Shepherds is best known for providing a non-public, college preparatory education and a personal mentor for each inner-city youth in our program. We do so much more. One of the tools we give our students is additional preparation for SAT/ACT tests. Kolbe Cathedral High School students in our program are currently preparing for the October SAT. The extra support students receive from Shepherds will help them achieve their highest scores.
Mentoring can be sweet – really sweet! Kolbe Cathedral freshmen (L-R) Valentina, Annaclaudia, Quiana and Lauren gathered at the Fairfield home of Quiana’s mentor, Marlene Kimberly along with Valentina’s mentor, Sara Tieke, Annaclaudia’s mentor, Hetty Nerod, and Lauren’s mentor, Laura Canning for some serious Christmas Cookie baking. Merry Christmas to all of our students, staff, mentors and families.
Kolbe Cathedral’s 2018 Commencement Exercises in Bridgeport, Conn., on Thursday, June 7, 2018. To see the slide show provided in the CT Post, click on the link. Photo: Christian Abraham, Hearst Connecticut Media.
https://www.ctpost.com/graduations/slideshow/Kolbe-Cathedral-High-School-graduation-2018-182132/photo-15687987.php
Shepherds students from Notre Dame of West Haven will graduate this Sunday. In advance of the ceremony, an Honors Convocation was held in the Collins Auditorium on Thursday 5/17/18. Several of the graduating Shepherds seniors received honors at the event.
•Reuben Clarke received The Robert T. Scheithe ’95 Award as well as recognition by the National Honor Society. Reuben’s mentors are Celia Pinzi and Mark Healey.
•Ryan Haas received The President’s (Trump) Award for Educational Achievement. Ryan’s mentors are Lucy and Mike Abbott.
•Ernie Santiago was recognized by the National Honor Society, the Spanish Honor Society and the TriM Music Honor Society. Ernie’s mentor is Ruby Melton.
Congratulations to these young men for all of their accomplishments. We wish you all the best as you transition to college.
Shepherds, in conjunction with Kolbe Cathedral High School, held its annual brunch at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield on Saturday, May 12. The event brings together current Shepherds students enrolled at the school, their mentors, family and staff from both organizations.
The accomplishments of graduating seniors are celebrated. Graduates and their mentors are given the chance to speak publicly about their time at Kolbe and how the Shepherds program impacted their high school experience.
Kolbe alumna and current mentor Carolyn Vermont ’78, was the keynote speaker. A recipient of both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Fairfield University, Ms. Vermont is the proud mother of two, a motivational speaker, education and leadership consultant and a tireless community advocate. She volunteers for ten civic organizations including Shepherds and was invited as a Changemaker to the 2016 White House United States of Women Summit in 2016. She has received numerous awards for her service and is currently running for State Senator in the 23rd Senatorial District covering parts of Bridgeport and Stratford.
Ms. Vermont encouraged the students to continue the legacy of community service that they have begun during their time at Kolbe. She reflected on the way her Kolbe Catholic education as well as her Jesuit education at Fairfield University, instilled a lifelong passion for giving back to the community. Her infectious smile, enthusiasm and her pride in mentee Trinity Bravo, warmed the room on that grey Saturday.
Graduates include: Dudjanceslyta Anty, Nina-Simone Barrow, Trinity Bravo, Zavar Graham, Alexander Cole Grant, Cherish Johnson, Shalymar Morales, Ugonna Onyekachiuzoamaka, Alejandro Serrano, Tatiana Thompson and Mayra Vargas. For more pictures, check out our album on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ShepherdsMentors/
Congratulations to the amazing Trinity Bravo, Kolbe Cathedral ’18. Trinity, who received a full scholarship to Bryant University, is News 12’s Scholar-Athlete of the week. Trinity is mentored by the equally amazing Carolyn Vermont. Click on the link below to see News 12 coverage of Trinity’s accomplishments on and off the court.
HAMDEN — Senior quarterback Chris Elias led three first-half scoring drives then watched the Notre Dame-West Haven defense make two key second-half interceptions in the Green Knights’ 21-14 win over the Green Dragons in the 67th Green Bowl on Thanksgiving at Hamden High School.
The Green Knights (3-7) jumped out to a 14-0 lead after two of their first three possessions.
First, Elias capped off a 70-yard drive, scoring on a 1-yard quarterback sneak on fourth down to give Notre Dame a 7-0 lead with 8:45 left in the first quarter.
After a fumble on its next possession, Notre Dame’s third drive appeared to be stalled as well. Punting on fourth down, Hamden went for the block, but was called for a roughing the punter penalty, giving Notre Dame a first down.
The Green Knights’ offense used the reprieve to add to its lead when Elias lofted a neatly-thrown 15-yard touchdown pass to Nick Petruzzelli for a 14-0 lead with 6:45 left in the first half.
Elias’ third touchdown of the game came in an unconventional manner as first-year head coach Joe DeCaprio reached into his bag of trick plays.
Elias took the shotgun snap and handed to Isaiah Kane, who flipped the ball to Petruzzelli, who then lofted a perfectly-thrown pass to Elias who had snuck out of the backfield. Elias then outran a few Hamden defenders for a 35-yard touchdown and the Green Knights led 21-0 with just more than four minutes left in the first half.
“I give Hamden a lot of credit,” said Notre Dame head coach Joe DeCaprio. “We scored on three of our first four drives but we needed a couple key interceptions late in the game to hold them off.”
Elias, who completed 12 of his 16 passes for 207 yards in his final game for Notre Dame, was hoping that play would be called.
“I was pretty pumped, but nervous at the same time,” he said. “We’ve been practicing that play for two years now and I am glad it paid off. I was nervous I would drop it but it worked out.”
Hamden, which finished 1-9, did not go away quietly though. From that point forward, not only did the Hamden defense keep Notre Dame off the scoreboard, but they also engineered several nice drives, two of which ended in Sahim Hasan to John Mayes touchdown passes.
The first of which came with 40 seconds left in the first half from 39 yards out cutting the Hamden deficit to 21-7 at intermission. That duo connected again from 28 yards out with 6:13 left in the third quarter and suddenly Hamden trailed 21-14.
Hamden had a few chances to tie the game with drives reaching as far as the Notre Dame 30-yard line but the Green Knight defense rose to the occasion each time.
On the final play of the third quarter, Hasan (8-14 for 137 yards) tried to find Jayquan Bromell, but Notre Dame defensive back Andrew Kendrick ran stride for stride with Bromell and intercepted the pass in the end zone.
Kendrick sealed the win for the Green Knights with his second interception of the game with 1:40 left. Hasan, rolling to his left, threw the pass to the far sideline. The ball was tipped by Notre Dame’s Jared Gallbronner, but Kendrick was able to corral the ball and get both feet inbounds, ending any hopes of a Hamden come-from-behind win.
“It came down to they made a few more plays than we did,” Hamden coach Tom Dyer said. “Sahim made two great touchdown passes for us, but in the end, we had some key penalties that hurt us throughout the game, too.”
Notre Dame’s defense also came up with a huge fourth down stop from the two-yard line on Hamden’s first possession of the game.
“We switched defenses for this game and it worked out great,” DeCaprio said. “They scored on a couple fade patterns but we did a nice job on the run and those two interceptions by Andrew (Kendrick) were huge.”
For the game, Notre Dame outgained Hamden 336-235 and held a 14-12 first down advantage. Hamden did run 52 plays to Notre Dame’s 43 and held a 12-minute time of possession edge.
With the win, Notre Dame has won 12 straight in this series and holds a 43-22-2 all-time advantage. It’s the second time in four years that Notre Dame has won by a touchdown. The Green Knights won 35-28 in 2014. Hamden’s last series win was a 15-10 triumph in 2005.
Trinity Bravo is an exceptional student, role model and athlete. The point guard just accepted a scholarship to play Division 1 basketball for the next four years at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. No one is prouder than Trinity’s parents but her Shepherds mentor, Carolyn Vermont, is also thrilled. Trinity’s new status as a Bulldog will bring her back to the area at points during the season as Bryant plays Sacred Heart and Central Connecticut. Everyone at Shepherds wishes Trinity and her family the best of luck and know that the lessons instilled by her parents, her mentor and her teammates and teachers at Kolbe, will guarantee success during this next chapter.
This year, fifteen Shepherds students enrolled at Kolbe Cathedral HS in Bridgeport, received their diplomas. Executive Director, Dan McAuliffe, several Board Members, students, family, mentors and faculty celebrated the accomplishments of the 9 young women and 8 young men at their annual graduation brunch at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield. This year’s graduates include:
Eight young men graduated from Notre Dame High School on May 28th, 2017. All are planning on pursuing higher education after graduation.
