Deer Park High School’s Virtual Enterprise students proudly represented the school at the recent New York State Regional Business Plan Competition and Trade Show, earning a Gold award for Best Sales Pitch. Dressed professionally in coordinated black and green, reflecting their company TechNova’s brand colors, students confidently drew customers to their booth and showcased their products using student-designed prototypes.   

“Their professionalism, creativity and strong presentation skills made our team stand out among regional competitors,” business teacher Annemarie Lenio said.    

Click here to view the Deer Park HS Virtual Enterprise team takes Gold at regional Competition slideshow.

Date Added: 1/20/2026

  

Deer Park High School freshman Christian Myrick was recently named to the New York State Sportswriters Association’s All-State football team, selected as an honorable mention recipient. He was the only ninth grader honored by selection to the NYSSWA Class A All-State team.

Myrick’s freshman season was truly remarkable, highlighted by 12 total touchdowns including five rushing, four receiving, one kickoff return, one punt return and an interception. He finished with over 825 yards on offense, including 416 yards rushing, 396 yards receiving and even 15 yards passing. He also contributed three interceptions on defense.

“The breakdown of those dozen touchdowns show just how complete of a player he is,” coach Cody Ciolino said. “We are very proud of Christian and we look forward to seeing him develop as a player and a leader within the football program.”

Date Added: 1/16/2026

DPHS Speaks – a new podcasting program – has taken off at Deer Park High School. Guided by adviser and school librarian Evan DeNaro, the club provides students with a fresh and exciting way to communicate with their peers and invaluable debating, public speaking and production experience. 

“I was inspired by Robert Frost Middle School library media specialist Anne Lotito-Schuh’s use of her podcast setup, which she received with funds from New York State's Unplugged Summer Program,” DeNaro said. “I was very interested in what a podcasting club might look like at the high school level, so I requested the same setup from our tech director, Jay Murphy, who was more than happy to oblige. After having an Unplugged program of my own, I discussed starting a podcast with two students who were immediately interested in becoming podcast hosts.” 

The group began as the Newsroom Podcast Club, meeting weekly and featuring different themed episodes on topics that the hosts knew were relevant to teens (such as “What They Don’t Tell You About High School,” “True Crime,” “New Year’s Resolutions” and “Spotify Wrapped”) before branching out into themed episodes with community members (such as Deer Park Public Library teen librarian Julia Sukhu), teachers (Black Student Union adviser Aleisha Forbes) and club officers (Muslim Student Association President Alishba Syed). The club later rebranded to DPHS Speaks to avoid confusion with the high school’s Newspaper Club and Robert Frost Middle School’s Newsroom Club. Senior Parleen Kaur and junior Anabella Lindsay serve as co-presidents of the club, which currently boasts 15 members and records episodes every Friday. 

“It’s important to have new topics every meeting, and to pick good topics, which keeps the conversations engaging and allows the participants to feel comfortable and express how they feel about the topic,” said Lindsay, who gained valuable experience while serving as the club’s outreach manager last year. 

“During every episode, not only are we talking, but we make sure to engage the audience as well,” Kaur said. “We’ll pass around the mic to make sure everybody is talking and engaging in conversation with us. I think this club builds great public speaking skills as well as leadership skills. It’s a really good confidence boost as long as everyone is comfortable with each other. We never make fun of anyone and make sure to keep the language positive and school-friendly, and we like to have fun.” 

The building of The Roost, the library’s new modular classroom and makerspace, has provided the podcasters and other communications students with the space and flexibility needed to transform the high school newsroom into a true multimedia production hub. Mobile, rearrangeable furniture, a new smartboard and upgraded electrical access has given the podcast equipment and fledgling podcasters a place to call home.  

The DPHS podcast studio is also available to teachers for their classes to record. For example, Lauren Madden’s and Kiera Carter’s FACS classes recorded podcast episodes after researching nutrition topics and writing scripts that discuss their research. 

The high school isn’t the only place in Deer Park’s schools where podcasting is powerful. At Robert Frost, the Library Leaders Club has been producing its “Out Loud in the Library!" podcast since 2023, guided by Lotito-Schuh. This burgeoning middle school club currently has about 25 members. All “Out Loud in the Library!” episodes, which feature students reviewing books and promoting the library's resources and fun programming, are published on Spotify, and the most current episode is featured in the library’s Google Classroom.

Click here to view the New Podcasting Program Takes to the Airways slideshow.

Date Added: 1/15/2026

Deer Park High School’s freshmen French class recently visited the What's Cooking? facility in Oyster Bay to learn how to prepare French culinary classics.

“Our students made scrumptious quiches and delicious eclairs,” French teacher Susan Bollag said. “We may have inspired some future chefs!”

Date Added: 1/14/2026

The district has introduced intramural sports programs at its elementary schools, giving students more opportunities to explore a variety of athletic activities while building skills, confidence and enthusiasm for lifelong physical activity. 

The initiative began at John F. Kennedy Intermediate School, led by physical education teachers Ryan Argenziano and Keri Zuk, who previously ran intramural programs before budget cuts eliminated them. Drawing on their experience as varsity-level coaches, the teachers developed a proposal and presented it directly to Superintendent Jim Cummings, who approved the plan and encouraged the school to move forward. 

The program was designed to introduce students to a wide range of sports in a fun and supportive environment, increase participation in physical activity, and help students discover interests that could carry through middle school, JV and varsity athletics. It also connects families with community-based resources so students can continue playing beyond the school day. 

Last year, Argenziano and Zuk noticed a decline in participation in certain team sports as students advanced through the grades. In response, club units were dedicated to intramural activities to spark interest early and sustain excitement as students progress. As a result, JFK launched an intramural club that introduces students to sports they will encounter at the middle and high school levels. 

Student interest was immediate and strong. Due to high participation, JV and middle school coach Keri Schumaker, joined the program to work with third graders on foundational skills and proper techniques while Zuk and Argenziano focus on fourth and fifth graders, helping prepare them for middle school athletics. 

After completing the first unit on basketball, students were connected with community opportunities at St. Cyril’s and Suffolk PAL to continue playing outside of school. The program has since moved on to volleyball, with additional sport units planned, including flag football, baseball, softball, soccer, badminton, tennis and lacrosse. Each unit is skill-based, and students use short instructional videos to learn rules and techniques. 

"We’re excited about how the program is already engaging students and building enthusiasm for lifelong physical activity and helping our Deer Park school sports teams," Zuk said. 

"We are thrilled with the success and growth of this program and look forward to seeing how it continues to inspire our students in the years ahead," JFK Principal Kelly Benson said. 

John Quincy Adams Primary School launched its intramural program on Dec. 4, led by physical education teacher Ted Kockenmeister. The after-school program meets weekly for a total of 10 sessions, focusing on five different sports, with two sessions dedicated to each, beginning with bowling. 

"I look forward to continuing the program, and I think the students will have fun and learn a little more about the sport than they would in a regular PE class," Kockenmeister said.    

At May Moore Primary School, the intramural program began in January under the direction of physical education teacher Dan Friend and first grade teacher Alyssa Torres. The program is paired with the school’s Sports Club and offers students opportunities to explore sports skills in greater depth. 

Click here to view the Deer Park expands intramural sports opportunities at elementary level slideshow.

Date Added: 1/13/2026