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Half Hollow Hills Central School District

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Half Hollow Hills Central School District (#5) is located in Dix Hills, 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 Dr. Sheldon Karnilow.

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 decade.

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.

Schools

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

High School East is located at 50 Vanderbilt Parkway in Dix Hills, New York, 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; it is considered the "powerhouse" of the Half Hollow Hills School District. 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 (or once had) two each of many 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).

Notable Clubs

Hills East is known for its drama and fine arts programs, making it one of the most competitive schools for the fine arts on Long Island. Each year drama participants produce three school plays. They include the fall drama, a student-run production and the more competitive spring musical. The school often hosts the "NYSSMA" and "SCMEA" festivals. The music department at Hills East includes select choirs and wind ensembles, of which the Symphonic Band is a Gold medal winner at competitions at the local, state, and national levels.

The award-winning school Newspaper bears the same name as the mascot, the Thunderbird. In 2005, it won numerous awards through the Long Island Press Association [1] and Columbia Student Press Association (CSPA). It has won gold awards in the CSPA competitions on and off for the last 7 years.

The boys' and girls' Varsity Tennis teams have also been quite successful in recent years, both winning the last two Suffolk County Championships. The boys' team currently has a 40-match winning streak.

Facilities

One rather unique feature of High School East is its 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; it is also home to High School East's Astronomy Club.

Another unique feature of High School East is the Auditorium which seats over 2,000 on each of the two levels [2], making it the largest not-for-profit auditorium on Long Island. It hosts various school events throughout the year, including Comp Day (talent contest between grades), the Spring Musical, 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 deep, three stories tall for fly space (hanging scenery)).

The school also has a recently-renovated Lecture Hall. It hosts the Fall Drama and Senior Theatrical Production and other smaller gatherings and meetings. Advanced Placement exams are also hosted in the lecture hall.

In February 2007 the district approved the Capital Project and Field Improvement plan. This plan will update many athletic facilities throughout the district, including the football field at HSE. They are going to put in a synthetic turf field and improve the stands.[3]

Student life

The school mascot of Hills East is the Thunderbird, which struts the school donning the school colors, Red and Black. There are facilities on both ends of the building for socialization: the student center on the west end and the library on the east end. The student center features a small bookstore and candy counter that is open after school hours and staffed by students in the business leadership clubs. There are also computer facilities on both ends of campus, in the library and in the math wing.

High School West

High School West (HSW), commonly referred to as as "Hills West" or simply "West" within its district, is located at 375 Wolf Hill Road in Dix Hills, New York. The smaller of the two high schools, High School West 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.

West Hollow Middle School

West Hollow is the larger of the two middle schools and is located at 250 Old East Neck Road in Melville, New York. Students feed from West Hollow to High School East. The current principal is Ms. Mary Rettaliata. The school mascot is the Wolverine, but a proposal to change this is currently being considered. The school colors have just been changed from blue and white, and now they are red and black.

Candlewood

Candlewood is the smaller middle school that recently underwent renovations. The school is located at 1200 Carll's Straight Path Dix Hills, New York. The current principal is Andrew Greene. The mascot is the cougar, and the school colors are red and gold. The school's auditorium is newly renovated. A track will be added soon around the football field.

Notable alumni

Central Office

Previously Manasquan Elementary School, Central Office 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.

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