First Trimester August - November 2019  |  Volume 7 Issue 1

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Dear Rosarian Community,

As we complete the first trimester, we are thankful for the abundant blessings that have been bestowed upon us. We are most grateful for the opportunity to walk this journey of educating children and thank God for the many accomplishments achieved in the last several months. We hope you enjoy some of the highlights from our first few months of the 2019-2020 school year.  

Happy Thanksgiving,

Linda M. Trethewey, Head of School

Alumni News - Where Are They Today?

2018-2019 Annual Giving Report

In the spirit of thanksgiving and gratitude, we present our Annual Giving Report for the 2018-2019 school year. This report is a declaration of the generosity of the Rosarian Academy community. Through your financial support, we are able to constantly improve our facilities and technology; retain highly trained and qualified faculty and staff; maintain small class sizes; offer an advanced, progressive and accelerated academic program; provide outstanding athletics and arts; increase co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. Each gift is a testament to the value of a Rosarian education. Thank you! Click here to view the Giving Report. 

Father Daughter Dance

Kindergarten-through-eighth-grade girls and their fathers enjoyed the Father Daughter Dance on Friday, October 4--a welcomed addition  to all of our Rosarian traditions. Fathers and daughters danced the night away in Schar Hall and made it a night to remember!  Click here to view the photos.

Willy Wonka KIDS Was A Golden Ticket Winner

Rosarian Academy’s performance of Willy Wonka KIDS on Saturday, November 2 was a golden ticket winner for the 485 audience members! This all-time favorite showcased a cast of 46 first-through-fourth-grade students. Based on the classic book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, Willy Wonka (4th grader Benjamin White) taught poignant and uplifting life lessons through the character portrayals of Augustina Gloop [adapted from Augustus] (4th grader Kayla Ugarte), Violet Beauregarde (3rd grader Cecilia Hansen), Veruca Salt (4th grader Ava Rodriguez), Mike Teavee (2nd grader Lachlan Throop), and Charlie Bucket (2nd grader Tristan Catalano). Whether it’s eating too much of what we enjoy, wanting immediate satisfaction, playing too much on electronic devices, or doing or tasting something that we were told not to, the characters represented various faults that can be found in all of us.

The musical was produced and directed by Robert Sherman, with musical direction by Gay Dedo, choreography by Jeanne Bennett, scenic and lighting design by Ardean Landuis, and costume design by Jeanne Bennett and alumnus William Linn (Class of 2001). The production team used technology in ways never used before in a Rosarian performance. Screen casts projected animated scenic backdrops which truly brought the play to life. Waterfalls and a river of chocolate moved on stage as Augustina Gloop gave into her cravings and broke Wonka’s rule to not touch the chocolate. Mike Teavee successfully transformed from his human size to the size of a 12-inch doll on the TV screen, using a pre-filmed video in front of the green screen in the school’s STEM lab. Wearing an inflatable blow-up costume, Violet Beauregarde sent the audience into hysterics as she blew up into a blueberry while eating an Everlasting Gobstopper.

Rosarian started Lower School productions ten years ago with It’s Showtime, followed by It’s Showtime 2, Willy Wonka, Cinderella, Aladdin, The Lion King, The Music Man KIDS, Sleeping Beauty KIDS,  Annie KIDS, and this year’s Willy Wonka KIDS. All shows are shortened versions of the Broadway productions. The music is adapted for younger voices, yet, is still challenging.

Performing arts is an integral part of the Rosarian Academy curriculum. Beginning in kindergarten, students experience drama as a co-curricular offering. Once they reach first grade, they have the opportunity to participate in fully-staged and executed productions, directed by professionals with real-world theatrical experience. The theater program helps improve, empower, and nurture the individual and develop a sense of teamwork and ensemble building. Two theater productions are held each school year where students are encouraged to take part either on stage or behind the scenes. In addition to Willy Wonka KIDS, the Middle School will perform a musical in the spring of 2020.

Congratulations Kiwanis Club
Student of the Month Winners

Continuing its tradition of honoring excellence, character and leadership potential, Kiwanis Club of Palm Beach recognizes students from local schools at a monthly luncheon at the Chesterfield Hotel. Selected students are honored with a check and a certificate.

Students 'Carve' Halloween Memories with The Lord's Place Children

For the 8th consecutive year, Rosarian Academy students were blessed to spend a few hours participating in Halloween activities with the children who reside at The Lord's Place Family Campus on Wednesday, October 23. The school’s eighth-grade National Junior Honor Society students organized  the spooktacular fun. The Rosarian students paired with The Lord’s Place residents to carve and paint pumpkins, paint each other’s faces, and play games.

This annual event brings joy to both the children of The Lord’s Place and the Rosarian students and has become a tradition and meaningful partnership that Rosarian hopes to continue for many years to come.

Through a school-wide effort, over 50 pumpkins were collected and donated. Community service is an integral part of a Rosarian student's education. From preschool to 8th grade, children experience opportunities to work in service of others. Students recognize that every person has the power to make a positive difference. 

The Lord’s Place Housing Programs provide shelter for homeless men, women and children and help residents identify the issues that led to their homelessness. The Lord’s Place gives their residents the tools they need to stabilize their lives, while providing safe homes so they can thrive. Currently, approximately 40 families with 50 children reside at the Family Campus. For more information, visit www.thelordsplace.org.

50,643 Coins Collected to Help Bahamians and Make World of Change

In response to the humanitarian crisis facing the Bahamas in the wake of Hurricane Dorian and aligned with Rosarian Academy’s mission and beliefs to live out the Gospel values, the school has opened seats to hurricane-displaced children who no longer have a school to attend. Eight students from the Abacos are now attending RA. Rosarian’s goodwill in the wake of Dorian sparked a “world of change” with a $10,000 matching challenge.

 Matt Hoidal, Founder & Chief Change Maker of World of Change—a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization in Portland, ME—caught wind of the school’s relief efforts through a Facebook post where Rosarian Academy students were counting change donated by friends of the school to help with the incidental costs for Rosarian to educate Bahamian children. Moved by the students’ service and the school’s efforts to help displaced families, Mr. Hoidal reached out to Rosarian to be World of Change’s first partner in the state of Florida to continue to “change” the lives of those affected by Hurricane Dorian.

World of Change uses a series of ongoing matching challenges and grassroots fundraising efforts to mobilize and leverage the collective capacity of collecting change. There's an estimated $10 billion in loose change sitting idle in American households and $62 million in spare change discarded every year. On behalf of Rosarian’s relief efforts, World of Change helped identify another charity, Hands on Tzedakah, to match up to $10,000 of change collected between October 7-31, 2019.

Mr. Hoidal led the Rosarian Academy student body in an assembly on Thursday, October 10 as a kickoff to the school collecting change to help offset the costs for children who have been displaced from the Bahamas to attend Rosarian. Each child was sent home with a small "World of Change" change purse. Students were encouraged to put any spare change found lying around the house, in the car, or in the streets into the pouch.

Community members were also invited to be a part of this change collection. St. Patrick Catholic Church in Palm Beach Gardens and other local Palm Beach County businesses joined--including: Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, North Palm Beach Dentistry, Anderson Chiropractic Clinic, Raymond James - West Palm Beach Branch, Roberto J. Acosta, M.D., P.A, and Bath Fitter. St. Patrick's collection alone was $3,818.15.

A total of 50,463 coins were sorted and rolled every school day during lunch for 4 weeks by middle school students. Children in the Early Childhood program also helped count and roll the coins as part of their Montessori learning.

The total amount collected was $8,499.31. 100% of this change collected is being doubled through the generosity of Hands on Tzedakah--bringing the total amount to $16, 998.62. 

“We are called to be the hands and feet of Christ and are blessed that our students and staff can witness firsthand the "change" they are making for our Bahamian friends who have joined our school family this year,” said Linda Trethewey, Head of School.

In response to the reveal of the final change count, Matt Hoidal commented, “Congratulations on showing what’s possible when a community rallies together in such an intentional and spirited way. This is amazingly beautiful!”

Red Ribbon Week Celebrates Healthy, Drug-Free Lifestyle

We celebrated positive choices and a healthy, drug-free lifestyle during Red Ribbon Week, October 28-November 1 . As part of this national celebration,  Dr. Susan Klarich presented to parents and Middle School students on the serious dangers and potential life-threatening effects of vaping; the West Palm Beach Police department brought two K-9 units to RA to present to Children's House-4th grade students on how police dogs search for drugs, weapons, bombs and people; and the West Palm Beach Police also presented to students in grades 5th-8th on substance and alcohol abuse. Parents were encouraged to get involved and talk to their children about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle and not getting involved in drugs.

Raiders Continue to Strive and Grow in Athletics

Flag Football

The Rosarian Varsity Flag Football team finished a competitive season with a difficult loss in the playoffs to Palm Beach Day Academy.  Led by 8th Grade captains, Brewer Rehm and James Smeenge, the Raiders had a balanced attack with contributions from many different players in positions all over the field, starting with the reliable snapping of Jacob Kurtz and Jaheim Marshall. With a committee of Declan Coates, Finn Duran, and Tomaso Fregonase at Quarterback, the Raiders had success on the ground and through the air.  Defensively, the team shined with Matthias Bessenroth, Anthony Chiappone, Aidan Albury, and Samuel Hernandez providing pressure on the opposing quarterback so play-makers like Bear Soper, James Molina, Tristan Raich, Molly Lanahan and Jack Beylo could fly to the ball and create turnovers and stops. It was a great year for the Raiders!  Coach Searcy and Coach Shed look forward to another exciting season next year.    

JV Flag Football had a tough schedule this year with such a young team. The team fought hard all season falling short of a win.  This team will continue to grow and build the program moving forward.  This year's team was coached by Jody LaNasa and Mike Garrett.  

Girls Volleyball

The girls varsity volleyball team had a wonderful season learning and growing together in the sport. They persevered through some hard fought matches and took on new challenges and positions, working as a team.  The girls went 4-4 in regular season play with the majority of the losses going three close games! Congratulations to all of the girls who participated in the Rosarian Volleyball program. Coach Joy VanDyke and Sharyn Ayres are looking forward to next year!  

The girls JV volleyball team went undefeated for the season with a 7-0 record.  The team was led by Eleanor Hall and a strong group of 7th graders.  Ava Castro was solid from the serving position with many aces.  Thank you to coaches Lauren Alberti and Sharyn Ayres for leading the girls as they continued to work hard and grow their skills.

Swimming

The RA swim team won the 28th out of 29 Rosarian Academy Invitational swim meets on October 26.  This year's team was led by Juan-Lucas Gonzalez-Cabanellas, Pierce Johnson, Nick Grippi, Catie Ewing and Ava Castro.  The 34 kindergarten-through-eighth-grade swimmers competed against Saint Ann and All Saints Catholic School. Congratulations to our amazing swimmers and coaches Devin Treadway and Bradley Fell for a great season.   

Cross Country

Congratulations Rosarian Cross Country runners on a great championship against St. Juliana, St. Luke, St. Vincent Ferrer. Trey Wagner placed 1st in 6th-8th grade boys. For 4th-5th grade boys: 1st- Liam Hardyman, 2nd-Finn Beylo. For 6th -8th grade girls: 1st- Iliana Beauchamp. For 4th-5th grade girls: 1st Tessa Brown, 3rd McKenna Boysan, 4th Caroline Mischke, 5th Julia Schmidt. Gabby Fulton also ran in the championship meet. The runners were coached by Katherine Murphy and CC Bennett.

Michele Henry Honored for 20 Years of Service to Catholic Education

The Diocese of Palm Beach  honored Michele Henry for 20 years of service to Catholic education on November 8 at a professional development meeting. Ms. Henry has been teaching for 30 years--20 years in Catholic schools in Palm Beach County. Ms. Henry treats school as an extension of the home where she continues to foster in her students the morals, values, and good judgment to become independent thinkers and a positive influence within their community. She provides a safe learning environment with consistency where students can thrive. Rosarian and its students are blessed by Ms. Henry's patience, care, kindness, love, and positivity. Congratulations, Ms. Henry, on your dedication and love for teaching which in turns creates a passion for learning!

Field Resurface Initiative: Phase I Complete

The Rosarian Academy outdoor play areas and field were in need of repair. Thanks to generous donors, we have completed Phase I and raised close to $460,000. The Early Childhood and Kindergarten play areas have been updated and a new Lower School play structure was installed. All permitting for resurfacing the Jake Rubin Field is now complete.

Beginning Phase II, we broke ground and field renovations began on September 25. The drainage is almost complete, and the base material has been started ahead of schedule. We are in the process of getting approval from the West Palm Beach City Commission to permit artificial turf and a fence height waver. Two hearings are scheduled for December 16 and December 30. Assuming these hearings take place as planned, we anticipate the completion of the field by the spring of 2020.

Students use the outdoor play structures and field every single day for recess, physical education classes and practices. A renewed and reconfigured outdoor space will significantly enhance our students' overall development and enrichment. A practice field on Rosarian's campus will give back time to our parents who currently spend multiple hours a day driving their children to and from school sports practices off campus. 

Play is essential to children's cognitive, physical, social and emotional well being which furthers our mission of developing the whole person and providing a foundation for life.

Included with the resurfacing of the field, there will be two outdoor basketball and two outdoor sports courts. Naming rights and giving opportunities are still available. If you are interested in any funding opportunities, please call the Advancement Office at 561.345.3109.

Sadlier Math Incorporates Authentic, Hands-On Experience

Just as the tallest building depends on a solid foundation in order to reach the sky, a child’s success in Math also requires a solid foundation, one built from the basic facts and fundamentals in the subject. While this idea may seem simple, the educator’s job of bringing it to fruition can be complex. Students learn different concepts at different speeds. Some may quickly understand basic addition only to struggle with the concept of subtraction, while others in the classroom may have the opposite learning experience. The effective teacher is able to accommodate both the quick learners and those who require extra help. This ensures every student builds a rock-solid understanding of the basics of math that are so vital towards their future learning in the subject. With the Sadlier Math curriculum offered at Rosarian Academy, students flourish in such an environment.

Watch the video above to learn more about how Sadlier Math incorporates authentic, hands-on experience into the curriculum.

Guys' Night Out and Girls' Night Out Support The Auction

Fore! The 2020 Auction & Ball: Going for the Gold was recently kicked off with two traditional events--Girls' Night Out on October 30 and Guys' Night Out on November 7. Both events took place at Drive Shack West Palm Beach and were a huge success with more than 70 Girls and 50 Guys in attendance and a combined $23,000 raised to benefit Rosarian. Guests enjoyed golf, food, and raffles while raising critical funds to support our school. Special thank you to 2020 Auction Chair, Colleen Orrico, Girls' Night Underwriter, Bridget Koch, and the Guys' Night Underwriters: Christian Angel, Hampton Beebe, Dan Castro, Nick Coniglio, Joe Rooney, Desmond Keogh, Shaun McGruder, Michael Perry, Henry Rionda and Nate Ward.

Save the Date for the 41st Annual Auction & Ball on Saturday, March 14, 2020, at the Norton Museum of Art. Click on the button below for more information on the Auction & Ball, including ticket purchases and underwriting and sponsorship opportunities.

Faculty and Staff Are "All In!" Are you?

100% of Rosarian Academy’s faculty and staff have given or made their pledge to The Rosarian Fund for 2019-2020. We strongly believe in RA’s mission and strive each day to cultivate an environment where our students genuinely love to learn and seamlessly advance on a foundation built for their unique successes throughout life. 

Together, with your support, we will be able to continue to provide the best educational experience and strongest foundation for life. Rosarian, like most independent schools, relies on the funds raised through the annual efforts of The Rosarian Fund and Auction & Ball to support its children, the teachers, and the programs offered, because tuition alone does not cover all of the costs associated with operating our school. Your “ALL IN” investment provides an unparalleled foundation in faith, academics, athletics, arts, service, and community.

We ask you to show your support for Rosarian and consider a gift to The Rosarian Fund for this school year. Giving helps open doors of opportunity in providing the foundation for success for your child’s future. The Rosarian Fund campaign gives each one of our students the Rosarian experience that helps them grow uniquely and successfully into the individuals they are destined to become.

We are “ALL IN”!  ARE YOU? Please join us in this essential campaign by making a gift or pledge by December 31 (to be paid at any time before the end of the school year, June 30, 2020) to show your support of each activity that occurs in the classroom, on the playing field/court, or stage, ensuring the school can provide all the components of an exceptional education. Your gift, large or small, makes a big impact and changes lives! 

For any questions about The Rosarian Fund, please feel free to contact the Advancement Office at 561-345-3109.