Under the direction of head coach Andrea Durbin, West Babylon Senior High School’s three Science Olympiad teams competed at the regional tournament on Jan. 25. The Suffolk County regionals boast more than 63 teams and is the largest in the state. The tournament consists of 23 events, and West Babylon’s Team A finished in fifth place, securing a spot at the state tournament in March!

Congratulations to the following students who medaled in their respective events:

Air Trajectory: First place, Nicole Rex and Melanie Jastrzebski
Astronomy: Third place, Magdalena Obrycki and Addie Elgin
Bungee Drop: Second place, Will Horowitz and Chris Alexiadis; fourth place, Christian Bustamante and Michael Higgins
Disease Detectives: Seventh place, Joel Cruz and Will Horowitz
Electric Vehicle: Seventh place, Joel Colas and Julian Cruz
Experimental Design: Fourth place, Erin Fider, Dheera Misra and Nandini Ramesh
Fossils: Second place, Addie Eglin and Erin Fider
Helicopter: Eighth place, Julian Cruz and Joel Colas
Material Science: Sixth place, Erin Fider and Nicole Rex
Tower: Sixth place, Philip Dolega and David Aguilar
Wind Power: Sixth place, Julian Cruz and Magdalena Obrycki
Write It Do It: Ninth place, Gabby Gorczynski and Sophia

Date Added: 2/3/2025

First graders in Katie Santorelli-Ephraim’s class at Santapogue Elementary School had a special visit from a four-legged friend on Jan. 24. Thanks to the Paws for Reading program, Ms. Jackie visited the first graders with her therapy dog Marcus to read books to the class. The students all had a chance to pet Marcus. During the visit, they learned about therapy dogs and how they can help people relax and enjoy reading.

Click here to view the Special Visit for Santapogue First Graders slideshow.

Date Added: 1/30/2025

Mrs. DeSa’s third grade class at Tooker Avenue Elementary School has been studying the Lunar New Year. After reading “Chelsea’s Chinese New Year,” the third graders learned about the cultural traditions and foods associated with Chinese New Year. They read a short passage and answered questions about the upcoming holiday. Students learned how to write “good luck” in Chinese and drew a snake to represent 2025 as the Year of the Snake.

Date Added: 1/29/2025