Holy Name off to a good start

With 341 students, enrollment is up at Holy Name of Mary School in Valley Stream yet again. Though it’s just a marginal increase over last year, Principal Richard McMahon said it continues to show the Catholic school’s upward trend.

“Our early grades are off the charts,” he said, “which is an indication, hopefully, that we’ll be able to sustain this.”

Every class has at least 25 students and three classes are at maximum enrollment, McMahon explained. He added that the school picked up a few students from St. Catherine of Sienna in Franklin Square, which closed in June.

One of those is seventh grader Adams Michel, who is at his third school in three years. He attended Blessed Sacrament School in Valley Stream for five years before that closed its doors in 2011. He moved to St. Catherine’s, then found himself looking for a new school again.

Michel said he has felt very welcomed at Holy Name of Mary School so far. “It’s great, nice people and fun learning activities,” he said.

Having gone through the experience once before, Michel said that helped him in switching schools for this year. He said it has also helps him prepare for his transition to high school. Until then, he is looking forward to two years of stability at Holy Name.

Sixth grader Heber Romero comes to Holy Name after graduating from P.S. 215 in Far Rockaway, Queens. He said his mother picked his new school. “She said that the learning here was good for me,” he said.

Romero agrees, and added that his new classmates have been very friendly.

If there’s one student who can give Romero and Michel some advice, it’s eighth grader Niquole Carnavon. She was a new student at the school last year after moving to the area from Buffalo.

“Last year I didn’t know anybody,” said Carnavon, who quickly made an impression by winning the science fair.

Eighth grader Daniel Bosko has been attending the school since pre-K, and has seen new many new students arrive at the school during his time at Holy Name. He said it is important that the long-time students give the newcomers a warm welcome.

So does sixth grader Baylee Berkley, who has been attending the school for three years. “If you’re nice to them, maybe they’ll want to be your friend,” she said.

The school is welcoming a new teacher, as well. Noreen Onorato joins the staff as one of two pre-K teachers. She comes with a lot of experience, having taught the same level at Blessed Sacrament School for 21 years.

This is Onorato’s first job since Blessed Sacrament closed, and she was surprised she even found a job as even more schools have shut down since. “It was a tough year,” she said. “I missed teaching so much and there were no jobs out there. It was really hard being home last year.”

Like the new students, Onorato said she has also been warmly welcomed into the Holy Name community. She also was greeted by many familiar faces. Many of her former pre-K students are now at Holy Name of Mary. “There’s a smattering in every grade of kids that I taught,” she said.

Onorato said she looks forward to leading her 20 students in seasonal art projects, teaching them letters and numbers, and preparing them for kindergarten. She said her goal is to create a school environment that would encourage them to stay at Holy Name for their elementary years.

McMahon sees a bright future for Holy Name of Mary School. Financially it’s in the black, he said, and enrollment is 12th best among Catholic elementary schools in the diocese. He said positive word of mouth about Holy Name is the primary reason why the school continues to grow.