CBy Kyle Burgess ’17
Chaminade High School offers its students a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to grow, learn, and worship in an engaging academic community. The sense of brotherhood created among the student body creates deep-rooted friendships forged in the classrooms, on the fields of the school campus, and even during daily LIRR commutes. The various school events, clubs, and athletics also strengthen the bonds of the Chaminade family.
Tomorrow, Thursday, January 14, Chaminade will welcome hundreds of new family members by e-mailing acceptance letters to members of the Class of 2020. Those letters are invitations for students from many different backgrounds to unite as Flyers and participate in a unique high school experience.
The Chaminade education begins the last week of August before the academic school year. 3-C Week, Chaminade’s week-long orientation program, emphasizes three C’s: Confidence, Community, and Commitment. Students take part in a variety of athletic and spiritual activities with their homerooms. From an enjoyable game of ultimate frisbee in the warm summer sun to a meditative reflection at Meribah, Chaminade’s beautiful retreat house in Muttontown, 3-C Week’s experiences provide wonderful memories for each student to last his entire Chaminade career and beyond.
As the academic year begins, freshmen can delve into Chaminade’s inspiring academics, which challenge preconceived notions and expand intellectual horizons. With different language options as well as advanced science and math courses, Chaminade’s curriculum can accommodate any student’s interests. The shared liberal arts curriculum, in which every student partakes, also creates a sense of united academic inquiry.
From dancing on the stage of Darby Auditorium as a Darby Player to competing with the best speakers and debaters from across the country at the annual Chaminade Invitational as a member of the Robert C. Wright Speech and Debate Society, students can join a variety of clubs that foster better understandings of different topics and skills. Prospective journalists can join Tarmac, Chaminade’s award-winning publication, historians can become members of the Social Studies Club, and future doctors can gain real-world experience with the Hospital Volunteers Club. Chaminade truly offers something for everyone. Students can also grow closer to a group of other students by participating in Sodality, an activity that resembles the meetings of lay men and women who met with Blessed Father William Joseph Chaminade to foster a deeper sense of spiritual purpose. As these examples are merely a few of Chaminade’s many clubs, a full list of clubs and activities is located in Chaminade’s handbook.
Chaminade also boasts many successful, competitive sports teams. Just this fall, the Chaminade varsity soccer team captured the New York State Championship. Joining a sports team and wearing the iconic Crimson and Gold on the field is a great way to make new friends and foster athletic prowess.
In addition, students can meet peers at some of the many events held for the freshman student body. From spiritually rejuvenating Evenings of Recollection, such as “Restless” and “Down to the Wire,” to exhilarating Freshman Homeroom Night, to the famous Chaminade Freshman Dance, the newest members of the Chaminade community can break out of their shells and make friendships that will last a lifetime.
Sophomore year allows students to foster independence and leadership skills while beginning to prepare for the college process. As model students, sophomores attain greater responsibility to take care of the freshmen and provide immediate examples of the Chaminade Man, a person who does the right thing at the right time, regardless of who is watching.
Sophomore year also hosts more school spirit-building activities, such as Sophomore Spirit Day, which combines various athletic activities with lessons focusing on academics, family, and faith. Students participate in various athletic activities like dodgeball and frisbee. The day culminates with Eucharistic Adoration.
The exciting college process of SAT preparation, campus visits, and career choices await Chaminade juniors. Juniors demonstrate maturity and have increased responsibility as they inherit roles as the new upperclassmen of Chaminade High School.
Aside from the college process, junior year involves many events so that allow students to bond as upperclassmen. Homerooms battle in the ultimate dodgeball tournament for a chance to come out as the Junior Dodgeball Night Champion. Riding roller coaster rides, winning prizes, and stuffing their faces with cotton candy, the juniors also travel to Six Flags: Great Adventure in the spring.
Senior year comes with a bittersweetness, as students recognize their high school years have passed in the blink of an eye. Once timid freshmen, seniors become leaders of clubs and activities. They also submit applications to various prestigious colleges to continue their academic growth. In the spring, seniors travel as a student body to Disney World to enjoy several fun-filled days in Orlando’s tropical weather.
As their final year draws to an end, seniors and their dates have the chance to sail around New York Harbor and enjoy views of the New York City skyline on the Senior Celebration Cruise. Weeks later at graduation, students receive their diplomas after four years of fantastic memories and hard work.
When you receive your acceptance letter to Chaminade, you not only gain admittance to a prestigious Catholic high school, but you also receive an invitation to some of the best four years of your life. The bonds of friendship that grow at Chaminade remain robust through college and career, as students are forever united as members of the Chaminade family.
We congratulate the prospective members of the incoming Class of 2020, and we look forward to welcoming you into our Chaminade family!
Fortes in Unitate!
Here are some links to Tarmac Online articles about what you can expect from your time at Chaminade:
“Get Colorized:” A Junior Evening of Recollection
chstarmac.com 