On March 8, Bayville Primary School second graders learned about the ancient Hindu festival of colors, Holi. Assistant Principal Allison Wasserman read a story to students about how the holiday celebrates the arrival of spring in India and represents an opportunity to reconnect with friends and make new ones.
Art teacher Donna Chaplin and second grade teachers painted students’ hands in vibrant colors and had them press their hands down on a canvas to make a rainbow of handprints to hang up in the school hallway. It was a beautiful symbol of the festival of colors and the importance of staying connected with one another.
Locust Valley Intermediate School students unlocked hidden talents last week as they learned how to perform circus acts during physical education class before performing a completed routine for their families on March 10.
Instructors from the National Circus Project, invited by the Locust Valley Elementary Parents Council, helped students become quick experts in stilts, plate spinning, juggling, balancing, flower sticks, diablo spinners and being a clown.
The program culminated in a circus performance in front of more than a hundred people in the Locust Valley High School gymnasium.
Senior class T-shirts are available until March 31 at the link here: https://www.customink.com/fundraising/lvhs-class-of-2023-senior-t-shirt-sale-1628. Show school spirit and help the senior class fundraise for prom.
It’s a big week for the fine arts department in Locust Valley as the high school concert chorale welcomes the Hofstra University chamber choir for a collaborative performance on March 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium and the Locust Valley Jesters continue to prepare for their performances of “Into the Woods” from March 24 to 26.
Admission is free to the LVHS and Hofstra performance. Tickets to “Into the Woods” are available online at https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/71491 for $12 and will be sold at the door for $15. Come out and support our talented students!
The girls varsity bowling team at Locust Valley High School celebrated the end of their winter season recently. Seniors Giavanna Scognamiglio, Francesca Speringo, Alisha Uduevbo and Madelaina Venturino led the way for the Falcons throughout the season and supported the underclassmen team members, as they finetuned their bowling skills. The team completed a 11-1 season and placed third at the county tournament in February.
The Locust Valley Central School District celebrated its first International Night on March 7. Dozens of students, parents and faculty received passports when they arrived at the high school cafeteria and got stamps each time they visited one of the 34 countries’ tables or visual presentations.
Community members of different backgrounds brought in food, games, clothing and more from their cultures. Guests sampled foods such as causa from Peru, grasshoppers and taquitos from Mexico and soda bread from Ireland. Guests also took part in activities like Italy’s scopa card game, Japan’s origami and cup-and-ball game kendama and Mexico’s bingo-like Lotería before also opening a piñata.
The night concluded with a series of performances. Members of the Locust Valley High School Italian Club danced the Tarantella with their parents and friends and the Dominican Dance Group came from the Bronx for a performance. Finally, LVHS student and chamber singer Axcl Lopez-Grant sang a Mexican folk song “Mi Sueño.”
Locust Valley Middle School and High School’s world language departments will next celebrate different cultures at Bilingual Night on March 28.
Locust Valley Middle and High School students filled the stands in the school’s gymnasium after their ninth period classes on March 7 to cheer on district faculty members competing in the second annual Volley in the Valley tournament. Organized by the Athletic Council, Volley in the Valley aims to raise school spirit.
Four teams of teachers, staff and administrators coached by students took to the court
hoping to be crowned. The “Mean Green Machine” took home the title in a close game
against the “Notorious D.I.G.” in front of the raucous crowd.
The Locust Valley Central School District Board of Education is asking for input from the community as part of its search for the next superintendent of schools.
Residents are asked to provide their feedback using a tool called ThoughtExchange. Participants will be asked to share what characteristics they desire the district’s next superintendent to possess. Individuals will also have the opportunity to anonymously rate the qualities, so the top choices float to the top. The Board will use this input as part of the overall superintendent search process.
The exchange will be live through March 17. To access ThoughtExchange, visit tejoin.com and enter the code 222076043 or scan the QR code.
Locust Valley High School students modeled outfits from local boutiques on March 2 as part of the school’s annual senior fashion show.
The fashion show helps high school seniors raise funds for their prom. Boutiques and clothing stores Ask Alice, Victor Talbots, lulu, The Spot, Blush, One Last Look, J. McLaughlin, Birch/Interstyle, TessaReed and Valley Sports partnered with the school providing a wide array of outfits and placing advertisements in the show program.
Students were cheered on by their classmates, friends and family as they walked the runway and worked to make their prom the best possible experience.
Fifty-five third through fifth grade students from Locust Valley Intermediate School showcased their science skills during the building’s annual science fair on March 2.
During the event, the students presented their experiments to their parents, teachers and student judges from the high school.
Experiments ranged from creating potato batteries and volcanos to solar powered toy cars, coastal erosion and dioramas. Students spent weeks testing their hypotheses and constructing visual presentations of their methods.
Third graders James Barba, Christian McGlone and Luke Sullivan were named the grade level’s winners for their group research on how stalactites are formed. They created their own with clay in a diorama for the science fair.
Liam Benazzi and Logan Keaveney finished in first place in fourth grade with their investigation into how penguins stay warm and dry. On the night of the fair, the judges, parents and classmates put their hand under blubber made out of Crisco and put ice over the blubber to show how warm it keeps them.
Aasher Gill won first prize in fifth grade for his investigation into whether video games are addicting. Gill put out a survey to friends and family and collected data from the Palo Alto Research Center. He said that 40% of respondents were unable to stop playing for long periods of time.
Locust Valley High School’s Varsity Girls Basketball team captured the NYSPHSAA Section VIII championship title on March 1, when they defeated the first-seeded Cold Spring Harbor Seahawks at Hofstra university. The final score was 41-31.
Facing a Cold Spring Harbor team that handed them their only conference loss, the Falcons found themselves in a tight game with the score tied at halftime and heading into the fourth quarter. Guard Payton Tini helped the Falcons pull away late, scoring 14 of the team’s 18 points in the final frame to finish with 33 points on the night.
The 2023 championship win marks the Falcons’ third straight county title since 2019, interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. As the Nassau County winners, the team will now compete against Suffolk Class B winners Center Moriches in the Long Island championship, which is set to take place on March 8 at 4 p.m. at Hofstra University.
When district students and parents arrive at International Night at the high school/middle school cafeteria on March 7 at 6 p.m., they will celebrate many different cultures and be able to contribute to the school’s new Habitat for Humanity Student Build program.
Attendees will receive a complimentary Falcon Family sticker designed by LVHS junior Nicole Contudis. Magnets and key chains with the design and International Night T-Shirts will be available for purchase. Proceeds from the sales will support the district’s efforts to help the Student Build Program construct homes on Long Island.
Locust Valley Middle School will host informative parent orientation meetings on March 9 to discuss students’ schedules for the 2023-2024 school year. Parents of incoming grade 7 students will attend at 6 p.m. and incoming grade 8 parents will attend at 7:15 p.m. Both orientations will take place in the middle school/high school auditorium.
During these orientations, parents will receive a copy of their child’s course recommendations for next year. Course recommendations will also be posted in the Parent Portal. After the orientation, parents will have the opportunity to speak about recommendations with staff.
As a culmination of three weeks of planning and engineering, the fifth-grade students at Bayville Intermediate recently showcased their Rube Goldberg machines – a chain reaction type device designed to perform a simple task.
As part of the Library Enrichment for All Program or LEAP, students spent their library time with their teachers and librarian Dr. Jennifer Farrell working in groups and to create elaborate contraptions out of simple machines, such as levers, pulleys and inclined planes, to complete tasks such as dipping chips in salsa and filling a dog bowl with food.
Some of the students’ parents took time out of their days to help plan and construct the machines from late January into early February.
Locust Valley High School is seeking professionals to speak about their careers and trade work during the school’s upcoming Career Fair, which is scheduled for March 15 beginning at 8:30 a.m. Anyone interested in volunteering as a presenter is encouraged to register by visiting Career Fair Registration Form 3/15/23 (google.com) by March 10. Please contact Ashley Gruter if you have any questions.
The Locust Valley High School boys and girls varsity basketball teams each played in memorable semifinal games at Hofstra University on Feb. 22.
At 1 p.m., the 15-3 girls team took on the 12-8 Seaford High School Vikings. The Falcons trailed by 11 points after the first quarter and seven points coming into the fourth quarter. Guards Reily Roberts and Payton Tini led the way with 19 and 15 points, respectively, as the Falcons outscored the Vikings 20-8 in the final frame to send the team to the county championship with a 45-40 victory. They will take on Cold Spring Harbor at Hofstra at 4:30 p.m. on March 1.
Immediately following the girls’ comeback win, the boys tried to recreate their comeback magic against the Malverne High School Mules. After a tight first half ended with a 17-14 Mules lead, the deficit ballooned to 14 going into the fourth. The boys played an inspired fourth quarter, led by forward Mike Hancock, who scored a team-high 16 on the day. Despite their best efforts, the Falcons were defeated by Malverne in a final score of 57-51.
The Locust Valley community is very proud of the sportsmanship and hard work the student-athletes showed, not only during the playoffs, but the entire season.
Online registration for Continuing Education for spring 2023 is available now on the district website. The district offers a robust list of health, physical fitness and special interest activities and classes. Online registration is open until Wednesday, March 8. If the registration deadline has passed, please call Wendy Pierno at 516-277-5541 or email her at wpierno@locustvalleyschools.org. In person enrollment is one night only on Wednesday, March 1 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Locust Valley High School.
Locust Valley Central School District’s elementary schools found creative ways to celebrate the 100th day of classes on Feb. 14. Students at Ann MacArthur Primary School were encouraged to dress like they were 100 years old and many students went all out with wigs, canes, glasses and more. Meanwhile at Bayville Primary, students did 100 different exercises to start their day and estimated how many candy hearts were in jars by the entrance of the school. Some students also found fake $100 bills under their seats at lunch and won prizes.
Bayville Intermediate School fifth grader Haichen Cotten and Bayville Primary School first grader Lucas Kim have been chosen to have their artwork exhibited at the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook from Feb. 17 through April 8 as part of the 24th annual Colors of Long Island student art show.
Haichen’s watercolor autumnal scene mixes warm and cool colors during his art class with Donna Chaplin. The young artist usually likes to draw cars, planes and animals, so this project was something different for him. “I like knowing that people like my art,” Haichen said. “It makes me happy.”
Lucas Kim had his chalk drawing of Christmas lights selected. He chose a glowing yellow for the top light because it is his sister’s favorite color and a light blue because it is his favorite color.
Both students are looking forward to visiting the exhibit with their friends and family.
Locust Valley athletics have plenty to celebrate as both the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams qualified for the playoffs, a shot-put star received All-County honors and five wrestlers qualified for the state tournament.
The boys’ basketball team punched their ticket to the Nassau County Class B Tournament on the back of a four-game winning streak to finish the season, capping an 8-4 conference record. Meanwhile, the B1 conference champions girls’ team go into the playoffs having won 13 of their last 14 games, finishing with a 11-1 conference record and 15-3 overall record.
Locust Valley High School senior Sophia Del Giudice was a conference champion and received All-County honors in girls’ winter track for her performance in shot-put.
The wrestling team took home several accolades, as seniors Charlie Dickman and Evan Shriberg and juniors Justin Dvorak, Jesse Firestone and C.J. Kelly all qualified for the NYSPHSAA Tournament in Albany on Feb. 24 and 25. Dickman, Kelly and Shriberg were all crowned county champions, as well.
