Stephanie Lopez, a junior at Hicksville High School, has been...

Stephanie Lopez, a junior at Hicksville High School, has been named the best-in-show winner of this year's "Long Island's Best: Young Artists at The Heckscher Museum." Her winning piece is an acrylic on canvas artwork titled "Prismatic Bubble." Credit: The Heckscher Museum of Art

A Hicksville High School student's painting was named the overall winner in a competition coordinated by The Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington.

Stephanie Lopez, a junior, won the Celebrate Achievement best in show award in Long Island's Best: Young Artists at The Heckscher Museum, a juried competition for students in grades 9 to 12. Her winning piece was an acrylic painting titled "Prismatic Bubble."

This year's competition received 386 submissions from 58 schools across Long Island, with 100 selected for an exhibition in celebration of the museum's 100th anniversary. A virtual opening for the exhibition was held last month because of the coronavirus outbreak.

"I wanted to demonstrate how when light hits a bubble, it reveals an array of prismatic colors that highlight the fragility of both a bubble and a light bulb," Lopez said. "A light bulb can be shattered into pieces with one drop, just like a bubble can be popped in a second with the slightest movement of one's hand."

Second place went to Matthew Diesing, a junior at John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore, for his oil-pastel painting titled "A Seat at the Table." Third place went to Micarlys Ramirez, a senior from Brentwood High School, for her acrylic painting titled "Ydelim in a Green Chair." Fourth place went to Bridget Buckmaster, a junior at Northport High School, for her digital photography titled "Check Mate."

WEST BABYLON

New principal

Stephanie Lopez's "Prismatic Bubble" won a juried competition for students...

Stephanie Lopez's "Prismatic Bubble" won a juried competition for students in grades 9 to 12. Credit: The Heckscher Museum of Art

Gayle Manchisi was appointed principal of Forest Avenue Elementary School, effective March 9. She replaced Patricia Acocella, who retired.

Manchisi was previously a Baldwin School District assistant principal, a position she held since 2017, and before that was an English supervisor in the district from 2014 to 2017.

"Becoming a part of a community that sees itself as one huge family is an honor and a responsibility that I do not take lightly," Manchisi said. "I look forward to an amazing journey together."

COUNTYWIDE

In Riverhead, food-prep students in Jill Hamill's special career education...

In Riverhead, food-prep students in Jill Hamill's special career education class at Eastern Suffolk BOCES Harry B. Ward Technical Center learned to make macaroni and cheese from scratch with a traditional béchamel cheese sauce just before the coronavirus outbreak. Credit: Eastern Suffolk BOCES

Best music communities

Twenty-five Suffolk County school districts are among 754 nationwide named Best Communities for Music Education by the NAMM Foundation. The designation recognizes efforts demonstrating an "exceptionally high commitment and access to music education," the organization said.

Selected school districts were Amityville, Bay Shore, Bayport-Blue Point, Center Moriches, Commack, Comsewogue, Deer Park, East Hampton, Fishers Island, Hampton Bays, Harborfields, Huntington, Islip, Longwood, Miller Place, North Babylon, Northport-East Northport, Patchogue-Medford, Port Jefferson, Sayville, Shoreham-Wading River, South Country, Southampton, West Islip and William Floyd.

In addition, Walt Whitman High School in Huntington Station and Woodhull School in Ocean Beach are among 148 schools nationwide to receive the Support Music Merit Award for a commitment to music education.

ISLANDWIDE

Northport High School's Students for 60,000 Club assembled Easter baskets...

Northport High School's Students for 60,000 Club assembled Easter baskets for 32 underprivileged children enrolled in the A.B.L.E. Families after-school program in West Virginia as part of an initiative called "Operation Easter Egg." Credit: Northport-East Northport School District

'Schools to Watch'

Five Long Island schools — Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School in Port Washington, Garden City Middle School, Island Trees Middle School, Jonas E. Salk Middle School in Levittown and Memorial Junior High School in Valley Stream — are among 167 nationwide named 2020 Schools to Watch by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform. Designations last for three years.

Selections were based on applications that required schools to show academic excellence, responsiveness to adolescents' needs and interests, and a commitment to helping all students achieve at high levels. Schools meeting the criteria were then visited by state teams that observed classrooms, interviewed administrators and reviewed achievement data, among other things.

"These schools have proven it is possible to overcome barriers to achieving excellence, and any middle-grades school in any state can truly learn from their examples," said the forum's executive director Ericka Uskali.

— MICHAEL R. EBERT
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