Article by Phoenix writer Grace Andino ’25:Read

Latest News
The PhoenixOnline is the school newspaper, published by the students of Kellenberg Memorial High School. Articles are posted throughout the school week to PhoenixOnline at kellenberg.org/phoenix. PhoenixOnline covers various Faith, Academic, Extra-Curricular, and Athletic stories and features at Kellenberg Memorial. PhoenixOnline staff contribute to the school journalism publication by conceiving stories, attending school events, conducting interviews, and writing and editing articles. Membership on the PhoenixOnline staff is open to all students in grades 6 through 12. Editorship positions are available by application.
PhoenixOnline Surveys
Throughout the year, we run open surveys polling our student body on some general interest topics.
PhoenixOnline Video Segments
Athletics News

Boy’s Varsity Basketball Team Defeats St. Anthony’s
Article by Phoenix writer Cristina Palmieri ’25: On January 5th, the boy’s Varsity basketball team opened up league play in convincing fashion with a 61-47 win over Saint Anthonys. Junior Stephen Kiernan led the team with 25 points, scoring 14 in the 4th quarter. Juniors Jordan Leach and Brenden Gharagozlo

Boy’s Winter Track Dominates St. Anthony’s Tracks
Article by Phoenix writer Caitlin Hanratty ’25: Over the Christmas break, the boys track and field team tore up the Armory and St. Anthony’s tracks with amazing performances. At the Christmas Classic, Daniel Carsey and Kevin O’Keefe took home gold and bronze medals respectively in the 55 meter hurdles. Evans

Kellenberg’s Varsity Hockey Team Celebrates Ambitious Win Against Xaverian
Article by Phoenix writers Caitlin Hanratty ’25 & Paulina Barnjak ’24: Kellenberg Varsity Hockey won against Xaverian by a score of 6-4 on Monday, December 4th. The boys went down early in the first period, giving up 3 goals. However, the second period was dominated by the Firebirds, coming back

Coach Conrade Inducted into the Coaching HOF
Article by Phoenix writer Cristina Palmieri ’25: Kellenberg Memorials’ very own Mr. Kenneth Conrade has been inducted into the CHSAA Coaching Hall of Fame. Mr. Conrade has been coaching the Girls Varsity Softball team for 32 years, and has been head coach for 30. He has since then brought the
Activities News

Alumna Encourages Young Entrepreneurs
Article by Phoenix writer Victoria Vakser ’26: Fresh out of college and already influencing students: On November 12th, KMHS Class of 2019 alum Reagan Mullaly gave a talk to the students of the Business and Finance Club. Ms. Mullaly, a marketing major who graduated St. John’s University just two years

Business and Finance Club Competes at Adelphi Apprentice Challenge
Article by Phoenix writer Sophia Venturino ’26: On Friday, November 8th, the Business club students, under the direction of Mr. Heitner and Mrs. York, competed in the Adelphi Apprentice Challenge. The marketing competition consisted of over 40 Long Island high schools with 250 students, with Kellenberg being the only Catholic

Speech and Debate Orates Their Way to Victory
Article by Phoenix writer Delaney Clark ’25: On Saturday, November 9, the Speech and Debate Team took part in a competition against other rookie competitors of the Long Island Speech and Debate League. Five Kellenberg members participated in these debates: Jillian McLaughlin, Thomas Englese, Anna Prince, Emanuel Chamarro, and Callum

Kellenberg Sets Sail with New Sailing Club
Article by Phoenix writer Mika Accardi ’25: On Saturday, November 2, Kellenberg’s newly formed Sailing Club competed in their first invitational regatta at the Waterfront Center in Oyster Bay. The Sailing Club had practiced three days a week in preparation for the regatta. Seniors John Renz and Marco Arena, Sophomore
Apostolic News

Firebird Families Share Christmas Cheer
Article by Phoenix writer Victoria Vakser ’26: With prayer, festivities, and the school’s first tree lighting, Christmas at Kellenberg brought the whole Firebird family together to celebrate the coming holiday. The event, held on the Saturday before the second week of Advent, began with a mass and continued with caroling,

Students Deck the Halls for Advent
Article by Phoenix writer Molly Driscoll ’26: On Tuesday, December 3rd, Kellenberg students and faculty participated in the annual Christmas decorating event. Everyone wore Christmas sweaters to embrace the holiday cheer. Christmas music filled the halls as students and faculty enthusiastically decorated classrooms. Before Thanksgiving break, each homeroom came up

Students Renew Faith at XLT
Article by Phoenix writer Kailyn Kelly ’26: On December 4, 2024, Kellenberg celebrated XLT and had the pleasure of hearing Mrs. Robinson speak. XLT is held once a month on Wednesdays to spend time with God in adoration among the Kellenberg family. It is a wonderful opportunity to surrender to

GIC Teaches Students the Joy of Giving
Article by Phoenix writer Victoria Vakser ’26: For high school students across the country, the “season of giving” was taken to a new level. This year, twenty-four Catholic high schools participated in the annual Great Ignatian Challenge, including our very own Kellenberg Memorial. For eight years, Great Ignatian Challenge (GIC)
Last Week at Mass

LWAM: Make the Time
Article by Phoenix writer Kevin Kirley ’25: Walking into St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre on Sunday, September 24 was a cathartic experience. I didn’t expect the church to be as full as it was: there were dozens of families, Moms bringing their kids from a soccer game, filling up

Last Week At Mass: Goat or Sheep?
Article by Phoenix writer Cristina Palmieri ’25: Something I have always struggled with is judgment. Especially in this society of scrutiny, I find myself passing judgment on others far too often. I would deem somebody bad for spreading rumors or for breaking rules. I would deem someone good for helping

LAST WEEK AT MASS: “Ja te volim.”
Article by Phoenix writer Paulina Barnjak ’24: “Ja te volim.” With those three words, I am assured that I am loved, in this world and the next. I think it’s universal that society does not know how to handle the loss of a loved one. Even as Catholics, as we

Last Week at Mass: With Eucharist in Hand, I Knew God’s Plan
Article by Phoenix writer Caitlin Hanratty ’25: While many of my peers struggle to know what they are meant to do with their lives, my problem was that I naively assumed I had it all figured out. That was until my junior year of high school. In the past few
But What Do I Know?

But What Do I Know: Crush the Evil Social Media
Article by Phoenix writer Cristina Palmieri ’25: Voltaire said “Crush the evil thing.” It sounds cooler in French, but I don’t know French. Voltaire wickedly ridiculed all of the corruptions and evils of his time. No doubt, social media would be on his radar if he lived today. Since its beginnings, social media has ingrained itself into society. There has been a lasting obsession with constantly posting updates about our lives on some sort of platform, whether it be a relationship status on Facebook or a picture of your last vacation on Instagram. However, there has been a decline in this obsession. With Twitter on a fast decline and TikTok’s existence being in jeopardy, there has been a rising conversation about social media’s impact on society within the last ten years. While some might mourn the loss of their favorite apps, I will honestly be relieved with social media’s downfall.

But What Do I Know: The “Importance” of Sleep
Article by Phoenix writer Michelle Paszek ’24: Photo by Bruce Mars on Unsplash Sleep – the one thing that everyone agrees they can never get enough of. Recently, all I’ve been hearing about is sleep. With the last trimester of the school year coming to a close and final exams creeping just around the corner, the one recurring topic of conversation that I hear is how nobody is getting enough sleep to be considered healthy. Science always tells us teenagers that we need 7-9 hours of interrupted sleep a night, with some studies going even further to suggest that this number isn’t enough. Anything less than the recommended amount is said to lead to definitive negative side effects, which can include difficulty concentrating on everyday events, reduced academic performance, and trouble remembering things. And yet, I, a sixteen year old teenager, feel fine with a very much less-than-recommended average of

But What Do I Know: An Animal Sanctuary Made Me A Vegetarian
Article by Phoenix writer Grace Garcia ’23: Plant-based. It’s the new popular phrase in the media utilized to avoid a negative connotation of the V-word. Yes, I mean vegetarian or vegan. The two words are not synonymous and have important differences; however, both involve moral, religious, or health reasons. A vegetarian is a person who does not consume meat. In contrast, a vegan is an individual who does not eat any food derived from animals and does not purchase nor utilize products made from animals, like leather. For my eighteenth birthday this past February, I chose to celebrate my birthday at a 360-acre animal sanctuary located immediately outside of New York called Tamerlaine Farm. Tamerlaine is owned by close family friends Peter and Gabrielle. They were motivated to become vegan as they became educated about the horrors of the food industry, such as veal crates, forced molting, and debeaking. These

But What Do I Know: The Case for Senioritis
Article by Phoenix writer Isabel Connolly ’23: As the first snow falls, so do seniors’ test scores. It’s inevitable. As we drudge our way through the late winter slump, high school seniors lose interest. It is a phenomenon colloquially termed ‘senioritis.’ The word is the bogeyman, waiting in the shadows of a senior’s first semester, ready to antagonize teacher and student alike. Senioritis is an all too real reality for myself and my classmates. There comes a moment where every senior has the epiphany that what they are doing now is simply a prelude to their future. It shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out why we seniors become disengaged. Especially for the class of 2023, high school has been turbulent. We have had to deal with the mundane in never-before-seen circumstances. We worked through it all with an end goal in mind, which, for my peers and myself, was
Academics News

Students Offered Construction and Project Management Course
Article by Phoenix writer Cassandra Odudukudu ’24: From the construction of the Firebird Center of the Arts & Athletics, an innovative idea emerged: the Construction and Project Management Course. This course, run by Mr. Kenneth Conrade, is a fairly new elective at Kellenberg that started last summer with the beginning

Academic Achievement Recognized At Annual Awards Assembly
Article by Phoenix writer Keira Quigley ’26: On Tuesday, October 24th, sophomores, juniors, and seniors with outstanding academic achievements were honored at the annual Academic Awards Assembly. This assembly included students receiving pins for being on the Honor Roll, badges for having perfect attendance, and inducting new students into the

Students Shine In Advanced Labs Program
Article by Phoenix writer Michelle Paszek ’24: The Advanced Labs Program is an after-school STEM group at Kellenberg where any high schooler in grades 9-12 can join in on college level labs that prepare them for what they will experience in college. “It made me appreciate science and all that
Firebird Crosswords
The Renaissance
An important extra facet of the academic life at Kellenberg Memorial is the literary magazine, Renaissance. Published twice a year in Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer issues, it contains the creative writings and artistic talents of students from grades six through twelve.
The creative voice heard in the poems, short stories, essays, and art is often unheard in the day-to-day work within the classroom.

The Renaissance, Artwork by Lauren Reyes ’26, “New Friends”
Artwork by Lauren Reyes ’26, “New Friends”
The Renaissance, “The Road of Friendship” by Theresa Stender ‘29
The Road of Friendship by Theresa Stender ’29 The road of friendship is difficult to know because sometimes it lasts a lifetime while sometimes it

The Renaissance, Artwork: “Pink Dogwoods” by ChloeAnn Cajuste ’28
“Pink Dogwoods” by ChloeAnn Cajuste ’28
The Renaissance, Poetry: “Lilies” by Aren Saraydarian ’26
Lilies by Aren Saraydarian ’26 I see the sun arising high, A cloud not known in all the sky. Awaiting me a journey lies, A
The Renaissance, Poetry: “Death isn’t Soft, Oscar” by Erin O’Connor ‘25
I’ve heard that Death is soft so that when we hold it, it does not callous our hands. But when I play the guitar you

The Renaissance, Photography: “Soft Glowing Lamp” by Sophia Sontag ’27
“Soft Glowing Lamp” by Sophia Sontag ’27