Deer Park High School’s Library Leaders Club, at the direction of librarian Evan DeNaro, have been busy working to give back to the community. Students recently spearheaded a clothing drive that benefitted Go Green Textile Recycling, whose mission is to redirect clothing to people in need, second hand stores and even overseas. Students worked with teachers and other clubs to collect clothing and work with Go Green to give them a second life. One club member, Genesis Osorio, was inspired to establish the clothing drive and use the proceeds to make donation baskets of sensory books for use in the sensory rooms at John Quincy Adams and May Moore primary schools.  

“We are incredibly grateful to Genesis for organizing a heartfelt fundraiser to provide sensory books and toys for our young learners,” May Moore Associate Principal Kim Essig said. “The students of May Moore will benefit greatly from her dedication and compassion, and this generous donation will continue to support our students for years to come.”

Date Added: 4/15/2025

Deer Park High School’s administrators and teachers honored the character and accomplishments of 17 dedicated students at the annual spring Breakfast for Champions, held in the school’s library on April 9. As their proud families applauded, the students were recognized in categories corresponding to school departments as well as principal’s and teacher’s awards. The event featured music from a high school string quintet consisting of Maxwell Ferguson (cello), Gloria Min (violin), Kelsey Rotzman (viola), Lorelai Silverstein (bass) and Lissha Varghese (violin).

Students were honored in the 15 school department categories of athletics (Talon Silverstein), business (Joseph Pinto), English language arts/library (Mia Rodriguez Osorio), English as a new language (Antonio Zacarias Leon), family and consumer science (Dave Osorio Lara), fine arts (Diana Joveini), guidance (Laetie Neifort), health (Emma Corley), math/computer science (Desire Soria), performing arts (Cassidy Boltz), physical education (Elizabeth Ochoa Carrero), science (Moriah Carridis), social studies (Adriana Herbster), technology (Bryan Ramlakan) and world languages (Briana Tavares), as well as the Principal’s Award (Christian McMillan) and Teacher’s Award (Alexander Plangetis).

“This morning’s event is an opportunity for our teachers and administrators to honor students who may have impacted them in some way,” Associate Principal Garret Noblett said. “The students here show exceptional conduct and character on a daily basis The stories we will hear today recognize students for their achievement, hard work and determination to overcome obstacles. We have students who have either worked on achieving their personal best inside and outside the classroom, demonstrated good citizenship, or shown compassion to help others.” 

“This event is really one of our most favorite days of the year,” Principal Charles Cobb said. “We get to recognize students for their outstanding accomplishments that they have at Deer Park High School. Students are here for a wide variety of reasons. They might not be academic, athletic or based in the arts. Many times, it’s because the students are good, solid people who do the right thing day in and day out, and these are the role models, the types of kids that we want other students to emulate. Congratulations to all our winners this morning. All the great things that you do make Deer Park High School such a special place.”

Date Added: 4/14/2025

Deer Park High School’s memorable “A Night of Excellence” on April 10 featured induction ceremonies for the school’s four academic honor societies. The new members took their oaths with pride, led by Vice President Reza Zorakhsh for the National English Honor Society, adviser Seth Margolin for the National Social Studies Honor Society, Vice President Hassan Rehman for the National Math Honor Society and Vice President Annabella Cisneros for the National Science Honor Society. The inductees’ names were read by President Chasity Rolon for English, Margolin for Social Studies, Treasurer Isabelle D’Souza for Math and Secretary Arleen Perez for Science.

Date Added: 4/14/2025

Deer Park High School’s VE team attended the Virtual Enterprise Trade Show on March 27, pitching their Trailblaze business idea to their peers. Held on March 27 at Lynbrook High School, the event featured 60 Virtual Enterprise firms comprised of more than 1,000 students from 38 different high schools across Long Island. Each team of young entrepreneurs set up a booth to promote their business, networked with peers from other districts and invested in other student’s companies, gaining valuable insights into running a business. The Deer Park students won first place in the Firm Spirit competition. This award is presented to the booth with the highest amount of customer traffic, produced by the school business team that demonstrates the most enthusiasm, energy and school spirit throughout the event. 

“Winning the Firm Spirit award means that our team attracted customers by engaging with judges, customers and other firms,” business teacher Jill Perry-Eising said. “Part of the award is also for unique branding and innovative marketing efforts. Our team did this by bringing an amplifier with them, playing party music and encouraging students from other school to line dance with them. Thet also raffled off homemade cupcakes and candy to entice customer attention.”

Date Added: 4/9/2025

Over the past three school years, Deer Park’s culinary arts program has grown by leaps and bounds, tripling student participation and expanding course complexity. This growth has been led by exceptional teacher Suzanne Long, an accomplished chef and culinary educator who has brought her experience from acclaimed kitchens such as the Four Seasons Hotel Denver to Deer Park’s schools.

In 2022, Deer Park High School offered one section of both Culinary Arts 1 and Culinary Arts 2 classes to 20 students. Each class is a semester long, allowing students to take a full year of culinary arts classes. During the 2023-2024 school year, the school opened another section of both classes, offering the class to 40 students, and by this school year, based on increased interest, this had grown to 60 students. 

Culinary Arts 1 is an introductory course into working in the kitchen, where students learn kitchen safety and sanitation, measurements, knife cuts and basic culinary techniques. During Culinary Arts 2, students learn more complex culinary techniques such as braising, stock making, protein cookery and emulsification. The students have opportunities throughout both classes to work collaboratively in teams of five students, making baked goods and composed dishes. Culinary students also compete in an annual cake competition and gingerbread house competition. Future goals for the program include adding an advanced culinary class for upperclassmen who have an interest in working in the culinary industry. 

“This class really taught me a lot of the basics of cooking techniques that that I didn’t know,” junior Max Ferguson said. 

“My experience in the culinary class has been good,” senior Jada Ediale said. “I thought it was just going to be us cooking and eating, but I’ve actually learned a lot about knife skills and the proper etiquette of the kitchen.”

“Ms. Long has been an invaluable asset to the FACS Department,” Director of Social Studies and FACS Vanessa Langdon said. “Her extensive experience in the culinary industry has breathed new life into the culinary arts classes at both Deer Park High School and Robert Frost Middle School. At the high school, her expertise has enabled us to expand the program and equip our students with advanced culinary skills. Additionally, her generosity and compassion have inspired her students, as demonstrated by their collaboration with our Life Skills program and participation in various service projects.

Date Added: 4/7/2025