Summer is officially over. And with its ending, it has brought the long-awaited return of the Carlé vets, the introduction of the new enrollees, and a new principal, Mr. Ed Zander (or Z, as we call him here). These exciting events and the anticipation of what's to come have the entire campus abuzz!

We dearly miss our old principal, Mr. Bill MacDougall; but we know that his promotion to superintendent will help bring the knowledge, strength, and integrity that follows him everywhere to the rest of the school district.

Whether it be fleetball or other sports (which Steve Hammann is coaching), music (which is already flourishing), film/photography or any other passion of the students that I haven't mentioned here, everyone has already begun to produce mass amounts of amazing things. This is the only campus in the district that has enough talented students that it can run a BUSINESS with the things we produce.

In order to get a better sense of how everyone's feeling, I started asking how everyone felt about the New Year. I asked Amy Reis, “What do you think of Carlé?”

She quickly replied, “[It's a] lot better then any other high school I've ever seen. Smaller classes, with just as much work, but it's better presentation, so it makes it easier to handle.”

I then bugged Alex Huff, asking, “What are you excited about this year?”

She said, “Mostly just media class and graduating.”

After getting a few words from the students themselves, I was then off to inquire of the big kahuna himself, Mr. Ed Zander.

I kicked off the conversation by asking, “So, what do you think of Carlé so far?”

He replied, “I really enjoy working with the students. They're really focused, respectful and driven towards reaching their goals. The teachers are also extremely dedicated and passionate about the student achievement. I'm convinced that this student body is the best in Lake County, and I mean

that.”

Next, I asked, “How do you think the rest of this year is going to go?”

He then said, “I'm sure that this is going to be a very successful year for Carlé, and for the students. There's a really strong, good energy here. I'm sure it's going to be a good year.”

Continuing on, I asked, “Was starting here very intimidating?”

He thought about this one for a little bit, then thoughtfully said, “Yes and no. I definitely felt that this was the right place, and I knew my previous experience has trained me for this. I feel very well prepared for this job, but I definitely didn't want Carlé to regress in any way because of me.”

Wrapping it up, I finally asked, “Well, are you having fun?”

Without hesitation, he instantly said, “I'm having a blast! I'm having a great time working with the students, staff, members of the community and in the district office. Everyone's been extremely enthusiastic about Carlé's success this year.”

I thanked him, then left his office.

See you next week!

Bryan Layne is a student at Carlé High School.

{mos_sb_discuss:2}