Julie Yang, a recent graduate of Ward Melville High School and student of Kristen Dietz, received a perfect score on the AP Drawing Exam in May 2023. Julie was one of only 308 students across the globe who received every possible point on the assessment and earned the top score of 5, which amounts to just 1.36% of 2023 AP Drawing Exam takers.

Date Added: 9/28/2023

Six Ward Melville High School students were selected by the New York State School Music Association as All-State musicians to perform in the 2023 Winter Conference. An additional seven students were chosen as alternates.

Congratulations to the following:

All-State
• Joanna Huang – Violin I, Symphony Orchestra
• Nolan Jin – Viola, Symphony Orchestra
• Acadia Kunkel – Violin II, Symphony Orchestra
• Nicole Passananti – Jazz Soprano, Vocal Jazz
• Rachel Rose – Jazz Alto, Vocal Jazz
• Brianna Zenaty – Jazz Soprano, Vocal Jazz

Alternates
• Cameron Fiorella – Snare Drum
• Kyle Frazier – Cello
• William Gliganic – Double Bass
• Looji Lee – Violin
• Lijia Lin – Violin
• Alexander Song – Violin
• Michael Wei – Violin

The top musicians from school music departments across New York are selected from thousands to receive the All-State designation. They auditioned by participating in solo and ensemble festivals last spring and by receiving teacher recommendations. The conference will take place in Rochester from Nov. 30-Dec. 3.

Date Added: 9/27/2023

Fifteen students from Ward Melville High School were named semifinalists in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program. Congratulations to Yujay An, Amy Chen, Alexandra Duan, Alexander Huang, Julian Khalifah, Emma Li, Katherine Liang, Michael Lu, William McGovern, Michael Melikyan, Anna Potekhin, Benjamin Wu, Vivian Ye, Benjamin Zhang and Michael Zhang.

These students were among the top scorers on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Approximately 16,000 high school seniors were named semifinalists in this year’s program. They represent less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors, including the highest-scoring entrants from each state.

Only 15,000 semifinalists will go on to compete for scholarships at the finalist level. Students will be notified in February of this designation. The district congratulates these academically talented students on this accomplishment and wishes them the best in the competition.

 

Date Added: 9/22/2023

Ward Melville High School senior Sarina Policastro has had her animation, “Amira’s Letters” featured in five national or international film festivals – the Urbanite Arts and Film Festival 2023, Pegasus Film Festival 2023, Miami 4 Social Change 2023, Animex Screen 2023 and SF3 2023. Last year, Policastro won the top award in the National PTA Reflections program for film, the Outstanding Interpretation Award, for her animation. The Board of Education recognized her for her achievements at its Sept. 27 meeting.

Please view “Amira’s Letters” at the link below, at the 2:15 mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGl1GcHov64

Date Added: 9/21/2023

Students and staff across the Three Village Central School District honored Patriot Day on Sept. 11. Through in-class lessons and activities, students reflected on the tragic events of 9/11 by remembering the lives lost, those who were impacted and the many heroes who made sacrifices.

At several elementary schools across the district, students planted American flags on the front lawn of their buildings. Meanwhile at Ward Melville High School, students and members of the Ward Melville Robotics Team lined the perimeter of the property with flags as a display of remembrance. In addition to the flag tributes, many students and staff members dressed in red, white and blue as a symbol of unity.

R.C. Murphy Junior High School social studies teacher Kristin Stelfox participated in an invaluable experience this summer to learn new strategies to effectively teach Three Village students about 9/11. Ms. Stelfox was selected for the inaugural Institute for Educators at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. She spent five days learning from first responders, museum directors and curators, and leaders in their fields of study on terrorism about how to teach the history of 9/11 and ensure it is a day that is truly never forgotten. Ms. Stelfox presented what she learned to her department so that her experience and knowledge gained can be shared with a greater audience of Three Village students.

“This experience was incredibly impactful not only because of the level of access to and caliber of presenters over five days, but because our commitment to never forgetting means we dedicate the time to teaching the next generation of students about the sacrifices and heroism of the day,” she said.

Please view Ms. Stelfox’s presentation linked below:

Teaching 9/11 Presentation

Minnesauke Slideshow
Murphy Slideshow
Nassakeag Slideshow
Ward Melville HS Slideshow

Date Added: 9/11/2023