Jr.-Sr. High School senior Ryan Storch utilized his musical talents to make a difference in the Long Island community. He was recently recognized as one of 23 students from eight Legislative Districts to receive the Suffolk County Legislature’s Distinguished Youth Award

The DYA program challenges the county’s youth to become more civically involved and to focus on activities they not only enjoy but for which they would like to improve a skill. The program focuses on meeting goals in four separate categories: volunteer service, personal development, exploration and physical fitness.

Ryan, who received a Bronze Award for participating in two of the four possible categories, first explored and cleaned up 20 Suffolk County parks and placed a Kindness Rock in each of them. As part of his volunteer service, Ryan played the keyboard during the Lighthouse Mission’s mobile food pantry visits to Patchogue and Bellport, which entertained those in need.

Ryan is a New York State School Music Association level 6 musician for both piano and saxophone and has plans to continue his music study on the collegiate level. He is a member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society, the school’s pit orchestra and the marching band where he plays tenor sax. He said he would like to eventually pursue a career in music education or as a professional jazz musician.

The district congratulates Ryan on receiving the Distinguished Youth Award and extends best wishes for success in his music career.

Date Added: 10/7/2025

Tuttle Avenue School had by far the friendliest campus in the District from Sept. 29-Oct. 3. The students hosted Start With Hello Week, a social program which encourages students to reach out to peers who may be suffering from social isolation and a lack of connectivity. 

On Monday, students signed the Start With Hello pledge and took time to say hello to someone new, while on Tuesday, the students wore their favorite shirt and tried to find peers with the same interests. Wednesday followed with everyone wearing their favorite Tuttle or ESM gear to demonstrate that they are on the same team. The week concluded with everyone wearing green to show their commitment to displaying kindness, empathy and inclusiveness. Students were also encouraged to play with someone who is sitting on the school’s Buddy Bench. 

Click here to view the Friendship ‘Starts With Hello’ slideshow.

Date Added: 10/6/2025

Canon USA, Inc. is partnering with the Eastport-South Manor’s English Language Arts program to develop students’ creative writing skills while gaining insight into the process of becoming a professional author. Throughout this program, called the Future Authors Project, students are writing and compiling their personal stories, which will be illustrated by their own photographs taken with Canon cameras. Once completed, Canon will print and bind the collection in a book, which will be signed by the students and distributed to families and friends. 

Canon senior tech specialist Brandon Chin first held a photography tutorial with Junior-Senior High School students where they were introduced to the fundamentals of professional photography. They learned about the concepts of the rule of thirds, composition techniques and essential camera functions and reviewed and edited their photos to prepare them for inclusion in the final book. Mr. Chin also shared his experiences as an acclaimed photographer. His subject matter includes car racing and race cars, famous athletes and sports teams, and geographic features and tourist sites. Canon also supplied the elaborate kits consisting of powerful, state of the art professional cameras, long range lenses and accessories on loan from the company.  

"By equipping students with the tools and resources they need to bring their ideas to life, we are fostering confidence, creativity, and a lifelong passion for learning," K-12 Director of ELA Lalaena Alfredsson said. "We believe in the transformative power of storytelling and the importance of nurturing young creative minds. We’re excited to see how the Future Authors Project will empower our students, allowing them to showcase their potential and demonstrate what they can achieve when given the right tools and guidance to succeed."

Click here to view the Jr.-Sr. High School Partners with Canon U.S.A., Inc on Future Authors Project slideshow.

Date Added: 10/3/2025

 

The halls of the Jr.-Sr. High School were filled with gratitude on Sept. 5 as senior varsity football players stepped away from the field and into the classrooms to honor educators who have shaped their educational journeys. Each of the athletes personally selected a teacher who has made a lasting impression on their lives and presented each educator with a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “I Made an IMPACT.”

The gesture was designed to recognize the often unseen influence teachers have beyond academics.

“This is what education is all about – relationships, inspiration and the connections that last far beyond high school and the walls of the building,” ESM Touchdown Club President Michelle Beardsley said.

The ESM varsity players hope this small act of appreciation will inspire others to pause and recognize the difference teachers make every day. The following faculty were recognized: Adriana Loftus, Michael Biggs Robert Bolen, Victor Correa, Thomas DiGennaro, John DiMarco, D.J Eckert, Robert Fleming, Erich Grosse, Thomas Hayes, Michelle Heaney Rachel Neville, Michael Podstupka, David Shouler.

Date Added: 10/1/2025

Eastport-South Manor Jr.-Sr. High School is pleased to announce that 98 currently-enrolled juniors and seniors qualified as Advanced Placement Scholars by the College Board for their exceptional achievement on the college-level AP Program exams.

The College Board’s AP Placement Program offers students the opportunity to take challenging college-level courses while still in high school and to earn college credit, advanced placement or both for successful performance on the AP exams. The district currently offers 20 AP courses, as well as opportunities to earn the distinguished AP Capstone Diploma.

The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on the students’ performance on AP exams.

36 students qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams and include: Jameson Ackley, Ryan Almeida, Andrew Baldini, Kate Boeko, Marissa Bogdan, Nicholas Calcaterra, Casse DeGorter, Jayden Dell’Isola, Trevor Flores, Szonja Gabor, Maeve Gayer, Jordan Goldhammer, James Grossi, Madison Heaney, Adam Ilgaz, Josephina Ingoglia, Sarah Issac, Hannah Jaccard, Bennett Leselrod, Brennan Morrison, Lee Pacello, Amelia Palace, Cesar Rivera, Lucille Romaine, Kiera Romond, Andrew Santangelo, Aryana Seymore, Alex Silbert, Logan Silbert, Brianna Silliman, Oreoluwa Somosu, William Steinacher, Hyan Sy, Dylan Torres, Makena Wood and Michell Zheng.

17 students qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all exams taken and 3 or higher on four or more of these exams and include: Kevin Ackerman, Felipe Alarcon, Evan Buckshin, Katelyn Byrnes, Katherine Chacon, Ava DiDonna, Sean Doherty, Nolan Douglas, Shahbaz Khan, Brianna King, Jillian Loben, Natalie Longo, Tayvin Mann, Yamileth Ortiz, Sabrina Pelo, Nicholas Roth and Victor Soler.

45 students were the recipients of the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP exams with grades of 3 or higher and include: Adeena Abbas, Sophie Barnes , Kenneth Barrett, Sarah Benson, Giselle Bodon, Christian Bottcher, Anthony Bruno, Ashlyn Burst, Vincent Cafiso Jack Cain, Joseph Costanza, Bryan Cuzzone, Timothy Dodd, Andrew Dragos, Brendan Fabian, Serenity Flaherty, Aliessia Flores, Kathryn Frank, Payton Friede, Jillian Gmelch, Benjamin Grausso, Benjamin Grimmett, Jacob Hardina, Juliana Hille, Matthew Keller, Gabriella Kwok, Keelly Lala, Aidan Lee, Stella Lotardo, Sarah Midulla, Lucas Miller, Jake Misciagno, Matthew Munoz, Taylor Murtha, Jaylin Pentzel, Charles Peters, Olivia Pfeffer, Sophia Rivera, Georgia Saffren, Callie Schmidt, Alexa Shuman, Jeffrey Smith, Hudson Tucci, Chase Vinch and Pasha Wray.

Seven seniors were named AP Capstone Diploma recipients for having scored a 3 or higher on the AP Seminar and AP Research courses and on four additional AP Exams and include: Jayden Dell’Isola, Ava DiDonna, Hannah Jaccard, Jaylin Pentzel, Aryana Seymore, Brianna Silliman and Makena Wood.

Three seniors are AP Seminar and Research Certificate Recipients for earning scores of 3 or higher on AP Seminar and AP Research courses and include: Nicholas Calcaterra, Casse DeGorter and Pasha Wray.

48 students qualified to receive the College Board National Recognition Program Award for having acquired a 3.5 GPA or higher, PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 assessment scores within the top 10% of assessment takers in each state or having earned score of 3 or higher on two or more AP Exams in ninth and tenth grade and include: Kevin Ackerman (School Recognition), Jameson Ackley (School Recognition), Ryan Almeida (School Recognition), Giselle Bodon (School Recognition), Kate Boeko (School Recognition), Marissa Bogdan (First Generation Recognition Award), Evan Buckshin (School Recognition), Ashlyn Burst (School Recognition), Jack Cain (School Recognition, Madyson DesLauriers (School Recognition, Ava DiDonna (First Generation Recognition Award), Sean Doherty (School Recognition), Nolan Douglas (School Recognition), Trevor Flores (School Recognition), Szonja Gabor (School Recognition), Maeve Gayer (School Recognition), Jillian Gmelch (School Recognition) Jordan Goldhammer (School Recognition), James Grossi (School Recognition), Madison Heaney (School Recognition), Josephina Ingoglia (School Recognition), Hannah Jaccard (First Generation Recognition Award), Brianna King (School Recognition), Bennett Leselrod (School Recognition), Jillian Loben (First Generation Recognition Award), Lucas Miller (School Recognition), Brennan Morrison (School Recognition), Lee Pacello (School Recognition), Amelia Palace (School Recognition), Sabrina Pelo (School Recognition), Jaylin Pentzel (School Recognition), Cesar Rivera (School Recognition), Lucille Romaine (School Recognition), Jack Romond (School Recognition), Kiera Romond (School Recognition), Nicholas Roth (School Recognition), Andrew Santangelo (School Recognition), Aryana Seymore (First Generation Recognition Award), Alex Silbert (School Recognition), Logan Silbert (School Recognition), Brianna Silliman (School Recognition), Oreoluwa Somosu (School Recognition), William Steinacher (School Recognition), Hyan Sy (School Recognition), Dylan Torres (School Recognition), Makena Wood (School Recognition), Pasha Wray (First Generation Recognition Award) and Michell Zheng (First Generation Recognition Award).

Date Added: 9/29/2025