Class of 2006 Graduation
After hurdling post-Katrina challenges and obstacles in the 2005-2006 school year, OLA's seniors were triumphant. OLA graduated 45 seniors on May 27th in Our Lady of the Gulf Church in Bay St. Louis. More news about the Class of 2006 is below.
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Star Student, Laura Kergosien
Seniors Graduate on May 27, 2006
Most Rev. Bishop Thomas J. Rodi was the principal celebrant of the Liturgy assisted by Father Michael Tracey, pastor of OLG, and priests from the neighboring parishes. Margaret Erin Casey presented the Salutatory Address, and Molly Margaret Hadden delivered the Valedictory Address. Members of the Monsignor Martin Maloney National Honor Society wore blue stoles with their white graduation gowns. The Class of 2006 received their diplomas from Bishop Thomas Rodi and Sister Jackie Howard, OLA Principal, following the Liturgy. The OLA 2006 Graduates are:
Kristen Abraham
Laura Adam
Annette Allard
Katherine Balentine
Lindsay Benvenutti
Reed Bourgeois
Chelsea Bradford
Lori Brannin
(Margaret) Erin Casey
Whitney Church
Collette Cook
Melissa Cotter
Rachel Cuevas
Lakasia Ducksworth
Meghan Flynt
Adrienne Gannon
Andrea Giardino
Samantha Greer
Katherine Guichet
Caroline Haas, Leigh Haas
(Molly) Margaret Hadden
Aubrey Hamm
Nicole Hoda
Lindsey Keel
Laura Kergosien
Kristen Ladner, Virginia Lewis
Mary Li
Megan Mauroner
Mallory Murphy
Colleen O'Brien
Ashley Parnell
Kathryn Powell
Alyse Prieur,
Amanda Pucheu
Margaret Rafferty
Caroline Randolph
Lauren Renz
Megan Robinson
Kaylee Schmitt,
Emily Stechmann
Jordyn Stefano
Ruth Tucker
Rebecca Werner
After the distribution of diplomas, five seniors were named as recipients of the following OLA Awards: (1) The Mary Patricia Schmidt Character Cup, (2) the Principal's Cup, (3) the American Legion Award, (4) the Chamber of Commerce Award, and (5) the Achievement Award. Prior to graduation, members of the Class of 2006 were inducted into the OLA Alumnae Association and received Academic Awards, Scholarship Certificates, and Participation Awards in clubs and organizations. Students are shown below before school (left), during the school day (center), and enthusiastically participating in science lab (right). May 2006 News ATHLETICS Congratulations to the OLA Track Team and Coach Harry Hull, District Champions, 2006 and Regional Champions, 2006. There were many, many winners; too many to mention. However, the first place winners include: Leah
Seal -- 400 m dash, first in district
Megan Terrell, first place in ladies singles, Henderson Hewes, first place in gentleman's singles, Amanda Meyers and Victoria Rafferty, first place in ladies doubles For more OLA and St. Stanislaus sports news, go to www.rockachaw.com LATIN SCHOLARS
Congratulations to Sister Elisa and her Latin students. OLA/SSC had
five
Latin I: NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY OFFICERS
Several months ago, the National Honor Society members elected their
officers NHS Officers: President Katherine Guichet, Vice-President Rachel Cuevas, Secretary Kristen Abraham, and Treasurer Megan Robinson NJHS Officers: President Amelia Simpson, Vice President Sarah Bacot, Secretary Audra Puffer, and Treasurer: Megan Chevis STAR STUDENT It is my pleasure to announce Laura Kergosien the 2006 OLA Star Student. She earned this honor by having the highest ACT score in the senior class. She has chosen Steve Flannery as her Star Teacher. Congratulations, Laura and Mr. Flannery! VALEDICTORIAN AND SALUTATORIAN It is also my pleasure to announce that Margaret Hadden is Valedictorian of the class of 2006 and Erin Casey is the Salutatorian. Margaret and Erin had the highest GPA for credit courses taken in grades 8 through the third quarter of the senior year. They also met the criteria of being in attendance at OLA for their entire sophomore through senior years and have completed four credits of math and science. NATIONAL MERIT FINALISTS Samantha Goodfellow, Colleen O'Brien, and Laura Kergosien are National Merit Finalists (among 12,000 students selected nationally). Laura Kergosien is a National Merit Scholar (among 2000 students selected nationally) and winner of a National Merit Scholarship. Samantha and Colleen are receiving other scholarships to the universities they applied to based on their Finalist standing. Congratuations, girls! We are very proud of you! OTHER RECOGNITIONS Amy Gemelli was selected to attend Governor's School this summer. Victoria Romano was selected to attend the Lott Leadership Institute this summer. ALUMNAE NEWS
Since we have lost all alumnae records, news of our graduates now
seems even more important to us. I saw Steve Kohl the other day and
he said that Karen ( an OLA graduate somewhere in the 1990s) has
finished her BA and her MA degrees in Computer Science at MIT and
will finish her PhD at Tulane this summer. Congratulations, Karen!
Class of '95 alumna, Miranda Grass Hendrix and her husband Thad, welcomed their first baby, Helen Boyce Hendrix, to the world on Easter Sunday, April 16, 2006. Baby Helen weighed 9 lbs and was 21 inches long. Congratulations to the Hendrix family! Classmates and friends can reach Miranda at (251) 661-1995. < Note from the webmaster: If alumnae or their families want to share news or accomplishments for the website, please send it by email to: info@ourladyacademy.com> March 22,2006 Our Lady Academy has lots of GREAT news to report. The greatest is the selection of one of our volunteer groups as an award winner of the “Make a Difference Day” contest. This group has been at OLA from the very beginning and continues to help. We are inspired by their generosity! We also have much to report as our students have jumped into the swing of things and are once again making great accomplishments, we are so proud of them. "MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY”. In October, 2005, our friends from Pope John Paul II High School of Hendersonville, TN brought down the first “18-Wheeler” filled with equipment and supplies for OLA. They also worked for several days gutting and cleaning one of our teacher’s homes. After returning to JPII, they submitted a recount of how they helped in the efforts to rebuild OLA to the USA Weekend Magazine contest called “Make a Difference Day”. The newspaper was very impressed and selected JPII as a winner. The story will be published on Sunday, April 23, 2006 in USA Weekend or PARADE Magazine. Check out: http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006603220312. The award includes a $10,000.00 check which they will donate to the OLA Rebuilding effort. JPII has helped our school so much by sending funds, supplies, materials, volunteers and many prayers. We at OLA are so appreciative of everything they have provided. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU! BACK IN McCAULEY HALL. OLA students moved back into McAuley Hall in January. Five classrooms have been repaired and OLA teachers are conducting classes in Religion, Math, History, English and Science. The teachers are thrilled to be back, at least in part! The Art Room floor was painted by volunteers from Louisville, KY and donated picnic tables from Boston, MA were placed in the room. Viola! The art room is now the Senior Lounge! The Seniors love their space. Sr. Jackie and Sr. Elisa have office space in McAuley Hall and the conference room has a nice new table. Sr. Jackie has wall to wall shelves (which she loves) in the book room. We continue with an unexpected greater than 80% return of our pre-Katrina enrollment. SCHOLARSHIPS. Margaret Hadden is a finalist for the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation. This award is evaluates academic, community service and school involvement. 75,000 students from across the nation applied and Margaret has made it to the final 250 students. She is guaranteed a $4,000.00 scholarship. She will be flown to Atlanta on April 6 for the final competition. If she is selected as one of the final 50 recipients, she will receive a $20,000.00 scholarship. Let’s keep her in our prayers. Meagan Flynt, Lauren Renz and Annie Giardino have been offered and accepted scholarships to play soccer at William Carey College and will play for former OLA soccer coach Danny Owens. HANCOCK COUNTY JUNIOR MISS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. Victoria Romano, a junior at OLA, was selected as Hancock County Jr. Miss for 2007. In addition to the Junior Miss title, Victoria won the Scholastic and Interview preliminaries, the “Be Your Best Self” essay contest and was selected by the other contestants as Spirit of Junior Miss. She received over $8,000.00 in scholarships and will compete in the Mississippi’s Junior Miss Program in late July. Good luck, Victoria! SPORTS. The volleyball team placed 1st in the district for the 8th straight year and advanced as far as the 1st round of state playoffs. The soccer team won district for the 9th straight year and came in second in the state tournament. In swimming, the girls all had personal best times at the state swim meet. Alyssa Walter won the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke events. In softball, the team is 2-0 in District Play. The first round of State Playoffs will be in April. The girls are playing well. The golf and tennis teams are in full swing. The track team won the varsity team title in the annual Rock Relays held at SSC on Thursday, March 16th. Congratulations, girls! YOUTH LEGISLATURE. OLA was well represented with Jessie Shifalo elected as Lieutenant Governor and Erin Kergosien as Clerk of the House. Erin was also selected as Outstanding Committee Chair. Several students won outstanding senator and representative awards. A number of the bills presented by OLA students were signed into law. This is a BIG DEAL. Congratulations! OTHER AWARDS AND HONORS. The awards go on with Sidney Chevis, named Colleen of this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations; Erin Casey, recipient of the Eagle of the Cross Award from the Diocese of Biloxi; and Laura Kergosien and Erin Casey were selected to serve on the SEARCH retreat team for the Diocese of Biloxi. SOCIAL. The Mardi Gras Masquerade dance was a huge success. The students are preparing for the Jr-Sr. Prom which will be held with St. Stanislaus in the Commons on May 6th. On Monday nights, coed Volleyball intramurals are being held at 6PM. The teams are made up of 2 SSC guys and 4 OLA girls. Everyone seems to be having a great time and exercising too. Check out http://www.ststan.com/ for information regarding our “Two Schools, One Spirit” * GREATEST NEED. OLA has 2 buildings which still need major repairs (Mercy Hall and Johnson Hall). Through the donations of so many, funding is available to complete the rebuilding of Johnson Hall ($150,000.00) and most of Mercy Hall ($300,000.00). The estimate on rebuilding Mercy Hall is coming in at about $420,000.00. The roof is $64,000.00, the roof decking is $47,000.00, doors are $42,000.00, etc. We still need $150,000 to be able to finish Mercy Hall. OTHER NEEDS. Tuition assistance. Many of our students lost their homes and their parents are rebuilding their lives, businesses, etc. Some are even paying mortgages on the previous homes which have been reduced to concrete slabs. If anyone is interested in sponsoring a student this is an area of need. Tuition for one student is $4350.00 per year. Of course, partial sponsorship is possible - every little bit counts! St. Joseph Hall. St. Joseph Hall was so badly destroyed by Katrina the building had to be bulldozed. This building will need to be replaced. Preliminary estimates are $500,000.00. OLA may have to take out a loan to replace this building. This is a very scary proposition to those making the decisions because we will be burdening future parents with a large financial obligation. OLA has been very, very prudent and frugal and has always operated “in the black”. Any donations would be greatly appreciated. Donations can be made through our website and PayPal or send check or money order to: OLA Katrina Fund 222 S. Beach Blvd, Bay St. Louis, MS. Attention: Connie Chevis. *Please designate on check if intended for tuition. Our school is a very special place and “Katrina may have CRUSHED our School but Not our SPIRIT.” Please keep us in your prayers, stop by, visit us and see why we love this school so much. God Bless you. Thank you for your help and prayers. Connie Chevis Teresa Romano Sr. Jackie Howard (Principal)
Update from Connie Chevis, OLA Advisory Board Secretary and Katrina Fund Treasurer School opened Nov. 1 with 204 students returning from the pre-Katrina enrollment of 284. This is a fantastic 75% return. The local high school only had about 40% returning. We expect 210 students in January. The girls were very excited to be back in school.
Latest Update from Julie Martinolich Cranford OLA and St. Stanislaus reopened their doors today for classes for close to 500 students! Attitudes were upbeat even though many students and their families suffered great personal losses and damages from the storm. The day began with a morning prayer service. Later in the day, Mass was celebrated by Fr. Mike Tracey and Fr. Sebastian in the Peter Mockler Gymnasium, A hot meal was served for lunch in the Commons Area. Class schedules and other details were reviewed and discussed. Supplies are continuing to come in (thanks to all who have donated). OLA is working to put together a calendar of events that will be published soon at this website. Students driving to school at SSC / OLA are reminded that the
Other updates: The repairs to OLA’s McCauley Hall are almost complete. There was a good turnout for the OLA Senior Retreat at the
Athletic Program Updates: OLA and SSC soccer teams continue to practice and play. The OLA Cross Country team will be participating in competition this Saturday. Eight boys and four girls from SSC / OLA competed in the State Championship Swim Meet at
OLA junior Alyssa Walter edged out the competition to place first in both the 100 yard individual medley and the 100 yard breaststroke. SSC sophomore Sherman Necaise placed ninth in the 100 yard butterfly with a new SSC record time of 1:01.19.
Latest Update from Julie Martinolich Cranford A comprehensive list of school and teacher supplies has just been received from the OLA administration. Please let us know if you wish to or plan to send anything from the list so we can mark it off and focus people on the remaining items. (*Note to readers as of March 22, 2006: no more supplies are needed at this time. We will post any new needs as they arise **) Please send notifications to:Cranfam8@cs.com and info@ourladyacademy.com Many generous people have continued to donate their time to come down to OLA and help. We are very grateful for all of your support! Anyone who would like to set up monthly allotments from a paycheck into the OLA Katrina Fund can do so by contacting: Paul Guichet Donations can also be received through the mail, or by credit card or Pay Pal on our website. The OLA Soccer team recently held tryouts, and are now busy practicing. Dr. Connie Chevis and committee are now in place to oversee the OLA Katrina fund, as well as determine more fundraising steps that are necessary for the school’s longterm viability. The school reopening date of November 1st is quickly approaching. We can’t wait to see everyone again! October 10, 2005 Update from Julie Martinolich Cranford Individual and group volunteers are continuing to come in and provide much-appreciated assistance in grounds and school cleanup, or helping with supplies. They are also helping with the surrounding community's needs. For anyone interested in helping, no advance notice is needed. Just show up every Saturday and our on-site volunteer coordinator will put you to work! If you are coming from out of town and need to ask about some details prior to traveling, you can contact Sr. Jackie (228-216-7048) or Julie Cranford (228-466-9140). We would like to post photos of these volunteers in the photos gallery section of this website. If any individuals or groups have pictures of your time at OLA and do not object to them being posted at our website, could you could send them electronically to info@ourladyacademy.com. All students and faculty members have been accounted for either through direct communication or by receiving word through someone else. Not everyone is in the local area or will be able to return for awhile, but we feel blessed that everyone is safe. Sr. Jackie and other faculty members are talking frequently and are working hard to handle the many tasks and issues necessary to reopen school on November 1st, and to continue on towards full recovery. Re-enrollment at OLA and St. Stanislaus is now over 50%, with a much higher percentage enrollment of the senior class. The OLA Volleyball Team won heir first game in district play. They play again on Tuesday (October 11th). We are proud of the team for overcoming major adversity to regroup and play well in district competition. OLA Soccer Team tryouts and practice will be this Thursday (October 13th) at 4:30 pm at the SSC Soccer Field. The Music Department has received a donation of a piano. Gift certificates or gift cards to Walmart, Office Depot, and Office Max are also welcome. These will enable the faculty to purchase school and office items more easily as needs are better defined. Many of the SJA and OLA graduating class photographs (composites) were destroyed in the storm. We will provide an update soon on the years that were lost. If alumnae still have a copy, we will eventually ask if we can get a copy of these from you to enlarge and re-hang these along the OLA hallways. The cost of reproduction, enlargement, and framing is something that graduating classes may want to think about covering or donating for their graduating year. This is not the highest priority right now, but something we will be working towards eventually. If your class composite is stored somewhere handy, please keep it there and we'll let you know when we are ready for your assistance. We will have many projects to work on eventually to rebuild the school's history. For now, the immediate priority is to pull together and raise as much money as possible to get the current students and faculty back in school. Please continue to spread the word that finanical donations are desperately needed to cover tuition assistance for girls whose parents have lost their jobs and homes, and also to rehire our teachers. Many of our teachers also suffered catastrophic losses and cannot return to their jobs if there is not enough money in the school operating budget. We know many people are providing financial support to their families and close friends who suffered damage and losses from the hurricane. For any others who are in a position to do so, pease consider making a credit card or Pay Pal online donation, sending a donation directly to the school, or setting up a monthly allotment directly to the "OLA Katrina Fund" at Hancock Bank Mississippi. More information about monetary donations can be found on the "Monetary Donation" section of our website. October 10, 2005 We
are now able to accept monetary donations through our website! All donations go to the OLA Katrina Fund at Hancock Bank, and funds will be used for post-hurricane recovery and expenses. Each donation is precious and will enable us to offer our students the chance to return to school and to begin leading normal lives again. Click here to learn about how to donate...
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