Education & Kids Bay Ridge

Brooklyn celebrates Catholic Schools Week

January 26, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Rosemarie McGoldrick, principal of Holy Angels Academy, and her students welcomed visitors to an Open House at the Bay Ridge school on Sunday. Pictured with McGoldrick are Jonathan Mundy, Emma Bolino, Caroline Chelales, Anna Bolino, Meaghan Delle Cave and Daniel Mundy (left to right). Eagle photo by Paula Katinas
Rosemarie McGoldrick, principal of Holy Angels Academy, and her students welcomed visitors to an Open House at the Bay Ridge school on Sunday. Pictured with McGoldrick are Jonathan Mundy, Emma Bolino, Caroline Chelales, Anna Bolino, Meaghan Delle Cave and Daniel Mundy (left to right). Eagle photo by Paula Katinas
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The entrance hall at Holy Angels Academy looked as busy as Grand Central Station at rush hour on Sunday. Parents crowded around an information table and picked up information packets, while Principal Rosemarie McGoldrick talked to people individually about why they should enroll their children in her school. Nearby, students were organizing groups to take tours of the building.

It was all part of the kickoff to Catholic Schools Week, which was scheduled to run from Jan. 26 to Jan. 30.

Holy Angels Academy, located at 337 74th St. in Bay Ridge, was one of dozens of schools in the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn taking part in Catholic Schools Week. Schools were scheduled to host open houses, masses, science fairs, math bees, student-faculty volleyball games, costume parties and other special events during the week.

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It wasn’t immediately clear, however, what effect Winter Storm Juno would have on the schedule of activities at the schools.

But Sunday started things off in promising fashion.

St. Anselm Catholic Academy, St. Ephrem School and St. Patrick Catholic Academy in Bay Ridge, St. Athanasius School in Bensonhurst, St, Bernadette School in Dyker Heights and St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Academy in Park Slope were among the schools which opened their doors on Sunday to welcome visitors for tours of their classrooms, computer labs, gyms and other areas.

National Catholic Schools Week is an annual celebration of Catholic education in the U.S. and is traditionally celebrated during the last week in January. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service.”

Many schools use the occasion of Catholic Schools Week as an opportunity to reach out to parents to convince them to enroll their children.

Mike Long, chairman of the board of directors at Holy Angels Catholic Academy, said he was pleased the turnout for Sunday’s Open House.

“We had a big crowd. People expressed a lot of interest in our school. Hopefully, they will make the choice to enroll their children here,” Long told the Brooklyn Eagle.

Holy Angels was established in 2009 out of the former Our Lady of Angels Catholic School, the parish school of Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church. In 2009, Our Lady of Angels Catholic School had an enrollment of 175 students. Today, the enrollment at Holy Angels is 291, according to Long.

Christina Mundy, whose two sons are students at Holy Angels, said she enrolled them there because she wanted a Catholic education for her boys. “I wanted a school with strong academics and a strong faith-based education. This school is doing a good job in both of those areas,” she told the Eagle.

Catholic schools have a lot to offer students, according to Dr. Thomas Chadzutko, Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Brooklyn. “Catholic education is essential within the Diocese of Brooklyn and Catholic Schools Week is an opportunity to witness our school/academy communities,” he said in a statement.

 


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