Several students from Sachem High School East were awarded in the NASA Space Apps Brookhaven Challenge held at Zebra Technologies in Holtsville. The Space Apps Challenge is a hackathon that allows students to utilize open data from NASA and its Space Agency Partners to address real-world problems on Earth and in space. NASA Subject Matter Experts submit challenges that range in complexity and topics.

Team Ohio Orbital Gang, made up of Amelia Abreu, Emily Chomba, Melisa Kucuk, Shelby Lyons, Juliana Nuss and Aarav Sehgal, won the Zebra Technologies Spirit of Innovation Award, which honors the most innovative project advancing science or technology.

Team PACE In Space, consisting of Hanoona Mehaboob and Sarah Nagel, won the Environmental Impact Award. This award recognizes the project with the most significant contribution to addressing environmental challenges.

Nutrient Navigators, including members Luke Cerone, Jason Malabuyoc, Arda Otcu and Saiyum Sheth, won Sachem East’s third award. The team secured the Tesla Science Center Designing Tomorrow Award, which celebrates the project with the most forward-looking vision for the betterment of humanity.

The local event was sponsored by the Tesla Science Center, Zebra Technologies, Grumman Aerospace and the Long Island Community Foundation. It was held over several days – Sept. 21 and 28 and Oct. 5 and 6.

Date Added: 10/10/2024

Four Sachem High School students were named Commended Students in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program. Congratulations to Ryan Pacella and Ibrahim Suleman from Sachem High School East, and Sofia Miele and Sabir Tarique from Sachem High School North.

These students were among the top 50,000 scorers who entered the competition by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. While they will not advance in the competition for scholarships, they have received Letters of Commendation which recognizes their exceptional academic promise.

 

Date Added: 10/9/2024

Four talented student-musicians in the Sachem Central School District have been selected by the New York State School Music Association to participate in the prestigious 2024 All-State Music Conference. An additional three students were chosen as alternates. The annual festival is among the highest honors a high school musician may achieve.

Congratulations to the following Sachem students:

All-State

• Brandon Rivas, HS East – Symphonic Band, Euphonium
• Jaden Rudnicki, HS East – Symphony Orchestra, French Horn
• Abby Tannacore, HS North – String Orchestra, Cello
• Matthew Umbenhower, HS North – Symphony Orchestra, Viola; Mixed Choir, Bass 1

Alternates

• Tristan Prin, HS East – Tenor 2
• Isabella Meichner, HS North – Cello
• Joseph Johnson, HS North – Jazz Guitar

Jaden Rudnicki, a senior horn player at East, is returning to the All-State for his second consecutive year, this time playing first horn with the Symphony Orchestra after once again receiving a perfect 100 on his NYSSMA All-State solo. Jaden spent this past summer studying horn at the Philadelphia International Music Festival and Camp and the International Horn Symposium in Colorado as well as performing with both the Island Symphony Orchestra and as a guest soloist in the Northport Community Band. Jaden currently attends the Manhattan School of Music Pre-College program every Saturday, where he studies horn with Hugo Valverde of the Met Opera Orchestra. Jaden maintains an active performance schedule as principal horn with Metropolitan Youth Orchestra’s Suffolk Principal Orchestra and third horn in the Stony Brook University Orchestra. He has also performed with honorable ensembles including the Nassau Suffolk Wind Symphony, NYSCAME All-County Bands, the New York State Band Directors Association, and the Long Island Youth Orchestra. Jaden is also playing Richard Strauss’ Horn Concerto No. 1 this November with the New York Session Symphony. Jaden plans to pursue a double major in Horn Performance and Music Education in college.

Also a senior at East, Brandon Rivas has been accepted into the All-State Symphonic Band on euphonium after receiving a perfect 100 on his NYSSMA All-State Solo. Brandon began his musical endeavors 8 years ago when he started playing both euphonium and piano, and 2 years ago he added trombone as another major instrument. He has participated in NYSSMA for many years on multiple instruments, including several perfect scores. He has been involved in nearly every musical ensemble and class available to him at school, including Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Jazz Ensemble, Pit Orchestra, Marching Band, Pep Band, Music Theory I & II AP, Songwriting I & II, Digital Music Production, Stagecraft, and the Tri-M Music Honor Society. Brandon has studied privately outside of school since 6th grade and has performed with the Nassau Suffolk Performing Arts bands for the past 6 years, progressing all the way up to the Wind Symphony. Brandon is also an up and coming composer (primarily for wind orchestra), having completed 13 works. Included among his 5 self-published works is his first piece, “The Labyrinth of Madness”, which was completed in December of 2022 and premiered by the Sachem High School East Wind Ensemble. After graduation, Brandon intends to pursue a career in either Music Education or Composition.

Abby Tannacore, a junior at North, will perform with the All-State String Orchestra on cello after receiving a perfect 100 on their NYSSMA All-State solo. They have been studying cello in school since the 4th grade, and since 6th grade have been attending private lessons and cello ensemble through Annette Perry’s cello studio. In Sachem, Abby is a member of the Chamber Orchestra, String Ensemble, Pit Orchestra, Tri-M Music Honor Society, and Music Council. Since beginning their cello studies, Abby has also performed with several orchestras outside of school, including the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra Suffolk Orchestras, Long Island String Festival Association, SCMEA and NYSCAME All-County Orchestras, and most recently the Sound Symphony Orchestra. After high school, Abby plans to pursue a degree in cello performance at a university or music conservatory.

Matthew Umbenhower will perform with the All-State Symphony Orchestra on viola after being selected to participate on both viola and bass 1 (voice), having earned a perfect 100 on each of his NYSSMA All-State solos. The current North junior has been studying voice and viola both in school and privately since the 4th grade. In Sachem, Matthew is a member of the Chamber Orchestra, String Ensemble, Pit Orchestra, Symphonic Choir, IMAGE A Cappella Choir, and Tri-M Music Honor Society. Outside of school, Matthew has performed for several years with the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra Suffolk Symphonic Choir, Long Island String Festival Association, and SCMEA and NYSCAME All-County Choirs and Orchestras. This past summer, Matthew performed with the Sound Symphony Orchestra in their summer concert series, and he plans to return again next summer. While Matthew does not plan to major in music, he does intend to continue his musical studies through performance at the university level.

Every year, more than 6,000 students from across New York State audition for the All-State Honors Ensembles by preparing an accompanied level VI NYSSMA solo and 13 scales to play for a professional adjudicator, as well as demonstrating proficiency in sight-reading. Of these students, less than 700 are chosen. Students must receive a score of 98 or higher to be considered for participation, and the vast majority of participants receive a perfect score on one or multiple auditions. These seven Sachem students are among the top musicians from across New York State to be selected.

The All-State Winter Conference will take place in Rochester from Dec. 5-8. While in Rochester, the students will rehearse and perform with nationally recognized conductors in their musical ensembles. All performances take place at the historic Eastman Theatre in downtown Rochester.

Congratulations to these impressive musicians on this tremendous achievement!

 

Date Added: 10/7/2024

Several Sachem High School students have been awarded the prestigious AP Capstone Diploma and AP Capstone Certificate. The AP Capstone program, consisting of two advanced courses – AP Seminar and AP Research, is designed to challenge students and develop essential skills like independent research, collaboration and effective communication. This rigorous program is a significant accomplishment, reflecting students' hard work and dedication to their academics.

 

Students who earn the AP Capstone Diploma must score 3 or higher in both AP Seminar and AP Research, as well as on four additional AP exams of their choice. Congratulations to the current Sachem students who received this designation:

 

High School East – Diploma

Sarah Baker, Sahar Fatima, Kyle Finnegan, Christopher Freriks, Madyn Gassner, Connor Henzel, Melisa Kucuk, Eva Lifschultz, Sarah Nagel, John O’Brien, Ibrahim Suleman, Hannah Thomas, Krish Vakharia and Julianna Wottawa.

 

High School North – Diploma

Alain Alarcon, Katelyn Amato, Danielle Annese, Tricia Block, Meadow McKeegan, Ryan Medina, Rebecca Sinatra, Sabir Tarique, Tasmiah Tawhid and Logan Wiliiamson.

 

Those who earn the AP Capstone Certificate earned scores of 3 or higher on both the AP Seminar and AP Research courses. Congratulations to the following current students:

 

High School East – Certificate

Emma Accetta, Max Bennett, Aleysha Cordero, Morgan Iadanza, Meadow Murphy, Isabella Park, Leah Ratto, Addison Romanowski, Arianna Schuman, Scarlett Stroup and Amanda Thurston.

 

High School North – Certificate

Paloma Bednar, Valentina Colonia Guzman, Hannah Harvey, Lydia Hicyilmaz and Patricia Tomas.

 

In addition, several members of the Class of 2024 earned either the AP Capstone Certificate or AP Capstone Diploma.

 

High School East Class of 2024 graduates:

Diploma: Harrison Brown, Anthony Chomba, Eshal Chowdhury, Timothy Famiglietti, Ashlynn Foster, Mahek Hassanali, Matt Ilario, Alexis Salcedo, Joseph Vento, Erin Vetter and Sara Vetter.

Certificate: Christopher Campolo, Autumn Danziger, Giulia Esposito, Maysum Hassanali, Angelina Mannino, Sean Peek, Michael Roussinos and Riley Saposnick.

 

High School North Class of 2024 graduates:

Diploma: Nicholas Annese, Ashley Edgar, Ryan DeSimone, Jacob Flores Zeranski, Angelina Haufler, Gabriella Heinssen, Grace Hirst, Teagan Hodge, Riya Jasani, Andrew Metzger, Mia Ponticelli, Avi Talsania, Colin Veraszto and Matthew Wrightson.

Certificate: Giovanni Gandolfi

 

Date Added: 9/26/2024

 

Several of our Sachem students have been designated as Top 100 athletes by Newsday for the fall season. To recognize this achievement, we asked them to share a team goal, personal goal and a highlight as a Sachem athlete.

Field Hockey Top 50
Jessica Nodell, Sachem North, Senior
Team goal – “To support each other and work together as a team.”
Personal goal – “To continue to challenge myself and play to the best of my ability.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “Playing field hockey has been a rewarding experience for me at Sachem and one that I hope to continue playing in college.”

Morgan Quirk, Sachem North, Junior
Team goal – “My team goal for this season is to all work together seamlessly through better communication and support for one another, on and off the field.”
Personal goal – “A personal goal of mine for this season is to continue working on my leadership skills along with my communication with my teammates.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “A highlight of being a Sachem Athlete is the opportunities that I have been given to demonstrate my love and passion for the sport, while being able to be a role model for younger athletes playing field hockey.”

Kayla Richter, Sachem East, Senior
Team goal – “Work together, trust each other, and take it a game at a time to get to LIC”
Personal goal – “Be a leader on and off the field, be a person my teammates can rely on and look up to”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “Beating a team we haven’t beat in five years recently, they are such a strong team but it proved that when we work together as a team we can accomplish so much.”

Boys Soccer Top 100
Luka Verbanac, Sachem North, Senior

Girls Soccer Top 100
Stephanie Tator, Sachem East, Junior

Football Top 100
Angelo Portillo, Sachem North, Senior
Team goal – “To win the SCC and the LIC.”
Personal goal – “I want to make All-County and possibly All-State.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “My biggest highlight was winning both rounds of the playoffs last year against teams we lost to already, and then making it to the SCC.”

Lucas Singleton, Sachem North, Senior
Team goal – “Making it far into season and become better players.”
Personal goal – “Having the best season I can as a player and leader. Being the best player and or RB on the Island.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “Always a great staff and community behind us.”

AJ Vurchio, Sachem East, Senior
Team goal – “Long Island championship.”
Personal goal – “Boomer finalist and five touchdowns a game.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “Beating Melville 2023.”

Girls Volleyball Top 50
Samantha Madigan, Sachem East, Senior

Lea Rowett, Sachem North, Senior
Team goal – “To make playoffs.”
Personal goal – “To improve my serving.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “Committing to play division one lacrosse at The University Of Massachusetts Lowell.”

Boys Volleyball Top 50
Bryan Kuhl, Sachem North, Sophomore

Ryan McKeon, Sachem East, Senior
Team goal – “Win states.”
Personal goal – “Beat every team we lost to last year.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “The team/school mentality.”

Sam Morreale, Sachem North, Senior
Team goal – “To win a county, Long island, and state championship.”
Personal goal – “To be the suffolk county MVP and win a county championship with my little brother.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “My highlight as a sachem athlete is been being able to represent Sachem North Volleyball as a captain for the last two years, and being able to lead and be a role model for the next few generations of Sachem volleyball players.”

Tyler Rooi, Sachem East, Senior
Team goal – “My team goal for the season is to be League Champions this year. This is the first year in a while wear we have a chance to go far. I would also love to have a playoff game at home this year.”
Personal goal – “My personal goal for this season is to be Elite 8.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “My highlight as a sachem athlete is beating Sachem North in the 2022 season.”

Jake Spring, Sachem North, Senior
Team goal – “To win our very last game.”
Personal goal – “To constantly improve every time I step on the court in practice and in game.”
Highlight as a Sachem athlete – “The great treatment we receive. Every sports team in sachem is in full support of other sports teams. All the student athletes understand the pressures that come with being a student athlete and they have each other's backs”

 

Click here to view the HS East slideshow.

Click here to view the HS North slideshow.

 

Date Added: 9/23/2024