Latest news with #OneFamily
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
IHC Schools plans to consolidate to one building
WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWTI) – The Immaculate Heart Central School District will be looking to put all of its students under one roof. The school district recently announced its plans to have students from the pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in the same building. According to plans from the district, all students will be at the main campus located 1316 Ives Street in Watertown. IHC's Richards, Charlebois named 2024 'Boots' Gaffney Award winners The school currently houses over 150 elementary school students on a building located at 122 Winthrop Street. The move would take hold for the 2025-26 academic year. IHC Principal Daniel Charlebois said the moved has been in the offing for a while. He said that the cost of running two campuses is more expensive, but there's also an educational component to the move. 'One of the reasons for consolidation is collaboration with our educators,' Charlebois said. 'The best form of collaboration is in person.' Plans from the district will have the pre-K through fourth grade on the first floor while grades five through 12 will be on the second floor. The school will have to make some renovations to prepare for the transition. According to school officials, a target of $500,000 is hoping to be raised via the One Faith, One Family, One School Consolidation Fundraising Here are some of the items that the fundraising project looks to take care of: Remodeling two restrooms and adding one bathroom Playground and Recess Area Abatement and replacement of floor tiles Removal of lockers and installation of cubbies New blinds in classrooms Painting or replacement of ceiling tiles Interior and exterior painting Dividing wall for the gym Roof repairs Repairs and replacement of windows Charlebois said the public has given good feedback regarding the consolidation. There have been informational nights and community members were surveyed on the move. Another positive for the move is that high school kids might be able to guide the youngsters along. There have been programs like reading buddies where high schoolers would read stories to elementary kids. However, the students would have to be transported between the two campuses. The elementary kids look up to them (the high schoolers) and think the world of them,' Charlebois said. This move will be so impactful.' For more information on the project, visit the campaign initiative page here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Independent
28-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
‘Race' for buyers to get on the property ladder before stamp duty rises in April
First-time buyers who have completed their sale before the stamp duty deadline have spoken of their relief, with one describing how the potential extra cost could have been a 'deal breaker'. Under the changes, from April 1, first-time buyers will pay no stamp duty up to £300,000 and 5% on any portion from £300,001 to £500,000. If the price is over £500,000, they must follow the rules for people who have bought a home before. Up until March 31, first-time buyers pay no stamp duty up to £425,000 and 5% on any portion from £425,001 to £625,000. If the price is over £625,000, they cannot claim the relief. First-time buyer Jenny Lianos, 32, recently completed on a one-bedroom flat in Chiswick, London. She said: 'I put the offer in January, and since then it's been a race to complete ahead of the stamp duty deadline. I paid £525,000 for the property and knew from the outset that stamp duty could be a deal breaker. 'Completing the sale in March meant that I paid £5,000, however, if this had been pushed into April, I'd have had to pay £16,250. 'Frankly, that was over £11,000 I didn't have. It means there has been a huge amount of pressure on my solicitor and broker to get everything sorted. 'Thankfully everyone has been understanding of the situation, and I was able to get my keys in plenty of time.' For Dan Barker, 29, a Lifetime Isa (Lisa) was crucial in helping him onto the property ladder. He told how he used a Lisa from provider OneFamily to help buy his flat in Bristol in November last year. Mr Barker started to save into a Lisa in 2019, saying his mother had encouraged him and his brothers to open accounts 'as it offers a 'free' 25% on anything you save up to £4,000 per year'. Mr Barker, who grew up in Swansea and works in Bath, had set himself a deposit goal of £30,000 and went on to buy his flat for £280,000. That price would still be under the new £300,000 stamp duty 'nil rate' threshold – although property values often increase over time and Mr Barker has also been upgrading his home since he bought it by carrying out renovations. Mr Barker added: 'With the bonus and increase in value from the stock market combined, by the time I bought my flat the total value was £32,500 – so I'd received an extra £11,450.' He added: 'I bought by myself which can make it really difficult to afford, but the extra money I received by investing into a Lisa made it possible. 'It wouldn't have happened otherwise, or I would've had to buy a property that required a lot more work or wouldn't have been able to get the location I've got. The extra bonus and growth allowed me to get exactly what I want.' Mr Barker said he had also moved back in with his parents to make it easier to save. He had previously been spending nearly £900 per month on rent and bills – 'so straight away I had almost an extra grand to put into savings every month'. He added: 'If I hadn't moved home and invested into a Lisa, I wouldn't have been able to afford the property I've got now. And it would've probably taken me at least another three or four years to get on the property ladder.' Mr Barker said renovations to his property have included stripping out the kitchen, re-plastering and installing new carpets. He said: 'At the moment it's a bit of an empty shell, but it's all freshly painted and ready to add furniture into. There's been lots of high and lows with renovating that I didn't anticipate, so it's nice to have the extra support of the Lisa which has freed up some of my other savings to help with any unexpected expenses.' He said that, regarding the stamp duty changes: 'I was aware that it was potentially only a temporary increase in the threshold, and so this did stay in my mind. 'It only added to the sense of time pressure as £300,000 was around what I was looking at. I wouldn't say it was my primary driver for buying when I did, but definitely a consideration. 'Had I put off buying, I may have been impacted by the change, so I'm glad I did (it) when I did.'
Fox News
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
As the father of a Hamas terror victim, I am opposed to
My son, Asaf, 17 years old and in the eleventh grade, was murdered in a terror attack. On March 5, 2003, a Hamas suicide bomber exploded on bus #37 in our hometown of Haifa. Seventeen men, women, and children were killed—nine of them schoolchildren returning home from another day at though I was born and raised in Israel, I was shocked. I couldn't understand what could drive a person to take his own life just to kill as many Jews as possible. I couldn't comprehend the hatred that fueled such an act. Determined to understand, I learned that the mother of the suicide bomber—who, according to Muslim customs, should have welcomed mourners in black clothing and served bitter coffee—chose instead to wear normal clothes and hand out sweets. I was astonished that this mother could hate my child more than she loved her was when I realized we were facing a problem far deeper than we acknowledge. If hatred is taught at home, reinforced in schools, and celebrated in kindergartens—where children are dressed as suicide bombers and school performances glorify killing settlers—then another round of fruitless negotiations, like those we have seen in the past, will not bring change. We are a peace-seeking people. We are willing to go to great lengths to compromise and achieve peace—but only with those who share that desire. Terrorist extremists are not partners seeking peace but rather our complete a family, we wanted to continue our lives and find healing, even though no parent can truly heal from the loss of a child. A couple of years after the attack, we were fortunate to have another baby boy. Normally, parents bring children into the world to give them life, joy, and happiness. In our case, the child we were given brought life back to us. He allowed us to focus on the positive aspects of life, even as we carried our grief alongside joined the activities of OneFamily, an organization that supports terror victims and their families. We had to return to work and live our lives as if we were "normal" people. At work, you must put on a "happy face." You must appear normal, even when something triggers a memory of your murdered son and all you want is to find a quiet place to cry. But in OneFamily meetings, retreats, and trips, we were surrounded by bereaved parents like us. We could share our thoughts and experiences without fear of judgment. We could be ourselves without worrying about how we looked to others. After the October 7 attack, we met with newly bereaved families from our city to introduce them to OneFamily and the support it provides. Sadly, the family of bereaved people continues to grow. Even now, with the return of hostages taken on October 7 and later murdered in Gaza, new families will need tremendous support to rebuild their is paying a high price to bring back its kidnapped citizens—dead or alive. Many convicted terrorists are being freed in exchange. Among them is Ali Hasan Al-Ragbi, who was sentenced to 18 life terms for his role in the attack that killed my son Asaf. Three other terrorists involved in the same attack were released in 2011 as part of the deal to free kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. I am completely opposed to the release of terrorists. It is unjust, immoral, and wrong. It weakens Israel as a state and erodes our justice system. Worse, it encourages more young people to become terrorists, knowing that another deal will always come. In the past, I fought against these releases. But this time, I chose not to object. The sheer number of hostages, their ages, and the horror of what they have endured demand extraordinary measures. Instead, I choose to fight for the future—to ensure that nothing like October 7 ever happens again. Israel must adopt a harsher policy against terror. No more containment, no more warnings, no more empty threats. We must act differently than we have in the past if we are to be son Asaf was murdered. But I have three more sons and three grandchildren living in Israel. At Asaf's open grave, I swore that I would do everything in my power to keep them safe—and that "Never Again" would apply, first and foremost, to my family.
