Islip High School seniors Jack Whitehouse and Sara Geldmacher were recently recognized as winners of this year’s Suffolk Zone awards. Whitehouse is a member of the Buccaneers’ varsity lacrosse and wrestling teams, while Geldmacher plays for the girls varsity basketball and lacrosse teams.

The Suffolk Zone Chapter of the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance annually honors the top male and female physical education students in each Suffolk County high school graduating class. The criteria include attainment of at least a 3.0 or B overall grade point average, an A or 90 in physical education and health classes, outstanding character in both classroom and school, exceptional leadership in the school environment, and status as a physical fitness role model for other students.

Date Added: 5/2/2025

Islip High School senior Brady Nash was honored by the National Football Foundation’s Suffolk County Chapter at their annual Scholar Athlete Awards Brunch, held April 27 at the Melville Marriott. Nash was recognized as Player of the Week for Week 3 of the recent football season and named to the prestigious National Football Foundation Golden Eleven team as one of Suffolk County’s top 11 football scholar athletes.

With Nash as quarterback, the Buccaneers enjoyed a successful 2024 season, finishing 6-2, earning third seed in the playoffs and defeating Hauppauge in the quarterfinals. Nash’s highlights included 33 touchdowns, 3,259 total yards, 2,362 passing yards, 897 rushing yards and a 65% completion rate. He finished third overall for passing yards, second for total yards and second for touchdowns among all Long Island football players, and was named to the New York State Sportswriters Association’s 2024 All-State 3rd team offense.

Date Added: 5/1/2025

Islip High School hosted the final meeting of the school year of the Town of Islip Unity Council’s Ambassador program on April 2. The program was coordinated by the Town of Islip’s Youth Enrichment Services and Youth Bureau. Students from eight high schools in the Islip cluster participated in a series of meetings this year, designed to foster communication among students and provide training on how student leaders can use their voices to improve their community.

At this culminating meeting, students presented projects that their respective schools have undertaken this school year. Students and chaperones were treated to presentations by Town of Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter, Suffolk County Human Rights Commission Executive Director Dawn Lott, Hub International Senior Vice President Peter Eich and LaPeter Financial Concepts representative Shawn Owen.

Islip High School Multicultural Club advisers Laia Muller and Jennifer Stosch represented Islip High School and hosted the event, with 15 Multicultural Club students participating and presenting their project, a video designed to welcome students to Islip High School.

“The Town of Islip Unity Ambassador Program provided our students with a great and unique experience,” Muller said. “They had the opportunity to visit other schools in the area, as well as the historic Islip Town Hall. At these meetings, students were involved in activities that focused on fostering unity and were exposed to various inspirational speakers who shared their experiences fighting against issues such as discrimination and hate crimes. We are very proud of our students for dedicating their time and effort to promote unity in our community by participating in this program and creating a video showcasing all the different cultures represented here at Islip High School. We are grateful to be part of the program and proud to support such a meaningful cause.”

“This program gave our students a wonderful opportunity to connect with peers from neighboring school districts and celebrate their diverse cultural experiences,” Stosch said. “Our students took great pride in creating and presenting a video that promotes inclusion and highlights the many cultural backgrounds that make up our Islip community.  I am so proud of our new student ambassadors for representing our school with such passion and purpose.”

“We were so proud to host this year’s culminating event of the Town of Islip Unity Council’s Ambassador Program,” Principal Dr. Lara Gonzalez said. “Our students represented us exceedingly well.”

Date Added: 4/29/2025

Islip High School’s cosmetology program, led by teacher Lorraine Knoblauch, launched its very first St. Baldrick's Foundation Shave for the Brave fundraiser on April 11. School staff and other individuals willing to shave their heads in solidarity for the fight against childhood cancer visited the school’s salon for a trim courtesy of Islip's talented cosmetology students.

“We hope to host this wonderful event annually as we raise money to help relieve research costs for childhood cancer,” Knoblauch said. “My students all worked together to bring this collaborative event to fruition, and donated their time and expertise to make this event a huge success.”

Date Added: 4/24/2025

Islip High School freshmen Max Kjeldsen and Sara Pellegrino won an award for Best Project in the climate change category of at the Long Island Youth Summit, held April 4 at St. Joseph’s University in North Patchogue. The Youth Summit is designed to engage high school students in an exploration of important current socio-medical, environmental and socio-economic issues. 

Kjeldsen and Pellegrino created a 12-minute podcast titled “Climate Change Causes Problems on Long Island and Surrounding Areas,” discussing the specific impact of climate change on Long Island and the consequences it may cause. The two students were inspired to create the podcast by their experience in Islip’s Living Environment & AP Environmental Science course and their desire to find solutions to this problem at a local level.

“I really enjoyed my time at the program collaborating with other students and experts in the field,” Pellegrino said. “Winning the award was great, but I think the real win was being able to be part of the learning experience.”

“It was a really great experience to be able to discuss this kind of topic with so many intelligent individuals,” Kjeldsen said. “I am happy I was able to go, and I hope to go again next year.”

“It was such a great moment to see them win an award,” counselor Nicole Hall said. “They were sitting in a room with over a hundred finalists, most of them upperclassmen, so to see two freshmen taking charge of their own learning and making a podcast was incredible. I am so proud of them.”

Date Added: 4/24/2025