The Locust Valley Central School District has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education. Now in its 25th year, the Best Communities designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement for providing music access and education to all students.
To qualify for the designation, the district answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program and community music-making programs. Responses were verified by school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.
“Our recognition as a NAMM Best Community for Music Education for the sixth consecutive year highlights the collective commitment of our educators, students and community to excellence in music education,” AnnMarie Buonaspina, Coordinator of Instructional Technology and the Fine and Applied Arts, said. “It validates our success in creating an enriching environment where music is an essential and vibrant part of our school community.”
More than 40 student films in categories such as animations, commercials, dramas, horrors and music videos will premiere at Monday Night at the Movies on April 8, at 7 p.m., which will take place in the Locust Valley Middle School/High School auditorium. Admission is free to all. Please come to support our student filmmakers before they screen their films at the 18th Annual Locust Valley High School Film Festival on April 11.
Six Locust Valley High School students traveled to Rochester, New York for the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) Competition in March. Freshmen Harry Fraser, Dominic Spina and Nicholas Vebeliunas and sophomores Aman Arora, Evan Rafiy and Adhvaith Sreenivas were Locust Valley’s first representatives at the state-level conference. Over the course of two days, the trailblazing students competed in several business competitions and sat in on valuable lectures and workshops.
Locust Valley has been a part of DECA for three years, and the participation in the state event is just a prelude to what the program could soon be. Club adviser and business teacher Lara Olotka is in her first year in the district and has quickly helped students find their interests within the business world. “I always tell the students that business is everywhere,” Olotka said. “The skills that they learn will benefit them whether or not they choose business as a major.”
The marketing and personal finance and investment courses, which each had one class section this year will expand to two each next year. A Virtual Enterprise course is also on its way next year and will task students to run a mock business as a class.
Locust Valley Middle School families, please submit your yearbook parent ads and grade 8 baby pictures here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd8RPweqof-hNfJXe15ufrQw_27L9_gY0M2gTU_uDyil7m3yA/viewform by Sunday, March 31. Tuesday, April 16, is the last day to purchase a yearbook at the current prices. You can pre-order a yearbook here: https://apptegy-alerts-attachments-production.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/330e7434-c3c5-4eb8-87a0-3782ca104560/Yearbook%20Pre-Order%20Form%20Follow-Up%2024.pdf. If you have any questions, please email the middle school adviser Mr. Loizides at cloizides@locustvalleyschools.org.
Young scientists took over the Locust Valley Intermediate School gym on March 19 to show off their creative and informative projects for the annual science fair.
Third to fifth grade students brought in tri-fold boards and innovative creations such as DNA strands made out of nail files, robotic arms and clay recreations of the brain to show to their parents and the high school student judges. While one grade stayed in the gym and presented their projects to the judges, the other two grades learned how to make safe chemical reactions and mechanized creations from the Locust Valley High School robotics teams.
Each group of students did an incredible job going through the scientific process and putting together their intricate projects.
Locust Valley High School’s student government welcomed members of the Bayville Senior Citizen Club and LV Seniors to the cafeteria on March 24 after the last production of “Chicago: Teen Edition” for the annual Intergenerational Dinner. The student government members served delicious pasta, vegetables, desserts and coffee catered by the Bayville Deli for their guests. Members of the “Chicago” cast surprised seniors during their meal to talk about the show.
Ann MacArthur Primary School students took part in one of their favorite school traditions last week as they traversed the decorated gym on scooters for one last set of Disney Days during March. Students rolled through the highways to each station, which featured Disney-themed books, games and activities such as the drive-in movie theater and a gift shop with hundreds of items collected by physical education teacher Maribeth Miller.
For 23 years, Miller has shared her love of all things Disney with her students. The event has created incredible memories for students over the years, as seen by the letters from previous classes lining the walls that thanked Miller for her creativity and hard work.
“Over the years, I saw the smiles and happiness and the memories being made,” Miller said. “I vowed to share the magic of Disney until I retied, which happens to be this June. I can only hope that the wonderful world of Disney experience lives on in my absence.”
Locust Valley Intermediate School fifth graders spent the week of March 11 learning circus skills from scratch, culminating in a performance in front of classmates, friends and family on the evening of March 15 at the high school gymnasium.
Students worked all week during their gym classes with members of the National Circus Project to perfect their balancing, clowning, hula hooping, diabolo stick throwing, juggling and stilting skills.
The Locust Valley Elementary Parents Council continued their partnership with the National Circus Project to help students work on their focus, timing and coordination, as well as their teamwork, confidence and communication skills. The parents council and several school clubs also sold refreshments and toys before and during the annual event.
After months of preparation and a visit from Broadway “Chicago” stars Angel Reda and Jeff Gorti for a workshop, the Locust Valley High School Jesters are excited to perform “Chicago: Teen Edition” for the community. Come see the amazing talent of our actors and the incredible sets and costumes of 1920s Chicago.
Performances take place on Friday, March 22, at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 23, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 24, at 2 p.m. in the school auditorium. Purchase your tickets today at https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/82355. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door.
Bayville Primary and Intermediate School students took a short break from their classes on March 14 to take part in a fun, fast-paced trivia game show from Hollyrock Entertainment called the Brain Challenge.
Students gathered in the Bayville Primary gym to compete in fun games such Brain Challenge, a hula-hoop competition, a word scramble, Simon Sez and tug-of-war, that challenged their coordination, concentration and teamwork.
Teachers also got in on the fun, showing their knowledge during their own rounds of the Brain Challenge when they were nominated by students to represent their teams.
Locust Valley High School’s drama club, the Locust Valley Jesters, welcomed Broadway stars of ‘Chicago’ Jeff Gorti and Angel Reda for a workshop on March 13 ahead of their own teen version of the show from March 22 to 24. Gorti currently plays the roles of the doctor and judge, while Reda performs as Annie.
Earlier in the month, the cast took a trip to Broadway to see Gorti and Reda in action and took part in a talkback after the performance. This time, Gorti and Reda led the cast through vocal and physical warmups and a number of scenes and songs from the show, as well as a question and answer session at the end of the workshop.
During the question and answer portion, Reda advised one cast member who is new to acting to “immerse yourself in anything you find that is theater related,” such as books, films and shows based on the show, past performances of the show and more.
“Every moment you are on stage needs to be important,” Gorti told students during the question and answer. “Whether you are the judge or one of the cell block girls, you are so pivotal to this piece so make sure that each moment you step on the stage you know exactly who you are, where you are and why you are there.”
Students were ecstatic to work with the talented performers and the visit helped some connect better with their characters, though all got a huge boost in confidence before they enter the final week of rehearsals.
The cast and crew are excited to present ‘Chicago: Teen Edition’ on March 22 and 23 at 7 p.m. and March 24 at 2 p.m.
Locust Valley High School seniors took to the runway wearing a host of different styles from local businesses as part of the annual Senior Fashion Show at the school auditorium on March 5.
With the help of the Locust Valley High School Parents Council and class advisors Michael Gilbert and Deniz Gumusdere, the senior class partnered with local boutiques to showcase formal wear, sportswear and casual wear. Other local businesses also contributed donations that will help the seniors put together events for their graduation season.
The Locust Valley Central School district showcased its diverse and active community at the second annual International Night on March 6.
More than 100 guests went on a journey through different cultures’ customs, cuisines, music and games at the Locust Valley High School cafeteria. 23 different countries were represented at tables where guests could visit and check off items in the mock passports that were handed out that challenged guests to do things such as learn a word in a different language, taste a new food or meet a new friend.
High school and middle school students also showed their incredible talents, as the Italian Club performed “That’s Amore” and the dance “La Tarantella,” the Greek Club performed “The Kofto” and student Carlos Samayoa performed “Lamento Boliviano.”
Students also sold pins and magnets with a design created by middle schooler Harlow Gaffner to help fund their next Habitat for Humanity build later this year.
Bayville Intermediate School third grade students in Pam Loher’s class marked the end of their social studies unit focusing on the Netherlands with a celebration with their parents on March 8. Students and their parents went through stations where they created Delft tiles with designs including flowers and windmills, planted Dutch Iris bulbs, wrote four-line poems about the Netherlands, and enjoyed hot cocoa, Dutch cheeses and stroopwafels.
After completing all stations, the class went down to the cafeteria where they timed each other running in wooden klompen shoes.
After months of preparation, the Locust Valley High School Jesters are excited to perform “Chicago: Teen Edition” for the community. Performances take place on Friday, March 22, at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 23, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 24, at 2 p.m. in the school auditorium. Purchase your tickets today at https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/82355 or scan the QR code on the poster. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door.
Locust Valley Middle School sixth graders showcased their Fiction Passion Projects last week in the mini theater. Each class explored the incredible projects, which included dioramas of the setting or themes of a novel they read, such as The White House, a fishbowl and a fake Instagram feed, and more abstract items like a video recap and music video describing their novels. Students leapt at the chance they had to infuse creativity into their book reports.
Locust Valley Intermediate School and the Locust Valley Elementary Parents Council welcomed Caldecott Medal-winning author and illustrator Brian Floca on March 6.
Floca explained how he grew to love writing and drawing as a child and walked students through his process from idea to research to writing and illustrating. Students also had the opportunity to ask Floca how they can create books of their own.
The stage behind Floca at Locust Valley Intermediate School’s auditorium was also adorned with incredible cardboard vehicles and depictions of his book covers. In anticipation of the visit, Ann MacArthur Primary School students created projects under the theme “things that go” as many of Floca’s books center on vehicles and travel throughout history. Students built spaceships, boats and trains out of regular household items. Meanwhile, Locust Valley Intermediate School students drew posters resembling some of Floca’s works, such as “Lightship,” “Locomotive” and “Moonshot.”
Floca gave students a sneak peak of the upcoming book “With Dad” that he illustrated. Locust Valley Intermediate student Griffin Bathie and his grandfather acted as the models for the reference photos that Floca turned into the illustrations in the book. Floca gifted Bathie one of the first copies of the book before it releases in May.
Ann MacArthur Primary School’s robotics team, the Falcon Girl Coders, earned the Challenge Solution Award at the FIRST LEGO League Explore Festival on March 2.
The second-grade students took home the award by showcasing their problem-solving skills and teamwork by presenting their interactive LEGO chess board with sounds accompanying each move. Their coding included a motor that turned red when one player is about to be checkmated and a light sensor that turns different colors to signify the difficulty level.
After presenting their project in front of the judges, family and friends, the girls also used their problem-solving skills with team-building exercises like moving a beach ball onto a perch by only using drumsticks and passing a hula hoop without using their hands.
Locust Valley Middle School students Shannon Aguirre, Corniglia Baran, Chloe Cutler, Katie Hernandez, Layne Kalenderian, Mia Marchand, Michael Miceli and Georgia Uber were honored by Principal Cestaro this week for February’s Caught Being Kind program. Each student performed an act of kindness that was noticed by an administrator, teacher or member of the school staff. Acts included staying after class to help clean up without being asked, giving away a raffle prize to another student, helping classmates who were struggling with assignments and helping a classmate get caught up on work after they missed class.
Locust Valley High School students hit their goal by donating 44 pints of blood to the New York Blood Center on March 1. Students donated a pint of blood each. New York Blood Center estimates that each pint of blood donated can save up to three lives. The high school will host another drive on May 23.
