Article by Phoenix writer Cristina Palmieri ’25:

Latest News
Article by Phoenix writer Victoria Vakser ’26:
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

Varsity Wrestlers Make History
Article by Phoenix writer Griffin Strauss ’25: The Kellenberg Wrestling team made Firebird history from February 28 to March 1, having two wrestlers place top six in the New York State Federation Championship for the first time in program history. Seniors “Juggernaut” Jonathan Hoffman and Elijah “Conquering” Carrington traveled to

Dancers Finish Winter Strong at Nationals
Article by Phoenix writer Grace Andino ’25: Over the February Break, Kellenberg’s Varsity Dance Team traveled down to Orlando, Florida on Wednesday, February 12 to compete in the NDA (National Dance Alliance) High School National Competition from February 13 to February 17. The team made it to finals in all

Von Receives Coach of the Year Honor
Article by Phoenix writer Sophia Kelly ’26: This winter, our very own Mrs. Catherine vonSchoenermarck was named Coach of the Year for Region 1 by the AVCA. The American Volleyball Coaches Association awards the top High School Girls Volleyball Coaches for their unwavering commitment to their respective teams. This award

Bowling Team Dominates State Tournament
Article by Phoenix writer Cristina Palmieri ’25: In a string of athletic victories, three Firebird bowlers travelled up to Buffalo for the state tournament. Outstanding athletes Juniors Chloe Horstmann and Kerri Callahan and Senior Emma Dolan all qualified for the tournament based on their regular season average. The girls not
Activities News

Andrade and Feliciano Form New Piano Club
Article by Phoenix writer Ryleigh O’Neill ’28: The Piano Coterie is a new club for pianists in grades 6-12 which gives the opportunity to share their talents as well as receive critiques from the other club members. The club is a great opportunity for pianists because there are no classes

Aquinas League Pilgrimage
Article by Phoenix writer Mika-Ella Accardi ’25: On Saturday, December 14, the Aquinas League traveled to St. Barnabas Church in Bellmore to visit the relics of their patron saint, St. Thomas Aquinas. The pilgrimage included 12 Juniors and Seniors of the Aquinas League along with Mr. John Ruhl and Mrs.

Kellenberg Students Excel at Ready Set Lead Competition
Article by Phoenix writer Grace Andino ’25: On December 4, Kellenberg’s Entrepreneurship Club traveled to St. Joseph’s University to compete at the Ready, Set, Lead Business Competition. The annual competition is a unique opportunity for high school students interested in business-related topics, ranging from sports marketing to business design, to

Kellenberg Drama Club Presents “Guys and Dolls”
Article by Phoenix writer Olivia Iorio ’26: From Friday November 22nd through Sunday November 24th, Kellenberg’s Drama Club put on their show stopping fall production of Guys and Dolls. Written by playwrights Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling, Guys and Dolls takes place in 1950s Manhattan. It tells the story of
Apostolic News

Ladies of Kellenberg Celebrate Annual Magnificat Dinner
Article by Phoenix writer Mary O’Brien ’27: On Friday, December 6th, Kellenberg hosted its annual Magnificat dinner. This event for the young women of Kellenberg and the special women in their lives is named after the prayer offered up to God from Mary while she was greeting her cousin Elizabeth.

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
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: 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

Senior Writers Focus on Journaling
Article by Phoenix writer Michaela Dennean ’25: “Staring at the blank page before you…” Above is easily one of the most instantly recognizable lyrics of the 2000s. “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield acted as a powerful ballad for young and old, and it continues to be a hit today, over twenty

Junior History Trip Sparks Appreciation for the U.S.
Article by Phoenix writer Mary O’Brien ’27: From Washington’s Headquarters to West Point Academy: On October 18th, the class of 2026 made their own trip down the Hudson on an academic journey to broaden their knowledge of American History. Leaving Kellenberg at 6:15, the 42 sleepy juniors made their first

Students Send Shivers Down Your Spine at Fright Club
Article by Phoenix writer Griffin Strauss ’25: On October 22, Bro. Peter Sennett, S.M., held a meeting for the creative writing contest Fright Club in room 122. Middle and high school students alike joined to share their ideas for horror short stories and get assistance from Bro. Peter to make

Kellenberg Seniors Attend Molloy Common Read
Article by Phoenix writer Mika Accardi ’25: On Wednesday, October 9, ten Kellenberg seniors had the opportunity to visit Molloy University for Molloy’s annual freshman Common Read. Each year, Molloy assigns a book to their incoming freshmen class, after which the author of that book is invited to give a
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, 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 Santag ’27
“Soft Glowing Lamp” by Sophia Santag ’27

The Renaissance, Art: “Memory of a Boat Trip” by Lauren Reyes ’26
“Memory of a Boat Trip” by Lauren Reyes, ’26
The Renaissance (Poem) “In response to ‘Woman! when I behold thee flippant, vain'” by Victoria Vakser ’26
Good sir! When I behold thee proud and tall, Full of thyself, commanding, seeking praise, Withholding all advance, all kindly phrase, Thy sullen mouth

The Renaissance: Artwork: “Overgrown” by Rosann Passalacqua
“Overgrown” by Rosann Passalacqua An impressionist painting of the memory of my grandparents’ backyard garden.
The Renaissance: Poetry: “A Glimpse of 2013” by Danielle Kercy
“A Glimpse of 2013” by Danielle Kercy Winner of The Renaissance Challenge: “Memory” The specific scent of sanitizer stings my nose, and I am only