School is back in session for the New Year, and after a good winter break, everyone is happy to get back to work.

We are finishing up our third grading period. This grading period is a difficult one because it is impossible to achieve gold level without extra credit. Students have been doing community service at the monthly dinner held by the Lower Lake Community Action Group.

This group has wonderful meals and speakers starting at 6 p.m. on the second Wednesday of every month. All the money raised goes to fund scholarships for local students. The students who worked there on Jan. 9 were Travis Conine, Jamila Parker, Atlee Erickson, Brendan Melton and Bonnie Passley. These students helped set up and a serve this dinner.

Our science teacher, Angie Siegel, has been working on a geological project concerning a creek nearby. She has been trying to reduce erosion and save the surrounding property and nearby road from destruction. Students at Carlé have been helping with this project and the environmental studies class has just taken a trip to see the damage done by the recent flooding.

We love to help our local community, but we also like to help our global community. That is why a loan is being given on be half of the students of Carlé High School to a third world entrepreneur through a Web site called Kiva. It is a nonprofit site that transfers money from patrons to micro-loan organizations that disperse micro-loans to people in the third world who would normally not be able to get normal loan. It has been promoted by many influential figures, such as Oprah and former President

Bill Clinton. The inventor of micro loans won a Nobel Peace Prize for this endeavor.

Though everyone at Carlé is supportive of their outside community, Carlé itself is always supportive of its students and their future. That is why any seniors who want to try and get a plan and some money for college can go to FASFA night on Jan. 17. This will give students a chance to seek ways to pay for college and get money for their future.

The students at Carlé have been starting to organize an event to help get support for all of the great things we are doing here. It will be a grand cabaret, with dinner made by our culinary class, and various entertainments given by our students, as well as a silent auction for the artworks of our many artists.

This cabaret is still in its planning stages, it will be held on March 8, and tickets will have to be bought in advance. More information about the cabaret will be given in coming weeks, but until then you may call Carlé High School to ask about purchasing a ticket at 707-994-1033.

Congratulations to our first student of the week for 2008, Steven Negrete! He has proven beyond a doubt that he is an excellent student and a great person to be attending Carlé. He is a wonderful academic student, worked in Angie's creek project and is one of the best music makers and rappers at our school.

That is all for the first Carlé Chronicle of the year 2008! As always, thanks for reading!

Atlee Erickson is a junior at Carlé High School.

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