NEWSLETTER May, 2015
In this issue: PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE, ALUMNI ACTIVITY, DISTINGUISHED GRAD, STUDENT ESSAY
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Dear Alumni,
May the Lord give you His peace!
On Friday, June 12, we will happily add 33 new members to your alumni ranks! We are proud that our
students have worked diligently to attain such an honor. Graduates will attend Cardinal Hayes,
Cathedral, Mount St. Michael’s, Aquinas, Mount St. Ursula, All Hollows, Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop
Stepinac, LaSalle, Salesian, St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Jean Baptiste, St. Raymond’s and Saint Barnabas and
Brooklyn Tech! They will graduate with all due ceremony from St. John’s Church .Please keep them and
their families in your prayers.
Twenty-two of our students will receive First Communion on Sunday, June 7 at 11:30. These beautiful
children are so excited at the prospect of receiving Jesus in the Eucharist. It is amazing how much they
understand that Jesus loves them!
We love to celebrate! Sr. Christine Carrigg, RJM celebrated her Golden Jubilee of religious life with us on
May 1st. She placed a crown of flowers on the statue of Mary and the children came forward with
hundreds of flowers. Back at the school sister was presented with gifts of flowers, numerous cards, and
her favorite drink, Diet Coke! Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz was on hand to present sister with a
proclamation from the State Assembly honoring sister’s many years of dedicated service to the children
of New York.
I often hear stories from alumni who fondly recall walking through the halls of Saint John’s School. This
school has had such a tremendous impact on the lives of our alumni and our current students,
something to which no other school in the Bronx can attest.
In reflecting on the history of our school, I am often struck by the wonderful community that is Saint
John’s School. I always receive an overwhelmingly warm response from Saint John’s alumni when the
school comes up in conversation. This was typically followed up with a question about a favorite teacher
or a light-hearted Saint John’s story. The impact of this school reaches far and our alumni clearly cherish
their times at St. John’s
Today is no different. We are a community with generations of families who call Saint John’s their alma
mater. I consider myself lucky to have spent time with our alumni during the various events celebrating
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our school. You are a special group who does a tremendous job of carrying the spirit of Saint John’s with
you well beyond your graduation day.
With our rich history and our connected community, we are looking toward our tomorrows and the next
generation of Saint John’s graduates. Our students have always taken great pride in becoming a part of
this school, our history, and our community. We thank you for being a part of the legacy of Saint John’s,
and look forward to building on this legacy for many years to come.
Edward J. Higgins, Principal
ALUMNI ACTIVITY
The broader Alumni population and the Steering Group continue to make good progress in building a
sustainable Alumni Association. We now have 860 registered Alumni with usable contact information,
and we have been posting regularly on the Alumni FaceBook page. And, of course, this is our second
Newsletter! Thanks for all your support and encouragement.
The St. Patrick’s Irish Breakfast was a big success, as usual, with great food, wonderful company, and
fun raffles and door prizes. Over 200 people attended. Congratulations to Joan Beck and her team of
volunteers for doing the hard work to organize this and provide a great event for the Alumni. Looking
forward to next year!
The next big event will be our first annual Alumni Mass at St. John’s Church. Fr.
Aurelian O’Dowd, Class of 1960, will conduct the Mass on Saturday evening, June
27, at 5 PM and offer a special Blessing to the Alumni. Afterwards, there will be a
“Wine and Cheese” reception at the Kingsbridge Avenue school hosted by the
Principal, Ed Higgins. We hope all Alumni will be able to join us for this special
Mass. Watch the Alumni FaceBook page and your email for further details as we
get closer to the date.
Take a look at the last page of this Newsletter—we have added some “Useful
Links” to several relevant websites and FaceBook pages.
Please note that there is now a convenient tool to help you or others sign up---over 300 people have
used this tool so far. Spread the word and have your Alumni friends sign up. Having contact info,
particularly email addresses, makes communications much easier and more timely. Go to the web
address below to sign up:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-QNzFQv0-WOPwmsfgNS6Cv_ujW1vh-C4Zem86E9enBg/viewform
Finally, as a reminder, we will be running an Alumni Capital Campaign in the 4th quarter of the year,
related to a specific need of the school such as an updated computer and art room. So- we ask for now
that you please keep a little bit of your financial charity powder dry for later this year for this St. John’s
campaign. Also, if you have some ideas on fundraising, let us know.
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DISTINGUISHED GRADUATE
Each Newsletter, we will highlight a St. John’s Kingsbridge graduate who has distinguished him/herself in their chosen field:
clergy, business, public service, military, education etc. as a source of pride for the Alumni population and as an example of a
successful St. John’s grad’s career for the current students. Please note that we are actively looking for nominations
from Alumni for Distinguished Graduates, so if you have a nomination, just contact one of the Steering Group
members with basic information on the candidate and we’ll follow up
Dr. James P. Quigley--- Class of 1956
From regular Marble Hill youngster to leading Scientific Researcher in the
Fight Against Cancer
James (Jim) P. Quigley, PhD, is an outstanding example of how a local fellow
from Marble Hill is making a major contribution to society through academic
achievement harnessed to an ambition to become a leader in the field of cancer
research. Jim has never slowed down, and continues his important work today
at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, while enjoying life as a
husband, father and grandfather, and loyal “Son of Ireland.”
Born on Marble Hill Avenue to an Irish born Father and Irish American Mother, Jim enjoyed a normal
upbringing for those days, hanging out with friends and family, attending school and regular Mass at St.
John’s, and pursuing his lifelong avocation—baseball. An avid Dodger fan in those days, he was active in
Police Athletic League (PAL) and Babe Ruth youth baseball teams. Says Jim: “In those days, social life
centered around the immediate neighborhood---there were lots of kids my age---and the Church and
School were very important in family and neighborhood life. While I don’t recall an intensely academic
focus, there was a lot of emphasis on personal discipline and achievement, and it was a competitive
environment. We had the feeling, for instance, that we students attending St. John’s were a cut above
the kids going to public school, in the sense that our parents and teachers expected us to apply
ourselves and do well.”
Jim went on to a strong academic career at increasingly demanding and prestigious institutions--Manhattan Prep and College, Johns Hopkins University, where he received his Ph.D., and further study
at Rockefeller University as a Post Doctoral Fellow. “My early St. John’s years didn’t directly motivate me
toward the sciences, but I did develop a strong interest in arithmetic and math, and the teachers there
helped me become a “structured thinker,” which was a great help when my direction turned toward the
sciences. A further important factor was a nearly fatal accident when I was 19 years old, which caused
me to be confined in hospital for almost six months, giving me lots of time to think about my future. I
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decided then to devote myself to a field where I could tangibly help others, and this was my first serious
step in what became my career in disease research---starting with the study of Chemistry in college,
with later focus on Biochemistry in grad school.”
Jim’s career led him to appointments over the years as a Professor and leader of scientific research at a
number of top institutions, including Rockefeller University, The State University of New York (SUNY),
Oxford University, University of California and The Scripps Research Institute.
His primary focus has been on a critical area of cancer research--- learning how cancer spreads and
disseminates (metastasis), and then on how to control and treat the spread. As the team of scientists
Jim leads at Scripps learns more about this “mechanism” and how to control it, medical practitioners will
be better able to treat this deadly disease and increase the survival rate. Dr. Quigley shares his
knowledge and research results actively, through teaching, regular publication of scientific articles and
visits to related labs in Europe and Asia.
His work as a leading researcher/scientist in his field has been recognized many times, most notably by
being appointed Chairman of Biological Sciences Section, New York Academy of Sciences, being awarded
the Catacosinos Cancer Professorship at SUNY Stony Brook, and currently being on the Editorial Board of
The Journal of Biological Chemistry. Even more tangibly, Jim has been continuously recognized by the
awarding of major research grants from the National Institutes of Health, beginning in 1975 and
continuing to this day.
Jim’s impressive Professional bio can be accessed at: http://www.scripps.edu/quigley/bio.html
Jim’s personal interests center on his family, baseball, Irish culture and teaching. Married to Joan, now a
Nurse Practitioner and Educator, since 1967, they enjoy time with their two children and four
grandchildren---especially if they can take in a baseball game together. Further, Jim and Joan regularly
travel to Ireland to nurture their Irish heritage, and Jim has lectured at Universities in Dublin, Belfast and
Galway.
Very satisfying for Jim is inviting both high school and University students to intern at his lab, as he has a
strong interest in sharing his experience and knowledge with the next generation. Beyond encouraging
academic excellence, Jim offers the following thought to today’s students: “Find a profession where the
work involved is something you would love to do (construction, plumbing , teaching, business, law,
science, no matter what ), and GET TRAINED OR EDUCATED FOR THAT PROFESSION! I myself was lucky
to move by circumstances into cancer research, and I have never ever felt anything but the joy and
challenge of going to work week in week out, year in year out, …plenty of frustrations, difficulties, and
hardships, but never drudgery, just going to a place and doing a form of work that I love. Nothing
better!”
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STUDENT ESSAY/PROJECT
In each issue, we will include a brief essay from one of the current students at St. John’s, telling us a little bit about themselves,
their experience at the school and their aspirations.
Yash Shree, Class of 2015
Aspiring to be an executive in Science and Technology
Hi. My name is Yash, in the class of 2015. As a Hindu
student it was hard to adjust to a Catholic school. Ever since PreK, our teachers would teach us religion that was somewhat
different from mine but had lots of similarities that I could relate
to. Some similarities would be that Hinduism teaches to love one
another, accept all people, to praise God, and remember to thank
Him for all that we have.
I have never felt left out of this community. St. John’s
School has taught us to love and respect one another. We are taught to accept everyone no matter
their differences because we were all created by God in his own image and likeness. We all are
unique.
The principal, Mr. Higgins, is very nice and helpful. He is a faith filled person that
believes in God and the Scripture. In the morning assembly, Mr. Higgins gives us a question to
reflect on based on Scripture and teaches us moral values that we should put into effect in our
everyday lives. I listen to and understand the moral teachings he is imparting to us. Every day it
is the same message but in different words that he is imparting to us. It is to love one another and
be happy and feel blessed that God created me.
The teachers at St. John’s School are very smart and caring. They strive to achieve the
highest academic quality for us in their respective fields of teaching. The Junior High School
teachers (Mrs. Geisler, Mr. Buffington, and Mrs. Cavanaugh) try to make us reach our potential
and and prepare us for high school. Many of these teachers have been a part of St. John’s School
for a long time and have been providing new ideas and techniques of teaching.
I am a part of the class of 2015 and graduating this year is probably going to be tough.
I’ll stay in contact with my friends and my teachers. The one thing I will miss in St. John’s
School is the fun times my classmates we had all throughout the school day.
I will be attending is The Brooklyn Technical High School. Brooklyn Tech is one of the
eight New York City Specialized High Schools or the Elite High Schools that mainly focus on
science and technology. As I grow up I think I will like to be a C.E.O of a big company. I don’t
know which company though: maybe Microsoft.
I will always be proud to call myself an alumnus of St. John’s Catholic School.
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MISSION STATEMENT
STEERING GROUP MEMBERS
The Mission of the St. John’s Kingsbridge
Alumni Association has three components:
1-Support the Mission of the School, which
is: to foster spiritual development
through the Gospel teachings of Jesus
Christ, to provide the highest quality
academic excellence, to promote
responsibility to self and to encourage
service to others;
2-Facilitate a continuing interest by the
Alumni in the ongoing activities of St. John’s
and increase the participation of the Alumni
in the life of the school including promoting,
through appropriate group activities, the
"communion and fraternal aspect" of our
coming back together as former students
and classmates;
3-Help the school administration increase
alumni financial support for specific projects
designed to enhance the school operation
and support enrollment.
Joe Boland ‘60
Joan Beck, ‘61
Kathy
Schneider, ‘65
Fr. Aurelian
O’Dowd, ‘60
Patrick Boyle,
‘67
Jack Sullivan,
‘53
Sheila RyanDoherty ‘73
Vicki
Guarracino
‘87
jnboland@optonline.net
jeannedarc2@aol.com
bigmommak@aol.com
Ed Higgins-PRINCIPAL
Edward.Higgins@archny.org
aurelianodowd@aol.com
Mcjasper75@gmail.com
jacksull3368@gmail.com
sheila903@optonline.net
crowedog32@gmail.com
USEFUL SITES/PAGES
St. John’s Kingsbridge School Website
http://stjohnschoolbronx.org/
St. John’s Kingsbridge School FaceBook page
https://www.facebook.com/stjohnschoolkingsbridge
St. John’s Alumni FaceBook page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/41465572473/
St. John’s Class of 1971 FaceBook page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/360218977328/
St. John’s Class of 1973 FaceBook page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/115763495197907/
St. John’s Class of 1982 FaceBook page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/47458136754/
Alumni Association sign up form
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-QNzFQv0WOPwmsfgNS6Cv_ujW1vh-C4Zem86E9enBg/viewform
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