Keyword: 'Nicole Hollings' | Herald Community Newspapers

A collage of Doug Smestad made of small squares now sits outside Calhoun’s auditorium.

Calhoun High honors late educator Doug Smestad

Music filled the auditorium at Calhoun High School as students, alumni, administrators and parents commemorated the beloved late teacher Douglas Smestad in December. more

By Stephany Reyes | 1/8/16

Calhoun High School cafeteria staff members Rosanna Matos, Lisa Lazar, Adele Hofmann, Deborah Dempsey, Jennifer Lanpina and Sandy McGovern were busy, cooking 16 turkeys to feed the hungry guests.

Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings

Calhoun High School kicked off the holiday season by hosting its annual Thanksgiving dinner filled with turkeys, desserts and music. Staff members, students and parents enjoyed a holiday meal together on Friday, Nov. 20, raising more than $2,000 in donations. more

By Stephany Reyes | 11/27/15

Calhoun High School student Samantha Hernandez, with Assistant Principal Neil Testa, was selected as one of The Hispanic Coalition of New York’s 40 Under 40 Rising Latino Stars. She will accept the award in Albany on Oct. 11.

Calhoun junior, a Rising Latino Star

Working quietly and diligently in her third-period Advanced Science Research class, Calhoun High School junior Samantha Hernandez looks like any other normal high school student on any other normal day. Except she’s not. more

By Stephany Reyes | 10/7/15

Liz Scopo and Meghan and Katie Corona helped raise funds for the American Cancer Society at Calhoun’s Relay for Life event on April 24.

Central District embraces Relay for Life

After the recent death of beloved Calhoun High School history teacher Douglas Smestad, a team of students and teachers responsible for planning the school's first-ever Relay for Life last spring have promised to preserve his memory by helping to make the American Cancer Society fundraiser a Bellmore-Merrick Central District tradition. more

By Stephany Reyes | 9/30/15

Smestad’s Knights, a group formed to honor Douglas Smestad, a beloved Calhoun High School history teacher, raised more than $10,000 for the American Cancer Society in his honor in 2014.

Calhoun recalls Renaissance educator

“Remember, you are the future.” Douglas Smestad repeated this affirmation daily to the hundreds of students he taught for two and a half decades in history classes at Calhoun High School, … more

By Julie Mansmann | 9/25/15

A Calhoun High School student suffered a “severe case of alcohol poisoning” after drinking at a party last Wednesday night in the woods behind Brookside School in North Merrick, according to Calhoun Principal Nicole Hollings. The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, which oversees Calhoun, had asked Uniondale company Summit Security Services to keep watch that night at Brookside, said Central District Superintendent John DeTommaso. Above, a Summit SUV was parked that night outside Brookside as emergency vehicles’ lights flashed at the woods’ edge.

EMTs pull drunken teen from ravine

The teenager, a student at Calhoun High School, had a “severe case of alcohol poisoning,” said Calhoun Principal Nicole Hollings in an email to parents on June 12. He drank at a “large gathering” of Calhoun seniors in the woods between Brookside School and the Meadowbrook State Parkway, Hollings wrote. more

By Brian Racow | 6/17/15

Gillian Cohen, second from left, was born with a congenital liver defect called biliary artresia, which causes bile to build up in the liver. At age 7, she was given only days to live. This month, she will graduate from Calhoun High School and move on to LIU Post. Above, she is pictured receiving the Cristin Ann Bambino Memorial Scholarship, a $5,000 award, with Bob Bambino, Cristin’s father, second from right; her parents, Pam, left, and Gary Cohen; and Calhoun Principal Nicole Hollings.

After years of surgeries, a Calhoun senior shines

Before Gillian Cohen had her liver replaced on April 17, 2005, when she was 7 years old, the scleras of her eyes had never before been white, recalled her mother, Pam. From birth, they were always a dull yellow. Her skin was jaundiced as well, and it itched –– without relief ... more

By Scott Brinton | 6/3/15

David Seinfeld, formerly the principal of Calhoun High School, is now the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District’s assistant superintendent for instruction.

A familiar face is now the Central District's assistant superintendent

Of all the moments in a school year, David Seinfeld, former principal of Calhoun High School, now the Bellmore-Merrick Central District’s assistant superintendent for instruction, said he loves the half-hour after graduation most of all. He enjoys watching families snapping photos of and hugging their proud graduates. more

By Scott Brinton | 8/27/14

icole Hollings, who taught science at Mepham for 16 years before taking on an administrative role at Calhoun, is now the Merrick school’s principal.

A new leader in ‘Colt Country’

Nicole Hollings was in the 16th year of her career in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District in 2010 when an assistant principal’s position opened up at Calhoun High School in Merrick. … more

By Julie Mansmann | 8/13/14

Joe Levine, the co-author of Calhoun’s biology textbook, spoke to students about environmental awareness on Tuesday.

Calhoun promotes environmental awareness

In a century, there’s a good chance that parts of Long Island and Manhattan will be underwater because of global warming, Joe Levine told students at Calhoun High School Tuesday morning. Levine, who co-authored the students’ biology textbook, was one of the many speakers invited to participate at the school’s Environmental Awareness Day. more

Deirdre Krasula | 11/10/10