Remembering the past
Celebrating the present
Planning for the future at St. Patrick School

Students, parents and faculty began the 2012-2013 School Year on Wednesday, September 5th in Bruschi Auditorium with greetings and smiles to those returning and a warm welcome to those new to our school community. The beginning of the new school year is always filled with excitement and anticipation. We begin, this school year, the celebration of our 150th Anniversary of providing excellence in Catholic education.

The world of today is vastly different from the world of 1863, the year in which St. Patrick School was founded to educate the children of Irish immigrants who settled in what is now called Bay Ridge. Father John Tanzer, the pastor, wished to start a school, and despite the upheaval in society caused by the Civil War, opened St. Patrick School in a small two story building located on 95th Street. One constant over the past 150 years is that St. Patrick School has consistently and continually provided an outstanding academic program that nurtures our students’ spiritual and emotional growth.

This year’s school wide interdisciplinary project is entitled “1863”. Each grade will explore a social, political, economic, cultural or religious aspect of the year in which our school was founded. Our students will make use of our updated computers equipped with Windows 7 and our SMARTBoards for research and presentation of their contributions to the project.

Our faculty members carry on the tradition of the Dominican Sisters, who for over 100 years, served as teachers and spiritual models for the children of St. Patrick School. We continue to pass on the Dominican charism of truth, prayer, study, common life, mission and praise. We proudly announce the expansion of our Fifth Grade Enrichment Program, now called the Dominican Scholars Program, to include the study of Latin.

All of us who have been a part of the St. Patrick School community over the past 150 years share a bond that transcends time. Our faculty members, like our predecessors, continue to dedicate themselves to excellence in Catholic education. Our parents continue to be active participants in the education of their children. Our students continue, like our alumni numbering in the thousands, to strive to achieve their goals and become adults who will make a difference in the world of the future.