PRESTON PARENT BULLETIN
December 2016
Best wishes for a wonderful Christmas
and for the gift of peace in the New Year!
The joy of Christmas radiates from the manger
in
Bethlehem
where, over two
thousand
years
ago, the newborn
Jesus lay in the
loving embrace of
his parents. This
image calls to
mind the sacred
bonds of family
and the hopes of all
parents to protect
and nurture their children into full life. As Jesus
matured, the struggles of his parents’ hopes for
him, his own sense of mission, the prejudices
and injustices that surrounded his culture, and
his inevitable sacrifice, likewise remind us of the
challenges that all face in any generation or
culture. Sometimes, we think that things have
never been this bad or that our children are faced
with
struggles
that
previous
generations did not experience.
Surely, today’s challenges are
different, but are they really worse?
And, do not parents in every
generation find the way to nurture
their children through contemporary
issues, and that by LOVE. The
essential Joy of Christmas is surely
Love, the abiding love of God and
the strength that God’s love gives to
parents so that they may guide their
children through thick and thin with LOVE. In
giving life, parents also receive life, and that is
surely the energy of love. And so, we wish for
you this Christmas, the joy, the love, the
strength, and the peace that are steady gifts from
God which are ever present in open hearts
Q2 Interim Reports will be available to students and parents on NetClassroom
at the end of the day on December 21st!
As the winter approaches we wanted to remind you that if the school has a delayed
opening or weather-related closing, you will be notified by the IRIS Alert System.
If bad weather occurs during the school day, we will again notify you via IRIS of
any changes in dismissal times. Please make sure we have your up-to-date contact
information so that you receive emergency information in a timely fashion.
PLEASE NOTE THIS CALENDAR CHANGE:
Once again, through the generosity of our families and community, our students
brought in over 8,800 lbs. of food for the poor, and because of this very successful
food drive, the students have been rewarded with a day off.
Preston High School will be CLOSED on Monday, February 6th!
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Note from Lynsey Tortorella, Director of Guidance,
to Senior Parents/Guardians:
All seniors with a January 1st deadline or that wanted materials sent to schools before Christmas break,
were instructed to notify their counselor by November 28th. Please review the packet of Preston’s
application procedures and deadlines that was given out at Senior Parent Night on September 29th, and
distributed in your daughter’s guidance groups.
Many scholarships are available for Seniors. The girls have been told in their Guidance groups about
scholarships provided by individual colleges. They have also been instructed to refer to the Naviance
website. There you will find under the “Colleges” tab a Scholarships & Money section (scroll to bottom
of the page), as well as many links listed for scholarships offered by companies, agencies, etc. Please
encourage your daughter to research and apply for this money. Remember: “You have to be in it, to win
it.”
Please remember that the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and CSS profile became
available October 1, 2016. We have reminded the girls that because each college has strict filing dates for
the FAFSA and CSS profile (only certain private schools accept the CSS profile) to please check the
college’s website or contact their admissions office. For a list of colleges that accept the CSS profile,
please visit css.collegeboard.org. The FAFSA can be accessed at https://fafsa.ed.gov/
To Sophomore and Junior Parents/Guardians:
All students who took the October PSAT have access to their scores online through their College Board
accounts and have also received their paper score reports from their counselor. To assist you in
understanding the report, please go to https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat10/scores/student-score-reports
to watch a short video.
Students can log onto studentscores.collegeboard.org to see the questions and the answer explanations
from the test. They can also connect to free SAT practice through Khan Academy at satpractice.org,
where they can access online practice SAT tests or download paper versions. We hope this will be helpful
to you.
Parent Auxiliary
Thank you to all of our parents who helped at our Annual Flea Market. You helped us raise close to
$4,000! A big thank you for making the 2016 Super Raffle a HUGE success! So many of you
assisted by completing your supper raffle tickets and retuning them and also by selling extra tickets.
Go fundraising Parent Panthers! The Super Raffle is our largest fundraiser and your support is so
important! Without further delay we are pleased to announce the 2016 Super Raffle winners ….
1st prize – Mr. & Mrs. Carrasquillo $5,000
Seller –Jailene Carrasquillo $50
2nd prize – Mr. & Mrs. Ljuljurovic $2,500
Seller Diana Ljuljurovic $50
4th prize – Mr. & Mrs. Capozzoli $500
Angelina Capozzoli $50
5th prize – Mr. & Mrs. Siskos … $250
Marina & Panayiota Siskos $50
3rd prize -Ms. Lilliana Hendrickson $1,000
Seller Dominica Hendrickson $50
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CONGRATULATIONS!!
All of us in the Advancement Office would like to thank you for all you do to assist our efforts!
Thanks for volunteering your time and for attending our events!
2017 is chock full of many more exciting events, so please SAVE THESE DATES:
Saturday, March 4th – Mother/Daughter Brunch at the Marina Del Rey
Saturday, April 29th – Preston High School Card Party at Preston High School
Tuesday, May 2nd – 9th Annual Golf Classic at Westchester Hills Golf Course
Saturday, May 20th – Alumnae Reunion @ PHS for class years ending in 2’s and 7’s
Have a very Merry and Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
…Sophomore Alisha Sukhram who has been selected as Preston’s representative to the Hugh O’Brian
Youth Leadership Program (HOBY). The mission of HOBY is to recognize and develop leadership
potential in high school sophomores. As our rep, Alisha will be invited to attend a three-day leadership
workshop in the Spring where she and other student leaders from schools throughout the country will
meet distinguished leaders in business, government, education, and the professions. HOBY was founded
by the late actor Hugh O’Brian (probably best known for his Wyatt Earp TV role) who was inspired back
in the 1950s by a visit to Dr. Albert Schweitzer in Africa where he witnessed a person completely
dedicated to helping others and to world peace. At the conclusion of their visit, Nobel prize winner
Schweitzer asked O’Brian what he would do with what he had learned during the visit. That challenge to
O’Brian sent him on his own mission to educate young leaders to enable them to make a difference in the
world. This gave birth to the HOBY program. The leadership seminars are designed to prepare our
country’s high school sophomores to become effective, ethical leaders in their home, schools, workplace
and community. While the program is international in scope, the student seminars are located in the
particular state and region where the students attend school, so Alisha will be participating in a New York
seminar.
…the nine Seniors who were inducted into the PHS chapter of the National Honor Society on Thursday,
December 15, 2016. A ceremony was held in the evening, where the NHS officers spoke about the 4
tenets of scholarship, leadership, service, and character, and Mrs. Cynthia Chambers congratulated the
young women and their families on this wonderful achievement on behalf of administration. Yanette
Rosario, PHS Class of 2014, took time away from preparing for finals at Columbia University to be the
keynote speaker, and the ceremony was followed by a reception with light refreshments.
… the Compassion Connection club who spearheaded the food drive. Preston High School, founded by
the Sisters of Divine Compassion, holds as its mission to change the world for the better through
compassion. This was most notably seen in the way the students rallied in this year’s annual food drive.
In a course of six weeks, the student body and faculty donated a record-breaking 8823 pounds of healthy
non-perishable food. And, according to Preston senior Annamaria Evers, this community outreach project
was not done with a sense of requirement. "We love Food Drives! Food Drives are actually fun at
Preston. I’m happy to be part of it."
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The drive was organized by Preston’s community outreach club, Compassion Connection. Angelique
Rodriguez, Compassion Connection’s co-president said that “organizing the food drive went beyond a
school project. The spirit of compassion was palpable throughout the school during the food drive.” It
was not uncommon throughout the months of October and November to see students walking into school
with bags of canned food, cases of Progresso soups, or 20 lb bags of rice. These were organized and
stored in the school’s make-shift pantry on the stage throughout the drive. In the last week before
Thanksgiving, pick-up trucks, a small bus, and SUVs were loaded up by assembly lines of students, and
the food was delivered in order to do good in communities that need it most.
The student body - 496 strong, joined by the faculty and staff, cheerfully donated 4.4 tons of food to
several Bronx sites, namely Mercy Center, St. Raymond’s, Our Lady of Assumption and to the Divine
Compassion Food Pantry in Dover Plains, NY. According to Suzanne O’Hearn, the coordinator of the
Dover Plains Pantry, Preston’s annually donated 2000 pounds of food are “a godsend. After the holiday
donations slow down, [Preston’s] donation gets the pantry through the slow time.”
Preston students realize that hunger is an ongoing problem and continue to generously donate their loose
change weekly during Friday lunchtime collections, which they call “Food Fest Fridays.” All throughout
the year, monies collected this way are donated to organizations that assist feeding the less fortunate in
NY City (City Harvest, Food Bank for NYC, City Meals, etc.).
Winner of highest points in school: 1st place, Fr 7 (Wnuk); 2nd place, SO3 (Vega); 3rd place, SO2
(Dekajlo); 4th place, FR4 (McEvoy); and 5th place SO6 (Dr. King).
A huge thank you to all families who donated. We helped feed a lot of people this year.
…The Varsity and Junior Varsity basketball teams are showing strong
teamwork at the start of the season. Here’s wishing both teams the stamina and
enthusiasm to successfully complete their long competitive seasons.
Recent Events
Parent Teacher Conference night, held on
November 19th, provided parents/guardians the
opportunity to speak with all their daughters’
teachers on the same evening. If you were not
able to speak with one of your daughter’s
teachers and would still like to do so, please call
or e-mail the teacher to schedule a date and time.
You will find each teacher’s email address and
voicemail extension on our website on the
Academics page / academic departments. Then
select a specific department, and click on “read
more.” That sounds more complicated than it is!
Each year, the Juniors in the Preston Scholars
Program are challenged to” think global and act
local” while working in their local communities
and raising awareness in the Preston
Community. Students spend 30 hours onsite
working with a variety of organizations,
including neighborhood grammar schools,
Providence Rest Nursing Home, PCC’s Big
Sister/Little Sister program, and their tutoring
program. In addition to their time out in the
community, they are meeting with each other to
discuss how their experiences have helped them
to better understand the needs of others and how
to help educate the Preston community about the
need for change in the world. The Scholars will
be hosting a video presentation, posting flyers
around the school, making announcements over
the PA, and running slides on our televisions to
help educate the community about how often the
voices of the young and the elderly are not
heard, and how we can help advocate for them
and teach them to advocate for themselves, as
well.
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On Saturday, December 3rd, Preston’s
Academic Quiz Bowl Team traveled to
Columbia University to compete against
some of the best schools in New York, New
Jersey, and Massachusetts. Preston can take
pride in the fact that again it was the only all
girl’s school at the competition. The team
featured
freshman
Lauren
Romeo,
sophomores Marisa Garvin, Katerine Sukaj,
and Alisha Sukhram, with juniors Alyssa
Genaro and Jasmine Salem. In the five
round preliminary part of the competition
Preston defeated Trinity High School and
was narrowly defeated after rallying from a
large halftime deficit against both Mountain
Lakes and Tenafly. The other two
preliminary matches saw Preston running up
against power houses Bergen Academies
and East Brunswick and our Panthers were
simply overmatched in those two games. In
the consolation playoff rounds Preston had
some bad luck in round six against
Mountain Lakes and in round seven, despite
some inspired play by sophomore Alisha
Sukhram, were defeated by Bridgewater
Raritan. This is really only the second year
of serious quiz bowl competition for Preston
and is a building year after losing last year’s
top scorer, valedictorian, and current
Harvard University freshman, Adonica
McCray. However, two team members from
last year, juniors Jasmine Salem and Alyssa
Genaro have stepped up their games, and
Preston is fortunate to have a large number
of talented underclassmen with freshman
Lauren Romeo, and sophomores Marisa
Garvin, Katerine Sukaj, and Alisha
Sukhram. This quiz bowl team has grown
from a core group of 5-6 last year to a core
group of 10-12 this year. The team practices
every Thursday and members show a lot of
enthusiasm, have a lot of fun, and keep on
improving, so the team has a promising
future
with
so
many
talented
underclasswomen participating.
In early December the Italian Club made 15
packages of new hats, gloves, socks, undershirts,
soaps, shampoos, lotions and candy bags and
included handwritten inspirational Christmas
messages in Italian and in English. These
packages were delivered to LAMP Ministries.
They will be given to men, women, and children
in shelters this Christmas.
On Friday, December 9th, the Class of 2020 was
treated to a Christmas breakfast hosted by their
Homeroom mentors and Junior Ambassadors.
The students were treated to doughnuts and juice
and joined in singing Christmas carols in the
cafeteria. It was a welcome and festive break in
the middle of a busy day that brought some
Christmas cheer to our newest members, their
Junior guides and homeroom mentors.
On December 12, 2016, the Preston community
came together to celebrate United Nations
Human Rights Day. This year’s theme, “Stand
up for someone's rights today”, sought to
encourage, support and amplify what we do in
our everyday lives to defend human rights.
Under the idea that we as a community can take
simple everyday actions for greater freedoms,
stronger respect and more compassion, over a
quarter of the student body pledged via a
“selfie” photo booth and the social media
campaign #Standup4humanrights: “I will respect
your rights regardless of who you are. I will
uphold your rights even when I disagree with
you. When anyone's human rights are denied,
everyone's rights are undermined, so I will
STAND UP. I will raise my voice. I will take
action. I will use my rights to stand up for your
rights”. Senior Ava Makris, under the guidance
of Dr. Nikolaus Unger of the History
Department, created and broadcast a schoolwide multimedia video presentation highlighting
a range of Human Rights issues around the
world important to the Preston student body,
especially equal social and economic rights for
women, that included a photo slideshow with all
the “selfie” pledges
The Class of 2016 continued a long-standing
Preston tradition by gathering for their Senior
Luncheon on Wednesday, December 14th at the
Marina del Rey. Senior Class President Ashley
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Puig and Class Treasurer Pauline Djonovic led
their classmates in prayer, welcomed the guests
and thanked their mentors. The young ladies
then proceeded to dance the afternoon away.
Students enjoyed a bountiful buffet lunch before
crowding the dance floor and taking countless
photos of themselves and their friends. The
Senior Luncheon is the first of several senior
year social events on the road to graduation.
Rehearsals for Preston High School’s
production of The Adams Family will
commence in January. The Preston Players
will perform this musical March 30th – April
1st at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday April 2nd at 2:00
p.m. Tickets are $15. Group rates are
available. For tickets, please leave a
message at the box office (718) 863-9134
x132.
Drivers Education: The PAS Auto School Spring Session’s orientation date will be Thursday,
January 19th at 3:30 p.m. in Room 102. The cost of the program is $550 and classes commence
the week of February 6, 2017. Students must have their Learner’s Permit by February 3, 2017,
in order to participate in the course.
Looking Ahead
Wednesday, December 21
2nd Qtr Interim Reports are available via Netclassroom at the end of day
Thursday, December 22
1:16pm Early Dismissal
Christmas / New Year Holiday
December 23 – January 2
Classes Resume on Tuesday, January 3
Monday, January 3
Tuesday, January 5
Friday, January 6
Classes Resume
Reminder that all service time cards are due 01/06—NO EXCEPTIONS!!
Senior Class / Young Alumnae Brunch
Sunday, January 8
Feast of the Epiphany
Service Time Cards due – No Exceptions!
Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord
Tuesday, January 10
Parent Auxiliary Meeting, 6:30pm
Wednesday, January 11
Admission Decision Letters sent out via mail
Friday, January 13
1:16pm Early Dismissal- Grade Level Faculty meeting
Monday, January 16
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday – No classes in Session
Tuesday, January 18
Scholars Reception, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm, café
Thursday, January 19
Admissions Information Night, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Friday, January 20
End of Second Quarter
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Friday, January 27
Mother Mary Veronica Applications Due
January 23-27
Regents and School Exams.
No Co-Curricular/Sports/Musical activities permitted between 1/21 -1/26
Junior Advisement Day, 8am (required for Juniors) No school for other
grades
Herff Jones 3rd Ring Payment due
Jr Ring Night Photos taken
Junior Parent Meeting, re: Senior Electives, 7:00pm
January 30
NOTE: Our annual Lock-In will be held on February 17-18, 2017.
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