Five seniors at the high school – Julianna Eastwood, Hailey Franco, Michael Karachannas, Nicholas Ouwerkerk and Marcus Peterkin– signed national letters of intent to continue their athletic careers in college this fall. The students were joined by their proud families and Islip administration for a celebration in the school’s library on Feb. 8.

Eastwood will play soccer for Farmingdale State College, Franco will play soccer for Adelphi University, Karachannas will play football for Stony Brook University, Ouwerkerk will play soccer for Southern Vermont College and Peterkin will play soccer for the University of Connecticut.

“Knowing that our athletes can take those experiences from high school and move them on to the college level, to me is priceless,” said Islip Athletic Director John Sparacio. “That’s the reward for us here at Islip.”

It was a rockin’ trip back to the summer of 1958 as Islip High School’s theater students presented a vivid production of “Grease,” the classic 1971 musical by Warren Casey and Jim Jacobs, famously adapted as a film in 1978.

Audiences enjoyed the performances of an array of talented student actors during shows on Feb.  7, 8, 9 and 11. The cast included Tyler Cirulnick and Allie Morrissey as Sandy, Toni Castronova and Noelle Richard as Rizzo, Samantha Salerno and Katy Zurbaran as Marty, Taylor Austin and Rachel Nettuno as Frenchy, Grace Colwell and Marisa Esposito as Jan, Ashley Danz and Rachel Finz as Patty Simcox, Hallie Schreiner as Miss Lynch, Desiree Paga and Lotus Schuller as Cha-Cha, Brandon Larson as Danny, Nick D’Auria as Kenicke, Zac Center as Sonny, Joe Leo as Roger, Richie Castronova as Doody, Ryan DelGenio as Eugene, Matthew Mahr as Vince Fontaine, Manny Argueta as Johnny Casino, and Bella Green and Frank Neri as Teen Angel. Dr. Rich Harris, Jr. served as director, producer and music director, with Kirsten DiGillio supplying the exciting choreography.

“The students were amazing,” said Assistant Superintendent Christopher Smalley. “Many thanks to all the Islip staff and volunteers who came together to bring the show to life.”

Be sure to visit and bookmark the following sites for future news on Islip musicals:
Islip Musicals Website
Islip Musicals on Facebook
Islip Musicals on Instagram

Two teams of high school students in the Virtual Enterprise International program won seven medals at the VEI’s annual Long Island Business Plan Competition and Regional Trade Show, held on Jan. 9 at LIU Post. The Islip teams – Worldwide Entertainment Corporation and Entertainment Express – were competing against more than 90 other high school virtual firms to present the best business plans.

Worldwide Entertainment supplies party themes and food packages to customers, while Entertainment Express offers mobile theme parties while traveling on a personalized bus. The firms’ top executives presented their business plans to a panel of independent judges, earning gold medals in the employee handbook, salesmanship, sales materials and video commercial categories and silver medals in the employee policies and impact marketing categories.

“Our students and staff did an amazing job,” said Assistant Principal Curt Juengerkes.

Islip’s VEI students will next participate in five live competitions in April along with the VEI Youth Business Summit, to be held April 15-17 at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

The high school's Science Olympiad team took sixth place at the Eastern Long Island Regional competition on Jan. 26, qualifying them for the New York State Science Olympiad championships, which will take place March 15-16 at Le Moyne College in Syracuse. The students started their preparation in September, studying and building after school and on the weekends in order to achieve this accomplishment. The Islip team medaled in 10 of the 23 national events run during the competition.

Islip’s medalists were:

• Boomilever: third place; Mackenzie Howell and Victoria Pearsall
  Disease Detectives: fourth place; Maddie Germano and Matthew Southard
  Experimental Design: second place; Molly Breakstone, Maddie Germano and Mackenzie Howell
  Forensics: third place; Victoria Pearsall and Matthew Southard
  Geologic Mapping: fourth place; Daniel Canales and Greg Warnokowski
  Herpetology: fourth place; Allie Morrissey and Sofia Rubinson
  Mission Possible: fourth place; Mackenzie Howell and Darienne Rogers
  Mousetrap Vehicle: seventh place; Mackenzie Howell and Victoria Pearsall
  Water Quality: sixth place; Justin Magri and Meg Rumplick
  Write It, Do It: second place; Molly Breakstone and Sofia Rubinson

Congratulations to the team on their success!

Highschool business ownership and marketing students recently received first-hand experience in building a business from the ground up. Teams of students competed against each other using the business game Risky Business, which tasks players to be the first to build a company and complete an initial public offering, with success depending on decisions, timing and competition with opponents.

Using the game as a learning tool, students had to meet certain criteria to complete their business plan; hire marketing, product development, finance and sales executives; develop a product line with patents; and secure additional funding. Meanwhile, their competitors used mergers and patent protections to hold them back. Each step of the business plan that was completed allowed the students to move to the next step, until they had all the components to make an IPO.

“The students were really engaged in this activity,” said business teacher Renee Clock. “This hands-on experience helped the students connect what they have been learning about in the classroom through a realistic approach. They enjoy learning in a nontraditional environment.”