Hi Everyone!

Looks like we got through another winter here in the North. Wasn’t as bad as predicted even though we have to get through March.

On Sunday, January 8th, Father Bob Armato celebrated Mass at 12:30pm and said farewell to Our Lady of Hope Parish in order to accept his assignment as Pastor of St. Margaret’s Parish. A reception was held in the cafeteria where parishioners gathered to wish Fr. Armato well. He reminded us that he won’t be that far away and still expects to see us all around the neighborhood. We wish Fr. Bob the best as he begins his new assignment.

The Scouts, Leaders and Committee Members of Boy Scout 119 had great pleasure in announcing that Nicholas T. Shlanko, having completed the requirements and having been examined by an Eagle Scout Board of Review, was found worthy of the rank of Eagle Scout. Congratulations Nicholas! A great honor.

Martin Luther School (MLS) in Maspeth is helping some really smart students from schools across the borough pay for their tuition through several academic scholarships.
In all, 19 students were recently awarded Academic Excellence Scholarships, and one student earned the Jill Rudzewick Memorial Scholarship, for being the top scorers on last November’s Academic Excellence Scholarship Exam.
The awards were given based on their performance on the Test of Achievement Proficiency, which tests a student’s reading comprehension and math skills. The amount of each scholarship is based the student’s ranking, determined by their composite score.

The top-scoring students were awarded a full-tuition scholarship; students with the next highest scores earned half-tuition scholarships; while $2,500 per year and $1,500 per year grants were awarded to the next highest scorers.

This year, the Jill Rudzewick Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Veronica Constantinides from St. Stanislaus Kostka School in Maspeth.

MLS created this half-tuition award in celebration of the life and service of Rudzewick and her family, to the community and the St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, which is their home parish. (picture)

The full list of winners are as follows:
• James Depuy of I.S. 73 in Maspeth, earned a full scholarship;
• Jaden Lugo of MLS, earned a full scholarship;
• Brynn Lecakes of MLS, was awarded a three-quarters scholarship;
• Angelica Katcher of St. Stanislaus School in Maspeth, earned a half scholarship;
• Matthew Manno of St. Pancras in Glendale, got a half scholarship;
• James Alberti of I.S. 208 in Jamaica, won a partial scholarship;
• Sara Alberti of P.S. 208 in Jamaica, won a partial scholarship;
• Ava Geremia of P.S. 153 in Maspeth, won a partial scholarship;
• Tayphath Thyagaraj of Redeemer Lutheran in Glendale, earned a partial scholarship;
• Carlos Martinez of I.S. 73, received a partial scholarship;
• Gianna Chan of the Notre Dame Catholic Academy in Ridgewood, got a partial scholarship;
• Jonathan Rodriguez of Our Lady of Hope in Middle Village, earned a partial scholarship;
• Matthew Costanza of P.S./I.S. 49 in Middle Village, won a partial scholarship;
• Christopher Gorcos of OLQM Catholic Academy in Forest Hills, got a partial scholarship;
• Michael Guarneri of Our Lady of Hope, earned a partial scholarship;
• Eileen Maguire of St. Stanislaus School, earned a partial scholarship;
• Emma Bogdan of Our Lady of Hope, was awarded a partial scholarship; and
• Alex Bogdan of Our Lady of Hope, received a partial scholarship.

Juniper Park volunteer Ursula Rosenhammer became a first time great-grandmother when Sofiya was born on Nov. 29, 2016. She is the daughter of OLH '04 alum Jack Rosenhammer and his wife Mariya. The new family of 3 resides in Columbus, Georgia where Jack is an Army Infantry 1st Lieutenant at Fort Benning. Congratulations to the family!

Terry and Theresa Arlotta welcomed a granddaughter, Lucy Tess Arlotta, born on February 7th and weighed in at 5 lbs. 6 oz. Proud parents are Donna and Michael Arlotta. Congratulations to all!

On Super Bowl Sunday, February 5th, our granddaughter Sarah celebrated her tenth birthday at home with family. Happy Birthday Sarah.

And on February 12th I had a shared Birthday celebration with my daughter Kelly born on my birthday. A celebration was held at Parkside with the family. Happy Birthday Kelly.

JPCA Board Member Lu Sadowski’s granddaughter, Aurelle Diaz, won the raffle at Iavarone at Christmas time. The prize was a huge stocking filled with all the great products found in the store. Nice going Aurelle! Picture shows Aurelle and Megan, a cashier, showing her prize.

On Thursday night, January 26th over two hundred people attended a dinner at Villa Erasmo honoring “Cop of the Year” Tommy Bell of our 104th Precinct. Congratulations Tommy! Well deserved honor.

St. Margaret’s Seniors enjoyed a Christmas Party at Russo’s on the Bay Wednesday, December 14th. A wonderful party was enjoyed by all.

Our Lady of Hope Golden Agers celebrated Christmas on Thursday, December 15th. A great time was had by all.