What's Happening

By Cara Hansen

December 15, 2016, West Palm Beach, Florida – Rosarian Academy elementary and middle school students were recognized during an awards ceremony December 9, honoring those with exceptional academic performance and for athletic achievements during the first trimester of the school year.

Four students – seventh-grader Mercedes Cassidy and eighth-graders Hope Diffenderfer, Devyn Dyett, and Lorenzo Escobar – were recognized for achieving Highest Academic Honors. To qualify, they received all “As” in the first trimester and on all exams. 

Two students received Accelerated Reader awards for reading 300,000 words or more since the start of the school year: Elise Lanahan read more than 500,000 words and Blair Haft more than 1 million words. Both are in the seventh grade. Eighth-grade students selected as Kiwanis Students of the Month were Bettina Johnston, October; Marlowe Dunn Flom, November; and Sophia Mendez, December. 

Stephen Hall, sixth grade, shakes hands with Rosarian Academy Head of School Stephen Rubenacker as he receives the award for Most Valuable Player on the boys cross country team.

Fourteen seventh-grade students earned at least a 95 percentile on an acceptable composite or subset area from a previous standardized test and qualified as Duke University Talent Identification Program Scholars. Receiving this honor were Maggie Acosta, Spencer Bernstein, Jamis Bornschein, Wilder Breckenridge, Mercedes Cassidy, Joseph Coates, Grace Colangelo, Madison Fabbri, Macarena Gonzalez, Blair Haft, Emma Hardyman, Jack Keogh, Elise Lanahan, and Finn Throop.

Sixth- through eighth-grade students who received no less than a “B-” in all academic subjects and no grade less than “Satisfactory” in all co-curricular classes qualified for Honor Roll.

Sixth-grade Honor Roll students were Jackson Bachman, Sabrina Bernstein, Katarina Bessenroth, Sabrina Bessenroth, Bobby Brown, Thomas Coates, Matthew Cohen, Lily Guari, Stephen Hall, MJ Hanlon, Ava Iuliani, Sabrina Keough, Olivia Klein, Jack Mischke, Alina Morrison, Mia Pariseleti, Matthew Rancic, Victoria Reynolds, Trace Scuderi, and Parker Ward.

Rosarian Academy eighth-grader Aidan Griffiths is recognized at the school’s First Trimester Honors Assembly.

Honor Roll students in the seventh grade are Maggie Acosta, Christian Azqueta, Jamis Bornschein, Wilder Breckenridge, Caleb Curtis, Brandon Dorsey, Madison Fabbri, Zachary German, Macarena Gonzalez, Blair Haft, Emma Hardyman, Jack Keogh, and Logan McGruder.

Students in the eighth grade who made Honor Roll were Remi Beaud, Gemma Conroy, Marlowe Dunn Flom, Gabriela Faber, Aidan Griffiths, Van Gronberg, Alana Marchese, Sophia Mendez, Drew O’Brien, Max Sanderson, Jack Shepherd, Isabella Vega Dadurian, Hannah Wilson, and Mckenzie Wilson.

All students who participated in a fall sport – flag football, volleyball, swimming, and cross country – were also acknowledged. The following student-athletes received awards: 

• Boys’ Varsity Flag Football: Max Sanderson, Most Valuable Player; Aidan Griffiths, Sportsmanship; and John Molina, Most Improved. All are in the eighth grade. 
• Boys’ Junior Varsity Flag Football: Gavin Marchese, Most Valuable Player; Johnny Cassidy, Sportsmanship; and Andrew Vargas, Most Improved. All are in the fifth grade.
• Girls’ Varsity Volleyball: Eighth graders Isabella Fiorentino, Most Valuable Player; Kate Hamilton, Sportsmanship; and Sofia Mendez, Most Improved. 
• Girls’ Junior Varsity Volleyball: Lily Guari, sixth grade, Most Valuable Player; Parker Ward, sixth grade, Sportsmanship; and Sara Gil, seventh grade, Most Improved; 
• Swimming: Nellie Miller, fourth grade, Most Valuable Player; Marlowe Dunn Flom, eighth grade, Sportsmanship; and Annabelle Damiano, second grade, Most Improved. 
• Boys’ Cross Country: Stephen Hall, sixth grade, Most Valuable Player; Robby Vargas, seventh grade, Heart Award; and Teddy Duncker, fourth grade, Most Improved.
• Girls’ Cross Country: Eleanor Hall, fourth grade, Most Valuable Player; Lacey Steele, eighth grade, Heart Award; and Luciana Hernandez, fifth grade, Most Improved.

Rosarian Academy, founded in 1925, educates students from early childhood through eighth grade and offers an exceptionally strong academic program enriched by athletics, visual and performing arts, and community service opportunities. The independent, Catholic school is located in downtown West Palm Beach and is sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters. For more information, visit www.rosarian.org or call 561-345-3106.

By Cara Hansen

June 1, 2016, West Palm Beach, Florida – Rosarian Academy’s Members of the Corporation recently approved Jason Guari of West Palm Beach, Darlene Luccio Jordan of Palm Beach, and Alison Mischke of North Palm Beach to serve on the Board of Directors for the school, commencing August 2016. 

Jason Guari is a co-founding partner of the Palm Beach County law firm Murray Guari Trial Attorneys. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) in Palm Beach County and has been a member of its Board for the past five years. Both Jason and his wife, Nicole, are active volunteers at Rosarian. He has served on the school’s Finance Committee for the last four years.

Darlene Jordan is the executive director of the Gerald R. Jordan Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports education, health and youth services, and the arts. She is a member of Fordham’s Board of Directors and co-chair of Fordham’s successful $500 million campaign. She currently serves on Fordham’s Executive Committee and is chair of the Development and University Relations Committee and co-chair of the $175 million Financial Aid Campaign. In addition, Darlene is a director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston. She is as a member of the Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the Board of Governors of the State University System of Florida. She is a trustee of the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach and Oxbridge Academy. 

Alison Mischke holds over 18 years experience in public accounting, providing tax, accounting, and business consulting services to a diverse range of clients. She serves as the vice chair of Rosarian Academy’s Finance Committee and is a member of the school’s Audit Committee. She attended the 2015 Adrian Dominican Sponsorship Meeting in Adrian, Michigan and is a member of the 2013 Rosarian Academy Strategic Planning Committee. In addition, she is an active parent volunteer and a member of the Rosarian Academy Family Association (RAFA).

As a sponsored institution of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, Rosarian Academy is governed through a two-tier model. The General Council of the Congregation serves as the Members of the Corporation, reserving to itself certain powers. The Board of Directors sets policy and holds the responsibility for sound resource management. The administration of Rosarian is responsible for the daily operations of the school that manifest the mission, values, beliefs, and policies of the organization. 

Beginning in August 2016, the Rosarian Academy Board of Directors will include: Mr. John C. Cassidy, Jr., chairman; Mr. Tim Hanlon, vice chair; Mr. Shaun McGruder, treasurer of the corporation; Mr. Guillermo Perez-Vargas, secretary of the corporation; Sister Mary Margaret Pachucki, OP; Mr. Stephen Rubenacker, Head of School; Mr. and Mrs. David Herlong, RAFA representatives; Sister Mary Ann Caulfield, OP; Mrs. Eileen Coates; Mrs. Lissa Dorsey; Mr. Jason Guari; Mrs. Darlene Jordan; Sister Kathleen Klingen, OP; Mrs. Alison Mischke; Mrs. Danielle Hickox Moore; Mr. Randy Randolph; Mrs. Kara Rockenbach; Mr. Joseph Rooney; Sister Jean Williams, OP.

Rosarian Academy, founded in 1925, educates students from early childhood through eighth grade and offers an exceptionally strong 21st-century academic program enriched by athletics, visual and performing arts, and community service opportunities. The independent, Catholic school is located in downtown West Palm Beach and is sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters. Rosarian is celebrating its 90th anniversary this school year. For more information, visit www.rosarian.org or call 561-832-5131. 

Feature photo: Newly appointed members of the Rosarian Academy Board of Directors are, from left, Alison Mischke, Jason Guari, and Darlene Luccio Jordan.