Brooklyn Education: A new school year begins at St. Patrick Catholic Academy

Students and parents returned to St. Patrick Catholic Academy for the first day of classes on September 9. Principal Andrea D’Emic stood on the steps of the academy’s auditorium and welcomed students as they posed for photos with their proud parents and grandparents. Monsignor Michael Hardiman, pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church, joined D’Emic in greeting the children as they entered the auditorium, which was adorned with green and gold balloons.

Inside, D’Emic led a brief assembly as the students sat with their classmates and greeted their teachers. Monsignor Hardiman addressed the students and reminded them to act as leaders and set an example for the younger grades.

Now in its third school year as a Catholic academy, St. Patrick actually traces its roots back to 1863, when Father John Tanzer, the church pastor at that time, decided to create a Catholic educational institution for the children of Irish laborers who had settled in the parish, according to the academy’s website.

With help from the Sisters of St. Dominic, St. Patrick Elementary School was formed in Bay Ridge. Today, the academy continues to thrive under the leadership of D’Emic and a board of directors led by parishioner Joseph Langley.

Last year’s graduating class was awarded scholarships totaling $600,000, according to school officials.

Fontbonne Hall Academy will offer Brown University’s Pre-College Scholars Program in Engineering this fall. Twenty-two students in grades 10 through 12 will participate in the year-long online course of study taught by faculty from Brown University’s School of Engineering.

Fontbonne students selected for this innovative program will explore engineering and its design principles, and work collaboratively on biomedical, materials science and renewable energy engineering projects. The program will be facilitated by Dr. Karen Haberstroh, associate director of engineering programs at Brown University’s School of Professional Studies, and Dr. Indrek Külaots. Both are lecturers in engineering at Brown.

Working closely with their Brown instructors, students will participate in approximately five hours of coursework per week, including lab and demo activities, online discussions, assignments and a year-long team design project. Students completing the program will earn Fontbonne Hall Academy credit.

During the course of the program, Brown University will welcome participating students to Brown’s campus for a guided tour of the School of Engineering and interaction with faculty and students.

In addition, further to support students’ interest in engineering, the School of Professional Studies will offer four need-based partial scholarships to the 2016 Summer@Brown Program, a nationally recognized pre-college program that offers nearly 200 courses to high school students on the Brown campus each summer.

Brown University’s pre-college programs, offered by the university’s School of Professional Studies, enable high school students to experience college-level learning, prepare for academic success, and connect with talented, motivated students from around the world. Programs include residential and online courses, and global experiences.

Brown’s pre-college online courses are rigorous, active learning experiences designed specifically for high school students and led by Brown instructors. The courses foster exciting, dynamic learning communities that encourage curiosity and discovery, teamwork and networking.

Brown’s online instructors are enthusiastic, imaginative educators working at the forefront of online teaching and learning. They work closely with the university’s instructional designers to develop and facilitate courses that exemplify best practices of student-centered design and inquiry-based learning.