Five Long Beach High School Visual Arts students had their work selected to be featured in the 23rd Annual Long Island’s Best Young Artists competition, held at the Heckscher Museum. More than 350 works were submitted for consideration, and approximately 80 were chosen for display. This year’s Long Beach group represents a record number of entries from the high school.

Pieces by Hailey Barshak, Bryan Dilone, Charles Mandell, Morgan Polete and Jhana Prue will be exhibited at Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington from April 6-May 19. An artist’s reception was held on April 13. 

In addition, the artwork by Morgan, Charles and Haley Barshak was chosen to be exhibited in the window of Mitchell's store in Huntington following the Heckscher display. 

Long Beach High School’s Television Studio Production students attended the 14th annual Locust Valley Film Festival on March 28. Once again, they represented the community with excellence and attained numerous awards including the overall Grand Prize distinction.

The top honor was earned by the film “Flip,” created by James O’Connor, Melody Moy and Charles Mandell. Selected out of more than 250 entries, it will now be entered into the 22nd Long Island International Film Expo, which accepts the top 100 professional independently made films from around the world.  "Flip" also took first place in the Drama category.

Ashanti Sherred’s “Sneaky Adventure” achieved second place in Drama and Best Editing and third in Best Cinematography. A two-year TV Studio student, Ashanti has been accepted into the Tisch School at New York University and will enter the same doors that Martin Scorsese, Alec Baldwin and Spike Lee have passed through. 

Long Beach High School’s Vann Ceniceros won third place in the Commercial category for "Sugar O's,” while Alex Call and Eddie O’Shea did so in the Movie Trailer category for “Exposure.” 

These films, commercials, trailers, PSAs, and Animations will also be screened at the high school’s own film festival, which will be held in May. Check the district website at www.lbeach.org for announcements about this upcoming event.   

“I’m very proud of what our students have accomplished, and we will continue to elevate our presence in the TV/film realm across Long Island and statewide,” said teacher Eric Krywe. Congratulations to these young filmmakers!

A group of Long Beach Middle School seventh graders will have their work featured in the Brooklyn Art Library Sketchbook Project’s fourteenth volume, “Body-Line: Form and Function.” Under the guidance of art teacher Laura Swan, and English teacher/Middle Years Program Coordinator Laura Behan, students contributed illustrations as well as writing components to publication. 

Each student created an image and filled chosen adjectives in the form. Upon completion of the artwork, they reflected on their illustrations and wrote about how the artwork embodied their own personality. Students identified symbolism in the chosen form, function and colors selected. 

The digitized book will be available later this spring. Congratulations to the participants! 

East School fourth-grader Ryden Nafte was named an Award of Merit winner in the 2019 Reflections Contest, sponsored by the New York State PTA. His photography piece was based on this year’s theme of “Heroes Around Me” and paid homage to his grandfather, who was in the NYPD and FDNY.  

Ryden's piece was selected from 928 entries in Nassau County to go to the state jurying. There he won an Award of Merit out of 403 entries. In his category of photography, only 17 Awards of Merit were presented from primary grades through the senior high school division. Ryden is among 49 students in Nassau County who won awards at the state level in six fine and performing arts categories. 

As an Award of Merit winner, Ryden’s photograph will be displayed at the NYS PTA Celebration of the Arts, as well as at the NYS PTA Reflections Art Gallery in the fall.  

Long Beach High School held its inaugural “Beyond LBHS: Job and Internship Fair” on March 29 as a way to connect students with business professionals for potential employment, internship or job shadowing opportunities. In past years, the high school presented annual career fairs that featured booths representing various vocational fields. The new model is a more interactive approach that prepares students for steps they will be taking in the future and sets them up to secure actual work experience.

Juniors and seniors spent time developing their resumes and exploring areas of interest prior to the event. The Guidance Department matched the students with guest presenters, whom they met with for interviews during the fair. Attendees discussed the responsibilities and requirements for roles in an assortment of industries including finance, law, government, medicine, real estate, insurance, food, health and fitness and more. Many of the interviewers had open positions available for students seeking local part-time jobs.

Career-readiness is an important focus of the Long Beach Public Schools. This event was just one of the many ways in which students are prepared for the working world. The high school’s new internship program is also currently underway and providing experience at various job sites.  

Long Beach High School’s College Criminalistics students have been hearing about the experiences of Long Beach Police Department members as they learn about solving crimes. On March 28, Detective Stefan Chernaski visited Mr. Tim Cabasino’s class and led a presentation about forensic investigation and ballistic evidence. 

Detective Chernaski described what police officers look for, what makes someone a suspect, reasonable suspicion and probable cause. He also stressed the importance of firearm safety and explained how police officers identify a crime weapon. 

College Criminalistics introduces students to techniques used with crime scene data. Students are learning about the processing of evidence and the role of forensic science in trial proceedings. They have the opportunity to earn credits through Molloy College. 

The Long Beach Public Schools honored students representing each of the district’s buildings during the March 28 Board of Education Meeting. Artists, musicians and writers were presented with certificates and applause for their recent achievements.

High School students attained numerous Regional Scholastic Art Awards for their photography, mixed media, drawing and illustration, portfolio and painting work. Silver Key distinctions were earned by Jose Ac Rivas, Daniella Bruzzone, Lindsey Del Rio, Jaclyn Javakian, Jenna Kim, Isabel Kreutzberg, Jessie Page, Morgan Polete and Jhana Prue. Honorable mentions were achieved by Daniella Bruzzone, Courtney Carpentieri, Hayley Fallon, Jaclyn Javakian, Jaclyn Keon, Jillian Lerner, Charles Mandell, Jess McCabe, Arielle Nason, Joseph Pimentel and Carmen Sabedra. 
Grace Rosenberg and Jaclyn Javakian were honored for their success in the Advanced Visions art competition. Grace, along with Danielle Bruzzone, Carmen Sabedra and Noelle Soren, also had work featured in the Art League of Long Island AP Exhibit.

All County artists throughout the district were recognized. Congratulations to Stella Ambroise, Aniley Arreola, Benjamin Barnett, Daniel Ruben Bueno Ramos, Jacqueline Ching, Audrey Cozine, Leyla Dibra, Summer Ejnes, Orquidia Garcia Cuevas, Catalina Goni, Sarah Gusler, Jenna Kim, Abigail King, Emily King, Jillian Lerner, Sophia Lopez, Anthony Lopez-Heredia, Dante Lyons, Winona MacPhee, Christopher Mitchell, Maya Molik, Arielle Nason, Tyler Parker, Angelina Piccolino, Jacob Piechocniski, Madison Rivera, Carmen Sabedra, Keiji Sato, Brody Shapiro, Chloe Silverberg, Sienna Silvia, Jasmine Soriano, Ryan Tuffy, Alexey Tutkevich, Gabriela Umanzor and Rachelle Vidallon.

Students earned All County honors in music as well. Accolades went to Samuel Adler, John Aebly, Maya Arengo, Sophiana Arroyo, Maryn Ascher, Charles Ashmead, Kenneth Bailing, Sara Biancamano, Zoe Biern, Jaden Bloom, Liora Brown, Kyra Brunick-Davis, Alejandro Celis, Kira Centenni, Alec Chasin, Leah Clutter, Jordan Collinson, Winter Collinson, Alanna Damiani, Isabelle DePalma, Aiden DeRupo, Melinda DeSantis, CaitlinDevine, Dylan Edelman, Charlotte Free, Tabitha Freeny, LiLin Garfinkel, Eva Gargiulo, Emma Goorland, Jessica Greenblatt, Gerrin Hagen, Mary Hagen, Layla Hakimzadeh, Sarah Heller, Joseph Henry, Sienna Hornberger, Hannah Hummel, David Jespersen, Joshua Kapilian, Jon Wyatt Katzen, Brigid Kelly, Ariel Keynan, William Lithgow, Jacob LoCascio, Mia Mangels, Luke Morita, Ariel Nachman, Lucinda Nash, David Newman, Aneisa Nicholas, James O'Connor, Madeline O'Connor, Matthew O'Connor, Shea O'Hara, Lucia Petty, Harrison Phillips, Jacob Piechocniski, Alexander Ramirez, Summer Reed, Noah Robinson, Amanda Roman, Chandler Rosenzweig, Matthias Roth, Reilly Sanfilippo, Avery Schab, Danielle Shokrian, Marielle Small, Vanessa Solis, Aryelle Teran, Theo Turbek, Ann Wachs and Alvin Wright.

Musicians also earned recognition for their participation in Long Island String Festival Association concerts. Maya Arengo, Jordan Collinson, Alanna Damiani, Sophia Elenson, LiLin Garfinkel, Mary Hagen, Wyatt Katzen, Joshua Kapilian, Luke Morita and Christopher Schnatz achieved this honor. 
A special employee recognition was presented to Veronica Dale, while student Anthony Doall received an Eagle Court of Honor recognition. Long Beach Tide staff members Uma Arengo, Tyler Collinson, Bianca Nauth, Ava O’Connor, Abby Quigley, Freddy Ramon, Katherine Roll, Jack Saggio and Jaylyn Umana were commended for receiving Best Page One layout at Adelphi University’s Press Day event. Uma additionally earned an honorable mention for her arts review piece. 

The Long Beach High School Select Choir, under the direction of Dr. Michael Capobianco, performed at Carnegie Hall on March 17.  The ensemble was selected to perform on the Grand Prix Winners’ Recital as part of the Concert Festival International Competition for students around the world, organized by Yelena and Vladimir Polezhayev. The choir, which consists of tenth- through twelfth-graders, performed two selections: Amor de Mi Alma, composed by Z. Randall Stroope, and Jordan’s Angels, composed by Rollo Dilworth. This is the sixth consecutive year that the Select Choir has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall.

The Long Beach Public Schools Board of Education has selected Dr. Paul Romanelli as the next Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. He will be appointed at the April 11 Board of Education meeting, with plans for his new role to commence on July 1. The district will immediately begin the process of searching for a new middle school principal.

Long Beach Middle School principal since 2015, Dr. Romanelli has developed a collaborative vision focused on literacy, positive relationships, high expectations, and achievement for all students. He oversaw growth of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program, facilitated the rollout of the 1:1 Chromebook initiative, chaired the K-12 Literacy Task Force aimed at improving reading instruction, created professional growth opportunities for staff members and chaired district sub-committees. Under his leadership, the Middle School was named a No Place for Hate School by the Anti-Defamation League and has embraced numerous anti-bullying efforts. 

“I know that Dr. Romanelli will bring to this next position the same qualities we saw in him as principal of the Middle School: enthusiasm, vision, and deep commitment to children,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jennifer Gallagher. 

For the ninth time, the Long Beach Public Schools have been recognized by the NAMM Foundation as one of the nation’s Best Communities for Music Education. This designation is granted to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. 

The BCME title indicates that Long Beach is leading the way with learning opportunities as outlined in the federal education legislation, the Every Student Succeeds Act, which recommends music and the arts as important elements of well-rounded education for all children. 

More than 1,600 students participate in the district’s 36 bands, orchestras and choral ensembles. Long Beach High School presents students with further musical experiences such as guitar and IB Music courses, as well as the Tri-M Music Honor Society.

“Music education opens doors that help children pass from school into the world around them – a world of work, culture, intellectual activity, and human involvement. The future of our nation depends on providing our children with a complete education that includes music.”  – Gerald Ford

Long Beach High School’s ninth-grade Team B members continued efforts inspired by two of their own that aimed to help others and make a difference in the community. The entire group collaborated to revisit the service project that current freshmen Anna Lanigan and Ashley Cummings initiated last year as eighth-graders through the Middle Years Program. 

The students helped those facing difficult times by preparing kits of feminine hygiene products, toothbrushes, toothpaste and hairbrushes. They also made sandwiches, which they served at the St. Mary's Soup Kitchen on March 20. Teachers Tara Brady, Anna Pace and Jay Spitz helped make the day possible with the generous donations of the Long Beach High School staff.  

All middle school students are required to design and carry out a MYP Community Service Project intended to help solve global problems. With the encouragement of IB teachers and Coordinator Jennifer Quinn, Team B piloted this follow-up to the assignment, which proved to be a success. The high school hopes to expand the experience to eventually involve the whole grade in selecting MYP service projects to build upon in the future, and for students to continue their work as they progress through the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in their junior and senior years. 

IB Diploma candidates are required to complete purposeful projects known as Creative, Activity and Service initiatives. According to the IB, studies show that these experiences can develop students’ skills for civic engagement as well as valuable project management skills that will serve them well as citi¬zens and in their careers.

 

Long Beach High School’s International Baccalaureate Art juniors and seniors put their talents and skills on display during a spectacular showcase on March 27. The annual IB Art Exhibition, held in the building’s commons, drew an audience of family members, teachers and other spectators who viewed the advanced techniques and creative projects that students have been engaged in throughout the school year. 

The show featured pieces that were created through various mediums. Students presented their paintings, pencil drawings, sculptures and other extraordinary designs that held their own unique meanings and inspirations.  

The IB Visual Arts courses invite students to explore a variety art media and concepts in a studio-based environment. The goal is to encourage student-artists to respond to and analyze the function, meaning and qualities of art. Class participants develop and present independent ideas and explain the connections between their work and the work of others. The courses emphasize both students' creative processes and their final artistic products in two- or three-dimensional forms. 

The Long Beach Middle and High School World Language Departments celebrated world language week with a variety of celebrations from March 18-22. Students had the opportunity to sample food from different cultures, listen to music and participate in a poster contest based on a "Languages are the key to the world” theme. High School students Arielle Nason, Abbey Carpenter and Gabriela Umanzor were named poster contest winners. 

Four Long Beach High School visual arts students earned awards at the Nassau Community College Honors Program's 21st annual Arts and Science Fair. This year's event, held on March 9, featured the theme, "Infinity and Beyond.” 

Students from schools across Long Island presented their science projects, artwork and monologues to NCC professors who served as judges. Charles Mandell, Jhana Prue and Luca Salerno received Awards of Excellence in photography, painting and printmaking, respectively. Uma Arengo won Best in Show for Ceramics. Congratulations to these talented artists!

Long Beach High School students excelled at the Long Island Media Arts Show, held on March 22 at Five Towns College. A total of eight Best in Show awards were attained by those representing photography and television studio production classes. 

Lindsey DelRio, Jillian Lerner, Charles Mandell, Bianca Nauth, Rachelle Vidallon and Robin Xiao achieved Best in Show distinctions for their photography. Television Studio Production 3 students James O’Connor, Melody Moy, and Charles Mandell were granted the honor for their video, “Flip,” while Television Studio Production 2 student Ashanti Sherrod won for her piece, “Lost+Found.” 

All of the Best in Show honorees will receive a $2,500 grant if they choose to attend Five Towns College. The video winners will move onto the pool of nominees for inclusion in the Suffolk County Film Commission “First Exposure” Student Film Festival.  

Four Long Beach Odyssey of the Mind teams competed at the state level on March 24 in Binghamton. The elementary schools’ Team 2 took second place and has qualified for the world finals! Aaron Blau, Tabitha Freeny, Catherine Maguire, Geddy Moss, Jordi Perez and Aaliyah Trichter will advance based on their outstanding performance for the “Hide in Plain Sight” problem. They created and built a team-made mechanical creature that hides in plain sight and changes its appearance.

Team 5, comprised of Sydney Bergstein, Alanna Damiani, Matthew Diamond, Violet Richter, Avery Schab, Jordan Soriano and Sebastian Tricola, was fourth in the state and solved the problem “Opposites Distract.” Team 3 was tenth in the state for the “Leonardo’s Workshop” problem, completed by Dustin Basnyat, Winter Collinson, Shane Haglich, Benjamin Levinson, Lucinda Nash, Lucia Petty and Kate Ragonare. 

A Long Beach Middle School team also participated and showed off their outstanding work. Ryan Aba Riebli, MacKenzie Brodsky-Torres, Jack Clancy, Isabelle DePalma, Sammy Feingold, Vincent Napolitano and Annabel Pines represented the secondary level with enthusiasm and creativity. 

The elementary teams were coached by teachers Justin Sulsky and Douglas MacConnell, while Long Beach Middle School students worked under the guidance of coaches Christina Kile and Susan Kasper. Congratulations to all participants!

Four Long Beach Odyssey of the Mind teams competed at the state level on March 24 in Binghamton. The elementary schools’ Team 2 took second place and has qualified for the world finals! Aaron Blau, Tabitha Freeny, Catherine Maguire, Geddy Moss, Jordi Perez and Aaliyah Trichter will advance based on their outstanding performance for the “Hide in Plain Sight” problem. They created and built a team-made mechanical creature that hides in plain sight and changes its appearance. 

Team 5, comprised of Sydney Bergstein, Alanna Damiani, Matthew Diamond, Violet Richter, Avery Schab, Jordan Soriano and Sebastian Tricola, was fourth in the state and solved the problem “Opposites Distract.” Team 3 was tenth in the state for the “Leonardo’s Workshop” problem, completed by Dustin Basnyat, Winter Collinson, Shane Haglich, Benjamin Levinson, Lucinda Nash, Lucia Petty and Kate Ragonare. 

A Long Beach Middle School team also participated and showed off their outstanding work. Ryan Aba Riebli, MacKenzie Brodsky-Torres, Jack Clancy, Isabelle DePalma, Sammy Feingold, Vincent Napolitano and Annabel Pines represented the secondary level with enthusiasm and creativity. 

The elementary teams were coached by teachers Justin Sulsky and Douglas MacConnell, while Long Beach Middle School students worked under the guidance of coaches Christina Kile and Susan Kasper. Congratulations to all participants!

Through student, staff and parent collaboration, Long Beach High School’s auditorium stage was transformed to a runway for the 28th annual Morning Madness Fashion Show. On March 20, senior class models stepped into the bright lights and showed off a variety of prom styles. 

This annual fundraiser is organized by the Parent Teacher Student Association in support of the substance-free Morning Madness post-prom celebration. Morning Madness provides a safe and festive opportunity for seniors to enjoy the final hours of their prom night together at Dave and Buster’s of Westbury. Every year, students look forward to entering raffles that have become known to provide extraordinary prizes. 

Spearheaded by Kelly Martinsen, this year’s fashion show was a great success thanks to many departments, staff members and community volunteers who contributed their skills. The Sound Recording Club coordinated lighting, Fashion Club members shared their expertise, DollFace Cosmetics and Bonnie Stern helped to get the students runway-ready, Maria Perrone worked with them on choreography and Adriane Glassberg served as model coordinator. 

Masters of ceremonies Nicole Codianni, Thomas Walsh, Roni Lerner and David Newman announced the models and described their attire. Tuxedos were provided courtesy of Snider’s Formal Wear of Oceanside. The district and PTSA thank all the local establishments, organizations and families that sponsored the event and look forward to another safe and memorable Morning Madness celebration. 

On March 13, Long Beach Middle School culminated its six-week-long book club with an event that brought students, parents, teachers, administrators and Board of Education members together to build community through literature. As a special highlight, the evening featured a visit from author Ann Braden.

Ms. Braden, who wrote the book club’s spotlighted selection, “The Benefits of Being an Octopus,” discussed how her life impacted the story. Her strongest message was to be part of #TeamOctopus, which represents a promise to always try to recognize the superpowers in oneself and others. Attendees also split into small groups throughout the library for book talks. 

The book club was introduced on Feb. 1 for World Read Aloud Day, when all third-period teachers read the first chapter of “The Benefits of Being an Octopus” to their classes. The middle school loaned out 250 autographed copies and a calendar of suggested reading. Each week, a book chat went live on the BAND App, during which Vice Principal Lorie Beard posed questions that sparked dialogue among students, teachers and parents. Approximately 110 members joined, including the author.

Part of the middle school’s “No Place for Hate” initiative, the book club was a collaborative effort, organized by Ms. Beard and made possible by a staff Book Club Team and PTA members. Special thanks go to Tutti Frutti, East End Café, Starbucks, Coffee Nut Café and Country Boy Bakery for providing treats for participants.  

Four of the Long Beach Public Schools’ fourth-grade LARC Robotics Teams were among only 6 percent of teams around the world that earned coveted spots in the International Wonder League Robotics Competition Invitational Round. The WLRC is an international coding and robotics competition for future tech leaders and innovators. 

Almost 8,000 teams participated in the WLRC competition from 69 countries. They participated in five rounds of intensive missions over a five-month period to compete for a chance to earn a spot in the Wonder Workshop-sponsored International Invitational Round. Through a series of story-based missions, the teams developed problem-solving, growth mindset, and creativity skills through coding and programming. The LARC robotics teams, coached by Dr. Caitlin King and Justin Sulsky, designed solutions for real-world science and technology challenges by programming their robots. 

Congratulations to Team 1 members Sydney Bergstein, Cian Donaghy, Ian Olivo and Maia Rossi; Team 2 participants Dylan Brennan, Amy Alvarado-Lopez, Miles Murphy and Aaliyah Trichter; Team 4 students Michael Amato, Magnolia Campbell, Ariana Lye and Charles Muskin; and Team 7 members Sadie D'Amico, Theodore Gargiulo, James Long and Tamer Unver. 

Long Beach Middle School held a sixth-grade science symposium on March 14, featuring research and discoveries that students have made this school year. Students started by selecting different questions, then explored and presented their findings using the scientific method.

This was the first year that the sixth-graders used their Chromebooks for their science projects. The assignment was interdisciplinary, incorporating subjects such as math and English Language Arts into the experiment steps and writing components. 

Students conducted a variety of scientific tests. Among those featured were the effect of different types of sodas on tooth discoloration, how the distance of a toy car based on the ramp height to test Newton’s Law, how paper towel price and brand affects the amount of water absorbed, whether or not complex designs of a paper plane would make it fly further and how different swimsuits affect a swimmer’s speed. 

Students in the wood shop classes at Long Beach High School are using their handy skills for great purposes, as they construct Adirondack chairs that will be donated to veterans. They are making 12 chairs, four of which will go to the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The remaining eight will be placed in areas around the high school.

The project entails measuring, cutting, sanding, assembling, painting and more, all of which are skills that the classes cover. Students have been preparing the braces, seat slats and supports and look forward to unveiling the finished products. Earlier this school year they made cutting boards, Nok hockey boards and speakers, among other items.

Students in the automotive classes at Long Beach High School have had a busy year, and are currently in the process of restoring a 1939 Chevy pickup truck. Having already finished the frame and installed the motor, students are now working on the body of the vehicle. Their goal is to have it running and driving by the end of the school year.

The classes already completed a motorcycle project this past fall, when they restored a 2009 Harley Ultima Chopper, and updated a 1964 C10 with a new engine, suspension work and tires in December. Now they are tackling a 1956 Chevy, assembling a new Mustang II front suspension.

The high school’s automotive courses include Automotive Fundamentals, Automotive Systems and Automotive Mechanics. Students learn how cars work and are maintained, diagnose problems and prepare solutions and perform hands-on rebuilding, repair and service tasks. Follow @LBHSAutoMetal on Instagram to see their latest progress!

Recorder Club and NYSSMA vocalists from West School visited the EAC-Long Beach Senior Community Center on March 12 to share some joyful music. They performed a variety of classic songs, such as “My Favorite Things,” “Danny Boy,” “The Rainbow Connection” and “Yellow Submarine.” The event brought different generations of the Long Beach community together for a musical celebration. 

Jake Young, a seventh-grader at Long Beach Middle School, was presented with a medal from the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program. Recognized as a Distinguished Finalist this past February, Jake officially accepted the honor during a formal celebration held at the school on March 13. 

Prudential Financial Manager of Financial Services Chris Carrieri and Financial Advisor Michael Fontana Financial addressed Jake and acknowledged his volunteer efforts with the New York chapter of the Little Saint Nick Foundation. The charity’s founder, Ray Mohler, also attended in support and appreciation of Jake’s contributions. 

Each month, Jake packages 600-1000 gift bags that serve pediatric care patients. He and his brother also dress in costume to deliver the items to hospitals and interact with the recipients.

“Thousands of people apply for this, and only 5 or 6 people in each state win,” Carrieri said. He noted that Jake’s bio was one of the most impressive he has seen. 

Jake was joined at the gathering by Principal Dr. Paul Romanelli and Assistant Principals Keith Biesma and Lorie Beard, as well as his parents. 

Members of Long Beach High School’s DECA club represented the business program with outstanding skill and professionalism from March 6-8, when they attended the State Career Conference in Rochester. Collectively, the group earned two second-place awards and three top-ten finishes. 

Thomas Walsh won second-place in the Business Service and Marketing event, while Brett Weiner did so in Business Finance. Alexis Palmer, Arjun Gupta and Jeremiah Cochran all achieved top ten placements in their respective categories. 

Participants also included Tyler Armak, Jaden Bloom, Samantha Breen, Lauren Bulik, Nicole Codianni, Gabby Pine, Brooke Shapiro, Sam Shklyar, Jared Starman and Zen Yokel. Long Beach High School congratulates all the DECA students and their advisor, Blake Malizia, on these excellent results.  

Long Beach High School students showed promising futures on March 11, when they pitched a total of nine different company models that they designed themselves for the third annual Business Olympics. This event brings the School-Business Partnership together and provides opportunities for business students to express their creativity and engage in networking. The audience was filled with supporters and local professionals who served as judges. 

Each team provided thorough presentations that covered their concept’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and locations.  Andrew Geller, Tyler Armak and  Jordan Moses were named winners for their business, HyPot – a self-gardening pot for any apartment and studio. Made of a plastic container and manufactured in Long Beach, the pot would be utilized by residents of homes that do not possess a backyard to garden.

Jakub Parker, Jacob Mikelberg, Jack Littman, James Yeomans and Thomas Corso presented their C2C Energy venture, while Kelly Monahan, Layla Hakimzadeh and William Tighe explained their concept for Eco Energy. Zen Yokel, Declan Conway, Thomas Sofield and Gregory Sofield shared their plans for Hydroponics By the Sea, and Kaia Cheung, Grace Ventura, Victoria Famighetti and Gabrielle Selter  presented Compost on the Water.

Arjun Gupta, Jeremiah Cochran, Evan Michaels and Noah Goren developed the business, Long Beach Biofuel, while Thomas Walsh, Brett Weiner, Jake Ignatow, Dylan Edelman and Dmytro Vremenko showcased their idea for Eco Consulting. Giovanni Mangiafreno, Eric Abneri and Jeffrey Persky described The Solumbra, and Brooke Shapiro, Jared Starman and Eddie Vrona shared their idea for Ride the Wave Power.

The Business Olympics was introduced in 2017 as a way to enhance college- and career readiness and equip students with skills that they can use in the future. The experience broadens students’ understanding of the factors involved in developing a business. This year, students completed their projects on their own free time, not for a grade or as a class assignment. 

Long Beach High School athletes and their families gathered in the auditorium on March 5, during Varsity Winter Sports Awards Night. The event spotlighted the boys and girls basketball, boys and girls bowling, cheerleading, gymnastics, ice hockey, boys swim and boys track teams as coaches summarized the season’s highlights.  

The ice hockey team, coached by Joe Brand and assistants Keith Casey and Dickie Chimienti, brought applause and enthusiasm, having won their fourth State Champion title on March 3. They completed their second consecutive year of an undefeated season and received a proclamation from Senator Todd Kaminsky during the ceremony. Another exciting highlight was the introduction of the girls and boys bowling teams, which were newly added this school year. Additionally, the boys swim team were named Division Champions while the wrestling team won League and Qualifying Tournament titles.

Also honored were All American athletes, Ryan Aroesty in swimming and Allison Cohen and Rivers Cunningham in gymnastics.

On a bittersweet note, the evening bid a fond farewell to Billy Muirhead, who is retiring after 38 years as Long Beach’s gymnastics coach. Alumni, students, parents and staff members presented him with special acknowledgment and viewed a video compilation of his moments over the years. 
The girls basketball, girls bowling, boys bowling, gymnastics, cheerleading, boys swim, boys winter track and girls winter track teams were recognized as Scholar Athlete Teams for maintaining grade point averages of 90 or higher.

Long Beach’s LARC program raised almost $3,000 for the Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County through the CP Nassau Trivia Challenge Fundraiser. The fourth-grade LARC curriculum includes a service learning project in which students use their talents to help people in need. For this project, all students took a trip to CP Nassau, during which the principal of CP Nassau's Children's Learning Center and other officials explained why children and adults with CP require extensive funds for devices to assist with their mobility and communication. 

The students toured the facility and school, sitting in on classes and observing how teachers of children with CP adapt instruction to their learners. After the visit, all LARC fourth-graders took a 100-question trivia challenge in teams. The highest scoring team answered an impressive 88 questions correctly, and represented the LARC program at the Trivia Challenge finals on Feb. 25 where they faced off against teams from all over Long Island. The Long Beach LARC team, comprised of Sadie D'Amico, Theodore Gargiulo, James Long, and Ronin Morita, was the only group to win the "treasure chest" prize at the Trivia Challenge for answering a specifically designated question correctly! 

The LARC students reached out to family, friends, and other community members to raise almost $3,000 for CP Nassau. One student, Ben Levinson, raised over $1,000, said the trip specifically inspired him to work hard to seek out donations.

East School fifth-grade students and their parents participated in a STEAM fair on Feb. 28, when they gathered in the gymnasium for an afternoon of hands-on learning activities. Attendees worked in groups and rotated among numerous stations, which featured science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics activities. Together they solved problems, answered questions and made discoveries.

The Long Beach Public Schools honored numerous student achievements in writing at the Feb. 28 Board of Education meeting.

The 2018 issue of Long Beach High School’s literary magazine, Fragments, was recognized by numerous press organizations. The publication, which featured the theme “Life of a Star,” was awarded a gold medal with All Columbia Honors for Essentials from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and a gold medal from the Empire State School Press Association. It earned a First Place with Special Merit for Outstanding Theme title from the American Scholastic Press Association and a First Class with One Mark of Distinction in Editing and Writing honor from the National Scholastic Press Association. Fragments’ student staff members Maya Arengo, Uma Arengo, Alyscia Batista, Lauren Bulik, Paige Carpenter, Nicole Celis, Nicole Codianni, Tyler Collinson, Sarah Halley and Anna Xiao and teacher Rachel Koegell were congratulated for their group accomplishments. 

Fragments contributors also received many individual awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. Thomas Miller won the Columbia Gold Circle for his piece, “Ramblings,” while Sarah Halley and Jessica Thursland earned gold awards for their respective poems, “Thank You” and “C’est Mon Monde.” Nicole Codianni was presented with a silver award in single-page layout, while Jack Palmer achieved silver for his “Falling to Pieces” nonfiction work and David Newman did so for the poem “Claudia in Vernazza.” A bronze award was obtained by Maya Arengo for specialized content entry “Quartet 1,” and Daisy Willard earned an honorable mention for her “Twisted Cinder” fiction piece. Ms. Koegel was recognized for her outstanding support for student achievement. 

From the middle school, Saoirse Marx was commended for placing first in District 1 and third in New York State in the Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest, sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Yashoda Jaikaran received accolades for her honorable mention in the Stranger Sagas writing contest. High School student Andrea Dispo was recognized in the Lake Effect National High School Poetry Contest. 

High school students also attained excellent results in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards program. Esther Molloy won a Gold Key, Silver Key and honorable mention for “Charcoal Woman,” “Meu Fiho Nao e Meu” and “If We Could Make the Bluebells Look Right.” Anna Xiao achieved a Gold Key for “When the Monsoon Rain Comes” and an honorable mention for “Europe.” Uma Arengo received a Silver Key and honorable mention for “Will I Be Dirt” and “Pisces,” while Benjamin Armus earned a Silver Key in “E^p+1=0.” Alyscia Batista won two Silver Keys for “A Summer Filled with Sweat” and “Manzanilla,” and an honorable mention for “Tu Amor es mi Vida.” Samantha Breen, Jason Ferrante and Matthew Landsman earned Silver Keys for their respective poems, “Change,” “Sun Drunk,” and “Incarcerated.” Honorable mentions were received by Tyler Collinson for “Vagrants and Vagabonds,” Victoria Lugo for “Changing Colors” and “Los Muertos” and Jordan Moses for “Clair de Lune.” 

The meeting also included a 2019-20 budget presentation on interfund transfers for capital projects and food and nutritional services. The full report is available on the budget section of the district’s website, www.lbeach.org. 

 

A total of four Long Beach Odyssey of the Mind teams took top results at the regional tournament held on March 2 and 3 at the Caroline G. Atkinson Intermediate School in Freeport. At both the middle school and elementary levels, students collaborated successfully to secure first-place trophies and advance in the program.

The elementary teams were coached by teachers Justin Sulsky and Douglas MacConnell, while Long Beach Middle School students worked under the guidance of coaches Christina Kile and Susan Kasper.

Odyssey of the Mind is an international competition in which participants solve defined problems using a predetermined set of rules the team must follow. It supports the International Baccalaureate Learner Profile traits that the district emphasizes throughout its curricula. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and other countries participate in the program. For the middle school students, there is also an administrative component involving paperwork that supports the solution to their problem. 

Three elementary school teams achieved first-place wins. Team Two, comprised of Aaron Blau, Tabitha Freeny, Catherine Maguire, Geddy Moss, Jordi Perez and Aaliyah Trichter, engineered a searcher creature that made three required changes to escape discovery from a searcher sent by a king. Team Three members Dustin Basnyat, Winter Collinson, Shane Haglich, Benjamin Levinson, Lucinda Nash, Lucia Petty and Kate Ragona portrayed Leonardo da Vinci as inventing the solar panel during his lifetime, but being debunked by a naysayer who did not believe that the sun could create energy on Earth. Sydney Bergstein, Alanna Damiani, Matthew Diamond, Violet Richter, Avery Schab, Jordan Soriano and Sebastian Tricola formed Team Five, which taught audience members to avoid manipulation by sneaky characters trying to divide different groups.

The Middle School’s first-place team consisted of Ryan Aba Riebli, MacKenzie Brodsky-Torres, Jack Clancy, Isabelle DePalma, Sammy Feingold, Vincent Napolitano and Annabel Pines. They received impressive scores in both the long-term skit and spontaneous small-group competition. The students wrote an eight-minute skit, for which they created the costumes and scenery and performed before judges, about a debunked invention from Leonardo DaVinci. 

 Congratulations to these teams, all of which will move on to the state-level competition on March 23 at Binghamton University. 

Long Beach Middle School student Parker Schab and other members of the National Junior Honor Society held a “Winter Sock Drive” in the month of February. They collected 274 pairs of socks, which were donated families in need and the homeless through the INN Organization of Nassau County.

Congratulations Hockey Team for winning New York State AAU championship. With a sharp defensive effort lead by the Tournament MVP sophomore goaltender Kieran Byrne, the Marines stifled a tough Roy-Hart/Barker/Medina team to coast to a 3-1 victory to capture the State crown.

Long Beach High School’s African American Club hosted its first annual Evening of Excellence on Feb. 15. This Black History Month celebration was held to honor individuals and organizations that make significant contributions to the Long Beach community.  

Students, staff members and guests gathered at the high school for this event, which featured welcomes from Principal Jeffrey Myers, club advisor Janna James and club member Jaylyn Umana, among others. Award recipients were recognized for their outstanding service and presented with certificates and citations from Senator Todd Kaminsky and the LBHS African American Club. Honorees included fashion stylist Chris Banks, Hon. Councilwoman Anissa Moore, MLK Center Chairman James Hodge, Class of 2018 graduate Diamond Lambert and Lido School Principal Brenda Young.