Locust Valley Middle School eighth grader Lillian Thompson ran at the 2025 Nike Indoor Nationals on March 13, capping off an incredible first season of competitive running.
Thompson competed in the mile run among the best high school runners the country has to offer after excelling in the cross-country state championships in the fall and spring county championships with a personal best five minute and 23 second mile run. Throughout the season, Thompson has motivated herself by trying to beat the school record in the mile run of five minutes and eight seconds, and her coach Joe Migliano is confident she will get there.
“I’ve had terrific athletes over the years who have been state champions and Olympians, but there is a level of maturity that Lilly has that you don’t see in your average eighth grader or even high school student,” Migliano said. “She is the cornerstone of that distance program, and we haven’t even tapped into her full potential.”
Migliano and Thompson realized the exciting possibilities for her after a strong cross-country season in the fall. Migliano told her to run comfortable for the first 1,500 meters and see where it went from there. Not only did she set a then-personal record, but Migliano noticed that she wasn’t out of breath, evening calmly conversing with her teammates and competitors after the race. In her next race, Thompson beat that time by 20 seconds.
Along with the obvious talent, Migliano touted her exceptional work ethic as something that will help her continue on this impressive path. Thompson can be seen running with her teammates every day, but she also runs with her mother, herself a former track athlete, during school breaks.
“Since I was really little I did a lot of running until I did it for real in seventh grade,” Thompson said. “When I’m towards the end of a race, I just tell myself I’m almost there, and in a few more sprints I can be done.”
Twenty-seven Bayville Intermediate School students presented their experiments and projects at the school science fair on March 13. The 15 groups showcased their passion for topics such as how to create vegetable batteries, steps in avoiding disease and accelerating rock candy crystal growth. The participants presented to students and teachers in the high school research department.
Elisabeth Casey won first place in the third grade division with her project, “Which Type of Paper Airplane Flies the Furthest?” Bethany Korte and Nina Orlowsky took home first place in the fourth grade division for testing insulation efficiency. Alexis Del Giudice and Alexa Velez earned first place in the fifth grade for testing the effects of different liquids on plant growth.
Thank you to the Bayville Elementary Parents Council and all the students and staff members who made this event possible!
After months of tireless work and rehearsals, the Locust Valley Jesters invite you to experience the enchanting performances of “Once Upon a Mattress,” on March 21, at 7 p.m. and March 22, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Come see the dedicated cast and crew bring this classic, medieval tale to life, and see if Prince Dauntless can find his princess.
Go to the link below to secure your tickets today or purchase at the door Friday or Saturday!
https://cur8.com/39980/project/130518
Juniors and sophomores explored their work interests by speaking with dozens of community members in varying job fields at the career fair on March 12. Volunteers in careers such as audiovisual arts, architecture, business, child care, communications, education, emergency medical services, engineering, fashion and law enforcement gave students a look into what it takes to thrive in their work environments.
“It was wonderful to see our students following their passions and starting down the road for their future career paths,” Principal Patrick DiClemente said. “Thank you to all the community members and professionals who are helping our students explore their interests.”
Locust Valley and Bayville schools kicked off a week focused on taking a break from screens and devices on March 10 with a fun-filled Unplugged Night at Locust Valley Intermediate School. Attendees learned various strategies on how to help their children navigate the ever-changing online world through a presentation by Don’t Press Send campaign founder Katie Duffy Schumacher. In the meantime, young students played board games, solved puzzles and participated in exercise activities alongside high school student government members.
The district has switched over its messaging service to the ParentSquare platform. Emails and mobile alerts will be sent out linking back to ParentSquare posts, and users can customize the frequency and language they receive these messages in using the notification settings in the My Account tab.
Go to the link below or scan the QR code today to sign up.
https://www.parentsquare.com/select_school/new
On March 8 and 9, the middle school’s robotics team, the Falconbots, competed in the FIRST LEGO League Long Island Championships for the first time in five years. The Falconsbots made their mark as a top 30 team in the regional elementary bracket, and brought the Robot Design Award back to the valley. It was an incredible moment for these young students, who spent months working on their robot, tackling missions and learning advanced coding techniques.
Congratulations to the team on this achievement!
The IB Art Talks series recently concluded with Maeve Germans and Olivia Babel discussing their styles and themes with their peers. Art classes visited the students at their displays outside of the auditorium and learned about their processes and how the challenging, two-year program works. Germans and Babel showed how their art has progressed and talked about how they hope to continue to express themselves in the future.
In preparation for their collaborative concert with the Hofstra University Chamber Choir, the high school’s chamber singers welcomed the university’s director of choral activities, Dr. David Fryling, on March 7. The singers learned interesting techniques to help them continue to grow as performers.
Come out and support these talented groups when they take the stage at the Bayville Intermediate School auditorium on Friday, March 14, at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free!
The Locust Valley High School DECA business class continued to show its growth as it traveled to Rochester to participate in New York DECA’s 65th Annual State Career Conference from March 5-7.
The 11 students competed in business role play events in marketing and entrepreneurship, professional selling events in marketing, hospitality and tourism and a business plan event. Vanessa Chan and Ann McAree earned a medal for Top 10 in their Entrepreneurship Team Decision-Making Role Play, and Aman Arora and Adhvaith Sreenivas earned a medal for Top 10 in their Innovation Plan.
The DECA students continued to learn more about the business world and develop their professionalism and skills through competition and cooperation with thousands of students from all over the state.
Bayville Intermediate and Bayville Primary schools encouraged students to explore their reading interests during Parents as Reading Partners Week from March 3-7. Both schools had parents/guardians and school staff and administrators take time out of their busy schedules to visit classes and read to students.
On March 6, Bayville Intermediate School welcomed New York State Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz, Locust Valley Middle School Principal Mike Cestaro and Coordinator of Pupil Personnel Services Cheryl Whiting to read to students and answer questions about their unique jobs. On March 6 and 7, the Bayville Elementary School Parents Council set up a reading safari at Bayville Primary School where students could pick from the hundreds of books donated by the community and read inside the tent provided by principal Ross Cohen or by the beautiful rain forest displays constructed by the BEPC. On March 7, fifth grade students from Mr. Calandra’s class also made the walk over to read with pre-K students.
Family, friends, students and alumni gathered at the middle/high school cafeteria on March 5 to celebrate the many cultures that make up the community. Attendees set up tables representing 16 countries with displays, desserts, food and games to showcase the beautiful and unique touchstones that make them special. There were also stations where guests made their own Carnevale masks and piñatas, played Kendama and made their own crêpes.
Thank you to all who made this event possible!
Locust Valley Intermediate School hosted its popular science fair on March 4. Fifty-eight students made up 36 teams that followed the scientific method to explore exciting topics and conduct experiments. Each group presented their findings and creations and got helpful advice from high school research department students and Louis DeRose, Kim Ferina and Ken Packert. Olivia Contois took home first prize in the third grade division for her research into water pollution and its effects on fish. Omer Cayirli and Aiden Faraday won first prize in the fourth grade division for their contraption “The Detrashinator.” In the fifth grade division, Gracie Thompson earned first place with her “Dye-namic Discoveries” to explore how dyes affect plant growth.
Attendees also got to enjoy one last science fair with science lab teacher Caroline McBride, who will be retiring after more than two decades of inspiring our district’s students to explore their scientific curiosities through this wonderful event.
Thank you to the Locust Valley Elementary Parents Council and Mrs. McBride for putting together another amazing celebration of student creativity, and to the high school’s robotics team for entertaining students before and after they presented their projects.
Locust Valley High School’s Model U.N. team made a name for itself at the Hofstra University Model United Nations Conference from Feb. 28 to March 2.
The team was among the 12 schools and over 200 students in attendance, debating and negotiating solutions on topics such as healthcare, nuclear proliferation, the economy and supply lines, ethics and artificial intelligence use. Durand Tchanga Mangwa took home the best delegate award on the topic of Ethics and A.I. in Journalism. Wyatt Thorgramson and C.J. McKenzie earned outstanding delegate honors, and Oliver Dostalek and Thomas Simon were honorable mentions.
The conference served as another opportunity for the bright Model U.N. team to grow and learn about the issues they will face as they grow into the world.
Locust Valley Middle School Italian students spent their class times learning about the brilliant displays of Carnevale parades in cities like Venice and Viareggio, where attendees construct incredible floats and wear ornate masks. Students showed their creativity by designing their own masks using feathers, glitter, markers and pompoms. After each class finished, their masks were added to the display outside the auditorium for all to see their unique interests.
The weather outside may have been frightful, but our students were delightful! Read about some incredible student achievements in the classroom, in extracurriculars and on the fields of play in the winter edition of the district’s Soundwaves newsletter. In the edition, you can learn about the high school valedictorian and salutatorian, the fine arts department trip to Disney World, the elementary school production of “101 Dalmatians” and much more.
You can find the new edition in the Newsletters section of the district website at the link below or in our bios.
https://locustvalleycsdny.sites.thrillshare.com/page/newsletter
On Feb. 28, Bayville Primary School’s second graders welcomed family and friends to the gymnasium to read biographies they made in class. Students in Ms. Morales’, Ms. Sivacek’s, Ms. Pagan’s and Ms. Coules’ classes used the new Schoolwide literacy program’s non-fiction reading and writing units to write a biography about public or historical figures they were interested such as Albert Einstein, Jane Goodall, Jackie Robinson and Walt Disney.
Over the past few weeks, students learned about the components of non-fiction and researched their subjects, taking notes on their graphic organizers. After completing a draft, the students learned how to edit and revise like an author and created their non-fiction books on Book Creator.
As part of the Caught Being Kind program, Locust Valley Middle School honored students Sailor Esteves, Dylan Grieco, Rachel Martin, Ava Reyes, Cora Sostre, Eloise Spurchise, Quinn VanderMass, Dylan Vaughn and Hengrui Xu for helping their peers throughout the school. High school monitor Joan Genova was also commended for her work to assist students and staff. This is the first time an employee has been recognized in the program. All honorees were chosen based on their work to lend a helping hand around the building.
Fourteen Locust Valley High School student artists had their pieces selected for exhibition in the fourth annual Middle and High School Artists Exhibition.
Jurors at The Atelier at Flowerfields selected the works of Humnaa Abid, Inshaal Abid, Chloe Arrata, Ava Becker, Amelia Bonterre, Molly Bowden, Emery de Lauzon, Abraham Diaz Gomez, Kali Frazer, Nicoletta Fredrich, Annemie Germans, Angelina Grygoriak, Tobias Lamb and Olivia Wilde for their unique creativity, styles and attention to detail. These works will be on display at The Atelier in St. James from Feb. 27 to March 27.
“These students are so talented, and I am glad that The Atelier at Flowerfields acknowledged and selected these wonderful students,” art teacher Melanie Mooney said. “Each of their works tells a story, and every viewer becomes a part of its journey.”
Locust Valley High School will host a career fair on Wednesday, March 12, from 8:30-10:15 a.m. in the gymnasium. The school is seeking professionals in all career and trade fields to attend the fair and share information with sophomores and juniors. Breakfast will be provided at 8 a.m. You can register using the link below before the deadline on the evening of Sunday, March 9. If you have any questions, please contact business teacher Lara Olotka at lolotka@locustvalleyschools.org or 516-277-5100, extension 7167.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdF6c4_6jX5-PsJ1O4P3CHRDXpzmPnTSqiinB-RrvFb-NhgLg/viewform
