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American Girl
Fashion Show in the South Bay News
OLPH School and Parish
Participate in Tomorrow's Hope
Taken from the
LICatholic.com site:
Newest effort brings ‘hope’ to schools
By Pete Sheehan
Senior Reporter |
About 150
people, including pastors, Catholic school principals, and
representatives from elementary school boards, attended a meeting
Oct. 30 at St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School, West Islip, to
hear about the work of the diocesan Education Commission and
Tomorrow’s Hope Foundation to support Catholic elementary schools.
“I think everyone was pleased,” said Msgr. Daniel Hamilton,
pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Lindenhurst.
“Often people think, ‘oh boy, another meeting,’ but this was
different,” said Sister of Mercy Mary Christi Ferrera, principal of
Our Lady of Mercy Regional School in Cutchogue, which serves Sacred
Heart Church and Our Lady of Ostrabrama Church in Cutchogue, St.
Agnes in Greenport, and St. Patrick’s in Southold.
In addition to learning about an ambitious media campaign for
Catholic schools, money-raising efforts for scholarships, and their
endeavor to identify troubled schools for intervention, principals
and pastors said they were impressed by the talents and dedication
of the commission and the foundation members, said Anna Guardino,
principal of St. William the Abbot School, Seaford.
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“The commission and foundation board include so many
accomplished professionals who are so committed with a real
vision for the future of our Catholic schools,” Guardino
said.
“We wanted to address any misunderstanding” that pastors or
principals had, said Kathleen Brand, director of Tomorrow’s
Hope Foundation. “What we wanted to convey was our goal,
‘How is it that we can help you?’” |
“What we wanted to convey was our goal, ‘How is it that we
can help you?’”
Kathleen Brand |
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Bishop Murphy’s efforts
Joe Geoghan, the education commission chair and a retired executive
of Union Carbide, detailed the commission’s work to increase school
enrollment, help struggling schools, enhance school performance and
promote effective communications.
F.J. McCarthy, a real estate investor and developer and a member of
the executive committee of Tomorrow’s Hope Foundation, outlined
foundation projects to raise money for scholarships for Catholic
school students and to enhance school quality.
Bishop William Murphy, who founded the education commission in early
2005 and Tomorrow’s Hope Foundation later that year to raise money
for Catholic schools also addressed the gathering, as did Ursuline
Sister Joanne Callahan, diocesan superintendent of schools.
“The foundation should have been started 25 to 30 years ago,” before
Catholic schools were under the stress that they are today, Msgr.
Hamilton said, and commended Bishop Murphy for taking on the task
now. “This is a very good start.”
Geoghan, in his report, affirmed the vibrancy and necessity of
Catholic schools, but noted the financial difficulties that schools
face, the declining enrollment, and the necessity of maintaining
Catholic identity and academic excellence. The commission’s efforts
are helping to remedy those concerns.
For example, for four years Catholic elementary schools in the
diocese had suffered enrollment declines at an annual rate of 1,300
students. For 2006, the decline had slowed to 350 students. “This
was good progress,” he pointed out.
Enrollment, scholarships, communication
Geoghan described the commission and foundation’s media campaign.
They sent 15,000 brochures and letters from Bishop Murphy to parents
of baptized children who are now near school age. They placed
advertisements in 140 newspapers, 270 advertising spots on
Cablevision, and more than 140 radio spots.
Principals and pastors who spoke with The Long Island Catholic were
impressed with the media campaign. “We’re local people,” said
Guardino, principal of St. William the Abbot in Seaford. “We’re
still using copying machines. This was a sophisticated, state of the
art campaign.”
Father William Koenig, pastor of St. William the Abbot Church in
Seaford, commented that in addition to helping inform people who
might otherwise be unaware of the quality of Catholic schools, the
media campaign encouraged parents and faculty of Catholic schools
who already see the merits of Catholic education.
“It has energized supporters of Catholic schools to tell people
about Catholic education,” Father Koenig said.
“It is too soon by far to declare victory” or even call the
stabilizing enrollment a trend, but the enrollment results
demonstrate that “your efforts and our efforts have not been in
vain,” Geoghan said. “We intend to do the same this year for 2007
enrollment,” with the goal of eventually increasing enrollment.
In addition, Geoghan discussed efforts to distribute special
diocesan grants to schools and to visit schools that seem to be
“heading for trouble,” to help them solve their problems before the
viability of the school is threatened.
McCarthy, of Tomorrow’s Hope Foundation, explained some of the
accomplishments of the foundation, including almost $1 million
raised for nearly 600 scholarships for Catholic school children,
close to $150,000 granted for school sports programs, and assistance
for greater access to technology in schools.
In addition, he hopes that the contacts established among commission
and foundation board members and the principals and pastors can lead
to “regular interaction.”
Principals and pastors, Sister Christi said, were impressed with the
presentation by members of the Education Commission and Tomorrow’s
Hope Foundation for what they have been able to accomplish, the
dedication and skills of the members, and for the promise that the
commission and the foundation offer for the future.
“They have already been able to accomplish so much,” Sister Christi
said.
The meeting “was an opportunity for everyone to hear what is
happening at the same time,” said Father Brian McNamara, pastor of
SS. Philip and James Church, St. James, and an education commission
member.
“This was really an opportunity to share the good news of Catholic
schools in our diocese,” Sister Joanne said.
“I’ve been to a lot of meetings about Catholic schools over the past
20 years,” said Sister of St. Joseph Kathy Schlueter, a commission
member and longtime principal of Our Lady of the Hamptons Regional
School, Southampton, which serves St. Rosalie’s Church in Hampton
Bays and Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and Our Lady of Poland in
Southampton. “There was never one,” she said, “that left everyone
with such a positive feeling.”
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World Mission
Sunday Mass Hosted at OLPH on October 22, 2006
The following article was taken from the
LICatholic.com
website:
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Mission effort by youngsters
recognized |
Lindenhurst —
Auxiliary Bishop John Dunne was the principal
celebrant and homilist at a Mass marking World
Mission Sunday at Our Lady of Perpetual Help
School, Lindenhurst, Oct. 22.
Diocesan Catholic schools and religious
education programs that have excelled in raising
money for the missions were honored following
the liturgy. World Mission Sunday, instituted by
Pope Pius XI in 1926, is a day set aside for
Catholics worldwide to recommit themselves
through prayer and charity to the Church’s
evangelization efforts.
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Claudia Zyskowski, a
seventh-grader at Our Lady of Perpetual Help
School, Lindenhurst, carries a Jamaican flag as
she participates in a procession at the
beginning of the World Mission Sunday Mass. |
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Those honored included:
High Schools
1. Sacred Heart Academy High School, Hempstead;
2. Holy Trinity Diocesan High School, Hicksville;
3. St. Anthony High School, S. Huntington
Religious Education
1. Holy Family, Hicksville;
2. St. Patrick, Smithtown;
3. Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, Roosevelt;
4. Our Lady of Loretto, Hempstead;
5. St. Catherine of Sienna, Franklin Square;
6. Our Lady of the Assumption, Copiague;
7. St. Bernard, Levittown;
8. St. Dominic, Oyster Bay;
9. St. Kilian, Farmingdale
Merit — Corpus Christi, Mineola; St. Elizabeth
Ann Seton, Lake Ronkonkoma;
St. Ignatius Loyola, Hicksville; St. Mary Religious,
Manhasset; St. Philip Neri, Northport; St. Vincent de
Paul, Elmont; St. Louis de Montfort, Sound Beach
Schools
Achievement —
1. St. Catherine of Sienna School, Franklin
Square;
2. Holy Family Regional School, Commack;
3. St. Christopher School, Baldwin;
4. St. John Baptist De LaSalle Reg. School,
Farmingdale;
5. St. Patrick School, Smithtown;
6. Our Lady of Lourdes School, Malverne;
7. St. Dominic School, Oyster Bay;
8. St. Mary’s School, Manhasset;
9. Maria Regina School, Seaford;
10. SS. Philip and James School, St. James;
11. St. Raymond School, East Rockaway
Merit — Our Lady of Perpetual Help School,
Lindenhurst;
Sacred Heart School, North Merrick; Holy Family School,
Hicksville;
Our Lady of Lourdes School, West Islip;
Our Lady of Providence Regional School, Central Islip;
Holy Angels Regional School, Patchogue; Our Lady of
Peace School, Lynbrook;
Our Lady of Victory School, Floral Park
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Bishop Dunne greets students
from Holy Family Regional School, Commack, during the
ceremony.
TLIC photos/Gregory A.
Shemitz |
OLPH Mock
Trial Team
On Saturday,
October 14, 2006, our seventh and eighth graders
competed
in a mock trial tournament at Our Lady of Mercy Academy in
Syosset. Our teams did
outstanding with notable courtroom
expertise by
Ashley Depietto, Heather
Mulganno, Kimberly
Holmquist,
Megan
Connolly,
Colleen Mitchell,
Sherilyn
Vargas, Jennifer
Wisnewski, Amanda
Costello, and Vincent LaManna.
This is the second performance by our newly formed Mock
Trial Team, and we have made marked improvements in
courtroom
demeanor
and case presentation. The day was full of fun and
excitement and strongly supported by our
school's principal, Mrs.
Lubrano. A special
thanks to all the parents who attended this event who made
it great
fun. Events such as these, with such incredible support
by all who are involved, are what make our school such a
wonderful place for learning and growing.
Seated left to
right: Megan
Connolly, Thomas Rossi,
Sherilyn
Vargas, Ashley
Depietto,
Heather
Mulgannon, Helen
Scroggins, Amanda Costello,
Vincent LaManna
Standing left to
right: Kimberly Holmquist,
Colleen Mitchell, Mrs.
Depietto, Mr.
Depietto, Ryan Mitchell (OLPH
Class of 2006), Mary Kate Kelly (OLPH
Class of 2005) Joseph Rossi, Janine
Connolly,
Meghan
Maroney, Heather Costello,
Jennifer Wisnewski, Cathy
Wisnewski, Bill
Wisnewski,
Alissa
Tarznia,
Suzanne
LaManna, and
OLPH Mock Trial Moderator,
Maureen Rossi.
Picture courtesy of by Mr.
LaManna :)
Former Student Achieves Gold Award
Taken from an online article in the Long
Island Catholic - June 14, 2006
A golden girl
Samantha Lecesse of Babylon has received Girl Scouting’s highest honor,
the Gold Award. For her final service project, she organized an
overnight encampment for more than 100 Brownies at a local park.
Samantha joined Scouting as a first-grader at Our Lady of Perpetual Help
School in Lindenhurst. A senior at St. Anthony’s High School, South
Huntington, she is a member of Senior Troop 801 in Deer Park. She is an
extraordinary minister of Holy Communion at Our Lady of Grace Church in
West Babylon. Joining Samantha at the awards ceremony, from left to
right are her former OLPH principal, Dominican Sister Catherine Hagens;
her former assistant principal, Dominican Sister Anthony Therese
Roncallo; and her kindergarten teacher, Dominican Sister Adrienne Marie
Amato.
Congratulations on your achievement
Samantha, you make us at OLPH proud!
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Mr. Koza's Peace Site
Water Walk & Ice Sculpture
Helps Students Appreciate the Plight of the Poor
& Marks the 15th Anniversary of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help School
being declared an International Peace Site
Article as seen in the Long Island Catholic
Newspaper -
Please see article on the following website:
Long Island Water Walk
Press Release
Article and Photos as seen in Neighborhood Newspaper
May 10th, 2006
(click on the image to
increase it's size)
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