hill Road in Dix Hills, New York. High School West, which was built in 1975, includes a natatorium adjacent to the "North Cafeteria" and the track, which sports the school colors, red and gold. It is primarily used for swim meets, community events, gym classes, and occasional school trips from the other schools within the district. The school grounds of High School West are adjacent to those of Signal Hill Elementary School, which is located at the intersection of Wolf Hill Road and Caledonia Road. Students of HSW have generally attended Candlewood Middle School from 6th to 8th grade. The official school mascot is the Colt.[4] Hills West has been successful in a variety of sports including Football, Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball and Track. In addition, the Colts have fielded strong baseball teams over the years winning multiple league titles, two county championships, and a state championship in 2003. The Varsity Boys Basketball team finished last season undefeated while winning the Suffolk County AA championship two out of the last three years in a row (2008 and 2010). They also won its first Long Island Championship in school history (2010). Head Coach Bill Mitaritonna was named Newsday HS Basketball Coach of the Year(2010). The Varsity Soccer team made the state semi-finals in 2007. The Hills swim team has gone undefeated and won league and county champs. The Varsity Football Team has made the playoffs the past 5 of 8 years and were the 2009 Long Island Champions. The Hills West dance team, the Wranglerettes, are the 2007 champions in the Long Island Kickline Association competition, winning in the jazz category for the 14th year, and in the newly created hip hop category. The winter track team won 6 straight county titles (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) and in the spring of 2007, 2008 and 2009 the spring track team has won the league by going undefeated. Wayne Ebanks is the new principal of HSW for 2011. The assistant principals are Brett Kindelman, Mary Lippert,Naimah Trotter,and Frank Pugliese. A new turf field has just been completed at the school. The student body of High School West has approximately 1,500 students, but has increased to over 1,700 for the 08-09 school year. For the first time in school history the football team went undefeated, 8-0, during the 2009/10 season. They played in the Long Island Class 3 Championships vs. Lawrence and won, finishing 12–0 and winning the Class 3 Championship. The team was also awarded the Rutgers Trophy for the most outstanding football team in Suffolk County; Senior Jevahn Cruz also received the Hansen Award for the most outstanding high school player in Suffolk County and finally Coach Kyle Madden was awarded the Suffolk County Coach of The Year.
Candlewood is the second middle school that underwent renovations in 2003. The school is located at 1200 Carll's Straight Path, Dix Hills, New York. The current principal is Andrew Greene. The assistant principal's are Traci Roethel and Michael Abrescia. The mascot is the Cougar, and the current school colors are Red and Gold. A track has been completed. Roughly 1,200 students attend the school.
West Hollow is the largest middle school in the district. It was built in 1970. Its located at 250 Old East Neck Road, Melville, New York. The current principal is Milton K. Strong. The assistant principals are Robert Newton, Steven Hauk, and Allison Beyersdorf. The mascot is the Wolverine, the current school colors are Red, White, and Black. Around 1,700 students attend the school. There are many activities, including leaders club and cheerleading.
Half Hollow Hills is known for its district-wide theater programs that extends to all schools in the district. This opportunity begins in 5th grade with the "Hills On Stage" program. Recent "Hills On Stage" productions include Free To Be... You and Me, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Honk My Fair Lady, The Wizard of Oz[5] and Bye Bye Birdie.
The middle schools recently began a joint theater program also.
Both High School East and High School West are known for their research departments, which have produced a number of Intel Science Talent Search, Intel ISEF, and Siemens Westinghouse Competition finalists over the past century.
Previously Manasquan Elementary School, the Fran Greenspan Administration Center now serves as the central administration building for the Half Hollow Hills School District. It is located on Half Hollow Hills Road, on the same property as High School East. In addition to housing the offices of the Superintendent and other administrators, Central Office serves as the location for a small mock-astronautics program for children and certain community events, as well as child care services. The Academically High Aptitude Program (A.H.A.P) of the district is also held at Manasquan for 3rd-5th graders along with a preschool and Reach CYA.[6]
