Teams from Ward Melville High School in East Setauket and Great Neck South Middle School have repeated as winners of the Long Island Regional Science Bowls — with Ward Melville winning for the fourth consecutive year.
The teams placed first among high school and middle school teams in the “Jeopardy!”-style competition at Brookhaven National Laboratory in late January. The contest tested teams’ knowledge “on a range of science disciplines” including biology, chemistry and physics, according to competition officials.
The teams are now eligible to compete at the National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C., from April 30 to May 4.
“I think we’re looking the strongest we ever have,” Ward Melville team captain Harry Gao said in a statement. “This year, we have a new team member who is focused on biology, which used to be a weak subject for us. I think we all did pretty well.”
Ward Melville’s other team members are Eric Liu, Alan Mao, Anna Xing and Jason Yin, while Great Neck South’s team members are Damian Fung, Bruce Peng, Nathan Yu, Zale Zhang and Lucas Zhen.
“I’m so proud of our students,” said Great Neck South coach Nathan Wong. “I keep telling them, ‘Look at the scientists around here, you might be them one day.’ ”
The runner-up teams came from Roslyn High School and Paul J. Gelinas Middle School in Setauket.
Innovative technology
The New Hyde Park-Garden City Park Union Free School District is one of three districts nationwide serving less than 10,000 students to win a 2025 Innovative Technology Integration Award from the Center for Digital Education and the National School Boards Association.
The winners were recognized for “leveraging technology to modernize instruction and operations,” according to the center. New Hyde Park-Garden City Park’s efforts include having a 25-member technology advisory committee that sets “multiyear priorities” for instructional technology, professional development and digital citizenship, the district said.
“These districts are being recognized not just for adopting technology, but for having a clear vision for how it can improve outcomes, and for governing it well,” Brian Cohen, the center’s vice president, said in a statement.
Sports analytics
Sayville High School recently hosted its inaugural Sports Analytics and Business Conference to introduce students to the “rapidly evolving fields of sports analytics, data, artificial intelligence and the business of athletics,” according to school officials.
The event, held in partnership with the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame, attracted nearly 100 students for a full day of panel discussions and keynote speaker sessions. The featured speaker was Caryn Landau, a former NBA licensing executive who now owns a sports memorabilia business, school officials said.
“This conference gave our students a firsthand look at how analytics, data and business intersect with sports at every level,” Sayville sports analytics and mathematics teacher Adam Sznitken said in a statement.
Sensory hallway
East Broadway Elementary School recently unveiled a sensory hallway that offers students “a space to rest and regulate,” according to district officials.
The hallway features items including a magnetic wall, wobble boards and wall panels made of different materials for children to touch. Similar spaces are being planned for the district’s Gardiners Avenue and Northside elementary schools, officials said.
“It gives everyone the opportunity to focus on whatever input they need . . . to regulate their thoughts, feelings and physical bodies,” East Broadway special education teacher Shoshanna D’Antonio said in a statement.
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR’s platform safety issues.