The district held its second Celebrating Excellence ceremony for the 2025-2026 school year, spotlighting some truly outstanding Dalers

Tonight, we celebrate all of our students’ accomplishments—academic, artistic, and beyond—and honor the excellence that makes Farmingdale such a truly special community. Congratulations to each and every one of our outstanding Dalers!

Celebrating Excellence: Studio Art Achievements: We are thrilled tonight to recognize a group of our talented students for their outstanding accomplishments in the arts. These eight students, now in the 9th grade, were part of the accelerated, high school-accredited 8th-grade Studio Art course. Their hard work and creativity were showcased at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County’s Art competition. This juried competition, evaluated by professional artists on criteria including craftsmanship, design, and imagination, saw a remarkably strong showing from our students, resulting in one Gold Winner, two Silver Winners, and five Bronze Winners. This collective success means that the work of all eight students is featured in the prestigious 2025-26 Cornell University Gardening Calendar and Guide, with the Gold-winning piece prominently featured for the month of September. This recognition not only highlights the students' exceptional talent but also the dedication of our art educators and the rigor of the district's program. Please join me in congratulating these exemplary artists!

• Sabrina Badalamenti
• Emma Eng
• Chiara Elise Langkay
• Gabriella Agrillo
• Bridget Daniels
• Alexander Kost
• Yaison Maldonado
• Samantha White

Celebrating Excellence: New York State Archives Research Awards: We are delighted this evening to celebrate two of our current high school seniors, Lily DeSalvo and Emily Meyer, for their exceptional historical research. These students have been awarded a Certificate of Merit in the Grades 9-12 Division of the prestigious New York State Archives Student Research Awards competition. This competition is designed to encourage students to explore and utilize the valuable historical records housed in repositories across New York State. Their winning submission is a traditional research paper titled, "Central Park: Social Interaction, Place of Diversity, and Improvement of Public Health." This excellent work was completed last year under the guidance of social studies teacher, Mrs. Jaimee Samuelson. This recognition underscores the rigorous academic standards of our social studies program and the depth of historical inquiry our students are capable of achieving. Please join me in congratulating Lily and Emily on this outstanding accomplishment!

• Lily DeSalvo
• Emily Meyer

Celebrating Excellence: Strong Fall Athletics Success: Tonight, we celebrate a truly outstanding Fall sports season by recognizing a group of our accomplished student-athletes and their dedicated coaches. This past season was incredibly successful for our district, highlighted by students who earned prestigious honors at every level. We are proud to recognize multiple athletes who achieved All-County and All-Long Island honors, as well as those student-athletes who earned Honorable Mention, showing the depth of talent across our teams. Beyond these recognitions, we are proud to celebrate the following highest individual and program achievements:

We are celebrating the tremendous achievements of Avery Schumacher, who earned the highest distinction of All-State honors, in addition to All-Long Island and All-County recognition. In the Diving Championships, she advanced to the final for the second straight year, finishing in 12th place with a score of 433—an impressive three spots and over 20 points higher than her performance last year!

We are thrilled to celebrate Lyla Atlas, who was selected by all Section 8 coaches as the Class A Game Day Athlete of the Year in Cheerleading. This prestigious Nassau County award recognizes the top athlete who exemplifies outstanding skills, strong motions, high energy, great crowd appeal, and character, all while creating an exceptional atmosphere of support.

We recognize Ilan Gornstein, the highly successful Lady Dalers Varsity Soccer Coach, who earned the Coach of the Year award. Under his guidance, the team secured the title of Conference Champions and was honored with the County Sportsmanship Award—selected by officials for their exemplary conduct and respect. Furthermore, his emphasis on mentorship and community service led the team to launch a new tradition with their first annual soccer clinic for the Howitt Middle School girls' teams.

Finally, we congratulate our Varsity Football Coach, Buddy Krumenacker, who regrettably cannot be here tonight as he is at the County Football Dinner. Last month, his win against Freeport secured the program record for career victories, surpassing the legendary Coach Don Snyder. This historic milestone is a testament to two decades of dedication, passion, and sheer winning spirit within our football program. These awards reflect the commitment, discipline, and teamwork of our student-athletes, as well as the exceptional guidance and mentorship provided by our coaches. Please join me in congratulating all of our Fall sports honorees!

• Honorable Mention Soccer: Christian Graziano, Jonathan Buonomo
• Honorable Mention Volleyball: Gabriella McGuinnes 
• Honorable Mention Golf:  Michael Biscardi 
• Honorable Mention Cheer: Jasmin Lawrence , Juliana Shelley, Lyla Atlas—Class A Game Day Athlete of the Year 
• All County Cross Country: Frank Delguercio, Olivia Grassi, Sarah Sohl, Kailee Smith, Aliya Sabatella, Haley Kegel
• All County Soccer: Annalise Ferraro, Emma Ferraro, Gianna Recine, Kelsey Brosnan, Lily Cartagena, Nico Ditroia, Anthony Prici 
• All County Swim: Julia Busch, Anna Carle, Annika Hogger, Kaylee Jean Baptiste, Maggie Kelly, Jessica Reo, Nicollete Trobiano, Avery Schumacher—All Long Island and All State
• Coach of the Year: Ilan Gornstein

Celebrating Excellence: Farmingdale Playcrafters: We are delighted this evening to welcome the Farmingdale Playcrafters for their outstanding recent production of The SpongeBob Musical. We recognize this group tonight for three compelling achievements:

Exceptional Dedication: The cast and crew, spanning all grade levels, showcased remarkable talent and technical skill, successfully mounting this spectacular musical in a highly challenging, two-month timeline.

Program Strength: This performance highlighted the exceptional depth, talent, and leadership thriving within our performing arts program, from our seniors to our entire ensemble and Pit Orchestra.

Community Outreach: The students demonstrated tremendous commitment to service by hosting a special matinee for our middle school drama students, the local AHRC group, and our town’s senior citizens, emphasizing the inclusive spirit of the program. The Playcrafters' efforts are a vivid display of the exceptional teamwork and commitment to community we cherish in this district. We are honored to have them here tonight, and before we present their recognition, they will perform a selection from the show.

This concludes our Celebrating Excellence ceremony. Thank you for joining us in honoring the incredible achievements of our students and the pride they bring to the Farmingdale community.

SEM Students Exhibit Creativity and Knowledge in History Showcase

Saltzman East Memorial recently provided its students with a groundbreaking educational experience by hosting its annual "Living History Museum" on Thursday, December 4. During this event, historical figures stepped out of the textbooks and into the classroom, where visitors could interact with them and learn their stories simply by pressing a designated button.

This immersive and highly interactive program gave students a unique opportunity to apply their research skills. Each student independently selected a significant historical figure to research and subsequently embody for the museum exhibition. The preparation spanned several weeks, involving the creation of detailed costumes, supportive props, and original scripts designed to capture the essence of their chosen character.

As visitors moved through the museum, they engaged directly with the student performers and their exhibits. The diverse array of individuals represented included iconic figures such as Neil Armstrong, the pioneering astronaut; civil rights activist Rosa Parks; baseball legend Mickey Mantle; and groundbreaking scientist Marie Curie. The Living History Museum served as an outstanding platform for students to demonstrate their research and creativity. Furthermore, it offered all attendees a meaningful way to connect with and appreciate the pivotal contributions made by these historical figures to our global society.

Over the past few weeks, students in Mr. Sterler’s Woods & Materials Processing course and Mr. Hobbes’ Future Architects of America club have been working diligently to turn classroom concepts into real-world solutions. From mastering complementary angles and precision measurement to getting hands-on exposure to CNC machining, students applied both math and technical skills to build critical support structures with exceptional accuracy. These components were carefully crafted, reinforcing the importance of precision and attention to detail in the skilled trades.

The white lettering on the 2x6 guide bar was carved using the Technology Department’s ShopBot CNC router, giving students an exciting introduction to computer-controlled manufacturing. By observing and participating in the production process, students experienced what a real-world manufacturing assembly line looks like in action.

Soon, a new fleet of “Farmingdale UFSD” security barricades will be distributed throughout district buildings, serving as both a vehicle deterrent and a guide for traffic flow on school properties. These functional safety features stand as a proud example of what hands-on, skills-based learning can achieve.

Congratulations to all of the students involved in this meaningful project—we look forward to seeing their impressive work in action across the Farmingdale School District!

Farmingdale’s Winter Concert series hit all the right notes on December 9th! It was an incredible evening showcasing the talent of our Howitt Middle School 7th and 8th-grade choruses. The Mixed Chorus, Girls Chorus, Chamber Chorus, and Lunch Chorus gave a stellar performance under the direction of Mrs. Danielle Tucker and accompanied by Mr. Phil Greco. Their beautiful music has officially gotten us into the holiday spirit!

Bravo to our students and staff!