The Long Beach High School Riptide Robotics team achieved an impressive 9th place finish out of 48 teams at the 2025 FIRST Robotics Regional Competition recently held at Hofstra University. As the 7th-seeded alliance captains, the team also took home the prestigious Creativity Award, recognizing their robot’s innovative and highly functional design.

Their robot, The Trident, stood out with a unique three-tiered elevator system, developed and built by a dedicated group of students.  It was the only robot at the competition to use a rack-and-pinion mechanism for game piece delivery—an approach that impressed judges with both its originality and effectiveness. Not only was The Trident technically innovative, but it also proved to be a reliable competitor, requiring only minimal maintenance across three days of intense competition.

Now in its fourth year, Riptide Robotics has consistently made it to the elimination rounds for the past three seasons. The team has shown continued growth and is steadily establishing itself as a top contender on Long Island. This year’s achievements mark another major milestone on their journey, as they look ahead with aspirations of taking home a regional championship title in the near future.

Overcoming design challenges and setbacks throughout the season, the students demonstrated incredible resilience, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. Their performance as alliance captains and recipients of the Creativity Award is a reflection of the collective effort and support from the students, mentors, and the Long Beach School District community.

As the team celebrates its accomplishments, they also bid farewell to a standout group of seniors who have been with Riptide since the beginning: team captain Keyi Chen, drive coach Daniel Brenner, driver Nicholas Galon, designer/fabricator Jackson Carroll, and scout Noam Borenstein. Their leadership, talent, and dedication have been instrumental in the team’s success and will leave a lasting legacy.

 

 

Date Added: 4/23/2025

The Long Beach High School TV Studio Production and IB Film program students recently attended the 19th Annual Locust Valley Film Festival, where they made a powerful impression with their creativity, talent, and hard work.

This year’s festival saw over 300 film submissions from 13 schools across the region. Only 75 films were selected for screening in front of an audience of more than 250 students, making it a highly competitive event. Long Beach is proud to share that 13 of those 75 selected films were created by Long Beach High School students, an impressive achievement that highlights the strength and passion of the school’s media arts program.

Even more exciting, Long Beach students brought home three awards across two competitive categories:

Public Service Announcement Category:

* 1st Place: Helmet Safety by Cathy Maguire
* 3rd Place: Drive Safely by Noam Borenstein, Jake Haft, and Aaron Blau

Trailer Category:

* 3rd Place: Life of the Party (Trailer) by Jake Haft, Ethan Engelson, Aaron Blau, Reilly Sanfillippo, Kasey Brymer, Cathy Maguire, and Sabrina Moy

Congratulations to all the students, teachers, and supporters of the Long Beach High School TV Studio Production and IB Film programs.

 

 

Date Added: 4/23/2025

Long Beach Public Schools is proud to announce that Julia Lang-Shapiro, Director of Media, Visual & Performing Arts, has been appointed Regional Director for the Supervision & Administration Division of the National Art Education Association (NAEA).

In this prestigious two-year role, Ms. Lang-Shapiro will support both regional initiatives and national efforts within the division. She will collaborate with arts administrators from across the country, including Nebraska, Virginia, and Indiana, contributing to the advancement of arts education on a broader scale. Additionally, she will be joining the Public Schools Arts Education Leaders Alliance (PSAELA), further expanding her leadership and advocacy in the arts education community.

“I look forward to exchanging ideas, sharing best practices, and working alongside fellow arts administrators to continue advocating for and advancing arts education,” said Lang-Shapiro.

Long Beach Public Schools congratulates Ms. Lang-Shapiro on this well-deserved recognition and is confident she will make a meaningful impact in her new role.

Date Added: 4/23/2025

Congratulations to LBHS student artists Ariana Jabbar and Syd Goldman! Their artwork has been selected for inclusion in Long Island’s Best—the region’s most prestigious juried exhibition for high school students. The 2024 show opens on April 6 and features 79 pieces chosen from 455 submissions across 67 high schools in Suffolk and Nassau Counties. Long Island’s Best is the only juried exhibition on Long Island that gives high school students the chance to exhibit their work in a professional museum setting.

A huge congratulations to Ariana and Syd, and to their dedicated teachers, Eric Fox and Marlon Lainez! Click here to view the full exhibit.

Click here to view the slideshow.

 

Date Added: 4/9/2025

Students in the Long Beach High School IB Dance Program recently took part in a Dance Residency Intensive on March 12 and 14, in partnership with New York City Center. This unique opportunity allowed the IB Dance students to collaborate with renowned international dancer, teacher, and choreographer Manon Bal, who guided them through Horton and Street Jazz techniques and choreographed an original performance piece exclusively for them.

Long Beach Dance Teacher Christianne Vella said, “Working with such an esteemed dance professional is a very unique experience for a dancer and for many of these students, it was a once in a lifetime time opportunity.”

Manon Bal, a versatile professional dancer from Marseille, France, worked closely with the students during the residency. She has trained at the IFPRO Rick Odums in Paris and the prestigious Ailey School in New York City. Since 2016, she has been a member of Ephrat Asherie Dance, a company that tours both nationally and internationally. Throughout her career, Manon has worked with esteemed choreographers, including Ronald K-Brown, Rick Odums, Michelle Dorrance, Tweet Boogie, Michele Byrd McPhee, Jon Rua, and Miki Tuesday. As a choreographer, she co-founded Maley Company with Dhele Agbetou and Mozaik Dance with Janine J9 Micheletti and Sun Kim. Additionally, Manon serves as a New York City Center Teaching Artist.

Date Added: 3/24/2025