Page 2 - The Paduan: Winter 2020

President’s Message
The coronavirus has taken us all into strange and challenging situations we never imagined existing outside of science-fiction. School activities and traditions, from graduation and class work to athletics and beyond, were transformed. The last year led educators to unleash their creative energy and discover ways to educate despite significant handicaps, and Padua Franciscan pulled together and tackled the challenge with success.
It is not easy to manage the compliance of 760 students and 75 faculty with the many restrictions placed upon us to maintain a happy, healthy, and holy environment for all.
Testing personal temperatures, sanitizing personal spaces, social distancing, virtual or in-person classes, etc. were all part of this bizarre happening. Prayer, Community and Service represent the three main values we Bruins are called to live daily, and we mobilized all three in solving our dilemma. When our Padua community pulls together there is nothing we cannot accomplish.
This virus disrupted our campus life, but most of all, it affected our students. We reach out to them as they need our community to make sense of it all. It’s not easy for a student to weave in and out of schedules, to learn virtually, to
stay apart from their friends, to suddenly have to live in an adult world that is so different from their own high school experiences. We must do our best to reach out from within our Bruin community to give all the support and emotional assistance our students require these days. I have all the faith in the world that, together, we can walk with our students through these major disruptions and make a positive difference in their lives.
I must thank our parents for entrusting their children to our faculty and staff to instill the values we espouse here at Padua. We will continue our best to educate and give your children the values and tools that will assure them of a successful future.
Peace and all that is good,
Fr. Allan DaCorte, ofm President of Padua
Cover Photograph:
Photo by Edited by
Board of Trustees
Fr. Allan DaCorte, ofm
President
Mr. Nick Iafigliola
Chairperson
Mrs. Heather (Ross) Scaglione ’89
Vice Chairperson
Mr. Dana Banyasz ’04 Mr. Michael Biehl ’74
Fr. Johnpaul Cafiero, ofm Mr. John Chmura ’99
Mr. James Climer
School Leadership
Fr. Allan DaCorte, ofm
President
David Stec ’86
Principal
Br. Tom Carroll, ofm
Vice Principal
Robert DiRocco
Fr. John Doctor, ofm
Fr. John Dombrowski, ofm Br. Tom Eaton, ofm
Mr. James Gaydosh ’78 Mr. Jeff Hall
Mr. Dennis Juliani ’68
Mr. David Knowles ’65 Mrs. Mary Ann Kocurko Mr. Gerald Koler ’86
Mr. Wayne Ligato ’68
Mr. Joseph Schuerger
Elizabeth Oles Smith
Assistant Principal of Young Women
Stephen Suding
VP of Mission & Ministry
Dcn. Matthew Harley, Sr.
Director of Campus Ministry
Andrew Shuman ’95
Dr. Richard So ’89
Mrs. Linda Wasco
Mr. Martin Zanotti ’70
Mrs. Mary Jane (Dworznik) Zarach ’88 Mr. Stephen Suding
Secretary of the Board
Mrs. Ann-Marie (Lehman) DiPaolo ’86
Treasurer
Mr. David Stec ’86
Principal
Kevin Leigh ’89
Athletic Director
Ann Marie (Parente) Frattare ’94
Director of Enrollment
Ann-Marie (Lehman) DiPaolo ’86
Vice President of Finance
Rachel (Teron) DeGirolamo ’02
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Assistant Principal of Young Men
Director of Counseling Services
Director of Communication & PR