The district congratulates the high school robotics team, “Mineola Wild Reds,” for taking home the Engineering Inspiration Award at the FIRST Robotics Long Island Regional Competition, which was held March 19-22 at Hofstra University.

The Engineering Inspiration Award celebrates outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering and exemplifies the team’s commitment to science and technology education among the team, school and Mineola community. This award qualifies the team to compete in the 2025 FIRST National Championship, April 16-19 in Houston, TX.

Additionally, junior Igor DeSouza was recognized by FIRST with the Dean’s List Award, qualifying him as Dean’s List Finalist with the opportunity to compete in the Championships in the individual category. The FIRST Dean’s List Award honors outstanding team leaders who have also achieved a high level of personal technical expertise and accomplishment. As co-head of build and treasurer for the robotics team, Igor has put in countless hours as a leader and mentor and been instrumental in the team’s community outreach efforts.

Two team members, Makayla Apter-Quinn and Julia Manevitz, were also honored with the opportunity to open the Saturday competition with a soaring performance of the National Anthem.

We are #MineolaProud to recognize the learners and educators who bring dedication, creativity and teamwork to the robotics program throughout the school year. These teams aren’t just focused on competing but are also committed to a greater mission, sharing their knowledge, experience and love of STEM and inspiring future problem solvers, innovators and leaders.

The district congratulates the Mineola High School Wind Ensemble on being selected to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. as part of the John Philip Sousa Band Festival. The group was one of four ensembles from across the country selected for the festival, which ran from March 7-9.

The audition process for this exclusive festival began last year and included submitting multiple video recordings of the group performing John Philip Sousa compositions. The Mineola ensemble was joined at the festival by groups from Santa Cruz High School in California, Indiana’s Perdue University and Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota.

Forty-nine student musicians traveled from Mineola to the Capitol for the performance, which featured four songs, including two John Philip Sousa classics, “The Last Days of Pompeii” and “The Thunderer.”

In addition to rehearsing with renowned artist, conductor and music educator Dr. T. André Feagin and performing on the famed Kennedy Center stage, the learners were also treated to a tour of the White House, the US Capitol and FBI Headquarters.

Mineola High School band director Christopher Toomey was thrilled to conduct his students on the world famous stage and shared his excitement about the opportunity. “Whether it's sports, robotics, art, music or academics - I believe the true takeaway from this outstanding experience for our learners is this: if you put in the hard work and dedication, although it might not be easy in the moment, the results will surpass even your highest expectations.”

The Mineola High School Wind Ensemble is an audition based group, open to all high school students regardless of grade. This group was created to allow the advanced musicians to come together and perform at the highest level possible.

On March 21, Mineola High School learners in Ms. Carlson’s 10th grade Science Research class participated in the Kathy Belton Science Fair at Molloy University and took home awards for their projects!

In the Microbiology and Immunology category, Madison DeCillis, Eliana Lee and Iona Mici won first place for their project “Synergistic Effects of Antimicrobial Agents in Slowing Antibiotic Resistance.”

In the Behavior & Social Sciences category, Ryan Curtiss and Jonathan Leskowicz placed second for their project “Effect of Sleep Quality on Mental Health.”

The Kathy Belton Science Fair provides ninth and tenth grade Long Island high school STEM scholars with a supportive environment to share their research and collaborate with other students and educators.

The district is #MineolaProud to congratulate all the learners who presented projects at this prestigious event and the teachers who support them on their research journeys.

Congratulations to the Mineola High School Drama Club who took audiences on a hilariously campy and colorful journey to the bottom of the ocean with three outstanding performances of Nickelodeon’s “The SpongeBob Musical.”

Audiences young and old and in between were enthralled by every scene in this heartwarming tale of a small anthropomorphic sea sponge and their friends who bring the community back together from the brink of self-destruction.

From the first notes of the orchestra to the perfectly timed live sound effects and high-energy on-stage action, every element of this performance was top notch. The young actors sang and danced their hearts out, nailed every joke and found the perfect balance of comedic charm and all out weirdness that fans of the TV show know and love.

The show was also a feast for the eyes with colorful costumes, whimsical sets, and an ever-changing video backdrop that transported you to underwater city of Bikini Bottom and made it abundantly clear how much time, talent and spirit went into this production.

Click here to view the SpongeBob Musical slideshow.

Date Added: 3/25/2025

Six members of Mineola High School's DECA club traveled to Rochester for the New York State DECA Career Conference, which took place from March 5-7. These learners qualified through their performance in December's Nassau County regional competition.

In preparation for this event, learners took exams on business administration, finance and marketing, while helping each other practice for their competitive role-play events.

Once in Rochester, not only did they perform their role-plays in front of judges, but also attended workshops on public speaking, the role of technology and AI in business and more, led by representatives from colleges, organizations and businesses local to the Rochester area, such as Rochester Institute of Technology and the Golisano Institute.

During the final day's awards ceremony, senior Jordan Chaver, the club president, achieved three medals for Business Services Marketing: Top 10 in Exam, Top 10 in Role-Play and Top 10 Overall for NY State. Sophomore Jasmine Ferreira also received two medals for Top 10 placement in Principles of Marketing Role-Play and Overall Placement.

This is just the second year of Mineola's DECA Chapter and the district is #MineolaProud to congratulate our DECA learners and club advisor Mr. McShane on this well-earned success!

DECA is a national organization with over 250,000 high school members from all fifty states. DECA programs are designed to prepare emerging leaders for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management by giving them real-life experiences that can teach them about business and entrepreneurship.

Date Added: 3/18/2025