The high school’s guidance department hosted its first Early College Planning Night on Feb. 26, spearheaded by Associate Principal Sean O’Brien and guidance counselor Bianca Cannizzaro.

The event introduced freshman and sophomores – as well as their families – to the college application process via an engaging presentation by Suffolk Community College admissions counselor Meghan DeMayo-Dalen. Students and parents received an overview of topics such as extracurricular involvement, the financial aid process, choosing schools that are the right fit and the importance of academic focus.

Early College Planning Night also marked the first time the school utilized Microsoft Translator software to make the event accessible to the community in 68 different languages in real time. Collaborating with English as a new language teachers, guidance staff promoted the event to Deer Park students and their families who are new to the English language and provided invitations in multiple languages.

“We plan to utilize this Microsoft translation tool in more guidance events to support our mission to provide post-secondary planning information to the entirety of the Deer Park community,” O’Brien said.