By Kaylene Ris '18 On Nov. 22, 2016 Fontbonne had their annual Thanksgiving Food Collection at 2:45 p.m. in their gym. Livestream, run by Ms. Bittleman, collected enough baskets to feed 30 families full Thanksgiving meals. Christine Maxwell, a Fontbonne alumni who helps each year with the Food Drive. She distributed the baskets to deserving families at her school, P.S. 200.
“I hope that students are encouraged to be philanthropic this season because the Thanksgiving Basket drive inspired them to be,” said Ms. Bittleman. There were 25 volunteers to collect the food baskets from each FA and 30 volunteers to bring the baskets to the cars of those who were collecting. Students that are apart of Livestream packed turkeys. Livestream began preparing for the food drive at the beginning of November. Sign up sheets were distributed to FAs to provide them with time to donate a variety of food. The club maintained their excellence from last year by giving 30 baskets again, but hope to improve their number next year. “The efforts of the FA were imperative for this event to occur. The necessary step was having each FA understand how important this event was so that we could have enthusiastic participation,” said Ms. Bittleman. Lifestream hopes to work with the Do Something club and are excited about future events they will be hosting in the spring. For example, "Dares for Dollars" is an event that will allow teachers to create their own dares and students will vote on which dare they want to see. The students will be voting by way of donations whichever dare receives the most donation, must be done. This event will donate the money collected to Sloan Kettering Cancer Research Hospital in Manhattan.
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By Natalie Negron '18 Fontbonne Thanksgiving took place on Nov. 23, 2016, the celebration of Thanksgiving in individual FA’s is to show how grateful the faculty and students are for each other. FAs do this by bringing in food to celebrate and making baskets and providing food for families who do not have a Thanksgiving.
Fontbonne has made these baskets a tradition and every year they do this, each FA is assigned to create a basket filled with goods for families who are less fortunate and FA’s help make their Thanksgiving possible. Not only do FAs help make Thanksgiving possible for these families, they also made dresses for African American kids that were made out of pillowcases. Fontbonne had a mass where the baskets of food were blessed and were picked up afterwards to be distributed to families to celebrate their Thanksgiving with the food that was provided for them. “Fontbonne during Thanksgiving has such a really good atmosphere and it's a time where you really realize how thankful you are” says Rachel Deodato. “Fontbonne does so many things to give back to the less fortunate and it really makes me feel grateful for my education, family, and friends” says Luciana Spata Students at Fontbonne believe that this is one of the best traditions because it leaves them feeling good about giving back to the less fortunate by creating these baskets. By Amber Masood '17 “True bonding is not measured by time spent together or the favors done for each other. But by the comfort you find when you realize you have each other” - Unknown Every year, the 12th graders at Fontbonne Hall Academy go on a retreat for three days outside of school. This year, the class was broken up into two groups, one attending on Nov. 15, 2016 and the other on Dec. 13, 2016. It is held at The Don Bosco Retreat Center located on 174 Filors Lane, Stony Point, N.Y.
The girls were shocked to find the retreat center to be like home. They were expecting cabins in the woods. All three days were filled with joy, laughter, and tears. Each day, the girls were placed in different groups to get to know the girls in their year a bit more. “You create a bond with people that you never thought you’d talk to,” said Kyra Petalas. All of the girls, treated each other with respect and even got some of their quieter peers to open up. “I enjoyed how we came together, not as students but as friends,” said Viana Rosanelli Many of them also got the experience of wandering the woods, and seeing the sky filled with what seemed like a thousand stars. The girls had the opportunity of having a dance party with their year coordinator, Mrs. Nicoll. The December group is very excited for their turn. Every one of the girls shared a story, some being sad others happy. “I don’t usually cry, but some of the stories got to me,” said Lauren Benware. The November group, were anxious all week because they did not know what to expect. The November girls enjoyed their retreat. The point of the retreat was to help the class bond as a year before they head off to college. Many now feel prepared for the next chapter in their lives. By Rebecca Kaminski Candy grams went on sale for the 2016 holiday season. This popular event kicked off on Dec. 5, 2016. They will be on sale in the cafeteria during the lunch periods.
One girl from SAC will be stationed at the candy gram station. At the candy gram station, there will be one bag for each FA and one bag for the faculty and staff. Candy grams will be 50 cents each and all funds will go towards SAC. A candy gram comes with a candy cane and a message to the receiver. On Nov. 29, 2016, some SAC girls cut ribbons and tags in order to prepare for this fundraiser. In addition, over 1000 candy canes were bought. The candy grams are one of the most important fundraisers for SAC. “It is one of SAC’s biggest fundraisers” said Ms.McNiff, a SAC moderator. It is a fundraiser that everyone participates in. Candy grams are used to send messages to students and teachers in school. On the day before Christmas break, someone delivers each FA their bag and the candy grams are handed out within the FA. Candy grams help everyone get into the Christmas spirit. It is a fun way to spread holiday cheer all throughout the school. People use this as an opportunity to send messages to their friends and to send a nice message to their teachers. By Sabrina Gheller '18 Fontbonne Hall Academy’s Drama Club opened The Best Christmas Pageant Ever on Friday, December 7. With almost every chair filled, the show was a hit. Anne Russo and Dan Torres, who played the roles of the mother and father, and Caitlyn Schmidt, who played the role of Mrs. Armstrong took the show by storm.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever follows the story of six delinquents who are given roles in their Sunday school’s Christmas play. “It was great to see how many people showed up to see the play we worked so hard to put together. We wanted everyone to enjoy this and have a good time,” Schmidt said. This play was just one of the many Christmas plays that the Drama club has put on. Schmidt has been the star of many plays, both at Fontbonne Hall Academy and Xaverian High School. Students at Fontbonne Hall Academy were especially excited to see that two of their own, Russo and Schmidt, were the leads of the play. “I think that students like to see people from their community being the stars of a show. It’s kind of like we have bragging rights. We can say ‘They’re one of us, and they’re the leads of this show,’” said Jeanette Esposito. In 2017, the school’s Drama club is planning on showing Saturday Night Fever and Fontbonne students are already buzzing with excitement. The success of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever will likely predict the success of Saturday Night Fever. By Rachel Deodato '18 On Nov. 18, 2016, the Fontbonne Hall Academy’s annual father daughter dance took place at Gennaro’s Catering Hall in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn NY. The father daughter dance used to be ran by Mrs. King but is now ran by the newly formed FHA Parent Association.
This dance also used to take place at Sirico’s Catering in Dyker Beach, Brooklyn NY and this year it took place at Gennaro’s Catering Hall in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn NY. Many students liked this location change to Gennaro's and some did not. “The transformation from Sirico’s to Gennaro’s was very different. Gennaro’s was a little smaller than Sirico’s but the location was still very nice and it was very well decorated, the FHA Parent Association did a very good job” said Teresa Martinelli, a junior who attended the event. One highlight of this event is the father daughter look alike contest. The winner’s of this year's contest was Maggie McCaughey and her dad, Mr. McCaughey. The FHA Parent Association created 20 baskets to raffle off to the daughters and the fathers/uncles/brothers etc. Some baskets were filled with Fontbonne merchandise, handbags/pocketbooks, kitchen supplies, etc.. These raffles raised money for the school. “The students and fathers all had a great time in general. It’s fun and different to hang out and have fun with your dad. It’s weird to see all the dad’s dance and have fun and really funny. This was my third year going to the dance and I’m really sad that next year is my last time going” said Leanna LaBattaglia, junior at FHA. The Father Daughter Dance is a popular tradition at Fontbonne Hall Academy and many student’s hope that this tradition will continue. By Olivia Cusumano '18 On Nov. 23, 2016 the Fontbonne Hall Academy community came together to have a Thanksgiving liturgy. This liturgy took place in the school’s gymnasium. Monsignor Romano was the one who said this Thanksgiving liturgy.
This liturgy was the first time that the juniors got to join in singing “The Servant Song” with the seniors and faculty. The juniors weren’t expecting this but were happy about it. “I was so ecstatic when my whole year got to get up and sing part of ‘The Servant Song,’” said Lauren Lezamiz. At this celebration the Fontbonne community celebrated and gave thanks for all that they have. The students all sang loud and were responding back to the prayers in the spirit of being thankful. The food that all 26 FAs had brought in were blessed by Monsignor Romano. After the mass concluded all FA’s were sent back to their rooms. At the rooms they all had bagels that were brought to them from a former teacher at Fontbonne. Then they made dresses out of cloth for African girls under the age of ten that were less fortunate than the Fontbonne community. Before Monsignor got to the mass Mr. Bailey, who is the music teacher at Fontbonne, made the students warm up their singing and played the responsorial psalm and the gospel song. All of the organizing of the food baskets was successful because every FA brought in everything they needed to bring for the families that are less fortunate than the Fontbonne community. By Kaitlyn Check '18 On Nov. 23, 2016 Fontbonne Hall Academy held their annual Fontbonne Thanksgiving. On this day the entire school attended a liturgy which was then followed by FA time. During FA time each FA participated in making a dress for less fortunate little girls.
Mrs. Correira was in charge of setting up the relationship between Fontbonne Hall Academy and the organization Little Dresses for Africa. Fontbonne became connected through the internet. Mrs.Correira searched for service projects that could be done in the classroom. Shortly after researching she came across the organization. Little Dresses for Africa is a Christian charity organization that was formed with the intention of sending relief to young children of Africa. The dresses were sent to the little girls of Malawi, Africa. These girls are suffering from poverty. Many of these little girls may even be experiencing abuse or being treated as slaves. The organization also explains how some girls may view themselves as outcasts that feel they have been forgotten by God. Fontbonne had completed 34 dresses to be sent to the girls of Malawi. It was an easy task considering how much of an impact they would have on the little girl’s lives. Simply each FA took a pillowcase and a ribbon and constructed a dress out of it. Pillowcases are the desired material because of the availability of them. Also you must take into account the warm climate in Malawi. Pillowcases are available in both bright and colorful patterns. Also a loose fitting and sundress style dress is very practical. Mrs. Correira explained how the dress materials were obtained. “The pillowcases were bought new from a wholesale store nearby. The ribbon and the hem tape were bought from Michaels.” said Mrs.Correira Mrs.Correira plans on involving Fontbonne in a different service project like we have done in the past. It is a great way to give back to the community in the world. Service projects are a great way send positive messages around and out of Fontbonne. by Olivia Cusumano '18
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