St. Aedan-St. Brendan Catholic School
“Nurturing the Spirit, Educating the Mind”
351 McKinley Ave., New Haven CT 06515 203-387-5693
www.staedan-brendanschool.org
Michael J. Votto, Principal Reverend Thomas E. Shepard, Pastor
Alumni Newsletter
Fall /Winter 2011
Reunion News
Last Spring, St. Aedan-St. Brendan’s hosted an Auction and Reunion Dinner which celebrated the 50th, 40th, 30th 20th, and 10th anniversary of the classes of 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, and 2001. This event included a wonderful dinner and silent auction. In addition to celebrating with alumni, our school was able to raise approximately $15,000.00.
This fall, St. Aedan-St. Brendan hosted the 50th year reunion for the first graduating class of St. Brendan School from 1961. We had 10 alumni return for a dinner at the St. Brendan’s rectory on Nov. 9th. All had a great time and we hope to do it again in the future. Pictures of this event can be viewed on our website, www.staedan-brendanschool.org.
In addition to this reunion, we will be hosting school events throughout the year. We would love to see some alumni in attendance. More reunions are being planned as we speak, so keep in touch and let us know what you would like to see.
We are looking for Class agents to help us connect with as many alumni as possible, so please let us know if you are interested.
Advancement and Development
This year we hired a development and advancement person to assist in our endeavor to spread the word about our school, and celebrate the histories of both St. Aedan and St. Brendan. Christina Cummings is working part time at the school, so please contact Christina if you have any questions regarding alumni events or development. She can be reached at: 203-387-5693
A Great Start!
Our new school year has begun and we are happy to report that our final numbers look very good. On Tuesday, Aug. 31st, our Pastor, Father Tom, and Sister jean Marie led a prayer service /retreat for all faculty and staff to start the year.
We have had many enrollment inquiries over the past several months and we anticipate more over this school year. Our Pre-K program, lead by Dr. James Acabbo, is recognized city-wide, and we hope to open an additional room to expand this program.
We encourage all alumni to spread the word about our school and its faith based approach to education.
We Made the News!
If you haven’t seen it already, try to pick up the August/September 2011 edition of New Haven Magazine. After placing a marketing ad, Principal Michael Votto was fortunate to be chosen for an interview featuring New Haven private/independent and parochial schools. We got some great exposure and we hope to entice some more new families to St. Aedan-St. Brendan’s.
Hulley Grant
St. Aedan-St. Brendan School has again been awarded 2 mini-grants from the Jamie A. Hulley Arts Foundation (www.jamiehulleyartsfund.org). This is the second time our school has been fortunate enough to receive this grant. Mrs. Slayton, the 3rd grade teacher applied for this grant and both 4th and 5th grade students will be able to participate in this year long program. Grade 3 will work on a project creating a scrapbook with journal entries describing school events which will create enthusiasm for writing. Grades 3, 4 & 5 will also be working on mapping projects for Social Studies. Grade 3 will be working on a quilt/sewing map project of the community, Grade 4 will create 3-D regional maps, and Grade 5 will be making maps of the 13 colonies. Mrs. Couden also was awarded a grant and she will have an author present several workshops for Grade 8.
HOPES Dinner
On Sunday, September 25, the Office of Catholic Schools sponsored its annual HOPES dinner at Aqua Turf. This very worthwhile event honors those people who volunteer their time and talent for our parochial elementary schools. Parishes throughout the diocese have a specific weekend to have a specific collection to help support our Catholic Schools and the profits from the dinner add to that fund. Each Catholic school applies for a HOPES grant for specific needs and that is where the monies come from to support that grant. Our school was able to secure a $14,000 grant from HOPES this school year. The majority of that money will be spent to buy textbooks and I am also looking into purchasing IPads or graphing calculators.
This year our school honored four individuals who have volunteered countless hours over the last few years on one way or another. Kevin and Pauline Fagan were honored for their many acts of volunteerism and financial support of many of our school’s endeavors. Additionally, Mr. Fagan has been very helpful in using his business expertise in plumbing and Mrs. Fagan served many years as the treasurer of the Home/School Association. Mr. Hugh Bullock, an alumnus of St. Aedan, has been volunteering to coach our Boys’ Varsity Basketball team for the last few years. He was also honored at this dinner. Lastly, Mr. Nick DeMaio was honored for his many years for volunteering to coach our Girls’ Softball teams. We congratulate all our honorees and thank them for helping our school! (Check out our website for a photo of the honorees at the dinner.
Giving the Gift of Education
Over the years, we have received many alumni donations, but one that has prompted us to begin a new program was from a St. Brendan’s graduate. Last year, one of our alumni kindly donated one years’ tuition for a student who otherwise would not have been able to attend our school. As a result of this wonderful generosity, we have decided to honor this gift by encouraging others to sponsor a child’s education either partially or fully. For more information regarding this initiative, please contact us our school principal, Michael Votto at 203-387-5693.
SASB Annual Appeal
This month, we are beginning our 2011-2012 Annual Appeal. Enclosed with this newsletter is a Letter of Appeal from our school principal, Michael J. Votto. Please take a moment to read the letter as this may explain in more depth the challenges our school faces as we move forward in trying to provide quality faith-based education to our children. No amount is too small and we greatly appreciate whatever gift you are able to give. Also, please let us know of any contact changes so that we may provide you with more news in the spring.
Past Donors for 2010-2011
Jospeh Cirasuolo Susan Gookin (’60) David Deflumeri (‘61) Raymond Daly (’59) Tina Bridgers (’66)
Frank Martin (’66) Lawrence Frederico Karen Standish (’70) Nicholas Dadonna William Hession (’52)
Louis Desimone (’70) Michael Zablon Johanna Brown (’59) Nancy Borzain (’68) Kenneth Ackerman (’82)
Kevin Kearney (’67) Roma Mott (’66) Erin Argento (’72) Kelly Bonito (’75) Jaqueline Herbert (’72)
James Shanahan (’59) Robin Walsh (’71) Kathleen Beltramello (’64) Hollis Brooks (’69) Mary Colburn (’56)
Dale Faulkner (’52) Olivia Martson (’64) Donald Paglia (’61) Nancy Bourgion Corinne Cacopardo (’66)
Thomas Zyskowski (’72) Brenda Geelan (‘58) Blaise Vece (’73) Kathleen Kordek (’67) Sally Small (’62)
Edward McMahon (’58) Karen Williams (’79) Judith Cuticelli (’65) William Arpine (’70) Eugene Shimshock (’70)
Brian Debowes (’67) Marguerite Scecina (’52) Thomas Sweeney (’61) Linda Sciascia (’72) Robert Torcello (’65)
Anne Brandt (’62) Margaret Castler (’64) June Patton (’61) Joseph Patton (’61) W.Gilroy Davidson (’53)
Donald Grava (’69) Julie Gelgauda (’67) Robert O’Brien (’61) Gerald Mastrangelo (’72) James Bussman (’63)
Joan Elder (’54) Paul Caiafa (’72) Marianne Lyden (’66) Ann Bedford (’53) William Lucas (’62)
Raymond Heath (‘57) Carol Mancini (’71) Rosemary Mukhopadhyay (’62)
On behalf of all of us at SASB, have a very merry Christmas, and all the best to you for the New Year!