Locust Valley High School EMS students visited the Nassau County Emergency Medical Services Academy in Old Bethpage on April 24 for a hands-on learning experience as part of their training course. The 13 high school seniors, under the supervision of Nassau County EMS trainers, surveyed a mock car accident and used tools to help evacuate and assist injured pretend passengers.
Students have met for classes with NCEMSA instructor Lindsay Falconer and Locust Valley teaching assistant Wendy Tobin at the high school after school twice a week for three hours a night since November. They will complete the course in May and can become certified emergency medical technicians if they pass the New York State exam.
The talented musicians of Locust Valley and Bayville will take the stage over the next few weeks for their spring concerts. Students and staff have rehearsed for months and are excited to share their work with the community. Concerts start this week with the high school on Tuesday, April 25 and the sixth grade on April 27, continue next week with the seventh and eighth grades on Wednesday, May 3, and the co-curricular show on Thursday, May 4 and culminate with the Locust Valley Intermediate concert on Tuesday, May 9 and the Bayville Intermediate concert on Thursday, May 11. All concerts will start at 7 p.m. in the MS/HS auditorium and will also livestream at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_4qiQRMG5cfVz8dUHUdm2w/featured.
To help Locust Valley High School’s 10th and 11th grade students prepare for their upcoming searches, the district hosted an interactive College Night in the school gymnasium in mid-April. Representatives from a hundred higher education institutions were on hand to speak with students and provide information about their respective schools. Students were provided green shopping bags courtesy of the LVHS counseling department to use when gathering literature from the many institutions in attendance.
The Locust Valley Central School District has been named a 2023 Best Communities for Music Education by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM). This is the fifth year in a row the district has received this national honor.
The distinction recognizes Locust Valley CSD as one of the top 830 school districts in the nation for music education. The award program recognizes outstanding efforts by teachers, administrators, parents, students and community leaders who have made music education part of a well-rounded education. Designations are made to district and schools that demonstrate an exceptionally high commitment and access to music education.
“This recognition is a testament to the commitment of our school district, our talented music educators and our dedicated students who continually strive for excellence in music education,” AnnMarie Buonaspina, the district’s Coordinator of Instructional Technology and the Fine and Applied Arts, said. “We will continue to inspire, nurture and celebrate the power of music in our schools and our community.”
Members of the Locust Valley Central School District community are taking over Adventureland on Wednesday, April 19, from 5-9 p.m. The park will only be open to the LVCSD community. Tickets can only be purchased from the Bayville Elementary Parents’ Council here: https://my.cheddarup.com/c/lvcsd-adventureland?cart=7d959573-e9b2-4c07-9864-ed0a588d7db2%21%2150319748. Sales will close at 8 p.m. on April 18 and tickets cannot be purchased at the park on April 19. Email, call or text Lorie Minicozzi at bepcpresident@gmail.com or 516-448-7872.
Members of the Locust Valley Central School District community are taking over Adventureland on Wednesday, April 19, from 5-9 p.m. The park will only be open to the LVCSD community. Purchase tickets from the Bayville Elementary Parents’ Council here: https://my.cheddarup.com/c/lvcsd-adventureland?cart=7d959573-e9b2-4c07-9864-ed0a588d7db2%21%2150319748. Hurry before they sell out! Email, call or text Lorie Minicozzi at bepcpresident@gmail.com or 516-448-7872.
Student film makers from a dozen Long Island schools came to Locust Valley High School on March 30 for the 17th Annual Film Festival to showcase their creative projects.
Judges with industry experience including directing segments for “Sesame Street” and screen credits for “A Beautiful Mind,” “Sex and the City” and “Spin City” joined the students in the auditorium during the school day watched the 77 films in the fields of animation, comedy, commercial, documentary, drama, music video, public service announcement and trailer. Judges awarded the drama project “Tides” top honors, sending the film to the Long Island International Film Expo in July. Students also got to vote on their favorite project.
The Locust Valley High School Parents’ Council provided refreshments outside the auditorium to add to the theater experience.
Please see the attached letters for a message from the superintendent as we head into spring break.
Ann MacArthur Primary School students went to Disney World without leaving the building last week as physical education teacher Maribeth Miller recreated the theme park in the gymnasium from March 27-30.
Mrs. Miller spent hours setting up the elaborate theme park, which saw students drive scooters through a highway and park at stations with Disney-themed books, games and activities like a drive-in movie theater showing Disney classics and a drawing station. Students also stopped at a gas station to refuel their scooters for multiple trips through the park.
Disney Days is a tradition Mrs. Miller has had for over 20 years that has touched the lives of hundreds of students as evidenced by the letters, pictures and scrapbooks from alumni decorating the walls.
Members of the Locust Valley CSD community congregated at the high school/middle school cafeteria for a district-wide celebration of Bilingual Night on March 28.
Organized and facilitated by Cyndy Ergen, the district interpreter, the event provided parents with helpful information to ensure that their children succeed in school. Mrs. Ergen shared the district calendar, important phone numbers and many helpful tips that would not only benefit students, but help parents and guardians feel more comfortable being part of the LVCSD community.
Residents were able to catch up with friends and family, speak with school teachers and administrators, meet with local community organizations and bid on raffle baskets contributed by those organizations. Raffle baskets included arts and crafts kits, lawn games and concert tickets to see Mexican singer Ana Gabriel, among others.
Earlier this month, the Locust Valley High School History Club qualified for the National History Bowl Tournament after winning the Long Island History Bowl Tournament at Half Hollow Hills High School West.
The team, made up of John Hartnett, Sophia Del Giudice, Clare Simon and Abigail Vuong, were quick to the buzzer and called out answers to difficult history questions on their way to six consecutive head-to-head quiz matchup wins and a first-place finish in the four-team round robin. Questions ranged in topics from history of arts, sciences, religion, philosophy, language, geography, sports and entertainment.
The team will look to repeat its impressive performance at the national quiz tournament in Washington, D.C. on April 27 and 28.
Locust Valley High School student government members welcomed members of the Bayville Senior Citizen Club and LV Seniors to the school on March 26 for the annual Intergenerational Dinner. High schoolers served pasta, vegetables and cake, which was catered by the Bayville Deli, to their senior guests. Seniors also met a few members of the cast of the spring musical “Into the Woods” after they finished their last performance on Sunday.
Community members are invited to see the incredible filmmaking talent on display at Locust Valley High School tonight at Monday Night at the Movies in the auditorium at 7 p.m. Student films range from PSAs, documentaries and comedies to commercials, dramas and horrors. Admission is free.
Locust Valley Intermediate and Bayville Intermediate School students developed their green thumbs as they planted tomato and basil seeds as part of Agricultural Literacy Week.
As part of the initiative, the students were visited by representatives from the Cornell University Cooperative Extension, who read the book “Tomatoes for Neela.” The group discussed the theme of the story – the joys of cooking with family – before the students planted basil and tomato seeds into small cups of soil. Third graders at LVI then used these seeds in their garden project in front of the school.
The talented Locust Valley Jesters student-actors will present a production of “Into the Woods” this weekend on March 24 and 25 at 7:30 p.m. and March 26 at 2 p.m. in the auditorium. Presale tickets can be purchased at: ShowTix4U – Free Online Ticketing – Schools, Community, Regional for $12 or at the door for $15. Please come out and support our hardworking cast and crew!
The Locust Valley High School chamber singers welcomed the Hofstra University Chamber Choir for a collaborative concert in the school’s auditorium on March 16. The Chamber Singers took the stage first, performing selections such as “Why a Caged Bird Sings,” “1,000 Beautiful Things” and “Malakatumba” before welcoming the Hofstra Choir for their performance. The university singers performed “The Barber of Seville Overture” and “Pure Imagination,” among other beautiful selections. Before the night concluded, both choirs joined together to perform “On My Dreams” by Jocelyn Hagen. It was a wonderful experience for the musicians to collaborate in a night of song.
As an extension of their classroom lessons, Locust Valley Middle School sixth grade Italian students took a field trip to Ralph’s Pizza and Restaurant in Bayville on March 16.
Accompanied by Italian teachers Eleonora Aiello, Mariantonia Angelo and Melissa Caravello, the 40 students enjoyed learning how to prepare pizza dough, spread the sauce and cheese and evenly apply toppings. Students even had the chance to eat the pizza they prepared and enjoyed fresh zeppoles for dessert courtesy, of owner Pasquale Delprete.
The school’s seventh and eighth grade Italian classes will also be visiting the pizzeria in the coming weeks.
Locust Valley High School hosted a career fair on March 15 in the gymnasium. Forty volunteers came to the school to discuss their career experiences with sophomores and juniors and help them think about their futures. Volunteers represented careers in airline piloting, arts, audiovisual arts, business, child care, communications, education, EMS, engineering, fashion, firefighting, health sciences, law, marine and coastal sciences, marketing, public safety, technology and social work, giving students a wide array of careers to consider.
Locust Valley Middle and High Schools have long maintained a commitment to heart health education, having included a CPR unit as part of its physical education program since 2008. This course is guided by information from The American Red Cross and teaches students the skills necessary to perform the life-saving act on adults, children and infants with the aid of an automated external defibrillator (AED).
Students also learn how to perform the Heimlich Maneuver on adults, children and infants who are choking. Those in grades 7, 9 and 11 receive a two-year certification, while those in grades 8, 10, 12 participate in refresher courses used to introduce any new information and to keep their skills sharp. Physical Education teachers Tim Bellisari, Matthew McFarland and Nadine Pacifico, lead the course this year.
On March 10, kindergartners and prekindergartners at Bayville Primary School visited Village Hall to meet Mayor Minicozzi and ask him questions about his important role in government. The questions ranged from why he wanted to be mayor to what his favorite food is. As a special touch, the students could sit at the mayor’s desk, tour the meeting and village courtroom and learn about the importance of local government.
