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Immaculate’s Commitment To The Future Moves Full STEAM Ahead
IMMACULATE’S COMMITMENT TO THE FUTURE MOVES FULL STEAM AHEAD
Technology is an integral part of the offers more than 12 math classes including advanced learning that takes place at Immaculate. algebra, geometry, trigonometry and calculus. For Our competitive Science, Technology the past two years, Immaculate High School has had Engineering, Arts and Mathematics several students achieve perfect scores on the math programs introduce challenging realportion of the SATs. world problems, foster student inquiry and encourage student creativity and problem-solving.
Engineering classes were added to the program two years ago, taught by math teacher and engineer Jeanine Antonios. She advised the Brave Engineers club, which in its first two years won the State Real World Design Challenge twice and placed third this year in the National Real World Design Challenge. With interest growing in the engineering fields, Immaculate added a new course for the 2020-21 school year, Civil Engineering and Architecture Honors, the third-level course complementing Introduction to Engineering and Principles of Engineering.
Computer science is another important area that Immaculate emphasizes. Students take Microsoft Suite and then can choose from courses such as Computer Science, IT Essentials and Introduction to Networks. Interested students can work towards CompTIA A+ certification. This certification validates understanding of the most common hardware and software technologies in business and certifies the skills necessary to support complex IT infrastructures, and it is a powerful credential that helps IT professionals worldwide ignite their IT career as it is globally recognized and accredited. A club advised by Immaculate’s IT Director Dave Cirella, the CyberPatriots. placed first in the Platinum Division in the Connecticut Regional National Youth Cyber Defense Competition sponsored by the National Cyber Education Program. This is the fourth time that the team won the State competition, having won the State title in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Immaculate High School provides a progressive Math Program that shows enhanced student results in many ways. For example, IHS students scored more than 100 points higher in the math portion of the SAT than the average school score in Connecticut. Immaculate Pictured Right: Sarra Darby ‘22, Carolyn Jandura ‘22, Nik Badinelli ‘22, Keelan Doherty ‘20, David Kallberg ‘20 and Ross Relator ‘20. Mrs. Antonios working with engineering students Alex Butera ‘20, Mike
BRAVE ENGINEERS
Malgieri ‘20 and David Kallberg ‘20
CYBER PATRIOTS
CNA
There are many IHS students who want to work in the medical field after college. To help them prepare for competitive college nursing programs, Immaculate began its Certified Nursing Assistant Program in the 2019-20 school year. Students in this program learn both in the classroom’s well-equipped lab using patient mannequins and in the field, earning 60 hours of handson clinical training at St. John Paul II Center, a long-term care home located a block from the school. Students work directly with residents, assisting them with daily tasks and developing important skills.
CNA students learn important patient care skills and how to help medical staff, including how to take and record vital signs including blood pressure, pulse and respiratory rates, assist patients with personal care and other needs including mobility assistance, and how to receive and give detailed reports to oncoming shifts and nurses and doctors. Once they complete the program, students can take the test to become certified and become eligible to work in the field immediately. This certification will make them more attractive to nursing schools, as well as allow them to work as a CNA while in college, providing income and invaluable experience. Bottom row L-R: Perry Ghosh ‘21, Aiden Doolabh ‘23, Andrew Riotto ’20, Lauren Manning ‘22, James Mok ‘20 Back row L-R: Dave Cirella, Kieran Doolabh ‘20, Anish Nanda ‘22, Ricky Lawlor ‘22, Logan McAloon ‘21, Kolbe Mosher ‘21, Ethan Goodman ‘21 and Steven Reese ‘22, James Moreau ‘22 (not pictured).
Pictured Above: Brigid Gage ‘20, Sandra Morquecho ‘20, Maya Velez ‘20, Eduarda Colares ‘20, Lauren Oskam ‘20, Abby Gleissner ‘20, Catherine Hanley ‘20, CNA Teacher, Genevieve Cummings, Emma Walker ‘21, Amanda Bittner ‘20, Valerie Quish ‘20.
JOSH DIBELLA ‘09
Immaculate’s diverse curriculum assists students with identifying their interests and preparing them for college programs and careers. To enhance its college-preparatory curriculum, Immaculate added new classes for the 2020-21 school year in engineering, digital arts, musical theater and composition, economics and accounting.
Josh DiBella, a 2009 graduate of Immaculate High School, will teach two new courses, Principles of Accounting Honors and a UCONN Early College Experience Principles of Macroeconomics course. His success as a student at Immaculate enabled him to receive a full merit scholarship to Western Connecticut State University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Economics. He then received his Master’s degree from the University of Miami and his teacher certification from the University of West Florida’s Educator Preparation Institute.
“The education that I received at IHS was second to none. While many students struggled to transition to the more rigorous demands of college coursework, I found that the teachers at IHS had prepared us so well that the adjustment was minimal. To this day, I use skills that I learned while I was a student at IHS,” Mr. Dibella said. “I consider many of my IHS teachers to be some of the best educators that I ever had. I enjoyed the small school environment and the family-like culture that Immaculate has always offered,” he noted. As a student at Immaculate, Mr. DiBella was involved in Debate Club, Spiritual Life and the World Language Honors Society.
Mr. DiBella came back to Immaculate to teach because he wanted to work at a place that shared his values and where he could live and practice his faith every day. “Once you leave Immaculate, you learn how truly special the culture is. I wanted to come back to be a part of sharing that culture with the next generation of Mustangs,” he said.
Under the caring eye of Marie Proverb, his World Languages teacher at Immaculate, Mr. DiBella completed all of his field work and student teaching in Mrs. Proverb’s Spanish 3, Spanish 4 Honors and Spanish 5 Honors classes. He taught Spanish 1 during the 2019-20 14 school year. In addition to his Spanish certification, Mr. DiBella has pursued certification in Business Education and Social Studies.
“We are always looking to offer new courses for our students and so we are initiating a Principles of Accounting Honors course to introduce the students to the language of business and a UCONN Early College Experience Principles of Macroeconomics course, a dual enrollment course where students are considered to be enrolled in a University of Connecticut course and therefore can receive college credits for taking the class. This course will cover how economies function and behave as whole and from a societal perspective,” Mr. DiBella explained.
Mr. DiBella also plans to teach the new course Spanish for the Professions. This course will provide students with material in Spanish that is related to careers in business, healthcare, law and law enforcement. “It will allow them to apply all of the grammatical Spanish that they have learned to real world scenarios. The goal of the course is to give them a unique advantage in their future academic and professional careers,” he said.
To enhance student opportunities in Immaculate’s STEAM Program, faculty challenge themselves to find innovative programming that will complement their classroom activities and teaching. This year two teachers received Innovation Grants from Foundations in Education for two unique programs. The Innovation Grants Program promotes innovation in Catholic school education by supporting a teacher’s creative project or initiative for the classroom or school.
Math and Engineering teacher Jeanine Antonios received a $3,000 grant to purchase a 3D printer for use in her Introduction to Engineering Design and Principles of Engineering courses and for the school’s award-winning Engineering Club. “The 3D printer will provide students an additional opportunity to develop college-level project skills and allow them access to a wider variety of projects that are meaningful for engineering students, the school’s cross-curricular STEAM programs and the local community,” said Mrs. Antonios.
Fine Arts teacher Leslie Quinn received a $5,700 grant for a Pop-Up Art Program. She will use the grant monies to develop a “pop-up” Leslie Quinn & Jeanine Antonios at the Foundations in Education awards ceremony.
display to exhibit student artwork both in and out of the school. “These modular pop-up towers will allow students to set up art displays at local events and venues,” Mrs. Quinn said. “Our AP Portfolio students will also use these as a mini-gallery to display and discuss their work and show real-time techniques,” she added.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2020 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. AMBER ROOM COLONNADE 1 STACEY ROAD DANBURY, CT
KEYNOTE SPEAKER Bishop Frank Caggiano
Mock Trial team members include: Nik Badinelli ‘22, Ryan McNerney ‘20, Ben Gasparrini ‘23, Allie Bellone ‘22, Gigi Amatulli ‘22, Chloe Bellone ‘22, Grace Garvey ‘21, Gabriella Amatulli ‘22, Ernst Koch ‘22, Gavin Zaletsky ‘20, Aiden Doolabh ‘23, Lucas Pereira ‘20, Zach Clark ‘21, Evan Walker ‘20, Calista Dudas ‘22, Meryl McKenna ‘21, Katerina Crowe ’22, Alyssa Campo ‘21 and Aimee Cirella ‘22 (not pictured).
The IHS Mock Trial team had a very successful year, interest in the law can begin researching their careers at Immaculate winning the first round of the Civics First Mock Trial High School, and why the Mock Trial team continues to grow Competition at the Danbury Courthouse and then and reach new heights. A father of two IHS students, Audrey ‘18 two matches at the second round of the Civics First and Stephen ‘20, Mr. Sedensky has been very active with other Mock Trial Competition at the Hartford Court House. Immaculate student programs over the years. In addition to coaching This allowed the team to move on to the elite “Round of Eight” for Mock Trial, he also filmed JV football games and lacrosse games eligibility for the State Competition -- the first time ever an IHS Mock over the years as his son played. The Sedenskys’ commitment to their Trial and made it to this level. children’s education shows why parental involvement is key to both students’ and Immaculate’s success. The team is advised by Principal Wendy Neil, Social Studies Teacher Chris Houser, State’s Attorney Stephen Sedensky, Attorney Kelly “My wife Nancy and I have been so pleased with IHS and its work and Masi, Attorney Mary-Caitlin Harding and Alumni Mentor Frankie influence on our children. We enjoyed going to football, basketball, Chieffalo ‘19. soccer and lacrosse games over the years. I will truly miss having children at the school,” Mr. Sedensky said. A graduate of a Catholic “The Mock Trial team provides students interested in trial law an high school himself, he and his children are testaments to the success opportunity to act as trial lawyers and witnesses. It teaches students a Catholic education guarantees. about our legal system and what goes on in the real world when there is a conflict, either civil or criminal, and how people resort to the courts for justice rather than taking the law into their own hands,” said Mr. Sedensky, a State’s Attorney for the Office of the State’s Attorney, Judicial District of Danbury.
Mr. Sedensky is an important reason why students who have an
For six years you have inspired us to seek the truth and value justice. The hundreds of hours you have dedicated to sharing your expertise have led us to be effective critical thinkers who are able to articulate with confidence. You have taught us to be compassionate and, for that, we are blessed.
FAITH, SERVICE, LEGACY
Immaculate educates students “in the Roman Catholic tradition” which features a call to serve others in our school, our community and the world. The Key Club, initiated in 1996 by Mrs. Nanci Stockmann, Social Studies teacher, teaches students how to lead and to stand for what’s right through service and volunteerism.
Rising seniors who have a good school record may apply for membership which begins their senior year. As members, they agree to be positive role models wherever they are - both within and beyond the school.
The students run multiple projects in support of various non-profit organizations and programs. Some projects take them outside of the school to tutor elementary school children, help run library book sales, rake leaves for senior citizens and provide Thanksgiving baskets for families. For others they call upon the Immaculate community to assist in collecting needed items like breakfast cereal, books or household supplies and in raising funds for selected non-profits. They frequently work in partnership with the school’s Campus Ministry or National Honor Society.
The impact of leading these projects on the students is inspiring. Mrs. Stockmann has observed that once a student has volunteered for one project, that person comes back and wants to help with something else. Other students who see what Key Club is doing ask if they can assist even if they are not members. “They see the joy in helping others,” she said. “Students often come back and say, ‘I felt so good helping out. It makes me feel that I am needed and that I have made an impact on someone else.’” Students carry their formative Key Club experience with them beyond their high school years. “Many of my former students have continued to volunteer at their college campuses. Some have said that one of the reasons they chose their college was because there was a deep sense of community service and volunteer opportunities there. As adults in the community, these former members continue to volunteer. It becomes a life-long commitment to helping others,” Mrs. Stockmann noted.
A Key Club alumna brought her experience full circle when she asked current members to help raise funds in support of Smile Train, where she works. The club sponsored a $5 Casual Day and raised enough money to pay the costs of eight corrective surgeries for children born with cleft palates.
Mrs. Stockmann believes that she has a responsibility to teach students to love and respect each other in a Catholic community, and she does this by being encouraging, compassionate and kind in her interactions with students. The fruit of living and sharing her faith can be seen in the vibrancy of the Key Club she advises and in the enduring relationships she forms with her students. She keeps in touch with many of her former students, exchanging Christmas cards, attending graduations, weddings and baptisms and meeting for lunch. She sees firsthand how these individuals continue to do good in their communities, extending a legacy begun during their Immaculate High School experience.
