Now in its fourth year, the event has grown to include participation from general education students in the school’s botany classes and Circle with Friends club, according to Paige Matteson, one of three Life Skills instructors at the district who was the visionary behind starting the event.

The Friendsgiving celebration, which brought together nearly 40 students to pull off this year, was held Thursday afternoon in the high school’s drama commons area.

Many students were seen smiling, laughing, eating and having a good time with their friends — something sophomore Wilson Carnell said he doesn’t take for granted.

“It’s about having friends around you who you love and that we get to sit together and talk about everything and be nice,” Carnell said, noting he enjoyed preparing food for the event and seeing the hard work pay off.

Selena Stewart (left) and Unique Shields stir ingredients. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

When asked if the preparation was worth it to put together an event like Friendsgiving, Carnell said it was “because we do all of our hard work for our teachers.”

“Our teachers thank us for that because we were being nice to them,” he said.

Preparation for the event began about a month ago, Matteson said.

Three weeks ago, through community

-based instructional opportunities, students made a shopping list and rode a public bus to Sam’s Club and Martin’s grocery store where they learned how to count money and interact with members of the community, she said.

Nate Klein, Lizzy Farber (center) and Selena Stewart work on stirring. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Matteson said the students have been preparing the foods every day since then, noting they learned how to properly freeze, store and reheat the food.

All of the food served — with a menu consisting of roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, stuffing balls, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, haluski, corn bread, dinner rolls, applesauce, pumpkin rolls and cookies — was made from scratch, Matteson said.

“They followed recipes and learned how to properly measure,” Matteson said, noting some of the ingredients were grown in the school’s sensory garden.

“You name it, we’ve grown it,” Matteson said, adding the garden was maintained by the students with support from others in the botany and emotional support classes. This year, they grew tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, cabbage and raspberries, she said.

Seniors Victoria Farber and Emily Pentland said they were pleased with how the food turned out.

Jessica Cunningham and Wilson Carnell spread the ingredients on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

“It was really good,” Pentland said, adding she is thankful for her mom, her cat and her school.

Senior Terry Crownover was excited to participate in the event for the third year because he loves to cook and spread joy to others.

Last year, Crownover didn’t participate in the event because he “wasn’t in school as much,” he said.

When asked what he was thankful for this year, Crownover said, “Honestly, being able to actually come back here and help everybody out and to serve people.”

Hatch said the event is “really transformative” because it allows students to be in different environments where they can build stronger relationships with their peers and instructors.

Selena Stewart watches Wilson Carnell put the pumpkin roll mixture in the oven. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

“They take a lot of pride in what they’re doing and it’s really special,” Hatch said. “It’s a highlight of our students, our staff and all of the wonderful things that we do.”

Hatch said, when he was in line to be served food, one student jokingly said he wasn’t sure whether Hatch deserved any mashed potatoes.

“The mashed potato boy wasn’t going to give me any mashed potatoes. He was like, ‘I don’t know about you. I don’t know if you deserve mashed potatoes or not,'” Hatch said with a chuckle, adding he enjoyed getting to interact with the students on a different level than he typically would.

“Normally it’s on an adult-student basis, but this is really about family,” Hatch said. “It’s like a family setting, so it’s very special.”

Haley Fleegle, assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction and elementary programs, said the Friendsgiving event is “a day I look forward to” every year, as she enjoys seeing what the students have put together.

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

“Everybody involved does a wonderful job of putting everything together,” Fleegle said.

For Mark Harrington, assistant superintendent of secondary education, the day was special because he got to eat with the students and hear about their experiences so far throughout the 2024-25 school year.

Harrington ate lunch with sophomore Grant Brogan, one of the students who served food in the line alongside his peers — sophomore Kylor Snyder and freshmen DeShea Smith, Xavier Termin and Lexi Butler.

“This day is about the kids coming together, having a meal with everyone and sharing different stories and the different things that they’ve made to make this day special,” Harrington said, noting the Friendsgiving event “is one of my favorite days of the year.”

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.

Altoona Area Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Mark Harrington (right) eats with sophomore Grant Brogan at a Friendsgiving event held Thursday in the high school's drama commons. Mirror photo by Matt Churella.

Altoona Area Superintendent Brad Hatch speaks with education support professional Judy Vaughn and sophomore Grant Brogan while standing in the food line for the high school's Friendsgiving meal. The food was prepared by nearly 40 students in the school's botany and life skills classes, ranging in grade from freshmen to seniors. Mirror photo by Matt Churella

Altoona Area general education emotional support teacher Eli Mencer (right) speaks with senior Terry Crownover during the high school's Friendsgiving lunch event Thursday. Mirror photo by Matt Churella