Locust Valley Middle School

The Locust Valley Middle School robotics team, the Falconbots, showcased their building and programing prowess at the FIRST Lego League qualifier on Jan. 24, earning the Engineering Excellence Award.

The team took part in matches at Mineola High School throughout the day, where their robot expertly navigated the field and the team presented their process and research to the judges. The Engineering Excellence Award honors teams with robust, durable and effective engineering, often highlighting superior structural design or complex and reliable programming. Additionally, coach Alan Stella won an Overall Coach/Mentor Award for his work throughout the entire Locust Valley program.

The Falconbots are looking forward to further successes at upcoming qualifiers throughout February and March.

Never stop learning! All community members are invited to register for Continuing Education courses for the spring. You can sign up for exciting courses and informational seminars by mailing in the form or attending the in-person registration at Locust Valley High School on Feb. 25, from 6-8 p.m.

If you have any questions, please contact Wendy Pierno at wpierno@locustvalleyschools.org or call (516) 277-5541.

To view the brochure, go to the Continuing Education section of the website.
https://www.locustvalleyschools.org/page/continuing-education

Locust Valley High School is seeking local professionals to speak with students about their professional experiences at its career fair on Wednesday, March 11, from 8:30-10:15 a.m. Community members from all trades and fields are invited to connect and share valuable advice with our students. Breakfast will be provided at 8 a.m.

Scan the QR code or go to the link below to register. If you have any questions, please contact business teacher Lara Olotka at lolotka@locustvalleyschools.org or at (516) 277-5100, extension 7167.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf2jxrvn83FsVAfy9U8IgXN8MfxCpCm2VUfIqDAMJaLQAO39Q/viewform

Second grade students at Bayville Primary School found a unique way to showcase their appreciation for our local community helpers, hosting a “wax museum” where students stood frozen in place until guests came up to them and inquired about the helpers they covered in their project.

The 49 second graders, dressed as community helpers such as mail carriers, contractors, doctors, firefighters, police officers and veterinarians, stood in front of trifold boards they created to spread the word about the important work they do.

All our district schools are taking food and toiletry donations this week ahead of the big game! Help our local food pantries restock during this frigid winter season.

The Board of Education recognized the middle school cheer squad last night for their role as homework helpers for students at Bayville Primary School throughout the fall. To better utilize the time the Bayville students have while waiting for buses to after school activities, Ms. Shishkoff and her cheer team decided to step up and help students with homework and reading. The helpers and the Bayville students built up a rapport throughout the fall, and the BP students were provided with incredible role models to show them how to be leaders in their community.

“What began as a small idea became something impactful because of the way these girls followed through,” Ms. Shishkoff said. “It is every coach’s hope to see their athletes lead with kindness and heart.”

Dear Falcon Family,

I want to extend a huge thank you to our hardworking custodial, grounds/maintenance and transportation teams for their efforts over the past few days to make sure our students arrived at our buildings safely.

The snow was no match for these teams, ensuring our families and staff had space to park and could arrive at school safely.

Stay safe out there!

Sincerely,
Dr. Turnow

Due to inclement weather, all LVCSD schools will have a traditional snow day on Monday, Jan. 26. There will be no online instruction. The SCOPE Before School Program will be cancelled. Please stay safe and enjoy the day!

Please note that due to the snow day, we will now have school for all buildings on April 1. If there is a second snow day, we will have school on May 26.

Debido al mal tiempo, todas las escuelas del distrito escolar de LVCSD tendrán un día libre por nieve el lunes 26 de enero. No habrá clases en línea. El programa SCOPE de actividades antes del horario escolar será cancelado. ¡Por favor, manténganse a salvo y disfruten del día!

Tengan en cuenta que, debido a este día libre por nieve, ahora tendremos clases en todos los edificios escolares el 1 de abril. Si hay un segundo día libre por nieve, tendremos clases el 26 de mayo.

The Locust Valley Central School District’s Universal Pre-K Lottery will live stream on the LV Public Relations YouTube Channel on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 5 p.m. The results will be posted on the Universal Pre-K Registration page on the district website shortly afterward.

Livestream link: https://www.youtube.com/@lvpublicrelations

Universal Pre-K Registration Page: https://www.locustvalleyschools.org/page/universal-pre-k-registration

The Locust Valley High School robotics team “Kuiper” emerged from two days of competitive FIRST Technology Challenge qualifiers at Sewanhaka High School on Jan. 17 and 18 with the first place Reach Award and the team’s first Inspire Award win in a decade.

Kuiper team members have spent months building and tinkering with their robotic contraption to achieve this year’s build of scooping up and throwing plastic balls into goals. They repaired their robot on the fly as a team, ensuring that it survived a bent chassis, and made it all the way to the semifinals on Saturday.

The highly coveted Inspire Award is given to a team that displays professionalism and shares its experiences, enthusiasm and knowledge with other teams, community members and the judges. The Reach Award celebrates a team that has introduced and recruited new people into FIRST.

The team is looking forward to the championships in March, but first will host qualifiers at Locust Valley High School on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.

Long Island Middle School students presented their experiments and findings at the science fair on Jan. 12. The young scientists showcased projects which tackled topics such as the physics of bridges, the aerodynamics of bottle rockets and the effects of catnip.

The school community came together to create an exciting evening for the scientists. Mr. DeRose’s science research students took part in the judging process. The high school robotics team, Kuiper, gave students a chance to see and pilot their creation ahead of their next competition. The Locust Valley Middle School Parents Council ran the fair, providing food, drinks and snacks for students, as well as beautiful pins and medals to mark the occasion.

The first, second and third place winners will represent the school at the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovator Challenge in March.

First Place: Emilie Baldwin (“Water Goals: Clean and Sparkling”)

Second Place: Aidan Contois, Liam McGovern, Jason Eisenberg (“How Do Autoinducers Affect Aliivibrio Fischeri?”)

Third Place: Waverly Shenoy (“Evaluating Plastic Collection Designs for Recreational Boats”) and Zachary Kim (“Microbial Growth in Strawberries”)

Congratulations to all the scientists and thank you to everyone who helped to make the event so special!

Locust Valley High School Italian Club and Italian Honor Society members celebrated the annual Italiamo festival on Jan. 9. The students welcomed fifth graders from Bayville Intermediate and Locust Valley Intermediate and taught them about Italian culture and history.

High schoolers led stations where the intermediate school students molded clay into Italian icons, learned to converse in Italian, recreated their favorite pizzas using stickers, colored in famous art pieces while laying upside down like Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel and learned how to dance to “La Tarantella.”

Since their return from winter break, Mr. Labansky’s sixth grade technology class has spent first period designing and building dry Zen gardens. The calming activity gave students an opportunity to be creative and construct gardens to take home for stress relief and mental clarity. Students had a peaceful and positive start to the day, customizing their gardens with messages of affirmation written along the sides and rocks and trees in the sand. With the help of Mr. Labansky, students sanded down and painted wood and learned to put the gardens together with their own hands.

The Locust Valley Middle School cast of “Frozen Jr.” is working hard at rehearsals and is excited to perform for the community on Friday, Jan. 23, and Saturday, Jan. 24, at the MS/HS auditorium. Both shows start at 6 p.m. No tickets are required and admission is free for in-person audiences. For the livestream link, scan the QR code or go to the link below. There is a $2.50 fee for the livestream.

https://cur8.com/39980/project/135916

Locust Valley Middle School and High School orchestras spent the school day learning from composer and conductor Soon He Newbold on Jan. 9, culminating with a concert that evening.

Fresh off of their brilliant winter concert performances, the middle school’s sixth grade string orchestra, seventh and eighth grade and high school string orchestras worked with Newbold as individual groups and an ensemble, getting constructive feedback on their work and picking up new techniques. Over the course of the day, the groups mastered new selections, including a rock-infused piece, and showcased their abilities for the school community at a concert in the school’s Howard A. Schmock auditorium.

Newbold is a composer, conductor, musician, film director and producer who has appeared in famous venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Disney World and Aspen Music Festival. She was inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2024 and now travels to schools across the country helping spread her love of music to the next generation of artists.

Take a moment after the winter break to read up on the incredible moments and student achievements from the fall in the latest edition of Soundwaves. Go to the Newsletters section in Student & Parent Resources tab to read it today!

https://www.locustvalleyschools.org/page/newsletter

Locust Valley High School DECA club members competed in the regional competition at Plainview-Old Bethpage High School in December, with three earning a spot in the state competition in March.

Club members participated in role play events from a variety of career clusters including entrepreneurship, hospitality and tourism and marketing, where they had mere minutes to prepare a response to a business scenario. Students thought on their feet to provide a solution to the judges. Locust Valley junior Mia Lu and seniors Vito Ricciardi and Wyatt Thorgramson distinguished themselves in the regional and will spend the winter preparing for the state competition in Rochester this March.

The Locust Valley High School research department has compiled information regarding summer enrichment opportunities in the areas of science and engineering. Many of these programs offer exciting collegiate and professional-level experiences.
To browse the research options, visit https://www.locustvalleyschools.org/o/lvhs/page/summer-research-opportunities

If you have any questions, please reach out to Mr. DeRose, Science Research Coordinator, at lderose@locustvalleyschools.org.

Registration for 2026-2027 kindergarten in the Locust Valley Central School District opens Friday, Jan. 16. To apply, students must reside within the LVCSD attendance area and be 5 years old on or before Dec. 1, 2026. For more information, go to the Grades K-12 Registration page under the Central Registration Office menu tab.

https://www.locustvalleyschools.org/page/grades-1-12-registration