On Jan. 8, middle school students Jack Capobianco, Jesus Ceja, Daniela Cruz, Andrew DeNatale, Emma Fiorentino, Daniella Mejia, Sunny Mencaccini, Kosly Ronquillo, Charlie Ruotolo-Jampol and Elisa Tan were recognized in the Caught Being Kind program for the month of December. Each student was observed performing acts of kindness throughout the school by faculty members.
Fifty-two middle school students took part in the spelling bee on Dec. 18. After an incredible display by the spellers throughout 24 rounds, eighth grader Zhuha Abid won the competition on the word “rookery.” Abid will now move on to the online round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
In December, fifteen Locust Valley High School students competed in the regional competition for the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) club. The students participated in business role plays and were judged alongside over 1,000 students from Nassau County in different industry categories.
During the competition, the club members had their problem-solving skills tested through business role play scenarios where they had to think on their feet and present a solution to a judge. These scenarios varied based on what industry or career cluster the student chose to compete in, and included business management and administration, marketing, finance, entrepreneurship and hospitality and tourism.
Locust Valley club members Vanessa Chan, Lizzy Jouravlev, Ann McAree and Vito Ricciardi qualified for the state competition to be held in Rochester, New York in March.
Prior to the winter recess, Locust Valley Intermediate School fifth graders in Ms. Levasseur and Ms. Singer-Weingast’s class wrapped up their biography unit with a writing celebration during which students were invited to read books written by their classmates and give feedback. Students wrote about loved ones, their idols, and district staff and administrators such as art teacher Donna Chaplin, principal Reilly, Dr. Sampino and Dr. Turnow.
Prior to winter break, students throughout the district celebrated the holiday season with unique and fun events.
As they walked through the hallways at the middle and high school, students were met with the beautiful melodies of Christmas and Hanukkah classics performed by their classmates and members of the music department. The high school chamber singers and orchestra caroled and played at several different spots in the building to help make spirits bright before the holidays.
Over at Bayville Intermediate School, the Bayville Elementary Parents Council provided hot cocoa and candy for students. Bayville Intermediate and Bayville Primary music staff members Richard O’Flanagan, Tiffany Ruffo-Scott and Marc Yavoski, students and faculty kept the sing-along tradition going and were paid a visit by Santa himself.
Students throughout the district shared their love of the holidays and their traditions during the final week of school for 2024. On Dec. 18, members of the high school’s Interact Club paid a visit to Erica Parshley’s class at Bayville Primary to help them create imaginative gingerbread houses to take home to their families. Ann MacArthur Primary students in Ms. Pawluk’s class also created their own gingerbread houses throughout the week.
Throughout the week, Bayville Primary schoolers also welcomed their loved ones to the cafeteria to show their classmates the traditions they enjoy during the holiday season. Each student got their first classroom experience in typing by creating brochures to help guide their classmates through their traditions. Students took in unique traditions like Christmas empanadas, Hanukkah cookies, and ornament making.
Students in Ms. Craven’s chefs and baking classes also tried their hand at making gingerbread houses, with incredibly colorful and creative results.
Mark your calendars, as open enrollment kindergarten registration for the 2025-2026 school year begins on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. It is recommended that all parents/guardians complete the corresponding packet on the central registration page of the district website by Friday, Feb. 28, 2025.
If you have any questions, please email registrar@locustvalleyschools.org.
The Locust Valley Central School District is hiring for the transportation roles of assistant bus dispatcher, bus driver and part-time school bus monitor. You can apply now by emailing a resume and cover letter to hr@locustvalleyschools.org.
Alumni, students, parents and guardians filled the high school auditorium to support the Class of 2025 for the annual lip sync night on Dec. 18. Students put together 11 wide-ranging acts, which included singing, choreography and jokes aplenty. The event also served to help the class pay for fun end-of-year activities for graduates.
Staff member judges declared the girls varsity basketball team the winners for their epic performance of the theme from “The Greatest Showman.” The varsity wrestling team took home second place for their acts “YMCA,” by The Village People and a mashup of “All I Want for Christmas,” by Mariah Carey and “My Sacrifice” by Creed. In third place was a new rendition of Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show.
Thank you to all who worked to keep this tradition going!
The Locust Valley Falcons showed attention to detail on and off the field this fall, with seven teams earning Scholar-Athlete team status. The varsity boys golf and volleyball and girls cheerleading, cross-country, field hockey, golf, soccer and tennis squads achieved this feat by having 75% of the team’s average GPA equal or surpass a 90.
Congratulations to these Locust Valley athletes!
Locust Valley Intermediate and Bayville Intermediate schools delighted audiences of their classmates, primary schoolers, friends and loved ones this week in the last shows of the winter concert season. The bands, choruses and orchestras showed their confidence and progress throughout the fall and early winter.
Thank you to the incredible music department staff for creating a nurturing and exciting environment for our musicians to continue to grow.
Locust Valley Middle/High School enjoyed the company of Walty the therapy dog, who returned on Dec. 16. Thirty-five students and many staff members came to the high school library between classes to enjoy Walty’s calm demeanor during a very busy time of year.
Thank you to Walty, Therapy Dogs of Long Island, the counseling department and the Acts of Kindness and Interact Clubs for making this event happen!
As we head into the winter break, there is time to look back on another great fall in Locust Valley. In this edition of Soundwaves, you can relive incredible events such as the first day, homecoming, Halloween and see the accolades our students and staff continue to bring in.
Go to the Newsletters page on the district website to see the Fall 2024 recap.
https://www.locustvalleyschools.org/page/newsletter
Locust Valley High School students and staff are doing everything they can to spread positivity and holiday cheer by creating beautiful holiday cards for children’s hospitals throughout the country.
On Dec. 4, members of the high school’s Pre-Health and Language Honor Society met in science teacher Veronica Ciampi’s classroom and constructed over 100 holiday cards to send to hospitalized children throughout the country. On Dec. 12, the high school’s Interact Club did the same for Cohen’s Children’s Hospital.
Locust Valley High School’s chamber singers took to the stage at the iconic Radio City Music Hall on Dec. 9 to perform before The Rockettes’ New York City Christmas Spectacular.
Conducted by Ms. Brianna Brickman, the talented singers belted their renditions of “Joy to the World” and “White Winter Hymnal” for the sellout crowd, which included Principal Patrick DiClemente, Coordinator of Instruction Technology and the Fine and Applied Arts AnnMarie Buonaspina, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kristen Turnow and family and friends.
The brand-new Locust Valley High School boys varsity swimming team opened its first season with a meet at Hewlett High School on Dec. 6.
The team, coached by Alexandra Senglaub, includes students from Locust Valley Middle and High School, Glen Cove High School and Carle Place High School. During the meet, Locust Valley freshman Aidan Habermehl, sophomores Miguel Guerra and C.J. McKenzie and Glen Cove High School sophomore Nicholas Cueva set the pace with a 2:38:91 time in the 200-meter medley relay. Locust Valley sophomore Arda Agir secured four program records in the 200-individual medley, 50-freestyle, 100-butterfly and 100-freestyle. Locust Valley seventh graders Joey Jaszczuk, Jack Kilpatrick and Matthew McCloy had great showings in the 100-freestyle, 500-freestyle and 100-butterfly, respectively. And Locust Valley senior Sean Lyons sped through the 100-backstroke in 1:23:35.
After a great start for the new team, the boys will look to continue their success at their next meet on Jan. 6.
The middle and high school bands, choruses and orchestras performed for huge crowds of supporters on Dec. 5, 10 and 12 after months of work perfecting their selections. Next week the ensembles from Locust Valley and Bayville intermediate school will take to the stage in their auditoriums on Dec. 17 and 19, respectively, to conclude another amazing concert season. These concerts will also be livestreamed via the LVTV YouTube channel.
Thank you to all our performers and instructors for your hard work and to our community for continuing to show your support for the arts in our schools!
The varsity football team and cheerleaders dressed up for the end-of-season awards dinner hosted by the Crescent Club on Dec. 4. At the dinner, captain Nick Spampinato was named the team’s most valuable player, Connor Geertgens and Chris Velsor were each named most improved player, Jackson Hoban and Arthur Rojas were each given coaches awards, and Liam Roberts was named unsung hero. Cheerleaders Gianna Lagalante and Julianna DiLorenzo were named the team’s most valuable players, and Madison Tiberio and Caleigh Encarnacion received coaches’ awards.
The football team also had five players honored as Section VIII award winners. Nick Spampinato and Marcus Houghtaling were named to the All-County team, Kyle Demosthene earned All-County honorable mention honors, Enzo Gangi was named to the All-Conference team, and Liam Roberts was named a county unsung hero.
During the first week of December, the Ann MacArthur Primary School and Bayville Primary School communities put together two incredible afterschool activities to begin the holiday season with Family Gingerbread House Making and the Winter Wonderland, respectively.
Bayville Primary students wore their coziest pajamas and returned to the building on the evening of Dec. 4 for the annual Winter Wonderland event, which started with principal Ross Cohen reading the book “How to Catch a Snowman” in the cafeteria. Students then went through stations where they wrote letters to Santa, built snowmen out of marshmallows and enjoyed milk and cookies. The school’s incredible teachers ran each station and helped make it an amazing night for all involved.
On Dec. 6, Ann MacArthur Primary School hosted the Gingerbread House Making event to bring students and their loved ones together. Run by the Locust Valley Elementary Parents Council, the event saw students and their loved ones showcase their creativity and teamwork while enjoying treats and holiday music.
In late November, National Art Honor Society students in Ms. Melanie Mooney’s class constructed creative and colorful ornaments after a field trip to planting fields at the Bailey Arboretum for inspiration. Students used objects they found in the arboretum such as pine cones to craft these ornaments.
These ornaments will be placed on a tree on Dec. 12 from 4-6 p.m. as part of the “Home for the Holidays” festival.
