Sachem’s two girls soccer teams recently visited the League of YES to volunteer as buddies for the athletes in the program. The High School East team visited on Sept. 28 and High School North visited on Oct. 5.

The League of YES provides inclusive sports programs for individuals of all abilities. Its mission is to offer the benefits of team sports while promoting self-esteem and a healthy, active lifestyle. The Sachem teams helped participants play baseball. They assisted in batting, running the bases and most importantly, be a friend on and off the field. It was a rewarding experience for all and fostered teamwork and social connections.

 

 

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

Sachem High School North kicked off its homecoming festivities on Sept. 26 with annual elementary parades. The North football teams, cheerleaders and Arrowettes visited the elementary schools on the North side of the district to get students excited about the upcoming homecoming weekend. Elementary students lined the hallways with signs while the high school athletes paraded the building with the North fight song playing overhead.

The following day, Sachem North held its pep rally to carry over the excitement at the high school. The student body gathered in the gymnasium over two sessions to celebrate the fall season’s athletic teams. Each team performed a short skit in front of their peers, and the football team was introduced ahead of the homecoming game on Sept. 28.

On game day, Sachem High School North football came out victorious with a final score of 31-6 over Bay Shore. It was a well-celebrated homecoming, capped off with a win!

Click here to view the Elementary Parade slideshow.

Click here to view the Pep Rally slideshow.

 

Date Added: 9/30/2024

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