School Notes

Elementary Schools

Kindergarten students at St. Joseph’s School in Kingston portrayed Mary and Joseph during a recent Las Posadas celebration at the Ulster County school. The children made and carried paper candles as part of the procession. Las Posadas, a Mexican celebration, re-enacts Mary and Joseph’s search for a place to stay in Bethlehem. Las Posadas is traditionally held on each of the nine nights leading to Christmas, symbolic of Mary’s nine months of pregnancy before giving birth to Jesus.

High Schools

On Dec. 10, students from Mount St. Michael Academy in the Bronx boarded a school bus filled with toys and cookies bound for the Mercy Center in the South Bronx. Every year, members of the school’s Marist Youth Service Group collect toys and host a Christmas party for children in the after-school program at the Mercy Center to spread Christmas cheer.

Eighty-two seniors from Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains recently braved the frigid waters of the Long Island Sound to earn more than $12,000 for the New York State Special Olympics. Stepinac was ranked the No. 1 team in Westchester in donations.

Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx made Christmas a little more joyous for 140 children thanks to the school's annual “Give-A-Gift” program. Through the hard work of the school’s student government, needy children received clothing and toys this Christmas. Local charitable organizations provided the names of children, along with their ages and sizes. Some 280 gifts were purchased and organized, once again making the Give-A-Gift program a success.

St. Barnabas High School in the Bronx hosted the second annual Kalie Gill Memorial Basketball Tournament last month. St. Barnabas, along with Cristo Rey High School in Manhattan, the Academy of Mount St. Ursula in the Bronx and St. Raymond’s Academy for Girls in the Bronx, battled hard on the court for two days. On Friday, Dec. 12, after a first-round victory over Cristo Rey, the St. Barnabas Bears won the tournament by defeating St. Raymond’s in the championship game. Cristo Rey took third place by defeating Mount St. Ursula. With the Gill family present, Kalie’s younger sister, Lindsey, a St. Barnabas freshman, presented the Bears with the winning trophy and medals to the All-Tournament Team members and Most Valuable Player.

The tournament was held in memory of Kalie Gill, a sophomore at St. Barnabas who was killed in the Woodlawn section of the Bronx on Oct. 11, 2013 during an annual Oktoberfest and fund-raiser at Coyne Park in Yonkers. This year’s tournament raised more than $2,000 through ticket sales, donations and raffles. All money will go towards the Kalie Gill Memorial Scholarship Fund. To make a donation, contact Jennifer Geideman in the St. Barnabas High School advancement office at (718) 325-8800, ext. 11.

For school-related news, contact reporter Juliann DosSantos at jdossantos@cny.org