The school year is off to an award-winning start for several Ward Melville High School student-artists who have captured recognition on the national stage.

A project created by Grace Zhang during her AP Studio 2D class last year was chosen as the cover art for “Portal of Vaal,” a book written by 16-year-old North Carolina resident Andrew Daly. The book is currently being sold on Amazon.

Several films created by Grace and fellow student Henry DaCosta were selected for the All American High School Film Festival, to be held in New York City this October. Henry’s film, "Life Forms," takes a look into the subconscious of a teenage boy questioning his place in society and the existential questions of life. Three of Grace’s films were selected for feature in the festival: "Pretty Girls," a documentary short about the narrow-minded ideals of Asian beauty standards; "Rebirth," an experimental dance short symbolizing a violent metamorphosis as one loses purity in the transition from childhood to adulthood; and "Suburban Artifice," a love letter to suburbia in faded pastels.

The All American High School Film Festival received thousands of film submissions from 48 states and 17 countries, which have been narrowed down to approximately 200 submissions that will be screened at the AMC Empire 25 Theater in Times Square. This year's award ceremony and red carpet event will take place in the Historic King's Theatre in Flatbush, Brooklyn, on Oct. 11 from 6:30-8 p.m.

Lastly, Ward Melville High School’s 2015 yearbook, Invictus, earned an All-American honor rating with four marks of distinction from the National Scholastic Press Association.