Students get time off after Sandy

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Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on schools, interrupting public school for the longest period in memory. 

Public school and most parochial and private schools cancelled classes starting Oct. 29 and they remained closed for the school week. 

Jean Lane said her daughter cheered when she told her AmPark Neighborhood School, PS 344, wouldn’t resume until Monday. Danny Castillo, a Kingsbridge resident and teacher at New Heights Academy Charter School in Harlem, said his 3-year-old Aimi was “happy to spend time with Daddy,” when classes at Riverdale Neighborhood House were canceled.

“It’s kind of bittersweet. We’ve never had this many days off in New York City, so it’s kind of a little creepy,” Mr. Castillo said as he waited for the Kingsbridge Library to open Nov. 1. “I know we’re going to have to pay this back sometime. I don’t know if they’ll add days at the end of the year or take days off winter break.”

Some of those who did get the whole week off from school were bored by the final days of freedom. 

By Nov. 1, Hailey Davila, an IN-Tech Academy, MS/HS 368, sophomore from Kingsbridge, said the time off was not so sweet without TV, Internet or volleyball games. 

A few schools were still recovering from power outages and lack of heat when temperatures dropped below 40 degrees Monday. 

Classes resumed at Manhattan College despite outages at Alumni Hall, Draddy Gymnasium and the East Hill dorm, where students’ room were still in the dark Tuesday evening. An emergency generator warmed the building but without fans, rooms housing 527 students remained cool, according to Richard Satterlee, vice president for student life. 

 Power outages prompted Riverdale Country School to hold Lower School parent-teacher conferences by telephone on Monday and to move Lower School Students to the Upper School campus for an improvised field day on Tuesday.

sarina trangle, schools, hurricane, sandy,
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