Inside: Home Is Where the Heart Is
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THE MARIA ACADEMY MAGAZINE 4th EDITION b SPRING 2017 INSIDE: Home is where the heart is... The Villa Magazine b Spring 2017 b I VILLA MARIA ACADEMY Board of Trustees, 2016-2017 Dear Villa family, ooking out over white fields to the white-capped bay, it seems winter refuses to surrender to spring this year. But it will. It’s inevitable. I’ve already seen the blooms on Sr. Sally Norcross, CND Lthe now-frozen trees and the crocuses under the snow. I can feel that springtime energy Sr. Teresa Barton, CND getting ready to break out in a riot of blooms and so many different shades of green. In the Mr. Paul Bossidy words of the poet Percy Shelly, “If winter comes, can spring be far behind?” Mrs. Rose Burkhart The years since the economic crisis of 2008 have been years of consolidation; not just for the Sr. Marion Andreykovic, CND Villa but for Catholic schools across the nation. Gradually declining enrollment necessitated Ms. Helen Cannistraci creative thinking. Our winter gave us time to refine our mission to better support the reality of today’s families and respond to the needs of today’s students. Working together with Mrs. Roberta Garland faculty and trustees, we maintained our essential mission in leaner times, and learned how Sr. Eileen Good, CND to better communicate our good news to a wider community. Through it all, we continued Mrs. Gheri Kaufman to deliver the time-honored Villa Mrs. Catherine Leon education, achieving the highest standardized scores and developing Mr. James J. Liao the most academically prepared and Sr. Jane Scanlon, CND well-rounded young men and women who continue to gain acceptance to the best Catholic high schools. “No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.” And now a new spring is beginning for the Villa. We see it in our increasing enrollment. The annual Open House welcomed increased numbers of interested families. It was buzzing with teachers and students excited about the Villa. Many more students signed up for testing and registration compared to last year. A new initiative — the Villa Friend Day — brought in 5 new students alone! Another new event — the Junior High Open House — has been planned in response to increased requests for 6th-grade placements. Almost half of Guided by the vision our pre-kindergarten students have registered to become Villa kindergartners, over double the of the Congregation retention rate of other schools in our region! of Notre Dame, the Spring is all about new beginnings. Bats and gloves replace basketballs. Soon our first mission of Villa Maria plants will be pushing up through the soil in our garden as we measure spring rainfall in our Academy is to provide weather station and launch a conservation experiment in our backyard bay — all part of our new and exciting Outdoor Classroom. Plans continue to transform our science lab into a fully a foundation in functioning STEM lab as our new STEM afterschool club gains momentum. Meanwhile, our liberating education new Alumni Relations Committee will be supporting no less than 6 alumni reunions. Finally, within a nurturing the edition of “The Villa Magazine” you are holding in your hands celebrates the completion Catholic community. of the first year in quarterly circulation! –Villa Maria ACADEMY We welcome spring and all its manifold graces. We are grateful for renewal and revival. We MISSION STATEMENT pray for the continuation of God’s blessings on all our endeavors for all of our students and alumni. St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, pray for us. God bless you and your family, Sr. Teresa Barton, CND 2 b TheVMA Villa Magazine Magazine b 4th Editionb 4th Edition The Villa Magazine b Spring 2017 b 3 Future “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.”– AlBERT EINSTEIN illa students are raised to be curious about the world around them. This is celebrated in the annual science fair that calls for experiments from all students in the 5th through 7th grades. Students come with a question, a Vhypothesis and an experiment. Winners go on to the Bronx District Science Fair at Mt. St. Michael’s Academy. Among this year’s most creative entries, two fifth-grade budding forensic scientists, Julianna and Vishna, examined blood splatter analysis. Victoria and Briana, two 7th-graders, converted salt water to freshwater. Both teams went on to win 2nd-place ribbons at the Bronx District Science Fair. A Future So Bright The graduating Villa 8th-graders are maintaining the school’s tradition of placement into some of New York City’s best high schools. Once again, Villa will be sending students to Ursuline Academy, Regis High School, St. Vincent Ferrer, Fordham Prep, Dominican Academy, Iona Prep, among many other esteemed schools. A number of students won placement in specialized high schools within the New York City public school system including the Bronx High School of Science, Talent Unlimited and LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. The amount of scholarships exceeds $1.3 million — further proof that a Catholic education is one of the best investments most families can make! Home is where the heart is… Villa alumni returned to campus for the First Annual Alumni Career Day organized by the Alumni Relations Committee. Five alumni — Daniella Giorgio ‘09, Lou Pulice ‘00, Chris Hall ‘89, Gina Caliendo ‘80 and Lisa DiTomasso ‘85 — visited with students in every junior high classroom sharing a description of their chosen professions — pharmacy, speech pathology, fire fighting, marketing and education — and enlightening them with their wisdom won from many years in the world of “grown ups.” All alumni agreed that Villa prepared them well academically and supported them with a strong foundation that has served them well throughout their lives. Broadway in the Bronx The Villa 4th-grade players gave a thrilling performance of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” — complete with comedy, mystery and a lot of friendship. The cast deserves a lot of recognition after all the hard work they put in over a three-month period during which they rehearsed 3 times per week! Villa music teacher, Stuart Drosnes, was the choreographer and musician and director and producer all wrapped up into one. Along with the Junior High Drama Club, Mr. Drosnes is already up to his ears in preparation for the next big production — “Damn Yankees.” The students will be performing this baseball-themed classic on May 12th & 13th in the Visitation Center. Tickets cost $12 and will be available by calling Mrs. Haney at (718) 792-1751. The Villa Magazine b Spring 2017 b 3 Where are they now? JULIA BARTELS CAMPBELL ‘49 t was such a thrill to be going to “The Villa”. After graduation from St. Mary Star of the Sea on City Island, several girls were accepted into Villa Maria Academy. Although we had to take two buses and travel about forty minutes to reach the school, we were all elated. Previous students spoke of it so highly. We loved the beautiful campus and all the activities that were available to us. The acapella choir was a particular delight as well as the Ielocution lessons. Chosen to be an actor in our school play “Smiling Through” was great fun. That experience gave me the courage to be active in community theater throughout the years. And I still am! Mother St. Thomas inspired my interest in chemistry and started me on the career path to my final destination as a Registered Dietitian. It was a circuitous route. After graduation from the Villa, I attended Hunter College in the Bronx but love got in the way. A handsome Fordham graduate who had just entered the Army proposed marriage when I had completed my third year. We married and off we went to exciting destinations. Mother St. Hippolyte was my salvation when we landed in France. Four years of her instruction in French helped me communicate as we were the only Americans in the little French village of Allonnes. Mother St. Philippa’s Latin instruction also gave me a love of words and their construction which helped as well. But it was when we were stationed in Hawaii that I was able to continue my studies to attain a Degree of Bachelor of Science and Nutrition in 1971 from the University of Hawaii. Since I was of the class of 1949, that was a bit of a challenge but so worth it. After graduation I worked in a Model Cities program with a Samoan population. Upon returning to the States, I achieved my registration after completing an internship in Fairfax Hospital in Virginia and was employed there in the Cardiac Care clinic. As the wife of a military man, I found myself moving to a new location every few years. I was always able to find employment in my chosen field whether it be in Virginia, Georgia, New York, New Jersey or Texas. I believe attending school at Villa Maria Academy gave me a firm foundation for the rest of my life and I so appreciate it. a 4 b The Villa Magazine b 4th Edition The Villa Magazine b Spring 2017 b 5 Dan Huxley t’s challenging to assign a class year to Dan. He’s everything BUT a Villa alumnus. Still, he remembers watching basketball games in the basement gym in 1968 and going to the Villa prom at the Fountainhead in his Navy uniform just before shipping out to Saigon in 1969. But even before that, as a lifelong Throggs Neck resident, he knew the Villa’s reputation. IIt wasn’t just a regular high school. His graduating class at Mount Saint Michaels had nearly 400 kids but the Villa was exclusive and intimate.