Apollo High School has been serving Thanksgiving feast for 25 years
Meal brings together 320 students and their families
By Eliav Appelbaum eliav@theacorn.com

Students at Apollo High School always look forward to the Tuesday before Thanksgiving Day.

Students, faculty, Simi Valley Unified School District office staff and the community come together for Apollo's Thanksgiving Feast. This year, the school celebrated the 25th year of the feast, feeding about 320 students and their families.

"At Apollo, our whole philosophy is acceptance and appreciation and affection," said Apollo Principal Tracy Rohlfing. "We're always looking for opportunities to build community. For the kids, they look forward to this day where everyone gets together. It's become a part of our school."

Sylvan Tauber, a teacher at Apollo High, and his colleagues donated and cooked 22 turkeys.

Students decorated classrooms and brought in dessert. Counselors Maria Sprowl and Jackie Hardie led the leadership class in preparations.

Guests donated about two big boxes of canned goods that, along with the leftover cooked food, were given to Betty Eskey at the Samaritan Center.

The Santa Susana Kiwanis Club also donated 10 Thanksgiving baskets to 10 students and their families.

Former Apollo Principal Joe Studer, who started the event 25 years ago but has since retired, was also in attendance, as were three 2007 Apollo graduates.

The Simi Valley Adult and Monte Vista alternative schools also participated in the event.

School district Superintendent Kathryn Scroggin and many members of her staff attended, including director of secondary education Bill Waxman, director of elementary education Deborah Riley, director of curriculum and instruction Lynn Friedman and assistant superintendent of personnel services Don Gaudioso.

School board member Debbie Sandland also attended the feast.

"It's a wonderful event," Waxman said. "It's just a tremendous piece of community goodwill. We never fail to go because it's the best part of our day, seeing the response of folks who come and partake. . . . It's really just a very, very positive community event."

Rohlfing agreed. "We all have a really good time," Rohlfing said.