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On Thursday, October 29^th, 2009, Dr. Deborah A. Egan, Principal of Saint Dominic Academy, was the Keynote Speaker at the First Induction Ceremony of the Our Lady of Libera Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society at Our Lady of Libera School in West New York, New Jersey.

Dr. Egan was invited by Miss Ana Maria Castaneda, the principal of Our Lady of Libera, to speak to the students about the National Junior Honor Society ideals of character, scholarship, leadership, service and citizenship.

The school inducted six Junior Honor Society Officers as well as twenty-three members from grades six through eight, while OLL administration, faculty, staff, parents and students proudly looked on.  After the ceremony, Dr. Egan celebrated with the community at a small reception.

 Congratulations to SDA English teacher, Mrs. Barbara Santoro, and her husband, Neil, on the birth of their daughter, Emerson Elizabeth Kimball. Emerson was born at 8:22PM on September 17th, 2009. She weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce!

Congratulations to Venessa Nieves Polito, alumna and former teacher at SDA, and her husband, Anthony, on the birth of their daughter, Nina Lynn Polito. Nina was born on September 2nd, 2009 at 10:40 am. She weighed 6 pounds, 4 ounces and was 18 inches long. We hope to see you at SDA someday, Nina!

Congratulations to Mr. Tubera who is a newly elected officer of the Knights of Columbus Council #475. He has been elected as their Recorder, and will be installed at their celebratory luncheon on Sunday, September 27th.

Furthermore, in summer 2009 Mr. Tubera completed International Baccalaureate Teacher Training at the United Nations International School in New York July 7,8 & 9 in Math Studies - Level 2 AND 35 contact hours in conjuction with the Advanced Placement Teacher Institute in Calculus AB presented August 3-7 at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey.

 SDA Teacher To Receive Honors
At the end of school year 2009 the Archdiocese of Newark invited every school to submit the names of full-time school personnel who retired in June after 25 or more years of service to education within the Archdiocese of Newark. Our own Sylvia Zaballero was among the distinguished list. The Archdiocesan Schools' Office honored Sylvia publicly for her dedication and commitment to Catholic education. This recognition took place at the Opening of Schools' Mass at the Basilica Cathedral of the Sacred Heart on October 4th.

SDA Students join La Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica

On May 13th, 2009 SDA inducted 12 upperclasswomen into our new Spanish Honor Society, La Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica. This is a national honor society and our chapter is named, La Castellana. The 12 young women inducted were:

Rebecca Almeida (12)
Nicole Cifuentes (12)
Andrea Lopez (12)
Caitlin Pereiras (12)
Anakaren Santana (12)
Gabrielle Sepulveda (12)
Daniela DeBari (11)
Stephanie Gonzalez (11)
Jade Loh (11)
Nichole Mendez (11)
Erica Rolek (11)
Francine Samson (11)

 There was a beautiful ceremony of poetry, oaths, flowers and candles, and then administration, faculty, students and parents enjoyed light Spanish-inspired refreshments.

SDA Students win big at foreign language poetry recitation contest!

 Each year students attend the Orlando Saa Foreign Language Poetry Recitation Contest at William Paterson University. This year 66 schools competed. We had 10 students in the competition:

Latin Beginner: Naiya Patel
Latin Intermediate: Myralisa Samedy
Spanish Beginner: Karina Curcio
Spanish Intermediate: Carolyn Vu
Spanish Advanced: Daniela DeBari
Spanish Native: Meryger Taveras
French Beginner: Renee Antonio
French Intermediate: Michelle Ibarra
French Advanced: Olivia Maiorano
French Native: Ashley Delpeche

We took home three awards! We won Honorable Mention in French Native, Placed 2nd in Spanish Advanced and took 2nd Place in Latin Beginner.

SDA in the News

Operation Ondoy Fundraiser:  Sponsored by St. Dominic Academy’s Asian Interests Club

Operation Ondoy is a fundraiser sponsored by the moderator of SDA’s Asian Interests Club, Mrs. Sue Lingat, and her dedicated club members to help raise money for families in the Philippines who have been displaced by Typhoon Ondoy, which hit the Philippines in September 2009.  Typhoon Ondoy caused the biggest flooding tragedy in that country in over forty years.

When:  Friday, November 20^th, 2009

Time:  6:00 – 10:00 PM

Where:  St. Aedan’s Auditorium, 41 Tuers Avenue, Jersey City, New Jersey (Parking will be available.)

Tickets:  $10 for students, $20 for adults (Students are trying to sell over 300 tickets.)

This event is open to all families and friends who are willing to help the cause.  There will be a night of line dancing and special performances by the local teen talents:  Riana Balahadia, Miracle Project, James Solano, and more.  There will be raffles for various prizes, and food and refreshments will  also be provided.

All proceeds from the event will be sent to ABS-CBN, a television station in the Philippines, who will, in turn, allocate the money towards relief projects for Typhoon Ondoy victims.

IB Students Receive Diplomas

The first group of young women from the class of 2009 to have completed the IB Diploma Program will be receiving their Diplomas/Certificates on November 25^th at 5PM in ELAN.  IB Students and their parents(s)/guardian(s) are cordially invited to attend the ceremony.  Light refreshments will follow the event.  For more information, contact Cathy Jo Lombardi at clombardi@stdominicacad.com or 201-434-5938.

Alumnae Reunion

All Alumnae from the years 2000-2009 are cordially invited to attend the annual SDA Homecoming.  Your $5 donation entitles you to a raffle ticket for an SDA Basket and refreshments (ID required for alcoholic beverages).  For more information, contact Kate Lillis Magnus at klillis@stdominicacad.com or 201-434-5938, Ex. 42.

 AP Scholars Recognized
Two students from Saint Dominic Academy Class of 2009 have earned AP Scholar Awards in recognition of their exceptional achievement on AP Exams.
The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program^® (AP^®) provides motivated and academically prepared students with the opportunity to take rigorous college-level courses while still in high school, and to earn college credit, advanced placement, or both for successful performance on the AP Exams. About 18 percent of the 1.6 millionstudents worldwide who took AP Exams performed at a sufficiently high level to also earn an AP Scholar Award. The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on students’ performance on AP Exams.

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