Teams from Friends Academy in Locust Valley and Half Hollow Hills High School East in Dix Hills were the winners of this year’s Long Island Regional Envirothon.

The two teams — which won for Nassau and Suffolk counties, respectively — bested dozens of other groups to place first in the event held at the Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts in Wheatley Heights.

The annual competition, which took place in April, consisted of multiple-choice exams in aquatics, forestry, soil and wildlife, as well as oral presentations on this year’s topic of “nonpoint source pollution mitigation,” or lessening water pollution that occurs through rain and snow runoff.

“Helping high school students get involved with this event motivates them to further develop their skills and grow into environmentally conscious adults,” said Kaia Madigan, a conservation technician for the Nassau County Soil and Water Conservation District, which coordinated the competition with its Suffolk counterpart.

Friends Academy’s team members were Maggie Ma, Rory Vogel, Julian Yang, Anthony Yu and Kevin Yu, while Half Hollow Hills East’s team members were Ibrahim Khan, Ian Kopf, Ryan Reichelscheimer, Alexandra Rosenblatt and Adrianna Stucchio. The runner-up teams were from Great Neck North High School and Harborfields High School in Greenlawn.

The first-place team members each received $1,000 scholarships, and their teams were eligible for the New York State Envirothon held last month at SUNY Cortland, where Half Hollow Hills East’s team placed 10th place.

FARMINGDALE /
GLEN COVE

TOPS IN THEATER EDUCATION

Farmingdale and Glen Cove high schools are among 15 schools nationwide named 2025-28 Premier Communities for Theatre Education by the Educational Theatre Association.

The designation honors schools that strive to provide every student with “access to theater taught by qualified educators as a vital part of a well-rounded education,” the association said. It covers a three-year period.

“This award reflects our ongoing mission to provide a rigorous pathway where students gain the technical proficiency and empathy needed to succeed in their future careers,” Farmingdale’s director of English language arts, Josh Anisansel, said in a statement.

LOCUST VALLEY

ESSAY CONTEST WINNER

Locust Valley High School student Chelsy Arrata won first place in the high school division of an essay contest coordinated by the Japan Center at Stony Brook and sponsored by Canon USA. She received $3,000 and a Canon product.

The competition challenged students to “think creatively and critically about their lives by relating them to some aspect of Japan,” according to the center. Arrata’s essay explored mujo, a Japanese term describing how all things are constantly evolving, and how it taught her about impermanence.

“Mujo has allowed me to honor change,” Arrata wrote in her winning submission. “It has taught me how to be a listener of a story that is not mine.”

ISLANDWIDE

9 TEACHERS HONORED

Nine Long Island educators were winners of this year’s Teachers Federal Credit Union’s Teacher Appreciation Week Contest. The winners, who were chosen based on nominations and public voting, will collectively receive a total of $15,000 in grants to improve their classrooms in recognition of their “impact and dedication to both their students and communities,” according to the credit union.

The winning teachers and their schools: Daniel Casamassa, Pulaski Street Intermediate School in Riverhead; Judith Goldfarb, Charles A. Mulligan Elementary School in Central Islip; Lindsay Guzzo, Samoset Middle School in Lake Ronkonkoma; Christine Maniscalco, West Islip High School; Jaimie Miscioscia, Cayuga Elementary School in Lake Grove; Susan Porter, Nesaquake Middle School in St. James; Rahana Schmalacker, Central Islip High School; Jon Stecker, P.J. Gelinas Middle School in Setauket; and Frank Verdone, Hampton Bays High School.