At its June 9 meeting, the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Board of Education celebrated the outstanding accomplishments of student artists and musicians from the 2025-2026 school year and recognized students for their achievements in world languages.

The celebration began with the visual arts, where Oyster Bay High School students earned honors in several prestigious exhibitions, including the Advanced Placement Art Exhibit (GO APE), the Nassau County High School Juried Art Competition and the Art Supervisors Association's All-County Art Exhibition. Students also stood out in the Long Island Herald's Holiday Wrapping Paper Design Contest and Audubon New York's Share the Shore initiative, with their artwork displayed in public spaces and published media. At the Long Island Media Arts Show, two OBHS students placed in the top four for 2D Abstract Art and Photography.

These individual achievements were matched by district-wide recognition, as OBEN was named a Community of Excellence in Visual Arts, one of only 25 districts in New York State to receive the honor for the 2025-2026 school year.

In media arts, the Bay News Now (BNN) team continued its tradition of excellence, earning two first-place wins at the Broadcast Alliance for Senior High (BASH) Awards against schools from across the region.

The district's musicians shared in the spotlight as well. For the third consecutive year, OBEN was named one of the Best Communities for Music Education by The NAMM Foundation, and many students were selected for the Nassau All-County Music Festival. Two students earned All-State honors: Aari Gupta on trombone and Maalika Mehta on French horn (alternate).

The evening closed with a celebration of world languages, as OBHS Assistant Principal Dr. Stephany Contreras introduced the students who earned silver, bronze and honorable mention distinctions on the National Language Exams in both French and Spanish.

Altogether, the evening was a joyful tribute to the creativity, talent and dedication of OBEN students and their teachers.