Sc h ool News
NOVEMBER 15, 2021 • PASCACK VALLEY PRESS
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Angel Showcase Day Fuels Interest in AHA
Nearly 160 eighth grade applicants to the Academy of the Holy Angels participated in Angel Showcase Day on Nov. 4. The AHA Admissions Team said in a press release it had organized the event “so future ninth graders could spend a day exploring their individual interests at the Academy in a Covidsafe environment.” Admissions director Michèle McGovern and assistant admissions director Jennifer Bullis reserved the school building for the day. This format allowed visitors to receive personalized attention from their assigned Angel Ambassadors, and the faculty and staff who were on campus that day. “Based on post Showcase surveys, visitors had a positive experience. Guests said they received warm greetings, and most gave their Angel Ambassadors the highest rating possible,” AHA said. Many said AHA is their first choice high school, and most said they are now more excited about spending their high school years at the Academy. Faculty members prepared engaging, hands-on lessons to give visitors a better idea of life at AHA. Showcase participants chose from classes such as environmental science, psychology, engineering, art, religion, journalism, creative writing, math, and world languages. Visitors who worked with AHA Science Department chair Patricia Prucnel and Nadine
Behrens learned about beach erosion by creating “mini-beaches” in plastic containers and observing the effects of water on the terrain. Students in this class also put together take home versions of the beach by selecting natural ocean treasures and adding them to jars of sand. Students in Jing Looʼs engineering course experimented with
light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Angels and their guests put together basic circuit boards that lit small LEDs. Vanesa Formosaʼs students made quicksand by combining baking soda and water. This lab allowed future Angels to explore the phases of matter and become familiar with some equipment and techniques.
Teachers Andrew Sanchez and Chris Paladino also guided this experiment in their classrooms. The lesson was inspired by the Dr. Seuss book “Bartholomew and the Oobleck.” Theater arts teacher Katie Collinsʼ improv exercise had everyone generating outlandish stories, gesticulating, and laughing out loud.
Emily leads a demonstration of beach erosion at the Academy of the Holy Angels Angel Showcase Day on Nov. 4.
Students also explored their connections to various saints in religious studies teacher Kathleen Walshʼs class. Her guests also engaged in a brief research project and shared highlights of the lives of selected saints. Highlights of Angel Showcase Day included a special performance by the award-winning AHA Dance Team and a greeting from AHA head dance coach Jenny Sweet. The Academyʼs varsity dancers have earned five national championships. The JV team won its first national title this year. Prospective students also won prizes in an AHA-forward trivia contest, and enjoyed lunch in the Student Commons. Founded by the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1879, the Academy of the Holy Angels is the oldest private girlsʼ school in Bergen County. While AHA is steeped in Catholic tradition, this prestigious school serves young women from a broad spectrum of cultural and religious backgrounds. Thousands of women have passed through AHAʼs portals. Many go on to study at some of the nationʼs best universities, earning high-ranking positions in medicine, government, law, education, public service, business, arts, and athletics. For more information call (201) 768-7822 or visit holyangels.org.
