I N T H I S I S S U E

Donors Raise a Glass 2

Spring Highlights 3

Career Day Lessons 5

Boys Mentorship Group 6

NEWSLE T T E R S UMMER 2 01 4 VO LUME V I I I , I S SUE 1

DEAR FRIENDS,

It is hard to believe that the 2013-2014 school year has come to a close. Looking back on this year’s

accomplishments, I am affirmed by the hard work and dedica"on of all who make Our Lady Queen of Angels

School such a special place. At OLQA, we are proud to educate young men and women of strong character and

values. We are especially proud of this year’s gradua"ng class. These young people have excelled in every sense

of the word and have a very bright future ahead of them.

As you flip through these pages, take note of the various highlights we were blessed to have experienced this

year. Our teachers, parents, benefactors, and friends came together in a number of ways to provide our stu-

dents with memorable learning opportuni"es from Career Day to class field trips to the Frick Museum. We

offered more student programming with the Voices of East Harlem Choir, the newly organized Soccer Club, and

A7er-School clubs like Chess and Zumba. We also now offer parent engagement workshops through the Archdi-

ocese-sponsored Comunidad Juan Diego. What an incredible year it has been! We are looking ahead to 2014-

2015 as another year filled with expanded learning opportuni"es for our students. On behalf of the children,

faculty, and staff of OLQA, we wish you a res<ul and happy summer.

Sincerely,

Joanne Walsh

Principal

SUBSCRIBE ONLINE

OLQAEastHarlem.org/Support-Us/Alumni

SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS

Donations of any amount make a difference.

Below are some of our greatest needs.

$250 Supplies for the After-School program

$500 Academic field trip for one grade

$1,000 Equipment for new soccer club

$1,500 Partial scholarship for a student

A Partnership Network School

Class of 2014 Excels The class of 2014 has much

to look forward to as they

embark upon their journey

in high school. Students will

be a?ending New York

City’s finest schools,

including, to name a few,

Regis, Marymount, Xavier,

Cardinal Hayes, St. Jean

Bap"ste, and All Hallows,

and, as a class, have been

offered more than

$720,000 in merit

scholarship for the next

four years of schooling. We

are incredibly proud of this

gradua"ng class. Although

their departure is bi?er-

sweet, we know they will thrive in their new

schools. As graduate Angel A. remarked in front

of an audience of students, teachers, and

parents on gradua"on day, “We are a class that

consists of many young intellectuals with

character and perseverance who will make a

difference in this world. They say we

are the leaders of tomorrow, but I do

not agree. We are the leaders of

today.” We could not have said it

be?er ourselves. Congratula"ons

Class of 2014!

OLQA’s Class of 2014 has reason to be proud for their

accomplishments as they move on to top high schools.

Donors Raise a Glass in Support of OLQA

Many a glass was raised the

evening of May 13th

to toast OLQA.

The Spring Benefit and Wine

Tas"ng at Moore Brothers Wine

Company is an annual

celebra"on in honor of OLQA’s

dedicated community of donors,

volunteers, and instructors. Over

forty guests mixed and mingled

throughout the night, enjoying

conversa"ons with student

ambassadors and mee"ng fellow

friends of the school. Benefit

co-chairs and OLQA School Board

members Brian and Laura Elbogen

noted how special this night is to

them. “Many of our friends knew

that we were volunteering with a

private school in East Harlem,”

Brian reflected, “but it was hard to

explain why we had such interest

and passion for the school without

sharing actual names, faces, and

experiences. The Spring Benefit

gives us that opportunity by

introducing many of our friends to

the students, teachers, and

community supporters that we

have been privileged to meet.”

Laura remarked upon the effect

OLQA students have had on her,

no"ng in her opening remarks that

“OLQA students are assured and

self-confident. They have the

strength to answer hard ques"ons

and they recognize the wisdom in

saying ‘I don’t know, but I’ll get

back to you.’”

The night honored Jamieson Odell,

OLQA School Board member, as he

received the third annual Guardian

Angel Award in recogni"on of his

exemplary service and

commitment to OLQA. Jamie first

stepped through OLQA’s doors in

2001 not too long a7er he

graduated from college. He

was hired for a one-year

commitment to

streamline the school’s

finances, and he never le7,

providing much valued

insights and though<ul

guidance to our school.

The night ended with a

student performance by

select members of the Voices

of East Harlem Choir. The final

song of the night ended early as

the keyboard played its final

chord and promptly died. Guest

Esther Laventhol, a friend of our

school nurse Ms. Susman,

contacted us immediately a7er

the event to offer to pay for the

purchase of a new keyboard for

our music students. With that

spirit of generosity, we raised

over $17,000 for the school.

These funds will be used for

academic and enrichment

scholarships that enable our

students to a?end a school that

provides unique opportuni"es

— inside the classroom and out.

As Yeric G., an 8th

grader and

recipient of the John Birkelund

Scholarship, said in his remarks,

“I feel that the scholarship did

more than pay for part of my

tui"on. It pushed me to strive

for greatness.” What an

incredible night, and an

incredible opportunity to

celebrate the impact we all have

on so many lives here on our

corner on 112th

Street.

OLQA students, teachers, School Board members and friends enjoyed a night celebrating our school

and raising over $17,000 in scholarships.

Tyrone W., Alexsandar R., Tanasia M., and Josiah V.,

were the special performers of the night, guided by music

teacher Ms. Parker.

SPRING HIGHLIGHTS

This year’s Spring concert was Broadway themed and students certainly poured their hearts out on stage. Clockwise: Fourth and Fifth graders sing

to The Wiz, PreK 4 gives a heartfelt rendition of “A Hardknock Life” from Annie, Seventh and Eighth graders play air guitar to Grease, and PreK 3

soaks up the spotlight with The Lion King.

Left: Fourth and Fifth graders demonstrate what they have

learned in the Dancing Classrooms

program.

Right: The Orange Team shows

school spirit as they play games

during Field Day.

Students were proud to celebrate their accomplishments at the Kindergarten Moving-Up Ceremony.

Spring Field Trips

Clockwise: OLQA Patron and

School Board Member Tom Hill

takes 8th graders on an individual tour of the Frick Museum. • Second graders

study Impressionism at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art as

part of the Learning to Look program. • Students in the

After-School Chess Club

compete against Mount-Carmel Holy Rosary school. • First

graders take a trip to the Central Park Zoo. • PreK 4

students learn about life cycles at a community garden. • Sixth,

Seventh, and Eighth graders

learn what it takes to be news

anchors in a backstage tour of Eyewitness 7 News. • Third

graders listen to the New York

Philharmonic with front row

seats at Lincoln Center.

Career Day Speakers Impart Life Lessons

How many years of school did you

need to become a doctor? What

are the chemical compounds in

make-up? Does a lawyer need a

lawyer? These are a few of the

many ques"ons our inquisi"ve 6th

-

8th

graders asked during OLQA’s 2nd

Annual Career Day. Professionals in

a variety of fields ranging from real

estate to graphic design visited

OLQA that sunny May day and gave

students a morning to remember.

Students were wowed to hear from

OLQA School Board member

Herman Green’s wife, Carol

Johnson Green, a businesswoman

in media who has worked with a

range of celebri"es as a talent

producer for NPR, NBC, and BET to

name a few. “She was so energe"c

and so clearly loved her job. I want

to work in media too,” said Jayden

P., 7th

grader, a7er he heard Mrs.

Green speak. Students learned

about Chemical Engineering from

Mr. Louis Fava, and le7 the session

with a greater understanding about

the profession. Skylah D., a 6th

grader, also learned something

new that morning. “I didn’t know

that there were so many different

types of law, and that it’s not just

all arguing,” she said a7er leaving

corporate lawyer Ryan Pa?erson’s

session. Eighth grader Autumn was

impressed by Emily BaPsta, co-

founder of the ar"sanal foods site

www.hamptonslane.com saying,

“She started her own company

from scratch. I learned you have to

have pa"ence trying new things.”

Students in the 8th

grade

received an insider’s look into the

day to day workings of the

government a7er hearing from Will

Younger, Compliance Director for

Governor Andrew Cuomo. Eighth

grader Angel A., whose dream is to

have a seat in the oval office one

day, was overjoyed to learn that

Mr. Younger would come in to

speak about government. “I’ve

wanted to be President of the US

since I was in second grade,” he

said. Angel wasn’t the only student

who learned more about the

career field of his dreams. Shaila, a

6th

grader, was moved by how

Dr. Loughlin, a renowned pediatric

pulmonologist, encouraged her to

follow her own career aspira"ons.

“He encouraged me to reach my

goal of being a pediatrician,” she

said. “I wasn’t sure about it

because of all the years of school,

but he said I could do it.”

School Board members Brian and

Laura Elbogen shared with

students the stories behind their

career choices, Mr. Elbogen

being in finance and Mrs. El-

bogen in graphic design. Mr.

Elbogen

shared with students the

importance of teamwork,

saying, “In my career, my

coworkers and I have to rally

together and really work hard

to complete projects and

reach goals.” Mrs. Elbogen

recalled the first whispers of

her calling, sharing a picture of

herself in the first grade and

telling students how she

heeded that calling over the years

and worked not only in graphic

design, but also in fashion and

architecture. “She has had an

interes"ng path,” said Stephanie

A., 8th

grader, “she worked her

way up to have her own design

business.”

At the end of the day it wasn’t

just the details of the speaker’s

careers that students took away,

it was the life lessons these

speakers imparted. Real estate

broker and founder of Harlem

Proper"es, John McGuinness,

shared with students the

importance of maintaining a

posi"ve aPtude and believing in

yourself. Speaker a7er speaker

imparted wise words about being

kind to everyone you meet since

that connec"on might lead to

greater opportuni"es, and about

following a career that you care

about not just doing something

for financial reward. Tyrone, a

7th

grader, reflected upon the day

saying, “a career is not just a job,

it’s a decision about your life. I

learned that if you s"ck to your

goal, something will come out of

it.”

Students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades heard from a range of speakers, including pediatric pulmonologist

Dr. Gerald Loughlin, and talent producer Mrs. Carol Johnson Green.

A group of five OLQA 5th

graders

are enjoying working with their

new mentor, an ar"st and friend of

the school Mr. John van Rens. The

mentorship program began in late

March 2014 and will run for 3

years with the same handful of

students working directly with Mr.

van Rens. This program was

started by the Partnership for

Inner-City Educa"on’s Cee Greene

and Jill KaSa. They, with the

support of Principal Walsh, turned

to Mr. van Rens in an effort to

provide students with a role model

from outside the students’

immediate environment to

support them. Mr. van Rens, an

established and talented painter, is

familiar with working with

children, having taught religious

229 East 112th Street

New York, NY 10029

Our Lady Queen of Angels School

www.olqaeastharlem.org

educa"on to 7th

graders in his

neighborhood parish and is moved

by the opportunity.

As part of the mentorship group,

the students will conduct open

discussion about their lives,

interests, and opinions. Through the

mediums of short stories, psalms,

art, news ar"cles, pain"ng, music,

and sports ac"vi"es, Mr. van Rens

sparks conversa"on with the boys.

He reflects about the task ahead of

him saying, “I’ll be experiencing a

shared journey with the boys over

the next three years that allows

them to have discourse with the

greater world around them. I hope

they will learn to pause and

consider things and think, ‘wow,

that’s really interes"ng.’” Mr. van

Rens is no stranger to reflec"on,

having lived in a monastery for six

years of his life. It’s his hope that

he imparts a spirit of curiosity and

cri"cal thinking. “To me,” he says,

“part of being alive is seeing that

there are things in the world that

stop you and catch you. And that

they themselves are unique

individuals.”

Boys Mentorship Program Sparks Conversation

Alexis I., Bryan P., Ricardo Y., Jose K., and

Melvin C., are eager members of Mr. van Ren’s

boys’ group.