Thank you to the LVCSD community for approving the 2013-2014 school budget!
 
The results are as follows:
 
Proposition 1: 2013-14 Budget: Passed
 
Yes:1329
 
No:887
 
Proposition 2:
 
Yes:1476
 
No:643
 
Proposition 3:
 
Yes:1370
 
No:612
 
Proposition 4: LV Library – Passed
 
Yes:582
 
No: 264
 
 
    Two candidates, Susan Petersen Lubow and Kerian Carlstrom, have been elected to the Board of Education for a three-year term beginning July 1, 2013.
 
 
Susan Petersen Lubow: 1330
 
Kerian Carlstrom:1052
 
John E. Hellyer Jr.:1027
 

Fifth graders at Locust Valley Intermediate School won second place in the Anthologies category of the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association’s 26th Annual Poetry Contest.

The students, from Shari Zindman’s class, wrote poems following the theme, “Songs of the Open Road.” Mrs. Zindman has winners in this contest every year and said she is proud of the students for working so hard and being recognized for their efforts.

Congratulations to Mrs. Zindman and all of her student poets!

Bayville Intermediate School had three winners in the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site National Park Week 2013 Poetry Contest. The BI students swept the fifth-grade category!

Congratulations to first-place winner Nina Cialone, second-place winner Matthew Scicutella and third-place winner Daniella Bittner. BI Librarian mentored the young poets for the competition.

In its first year, the poetry contest had 200 entries with only 16 winners, making the three awards for BI students very impressive!

Varsity Girls Lacrosse Team members Lindsay Bleistein and Cassandra Vnook have been selected to the School Girls National Lacrosse Team, which is sponsored by US Woman’s Lacrosse. The LVHS sophomores competed against almost 300 high school lacrosse players for spots on the team.

The girls will compete among 1,500 of the most talented high school lacrosse players in the nation on May 25-26 at Lehigh University. “This is the most prestigious recruiting lacrosse tournament in the country,” said LVCSD Director of Health, Physical Education and Athletics Mark J. Dantuono. “This is great opportunity for these girls to be exposed to college recruiters across all levels of college play.”

Congratulations to Lindsay and Cassandra and good luck in the competition!

First graders at Ann MacArthur Primary School learned about recycling and taking care of the earth during a special presentation in honor of Earth Day. The students took home potted roots that they could plant at home after learning about how trees help the environment.

Audrey Bell, the mother of first graders Julia, Sophia, and Cecilia presented Earth Day lesson and provided the soil and roots for the children to plant with the help of the company she works for.

“We do this every year to make the kids aware of recycling and taking care of our earth,” Mrs. Bell said. “ They learn how our actions affect the earth.”

AMP Principal Sophia Gary said that Mrs. Bell’s visit is a wonderful way to reinforce the lessons learned in the classroom. “Classroom teachers cover recycling and the environment, and having a presentation on the topic makes those lessons even more impactful,” she said.

The Locust Valley High School newspaper, The Spectrum, has received the American Scholastic Press Association’s first place rating for the third year in a row.

The Spectrum advisor, Coleen Comerford said the writers and editors are diligent and talented, working very long hours to create a newspaper they can be proud of.  “I am so proud of the hard work our reporters, photographers, artists and layout designers have put into creating a top-rated publication,” she said. “The Spectrum reflects the ambition and talent of our students, which never ceases to amaze me.”

Congratulations to the entire staff of The Spectrum.

Two teams of Locust Valley High School students earned second place in Chemagination, a science competition in which more than 40 teams participated. In the environmental chemistry category, Caoimhe Stafford, Emily Schlicht and Niko Martinovic presented their idea of a Black Allen Box to prevent radiation from escaping in the event of an accident at a nuclear plant.  Competing in the medicine and drugs category, Tazim Merchant, Joe Kim and Chris Lee presented their idea of Sleep+, a drug to improve the quality of sleep. 

Chemagination, a competition sponsored by the American Chemical Society requires students to pick an area of chemistry and predict how it may improve the lives of high school students 25 years in the future.  The students researched their topics and then each team wrote an article for Chem Matters Magazine as though we were in the year 2038.  Students presented their work to a panel of judges at St. John’s University. These chemistry professors questioned the teams about their presentations and asked them what other advances in chemistry would be needed in order for their idea to be realized.

Congratulations to these high school scientists!
 
 

Under beautiful sunny skies, Lacrosse Day 2013 provided a full day of exciting lacrosse games and fun for all ages. The Locust Valley Varsity and JV teams played at Centre Island, where Oak Neck Athletic League sponsored vendors and refreshments. The Oak Neck lacrosse teams also played throughout the day and the Falcon Pride Booster Club was on site.

The community came together to cheer on the athletes, enjoyed a barbecue, and spend the day outdoors. It was a fun time for everyone!

Check out the slide show below of Lacrosse games throughout the spring season:

Locust Valley High School juniors were introduced to dozens of career options during the fourth annual Junior Career Fair, a collaboration of the LVHS W.I.S.E.  Senior Internship Program, and the Locust Valley Rotary Club.

A panel of top professionals spoke about their career histories, offering advice about getting back up after a set back. Other professionals from a wide variety of industries offered insights to various careers through small group meetings. Students were able to ask questions and hear first=hand stories from lawyers, architects, medical professionals, firefighters, an airline pilot, and many more interesting career representatives.

Business teachers Doreen Kobus and Bea Rupp organized the event in order to give students a wide variety of options to consider when thinking about their futures. “We don’t expect them to make any career decisions now, but it is important to expose them to as many careers as possible,” Ms. Kobus said. “The career fair is also a wonderful way to bring the community together for a good cause.”

Joseph Ryan, liaison for the  Locust Valley Rotary Club worked with Ms. Kobus and Ms. Rupp in coordinating the fair, which brought in the professionals, many of whom are residents of the school district or work in the community. The Rotary Club has been instrumental in making the career fair happen each year.

Three fifth grade Locust Valley Intermediate School students have been recognized as Regional winners in the Toshiba ExloraVision Competition. The team of Hana Glavin, Michelle Hsu, and James O'Connell were honored for their innovation, “Triple C: Carbon Capture for Cars.” These students came up with an innovation that would reduce carbon emissions from cars. This team was coached by librarian Anne Joyce and mentored by high school physics teacher Alan Stella.

From nearly 15,000 entries, Hana, Michelle, and James were among only 24 regional winners. Toshiba ExploraVision is a science competition for students in Kindergarten through twelfth grade, in which participants are encouraged to imagine and research what technology could  look like in the future.  

Locust Valley Intermediate School had eight teams participate in the competition. Bayville Intermediate School had six teams participate, one of which received Honorable Mention.  \Coached by Bayville Intermediate School Librarian Paige Coppola, the team of Christopher Bartell, Anthony Scicutella, and Bradon Chabrier proposed BCDC (Breast Cancer Detection Cream) a cream that would detect breast cancer at a very early stage and therefore save lives.

In addition, there were 11 teams at the high school and six teams at the middle school participating in this year’s Toshiba ExploraVision competition. Congratulations to all of the district’s students that participated in this year’s Toshiba ExploraVision Competition.

Research, creativity, and teamwork helped young scientists at Locust Valley Intermediate School produce a wide array of inspiring experiments at the school’s annual science fair. Hosted by the Locust Valley Parents’ Council, the fair provided an opportunity for students to exhibit their science experiments for parents, friends and the community.

The scientific questions posed by the third through fifth graders produced fascinating answers and proved that these students knew how to form a hypothesis and prove their theories. From a “Germination Station” to an experiment on different ways to light a light bulb, scientists produced results and used stimulating visuals to present their projects.

“These students proved that they have learned the skills to conduct a proper experiment and prove a hypothesis,” explained Ken Packert, Locust Valley’s K-12 Science Coordinator. “They presented their material in a way that the audience could understand and they learned something themselves throughout the process.”

Members of the high school’s research program, along with their teacher, Chris Hoppner, served as judges for the science fair for the third year in a row. “My students were thrilled to interact with the intermediate school students and share this experience with them,” Mr. Hoppner said. “Through this partnership, the younger students see that they can continue their scientific research throughout school, and they look forward to it.”

Locust Valley Intermediate School science lab instructor, Caroline McBride said the students worked independently or in groups on their projects and had fun while doing it. “Participation in the science fair is voluntary, which makes it that much more impressive that so many students chose to be a part of the fair,” she said. “It proves that they already are forming a love for science at a young age.”

Locust Valley High School students held a shore-to-shore fundraiser to benefit victims of Superstorm Sandy, in the Locust Valley and Long Beach school districts.

A carnival, complete with cotton candy, hot dogs, face painting and relay races provided a fun-filled fundraiser that brought in more than $4,000 to help those hit hard by the storm get back on their feet.  An entrance fee and raffles were the primary source of fundraising. However, prior to the event students at Locust Valley High School paid for the opportunity to tape their principal and Dean to the wall. Dr. Kieran McGuire, and Mr. Joe Enea were suspended in the air, covered in duct tape, to help raise funds for such a great cause.

Locust Valley High School students Samantha Fornaro and Monica Graziose, along with their families, organized the shore-to-shore fundraiser. They hoped to raise money for Bayville and Long Beach communities, which were both greatly affected by hurricane Sandy. Staff members Jillian Celli, Angela Manzo and Rebecca Gottesman were instrumental in helping Samantha and Monica with the event.

Ms. Gottesman said the students were tireless in their efforts to help those in need. “They had been wanting to help those who were hurt the most by Superstorm Sandy.  They worked day and night for weeks to ensure that this event would be a success,” she explained. Donations from parents, community members, students, and faculty added to the great success of this fundraiser.

Parents and children of all ages came out for the cause, played video games, threw whipped cream pies at their teachers, and had their faces painted.

Great job by all who participated! Check out the pictures in the slide show below.

Sixth graders at Locust Valley Middle School raised more than $10,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This was the largest amount of money raised by a single grade on all of Long Island!

With only 180 students in the sixth grade, these ambitious students competed against each other to raise the most money per class for this important cause. Some classes held bake sales, and others participated in creative events such as Moustache Monday, when the students wore fake moustaches, and sold fake moustaches, some made of chocolate.

The event culminated with students paying for pieces of duct tape and taping Principal H. Thomas Hogan and Music Chairperson William Margiotta to the wall.  The event was a fun way to raise those few last dollars and bring the entire grade together for some spirit.

Organized by Barbara LaBella and Meris First, the sixth grade advisors, the fundraiser was the largest ever for a group this size at Locust Valley.

Allison Levine, the campaign coordinator for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society said the Locust Valley sixth graders raised more money per child than any other group on Long Island. She explained that large donations such as this one usually come from an entire school, rather than one grade.


Mr. Hogan said the students and faculty should be commended for the tremendous effort put forth for the sake of those in need. “These kids and their teachers are superstars – they spent countless hours creatively raising funds and they should feel good about what they’ve done. I have never been prouder of our 6th grade community. They are a special group.”

Locust Valley High School Ranked One Of America’s Top High Schools – Again!
#3 on Long Island and #4 in NY

Locust Valley High School continues to excel and has once again gained national distinction by being ranked as one of the top high schools in the nation. Locust Valley High School has earned recognition as being 3rd on Long Island, 4th in New York State, 9th in the Northeast, and 116th in the nation among all public and private schools, according to The Washington Post. Locust Valley High School was ranked higher than any other open enrollment International Baccalaureate school on Long Island or in New York State.

There are 27,000 high schools in the nation. Only the top nine percent of those schools qualify for The Washington Post rankings. The Washington Post’s Jay Matthews uses a formula which he calls the Challenge Index to calculate the rankings. The formula uses the number of AP and IB exams given at the high school divided by the number of graduating seniors. Mr. Matthews states on his website that this formula determines how well a school prepares their students for college.

“I am very proud that Locust Valley High School has been recognized yet again for outstanding academic achievement,” stated Locust Valley Superintendent of Schools Dr. Anna F. Hunderfund. “Locust Valley High School offers a rigorous academic program which prepares students to succeed in college and the workforce.” Dr. Hunderfund added that this recognition is a result of the hard work of the district’s students and faculty as well as the commitment of the Board of Education and the support of parents and our community. “It is this exceptional combination which makes this outstanding achievement possible!"

The 2013 rankings were based on numbers collected from 2012.

Locust Valley High School hosted its eighth annual film festival, featuring original films by high school students from across Long Island.  Locust Valley students took home first and second-place awards from 151 entries.  Nicole Yonkers won first place for outstanding public service announcement; John Rozzo and Michael Paniagua won second place for outstanding public service announcement; and 
James Schieferstein won second place for outstanding animation.

Fourteen high schools submitted films for the festival, and judges from New York Institute of Technology pre-judged and chose the 59 films that were finalists in the festival. Professional film critic, Sandy Kenyon attended the festival and chose the winners, based on technical skills, creativity, and enjoyment. Mr. Kenyon offered invaluable advice to the young filmmakers, explaining what aspects he liked in certain films, and why others did not work. “Choose your actors carefully,” Mr. Kenyon told the students. “Don’t cast your friends in your films. Actually hold auditions and cast the person who is the most believable.” He also spoke to them about lighting, and other technical aspects. “If you’re making music videos, you need to watch a lot of music videos,” he pointed out.

“The Locust Valley Film Festival has become the premier high school competition for Long Island's students and is recognized as such by the scholarships annually awarded to our winners by NYIT for film and media studies," said Locust Valley High School Principal Dr. Kieran McGuire.

Films were submitted in the categories of animation, public service announcements, TV commercials, music videos, documentaries, film trailers, comedies, and dramas. Along with members of the high school Parents’ Council, Locust Valley film teacher Bruce Campbell organized the event and said the lessons learned by viewing other student films are very useful to his students. “Our film festival is a competition, and while we're proud of our students and the awards they win, we're equally proud of the event itself. It's a wonderful learning experience for students to share their work with other students from so many schools. It helps inspire them to achieve their best."

A special movie night prior to the festival was held at LVHS to highlight all of the Locust Valley films submitted this year.

The Locust Valley High School Parents Council is instrumental each year in making the festival a success. Special thanks goes to this year’s film festival committee chaired by Susan Hammerschmidt and Sarah Henris.

Congratulations to all of the participants on a job well done!

LVHS senior Chris Minafo was selected as one of Long Island’s Best Young Artists by the Heckscher Museum of Art. Chris’ artwork was one of only 80 pieces chosen for the exhibit from all Long Island high schools.

Chris was honored at an opening reception at the Heckscher Museum in Huntington and will have his artwork on exhibit through April 21, 2013.

Chris is a student in Mrs. DeFeo’s IB HL Visual Arts class and has had his pieces displayed at school and in various exhibits in the community. Mrs. Defeo said, “It has been a privilege to teach Chris. He is deserving of such an honor, as he is one of the most talented artists I know and it is fitting that his work be displayed in such a prestigious exhibit.”

“I have had the distinct privilege of seeing Chris develop his vision and technique over the course of seven years. He has always been an excellent technician,” said H. Thomas Hogan, LVCSD director of art. “What impresses me most is his unwavering dedication to his vision and purpose. His art speaks and shares so that you rarely walk away without gaining insight into the artist – a true achievement. ”

Congratulations to Chris!

Members of the Class of 2013 have been accepted to a wide variety of colleges and universities, including some of the most highly selective schools in the country! Please see the list below of many of the prestigious institutions that have invited Locust Valley students to join their ranks!


Adelphi University
Albany College of Pharmacy
Albright College
Alfred University
American University
Arcadia University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University East
Baruch College of the CUNY
Binghamton University
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
Boston College
Boston University
University of Bridgeport
Brooklyn College of the CUNY
Buffalo State College of SUNY
University of California at Los Angeles
University of California at Santa Barbara
Castleton State College
College of Charleston
Clark University
Coastal Carolina University
University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Connecticut
Cornell University
CUNY/UAPC
University of Delaware
DeSales University
Drexel University
East Carolina University
Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts
Fairfield University
Flagler College
Fordham University
Franklin and Marshall College
Franklin Pierce University
Furman University
George Mason University
Georgetown University
Gettysburg College
University of Hartford
Hartwick College
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Hofstra University
Hunter College of the CUNY
Indiana University at Bloomington
Iona College
Ithaca College
James Madison University
University of Kentucky
La Salle University
Lebanon Valley College
LIU Post
Loyola University Maryland
Lynchburg College
Manhattan College
Manhattanville College
Marist College
Marshall University
University of Maryland, College Park
Marymount Manhattan College
Marywood University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
University of Miami
University of Michigan
University of Mississippi
Molloy College
Monmouth University
Mount Saint Mary College
University of New Hampshire
University of New Haven
The College of New Jersey
New York Institute of Technology - Old Westbury
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Northeastern University
Northwood University, Florida
Pace University, New York City
Pennsylvania State University, Schreyer Honors College
Pennsylvania State University, University Park
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
Providence College
Purchase College State University of New York
Quinnipiac University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rhode Island College
University of Rhode Island
Roanoke College
Rochester Institute of Technology
University of Rochester
Rollins College
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey at New Brunswick
Sacred Heart University
Salisbury University
Salve Regina University
Santa Fe University of Art and Design
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
The University of Scranton
Seton Hall University
Siena College
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
University of South Carolina
University of South Florida, Tampa
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
Springfield College
St. John's University - Queens Campus
St. Thomas Aquinas College
Stanford University
State University of New York - Plattsburgh
State University of New York at Albany
State University of New York at New Paltz
Stevenson University
Stony Brook University
SUNY College at Cortland
SUNY College at Old Westbury
SUNY College at Oneonta
SUNY College at Potsdam
SUNY College of Technology at Canton
SUNY Delhi
SUNY Fredonia
SUNY Maritime College
SUNY Oswego
Syracuse University
The University of Tampa
Texas Christian University
The University of Texas, Austin
Towson University
Tulane University
Tyler School of Art
University at Buffalo The State University of New York
University of Vermont
Villanova University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
University of Virginia
Wake Forest University
Washington University in St. Louis
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
West Virginia University
Western Carolina University
Wittenberg University
York College of Pennsylvania

Seven robotics teams have advanced to the finals in the FIRST Lego League robotics competition. The teams, from the middle school and Bayville and Locust Valley Intermediate Schools, were coached by parent volunteers and supervised by high school science teacher and robotics coach Alan Stella. The theme of the event, ‘Senior Solutions,’ charged teams with the task of
exploring the topic of aging and how age may affect a person's ability to maintain his or her lifestyle. After identifying challenges to aging, such as the inability to get around, the teams were responsible for solving these issues with an invention. Teams also built, tested, and programed an autonomous robot using Lego Mindstorms® to solve a set of missions on an
obstacle course.

Congratulations to the following participants:

Bayville Intermediate School

The Crazy Racing Robots - 2nd Place - Inspiration Award
Elizabeth Flory, Ryan Maselli, Ezra Pietrafesa, Noah Pietrafesa, Julia
Sabitino, Alexandra Weilert, Raymond Weilert, Chase Williams

Locust Valley Intermediate School

Robotic Falcons - 1st Place ­ Project Presentation
Chris Chiu, Tim Chiu, Salvatore Caizzo, Alex Giankakis, Joseph Keebler,
Isabella McGlone, Joseph Valli, Zach Watson, Alex Wyslowski

LEGO-letes - 2nd Place ­ Research Project
Anthony Bonadonna, Daniel Glavan, Hana Glavan, Lucas Johnson, Matthew
Klein,
James Long

The Medicine Bottles -1st Place ­ Mechanical Design
Nils Coffey, Danny Dessner (6th Grade), Ethan Dessner, Jeremy
Mastrodomenico, Jordan Mastrodomenico


Locust Valley Middle School

Team #624 LV Lego Technix - 2nd Place - Innovative Solution Award
Diana Bianco, Brian Chasanoff, Giulia Maida, Daniel Schraeter,
Danielle Sisson, Michael Sisson,

Baybots  - 1st Place ­ Robot Performance Award  & 2nd Place Strategy and
Innovation Award (The Baybots earned the highest score of the day with 345
points).
Bridget Bianco, Grace Carreccia, Charlotte Creedon, Rebecca Finke,
Mackenzie Henris, Jaye Liantonio, Ella Paz

Vectors  - 2nd Place ­ Programming Award
Matthew Boutros, Joe Cantore, Keenan Herlich, Alex Lawton, Mike Keshle,
Charles Saventti