Last October, Sachem High School North students in Monica Marlow’s Advanced Placement Environmental Science class attended a field trip at Sunken Meadow State Park to monitor and aid in an estuary restoration. 

Working with Long Island Sound Study, New York Sea Grant, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Parks and Save the Sound since 2010, students collected baseline data prior to and have been monitoring the progress since a dam was removed in 2012 to restore tidal flow to 132 acres of estuary habitat.

Alongside agency professionals, students tested water quality and samples for organisms and caught numerous fish, including baby flounder, sea robin and blackfish. The presence of these species serves as a great indicator of the success of the restoration project thus far. 

“I see tremendous value in involving our students in this long-term project,” Marlow said. “It provides a memorable opportunity to engage in hands-on learning and generate excitement for the AP curriculum, as well as help students take ownership and responsibility for our local waterways.”  

The students will be presenting their data at the Open Space Stewardship Program celebration at Brookhaven National Laboratory this spring. The conference provides students an excellent opportunity to interact with professional scientists and other motivated high school students in the environmental science field. 

Six distinguished student-musicians from Sachem High Schools North and East were selected to showcase their musical mastery during the 2018 New York State School Music Association’s All-State festival at the Rochester Convention Center in Rochester, New York, from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2. 

From High School East, students Timothy Demott and Ralf Jean-Francois will perform with the mixed chorus, while Rachel Sauer will perform with the symphonic band. 

From High School North, students Morgan Tiller and Joseph Albano have been selected for the mixed chorus and Sofia Sangiorgio for the symphonic band. 

“Selection for the All-State performing groups is a rare honor earned by only the most talented, dedicated and hardworking students,” said David Jaklitsch, the chairperson for secondary music. “These amazing young musicians have worked at the highest possible level for many years and under many teachers, studying both in and out of school to attain this accomplishment. We are all very proud to have these exceptional students represent Sachem as some of the best in all of New York State.”

The selection process for an All-State musician is rigorous and includes teacher recommendations, audition scores at the NYSSMA solo evaluation festival during the prior spring and participation in other performing organizations. 

The College Board recently recognized 126 Sachem High School students as Advanced Placement Scholars for their extraordinary performance on Advanced Placement Program exams. 

The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program offers academically excelling students an opportunity to enroll in college-level courses while still in high school to earn college credit. The College Board recognizes varying levels of achievement based on students’ performance on the course exams. 

At Sachem High School East, 25 students were recognized as AP Scholars, receiving a score of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams. These students were Emily Allingham, Sophia Antonelle, Diana Atoian, Samantha Autar, Samaa Baig, Kristen Bashen, Nicholas Corvi, Lauren Faust, Jocelyn Fisher, Rebecca Grunski, Victoria Hyl, Jared Jackson, Ryan Kinsella, Kayla Krempasky, Caitlin MacDermott, Nicholas Mulieri, Michael Mullen, Rachel Sauer, Abigail SeMonte, Danielle Spak, Maira Suleman, Nicholas Traina, Isha Trivedi, Aaron Ullger and Julianna Viola.

Attaining an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams, 14 students from High School East were named AP Scholars with Honor. These students include Jessica Cormier, Amira Farag, William Gavin, Gwendlyne Guido, Lana Ho, Winnie Lam, Thomas Marks, Vincent Marzitello, William Monderine, Dylan Lenin Santos, Miranda Seely, Alexa Storzinger, Celia Toral and Alfredo Viera. 

Twenty-three students from High School East were recognized as AP Scholars with Distinction for achieving an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. Students who received this honor are Eram Alam, Nicholas Alonzo, Valentina Arrieta, Ulfeen Ayevan, Rohan Bapat, Emma Berk, Mibitha Biju, Luke Burk, Alyssa Cortes, Tanay Karnik, Ryan Kennedy, Ian Limjoco, Alyssa Mei, Julianna Mercado, Yash Pande, Nicholas Sanacore, Jennifer Seibert, Jeffery Shaffar, Nicholas Smith, Joseph Tan, Sean Tierney, Joseph Traina and Vincent Zhang. 

Earning the highest honor presented to an AP Scholar was Vincent Zhang. He was named a National AP Scholar for receiving an average score of at least 4 on all AP exams taken and scores of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams.  

In addition, Sachem High School North boasts 26 AP Scholars. These students are Nicholas Ambrosino, Zaria Brathwaite, Nishkreencha Chowdhury, Megan Cooke, Madison Eaton, Dylan Flaxman, Daniel Gernert, Emily Ingraffia, Hannah Kimura, Isabella Lorenzo, Carmine Lucidi, Matthew Lucyk, Allison Marvelli, Patrick Melfi, Christopher Moriarty, Erin Netuschil, Alper Ozdemir, Connor Perron, Sahana Ramrakhiani, Andrea Rodas, Marissa Sheldon, Christian Stilwagen, Christopher Ventre, Samantha Weckesser, Angela Zheng and Tyler Ziems. 

Twenty-one students receiving recognition as an AP Scholar with Honor from High School North are Raymond Calascibetta, Christopher Duong, Amber Farruggio, Emily Gelardi, Paeton Hartmann, Catherine Houston, Hui Fang Huang, Christopher Korth, Deirdre McBreen, Daniel Mckay, Emily Papazian, Mariana Perron, Isabella-Ros Quaranta, Emily Rowan, Sofia Sangiorgio, Rachael Severino, William Sexton, Ustav Shah, Sofia Vallecillo, Nicholas Wodzenski and Emma Zanfardino.  

Being recognized as AP Scholars with Distinction are 16 High School North students, including Corinne Amato, Erin Avanzato, Adam Barker, Albert-Alexi Bregonia, Amy DeLury, Christopher Dibenedetto, Casey Fox, Chris George, Masi Kinare, Miguel Maramara, Carmine Passarella, Drew Racz, Taylor Rijos, Maximiliano Rinaldi, Nicholas Sexton and Natalie Sill.

Last year, 193 graduating seniors from Sachem High Schools were recognized at various levels as AP Scholars. 
  

At the start of the 2018-2019 school year, the Spectrum of Dreams Foundation generously donated 35 backpacks for students in need at Sachem High School North. 

Throughout the year, Spectrum of Dreams, a locally founded nonprofit organization, provides a number of enriching educational opportunities for students across the district. These past initiatives have included sponsoring several college scholarships for Sachem students.