By Alexandra Iadevaia                 

The Carle Place High School Global Foods classes attended a field trip to Kingfish located in the new Vanderbilt complex. The location is beautiful and it was only about 5 minutes away from our high school. The owner and executive chef of Kingfish is a Carle Place High School alumnus. He graduated in 1972 from our school. His name is Tom Schaudel. Tom is not only the owner of Kingfish but he also owns four other successful restaurants and a catering business. Tom is a very nice and funny guy and also has a lot of wise words that he passed on to us while visiting his restaurant. Upon arrival, we perused the menu that was personalized for us and chose an appetizer, entree, and dessert. The selections all sounded really good. We then took a tour of the kitchen. He showed us how the kitchen operates and all of the different stations. After the tour we then asked Tom questions and got to learn a lot of interesting things about him and his restaurants. We were then served the delicious food. The one thing that really stuck with me when leaving the restaurant was that he told us to never give up on something no matter how many times you get knocked down.        

By Alexa Mastrangelo
This past week, October 15 to October 19, was Red Ribbon week at the Carle Place Middle School and High School, led by the club SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions). The Red Ribbon campaign is a national campaign that is working to spread awareness about the use of illegal drugs and tobacco products and how these products can destroy someone’s whole life. Red Ribbon week started in 1985, as a way to educate people, especially teens, so that they have a better chance to live out healthy, and happy lives. Students in SADD at Carle Place High School decorated the entire school with red ribbons in the hallways and on doors, with helpful information sheets pinned up in the hallways and messages on teachers' doors for everyone to read. Moreover, if you were driving by the Carle Place High School you might have seen the red ribbons tied to the big trees in front of the school, to make sure that everyone in the community was aware of what was going on in the school. Additionally, on Monday morning students from SADD were handing out stickers and bookmarks at the main entrance encouraging students to be safe and smart, especially since it was Homecoming Week.

By Caroline McLaughlin
On Sunday, October 21, 2018 members of the Carle Place Key Club took part in the Breast Cancer Walk.  The club fundraised approximately $675 for the cause.  The Key Club has been active in fundraising for breast health and raising awareness for breast cancer prevention.

By Alexandra Docyk

​In March, the Key Club and Student Organization held their annual Battle of the Classes, Battling for Cause in which they collectively fundraised $20,000 for Smile Train and Hagedorn Cleft Palate Craniofacial Center. The event was recently recognized as the number one service-learning fundraiser in the state by the New York State Key Club.
 
On April 17, 2018 top fundraisers from Battle of the Classes, Battling for a Cause visited Smile Train Headquarters in New York City.  The NYC location is the only Smile Train headquarters in the United States.  Students were able to learn about different job opportunities available in a non-profit organization and learned about how Smile Train carries out its mission of giving the gift of smiles.  Students were able to take part in a virtual reality tour in an underdeveloped nation and see how patients receive care when receiving cleft or palate reconstructive surgery/services.
 
“Being able to go to the Smile Train Headquarters was something special and unique.  We had the opportunity to see where our donations were going and whom they were helping.  I learned that the reason why we create informational videos and learn how to use Microsoft presentational tools when conducting student assemblies is because are training for future work in a professional non-profit setting.  This was an amazing experience.  I have never had an opportunity like this before and am glad that I experienced this before entering into college.” – Pragna Krishnamurthy
 
“We had an informative tour and learned about Smile Train’s work.  We learned that they have created sustainable teaching model in order to carry out their amazing work.  Their team is in NYC and they are a unique group that makes all of the work of the organization possible.”  - Gab Murray
 
“The tour allowed us to get an inside look as to how people live in underdeveloped nations.  We saw how much work goes into helping 85+ countries worldwide.” – Sam Wagner
 
“The tour helped us experience what life is life for a child suffering from cleft palates around the world.  This tour helped us learn how we can help those that are less fortunate and how we should be appreciative of what we have living in the United States.” – Frankie Venezia

By Sam Mannarino

​To provide the seniors of Mr. Plotkin’s 1960s Literature Class with some background information about the Vietnam War and the major themes in The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, Mr. Randy Gordon visited the class as a guest speaker. Mr. Gordon was the former commissioner of the New York State Athletic Commission and editor of Ring Magazine. He is currently an author, sports announcer, radio personality, and Hall of Fame Boxer. Mr. Gordon told passionate stories of the time he spent with the boxing legend Mohammad Ali, and of his time as an editor and commissioner. He also read pages from his upcoming and emotional novel, Glove Affair, regarding PTSD and other struggles facing returning Vietnam soldiers, such as the late and great Wayne Kelly. After his inspiring presentation, students eagerly waited after the bell to strike up conversations and ask questions.  

By Frank Ortiz
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In early march, members of the SPARC/Interact Club of Mineola and Carle Place High Schools gathered at Mineola High School where they heard personal accounts of a very admirable US Veteran who served in the Marines during the war in Afghanistan. US Marine Corporal John Fretz, currently a social studies teacher at Mineola, recounted his experiences in the military, expressing his grief and gratitude for those whom he had lost during the war. Corporal Fretz shared his experience of witnessing first-hand, the destruction of an IED explosive. His Commanding Officer was terribly wounded in the IED explosion, leaving him incapacitated and unable to care for many of his own medical needs. Corporal Fretz’s commander is now relying on the VA Hospital for medical treatment of his ailments. After hearing this moving presentation from Corporal Fretz, the SPARC/Interact Club  members worked together to create “comfort kit gift packages” to help ease the discomfort and distress faced by many veterans. These Gift Packs for Veterans included: pens, crossword puzzle books, combs, socks, and personal care items. Also included in each gift pack was a student-created “Thank You for Your Service” Card offering gratitude for the veterans’ sacrifice. The gifts were delivered after completion to the Veteran’s Administration hospital in Northport, Long Island. 

By Logan Kelly

On March 9 and 10, the Carle Place Theater Company will be putting on a production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. The show centers around the hysterical and witty Pierrepont Finch (played by Andre Duarte), a window-washer making his way up the corporate ladder in the company World Wide Wickets. He’s discovered fantastic value in a book (played by Carmine Carusone) which facilitates his rise. The company is run by a group of employees, oblivious to Finch’s ambition, such as; J.B Biggley (Matt Cardona) and his irritating nephew Bud Frump (Zachary Pignataro), Bert Bratt (Logan Kelly), Gatch (Hector Rivera), Twimble (Jaylen Williams), Tackaberry (Jack O’Brien), and Jenkins (Vaughn Kelly.) Other hilarious characters include the mysterious and seductive Hedy LaRue (Heather Kwon) and Rosemary Pilkington (Sydney Eichel), the hopeless romantic who is always searching for opportunities to woo Finch, accompanied by her flat-humored friend Smitty (Kristina Yim.) Come out to see the show and discover How to Succeed!

By Alexandra Docyk
 
On Friday, March 2, 2018, Carle Place High School held its 11th annual Battle of The Classes, Battling for a Cause in support of The Smile Train and the Hagedorn Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Center. These organizations were chosen in support of Carle Place alumni, Wally Avellaneda, Class of 2003, whose son Gerard was born with a cleft palate.  Through a community fundraiser, coin wars and the night of the event, the students of Carle Place raised $20,000 for these organizations. The night was filled with many laughs, great memories, and definitely SMILES. Activities like the blow up obstacle course, relay race, Just Dance, and volleyball were just some of the exciting competitions that the 4 grades competed in.
 
Senior Nicole Imperiale describes BOTC as “a fun and exciting night that everyone comes together to make a difference.”  This is a night to show support and spirit for not only your school, but for a cause and once again students of Carle Place truly showed their compassion and passion.
 
Congratulations to our top fundraiser, Gabriella Murray and to the class of 2018; the champions of the 2018 Battle of the Classes, Battling for a Cause.

By Caroline McLaughlin

CLICK HERE TO MAKE AN ONLINE DONATION!

On February 2, 2018 the Student Organization and Key Club held their annual Battle of the Classes, Battling for a Cause high school assembly.  The student body learned about cleft palates and how they impact the development of infants around the world.  The students learned about corrective surgeries that are carried out to help infants overcome difficulties associated with cleft palates. 

Students will be fundraising for Smile Train and Hagedorn Cleft Palate Craniofacial Center in order to give children a chance to smile.  Students chose Smile Train to make an impact on an international level and Hagedorn Cleft Craniofacial Center for its work on Long Island.  Students chose this cause because they were touched by alumni Wally Avenellada’s son Gerard who was born with a cleft palate.  Wally is a 2003 alumni of Carle Place High School and son of retired Carle Place Teacher Amelia Avenellada.  Click here for additional information.

CLICK HERE FOR A STUDENT-CREATED VIDEO TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THESE CHARITIES!

​CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES!

MISSED IT?  CLICK HERE FOR SPEECHES FROM THE EVENT!

CLICK HERE FOR HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST YEAR'S FUNDRAISING EVENT!

 By Caroline McLaughlin

This year’s Battle of the Classes, Battling for a Cause and Middle School Olympics will be fundraising money for Hagedorn Cleft Palate—Craniofacial Center and Smile Train.  Battle of the Classes, Battling for a Cause is an event run by the High School Student Organization and the HS Key Club.  The Middle School Olympics is an event run by the Middle School Student Organization and the Builders Club.
 
The Hagedorn Center provides immediate and long term medical care for infants and families.  Since its inception, Hagedorn Center has helped over 4000 families on Long Island, New York City, Connecticut and New Jersey.  Smile Train is an international charity that provides training, funding and resources to empower doctors in developing countries to provide 100% free cleft repair surgery and care. 
 
Carle Place High School was selected to receive a $500.00 HS Key Club Youth Opportunities Fund grant to provide for "Battle of the Classes, Battling for a Cause 2018 for Operation Smile". With more than 140 applicants it is a prestigious honor that Carle Place High School was selected.  

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION!

By Loren Panno

On a recent visit to MetLife Stadium with my Sports Marketing class, we got to meet several employees that majored in marketing and sports marketing. However, the majority of them were men, with only two females. Each one explained to us the marketing of sports, including pricing of memorabilia and tickets. They discussed in detail how each section of the stadium works. We got a tour of the offices, clubhouse and locker rooms.  At the end of the tour, we got to go on the field! The field seems so much bigger in person. It was a great field trip.

By Caroline McLaughlin
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On Saturday December 2, 2017 members of the Carle Place Key Club volunteered alongside the Mineola County-Seat Kiwanis for the Salvation Army.  Members of the club sang holiday songs and rang the Salvation Army bells in order to obtain donations outside of Carle Place North Shore Farms.  The Salvation Army assists in the fight to end hunger, helps the elderly and provides support for veterans.

By Caroline McLaughlin

Various members of the Key Club took part in the set up and success of the Festival of Trees, which took place on November 25 and 26, 2017.  The Festival of Trees is a fundraising event for Cerebral Palsy of Nassau (CPN).  Students assisted CPN volunteers Karen Kiefel and Tiffany Kiefel-Claeson, physical education and health teacher at CPHS.  During set up, which took place the week before the festival, members helped to move, unpack, and sort boxes to set up a giant display of a Christmas village.  During the actual event, members assisted in various areas of the Festival. The students helped make gingerbread cookies, assisted in the children’s center, and worked the tables for tree bids. 

By James Anastasio

​This year our school began participating in the Virtual Enterprises International Program.  On Friday, October 27, 2017, the Virtual Enterprises class participated in the Business and Entrepreneurship Leadership Conference at LIU Post.  The students in the Virtual Enterprises Class created a business called “A Lil Twist”. Andre Duarte, Senior and VP of Communications, presented the company’s elevator pitch. The elevator pitch placed in the top ten percentile in the U.S. The class transforms students into business professionals by bringing the workplace to the classroom. 

By Frank Ortiz

On Wednesday, November 15, 2017, Sparc went on a trip to Mineola to prepare food for the INN. The INN is an organization that runs soup kitchens across long island. SPARC teamed up with Mineola to prepare a chicken soup that was served on Thursday. It was an amazing experience for both groups, which came together for a common goal. They peeled potatoes, cut onions, baby carrots and chicken so the ingredients would be easily made into soup in the morning. The soup would feed hundreds of people. The group then celebrated Patricia Graca’s birthday over pizza and dessert. The club SPARC participates in events like these year round, helping our community unite and help others.