Sunday, September 17, 2023

St. Ann, Bainbridge Avenue

 The Norwood News of  9.14.2023.

Montefiore Hospital owns the former school of St. Ann on Bainbridge Avenue. It has now leased the school to a non-profit middle school. Please see the article linked below. Because the parish never got around to building a church, what is now a school gym was for years fitted out as a church.

https://www.norwoodnews.org/norwood-charter-middle-school-opens-at-former-st-ann-site/

Sunday, August 27, 2023

Test for Admission to Catholic High Schools

 The Archdiocese of New York (seven counties), the Diocese of Brooklyn (two counties), and the Diocese of Rockville Centre (two counties) generally require the test offered on the website https://tachsinfo.com/

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The test is taken by computer at home. It costs $71. The student selects three high schools to which the testing company will send results. The test is apparently scheduled for early November, 2023. Apparently there is some way the downloaded program knows that is is the registered eighth grade student and not a learned grandma answering the test questions.

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The abbreviated name for the test is TACHS. Much more information is at https://tachsinfo.com/



Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Leasing space at St. Brendan's school

 The NYC Board of Education has signed up with St. Brendan's parish to lease its school part-time for a charter school.  The parish will be able to use it for religious education, apparently on weekends. Please see the Norwood News article linked HERE.

Thursday, February 16, 2023

Twenty-four Catholic elementary schools in The Bronx

 The February 15, 2023, news of upcoming closures was severe, but a list of parish schools still providing elementary education shows strength. I will attempt to list by geography the twenty-four Catholic elementary schools of The Bronx open in September. If readers find errors, I will edit this post.

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Schools north of Fordham Road and Pelham Parkway:
St. Margaret of Cortona, West 260 St., Riverdale
St. Barnabas, East 241 St., Woodlawn.
St. Francis of Assisi, Baychester Ave., Wakefield.
St. Philip Neri, Grand Concourse and East 202 St.
Our Lady of Refuge, East 196th St., Fordham.
Holy Rosary, Arnow Ave., East Gun Hill Rd.
Our Lady of Grace, Bronxwood Ave.
St. Lucy, Mace Ave.
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Schools south of Fordham Road and to the east.
St. Simon Stock, Valentine Ave., East 182 St. Will close in June, 2024.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Bathgate Ave., East 188 St.
St. Clare of Assisi and St. Francis Xavier, 1911 Hone Ave., Morris Park, near the corner of Rhinelander Avenue. In other words, the merged schools will be at St. Clare's. This explanation comes from the St. Francis Xavier website.
Villa Maria Academy, Pelham Bay.
St. Theresa, Pelham Bay.
St. Benedict, Throggs Neck.
St  Frances de Chantal, Throggs Neck.
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Schools south of Tremont Avenue:
Sacred Heart, Highbridge.
Christ the King, Grand Concourse, below 170 St.
St. John Chrysostom, Hoe Ave. near East 166 St.
St. Raymond, East Tremont Ave.
St. Helena, Benedict Ave., Parkchester.
Holy Cross, Soundview
St. Athanasius, Southern Boulevard
St. Anselm, Tinton Ave., near East 152 St., Morrisania
Immaculate Conception, East 151 St., Melrose.

Most of the above websites followed an archdiocesan template, but there seems to be inconsistency about how pre-K and UPK enrollments are included. High enrollment numbers may be bloated by high numbers in pre-K. More important for the survival are the grade-by-grade numbers, especially grades 2 to 8. The websites fail to disclose these numbers, just as many websites ignore tuition rates.

Thursday, February 2, 2023

New address for donations to Catholic Relief Services

 Mailed donations to Catholic Relief Services now go to a processing firm in the small city of Harlan, Iowa. Instead of Baltimore, the donation address is now Catholic Relief Services, Post Office Box 5202, Harlan, Iowa 51593-0702. This is a  Hearst-owned corporation that handles incoming payments for many magazines and non-profit organizations.