SAINT DOMINIC ACADEMY...Please know that I, along with the rest of the Saint Dominic Academy administration, 2572 John F. Kennedy Boulevard • Jersey City, NJ 07304 • (201) 434-5938

SAINT DOMINIC ACADEMYEMPOWERING WOMEN FOR LEADERSHIP SINCE 1878

2572 John F. Kennedy Boulevard • Jersey City, NJ 07304 • (201) 434-5938 • www.stdomincacad.com

Parent Perspective Issue No. 2, February 2019

We’re Proud of the Class of 2019!The Class of 2019 has embarked on their last semester at Saint Dominic Academy, and they continue to make us proud of their school spirit and accomplishments. Seniors recently enjoyed a two-night retreat, their last as SDA students. It was held at the Archdiocesan Retreat Center in Kearny. Sr. Gina Scaringella, O.P., Ms. Mahalia Armea, Ms. Jaimee Laurie and Mrs. Lisa Marino assisted with the program.

As they prepare for graduation

in June, these talented young women are already turning heads on the college level. Early college acceptance scholarship awards for the Class of 2019 have topped $3 million to date. See page 4 for a list of the great schools that have accepted our seniors.

Impressive InvitationThe Dominoes and members of the Glee Club, under the direction of Mr. Joseph Napoli, have been invited by Dr. Margaret Dames, Superintendent of Schools, Archdiocese of Newark, to perform at the Mass of the International Organization of Catholic School’s bi-annual World Congress at St. Paul the Apostle Church in New York on Thursday, June 6. The Mass, which will be celebrated by Cardinal Tobin, comes just two weeks after they will have performed at Carnegie Hall!

ARTS IN ACTION

Wednesday, March 6 Ash Wednesday Prayer

Service and Distribution of Ashes.

Saturday, March 16 Spring Thaw Run

to benefit Blue Devils Athletics. 5k and 1-mile fun run. Liberty State Park. Register

Saturday, March 23 Designer Bag Bingo Lodi Boys & Girls Club,

460 Passaic Ave., Lodi. 6 p.m.

Monday, April 1 Danielle Svoronos Toglia ’89,

New Jersey Regional Director of Admissions at George Washington University, will speak about the college admissions process to all juniors and their parents. ELAN, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 3 National College Fair

Meadowlands Expo Center, Secaucus Juniors only

Tuesday, April 9 JET (Jesuit Excellence Tour)

College Fair. Approximately 18 Jesuit colleges will be in attendance.

ELAN, 1st period

JOIN US FOR

Upcoming Events!

Smash Hit Audiences in ELAN were treated to a majestic performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical, The King and I, on February 1 and 2. The cast featured SDA students Rachel Perrie ’20 as Anna Leonowens, Alyssa Fuentes ’21 as Lady Thiang, Veronica Dominguez ’20 as Tuptim, Regan Mattiello ’22 as The Kralahome, Gabby Beredo ’24 as Prince Chululongkorn, Alison Mah ’19 as The Interpreter/Prah Alack, and Lauren Hernandez ’19, Elizabeth Kaminski ’19, Jessica Stanley ’19, Caroline Nguyen ’19, Caitlin Aristizabal ’19 and Lyeba Jadun ’22 as Royal Wives.

Guest performers included Moses Garcia as the King of Siam, Colin White in a variety of male parts, including LunTha, Abigail Degnan as Louisa Leonowens, and Dan Perrie, Jasmine Hernandez, Salvatore DeSarle, Elle Mullins, Denise Enerio and Desirae Enerio as the Royal Princes and Princesses. Returning to SDA to serve as choreographer was Lexylee Martinez ’18. Jennifer Parra ’21, Grace Dirkin ’21, Courtney Malden ’19, Delanys Drougas ’20, Nina Alvarez ’19, Ishamma Hoskins ’19 and Emma Morris ’19 served as the stage crew.

Continued on Page 2


SAINT DOMINIC ACADEMYEMPOWERING WOMEN FOR LEADERSHIP SINCE 1878

2018-2019 OFFICERS

MARIA SASSO

President

JANE MATTIELLO Vice President & Secretary

KRISTIN MARTIN Treasurer

JANE MATTIELLO & KRISTIN MARTIN Mother-Daughter Brunch Co-chairs

JOE ANDERSON Father-Daughter Dance

GIGI DIAZ Designer Bag Bingo

Bag a Great AccessoryThe SDA Parents Association will hold its 3rd annual Designer Bag Bingo on Saturday, March 23. We are asking for donations, including designer bags, tricky tray items or financial assistance to defray costs related to this event. Bring your friends, snacks and libations to this fun social event to support SDA—and possibly win a Louis Vuitton bag! Please contact Gigi Diaz at [email protected] for tickets.

Many Thanks!We’re very grateful for all the families who participated in the Calendar Raffle. Incentive raffle winners were the Riccio Family, who will receive a $750 credit toward their 2019-2020 tuition for selling more than $200 worth of tickets, and the Aidukas Family, who will receive a $1,000 credit for selling more than $500 worth of tickets.

Thanks are also in order to Joe Anderson (Meghan ’19) for helping to chair the annual Father-Daughter Dance on Friday, January 25. Everyone had a wonderful time!

Page 2

SDA Parents Association News

According to R&H Theatricals, which licenses the show, The King and I was Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first musical play based on a true story, the highly popular novel, Anna and the King of Siam, by Margaret Landon. The novel was based on the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, a 19th century Englishwoman who became governess to the children of the King of Siam.

Congratulations to Ms. Stephanie DeSarle, Ms. Sarah Degnan and the cast and crew of SDA’s latest musical presentation.

Smash Hit

Continued from Page 1


SAINT DOMINIC ACADEMYEMPOWERING WOMEN FOR LEADERSHIP SINCE 1878 Page 3

Hoops Update The Blue Devils are currently 9-9 and look to be a 12 seed in the upcoming county tournament. Captains Hailey Reid ’19 and Nana Sackey ’19 have led the way during this competitive season, along with Erin Murphy ’20 and Serina Sebbio ’20. Alex Taveras ’21 has been a pleasant surprise and Sophia Farulla ’21 has begun to make an impact off the bench. The team has regular season games coming up before the league and state playoffs begin. To catch the Blue Devils in action, the most up-to-date schedule can be found on nj.com under high school sports/girls basketball.

Record-setting SwimmersUnder new Coaches Kamila Pawka and Chad Williams, SDA dominated at the Hudson County Swim Championship on Saturday, January 26, setting four county records and winning five gold medals.

The 400 freestyle relay of Danielle Prekop ’19, Gianna Artusa ’21, Kelly Bartnett ’19 and Marcella Figueroa ’22 took home first place, crushing the previous county record by

eight seconds. Also placing first and setting new county records were the 200 IM relay of Bartnett, Maxine Rieder ’19, Prekop and Figueroa; Bartnett in the 100 freestyle; Figueroa in the 50 freestyle; and Prekop in the 100 breaststroke. In addition, Figueroa took home a second gold in the 200 freestyle and Prekop did the same in the 200 IM, while Bartnett raced to second in the 100 backstroke.

Road to Nationals The Dance Team, with veteran Coach Marie Maffia ’79 at the helm, has had a number of second place finishes in 2019, but these events are stepping stones for the state and national competitions later this month.

The Blue Devils have won national championships the past three years and hope to add to that this season.

Race to SpringThe 22nd annual Spring Thaw Run will be held in Liberty Park on Saturday, March 16. Come run the 5k or 1-mile fun run to benefit Blue Devils athletics programs. Sign up here. As always sponsors and help are welcome and appreciated.

National Track Honor Coach John Nagel has been named the 2017-2018 Northeast Section Coach of the Year for Girls Track and Field (Indoor) by the National Federation of State High School Coaches Association. The Northeast section includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.

BLUE DEVIL PRIDEState Champions Again!Saint Dominic Academy’s indoor track team defended their Parochial B state relay title on Friday, January 18 at the Bennett Center in Toms River. Led by veterans Milani Bethel ’21, Kayla Sullivan ’21, Isabel DeBari ’19, Suhayla Johnson ’20, Megan Val Alstyne ’19, Andrea Tlacuilo ’19 and Maya Barnes ’19, the Blue Devils earned their second consecutive and third state title in four years. They scored 50 points out of the maximum 70 and placed in seven of the eight events, winning the high jump relay (Johnson and newcomer Logan Hart ’20) for the fifth straight year. The team continues to train hard to run faster, jump higher and throw farther as the season progresses. The individual state meet is February 16.



SDA Student Council members and Ambassadors, who walked with Team “Fight Like A Girl” at this year’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Jersey City Walk, received this notice:

Boston CollegeLehigh UniversitySacred Heart UniversityFordham UniversityPenn State UniversityNew Jersey Institute of TechnologyNew York Institute of TechnologyFairfield UniversityVillanova UniversityLoyola University, Chicago Loyola University, MarylandLoyola Marymount UniversityJames Madison UniversitySaint Joseph’s UniversityThe University of ScrantonMarist CollegeProvidence CollegeMichigan State UniversityThe University of Rhode IslandThe University of New HavenThe University of ArizonaThe University of TampaUniversity of San FranciscoUniversity of MinnesotaSan Diego State UniversityPace UniversityQuinnipiac UniversityElon UniversityHigh Point UniversityMonmouth UniversityMontclair State UniversitySaint Peter’s UniversityRutgers UniversitySeton Hall UniversityCaldwell UniversityStony Brook UniversitySUNY OswegoSiena CollegeNorthern Arizona UniversityBerkeley CollegeBloomfield CollegeFairleigh Dickinson UniversityBloomsburg UniversityEast Stroudsburg UniversityNew England CollegeHoly Family UniversityMount Saint Mary’s UniversityLIM CollegeSchool of Visual ArtsCollege of Saint BenedictUniversity of MaineRoanoke CollegeNew Jersey City University

*as of February 5, 2019

Class of 2019 College Acceptances*

LEADERSHIP IN SERVICE

I am reaching out to you on behalf of Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Jersey City to sincerely congratulate you on becoming one of our top school teams! The fundraising efforts from the Saint Dominic Academy “Fight Like a Girl” team were tremendous this year and I cannot thank everyone enough for their passion and support of the American Cancer Society’s mission to save lives, celebrate lives and lead the fight for a world without cancer. Thank you again for an amazing 2018! Kind Regards,Carolyn LanzaCommunity Development Manager



A Message from the Head of School

Dear Parents: Welcome to the second half of our school year! Time truly has moved quickly. During these frigid months, isn’t it funny to think that the next time our girls settle down to study for exams, spring will have sprung? And yet, it’s that thought that keeps me going as I pull on my heavy coat, gloves and scarf on these icy mornings! Spring will be here before we know it and the 3rd and 4th marking periods will move forward all too quickly. We have to encourage the young ladies to make the most of the 2nd semester!

And what a wonderful semester it will be! We have many things to look forward to here at Saint Dominic Academy: The Disney YES trip, the Dance Team competition, the 20th anniversary Gala celebrating the 140th Anniversary of our school, the Senior Trip to Disney, the Glee Club performance at Carnegie Hall, the Drama class trip to see King Kong on Broadway…the list goes on and on. For our 12th grade girls, that list comes to a culmination with the words PROM and GRADUATION, two events that are, for them, the pinnacle of their time here with us at SDA.

The next five months will be a whirlwind for our young ladies and for you, their parents. Please know that I, along with the rest of the Saint Dominic Academy administration, are just a phone call or an email away if you need us for anything at all. I look forward to a warm and exciting spring!

With prayer,

Ms. Sarah DegnanHead of School

LETTERS



A Message from the Academic DeanTo say that this school year thus far has been pretty challenging would be an understatement. However, as Bob Riley, 52nd Governor of Alabama, aptly puts it, “Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the ‘hero’ within us is revealed.” And, boy, I have witnessed first-hand how students, faculty, staff, and the administration of Saint Dominic Academy together stood up and, in each one’s own big and small ways, have risen to the challenge and have decided to find the best in, and make the best of, every situation! I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you, parents and guardians, for your patience, understanding and unwavering support!

Challenges likewise leave us stronger and wiser and, having said that, I can confidently assure everyone that from henceforth, SDA will be seeing its strongest and brightest days and years yet. And here are some of the reasons why…

We now boast five National Honor Society affiliations! This year, we are adding the Mu Alpha Theta Math National Honor Society to the Siena Chapter of the National Honor Society, the Spanish and French National Honor Societies, and the International Thespian Society.

In recognition and celebration of the fact that we have a healthy mix of young ladies who excel in various areas, our Enrichment Programs are a healthy balance of academics and the arts and include, but are not limited to, participation in the following:• JP Morgan Chase “Girls in Coding” Program • “1,000 Girls/1,000 Futures” Program with the New York Academy of Sciences• “Titan for Others” High School Workshop with Titan Engineering Consultants• “Young Women in STEM” Conference sponsored by the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory• Jersey City Medical Center/Barnabas Health STEM Challenge • Glee Club at Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall and many other venues• Dodge Poetry Festival High School Day at NJPAC • “Engineering Tomorrow Conference” at the Kearny Youth Center • SDA Production of The King and I• Youth Perspective Program in tie-up with Montclair Art Museum• Shakespeare Live! Production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Our highly competent and dedicated team of teachers, staff and administrators, who do a whole lot more for less, always have our students’ best interests in mind. We make every effort to personally know your daughters so that they aren’t just one among many. In every classroom, we aim to be their “guides on the side, more than sages on the stage.”

In the midst of all the advances in technology, teaching and learning at SDA still recognize the effective balance between contemporary and traditional teaching and learning approaches. I’m sure you will agree with me when I say that there are certain methodologies that we had growing up that will still work among our millennials. For instance, we have harped on going back to good ’ol notetaking versus 100% dependence on laptops and the like which, in reality, have the tendency to compete with focus and concentration on the tasks at hand. You will hear me refer to this a lot…the boon and the bane of social media. This is, probably, our biggest challenge as parents and educators. We are learning to deal with it and it’s key that we are learning to do so together.

We’ve been taught, from an early age, to “count our blessings” and to “name them one by one.” That’s what I am trying to do with this writing. I am thankful for the wonderful family and community that is Saint Dominic Academy. It gladdens my heart to “see what God has done” and it is with joyful anticipation that I look forward to the good things that God has in store for us!

Mrs. Guen FarralesAcademic Dean

LETTERS

Documents

SAINT DOMINIC ACADEMY...Please know that I, along with the rest of the Saint Dominic Academy administration, 2572 John F. Kennedy Boulevard • Jersey City, NJ 07304 • (201) 434-5938