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San Miguel Academy Newburgh WINTER 2013 Street Art Street Art Comes to San Miguel Academy “New” Development Director “New” Development Director for San Miguel Academy San Miguel Academy of Newburgh Gets $1 Million Gift Gets $1 Million Gift FOUNDERS’ COUNCIL Sr. Agnes Boyle, O.P. Robert Brennan Fr. Mark Connell Thomas Cunningham Patrick Donnelly Barbara Eager Joan Corso Ferroni Michael Giobbe Donato R. Giuseppi, III Br. Lawrence Goyette, F.S.C. Dennis Grant Paul Guillaro Keith Holton Patricia Burns Inglis Michael Judge Gregory Kiernan Kevin Kitson Patricia Kitson Brendan McCarthy Megan McCarthy Kevin Meenan Kevin Mirabile Maureen Mirabile Robert Murphy Colin O’Gara Michael Sileck Joseph R. Sperduto Joanne Welty Mary Whalen Catherine Joyce Wooters She may be new to the position, but Cathy Wooters is truly a veteran when it comes to San Miguel Academy. Cathy joined the Founders Council in 2005 at the prompting of Fr. Mark. e Wooters trace their history with Mark back to the “pre-priest days” at Shenorock Shore Club, where he taught Mark Wooters, at age 5, how to swim. Cathy embraced San Miguel’s mission from the beginning, and slowly began to draw her family and friends into the project. When our first class of 7th graders were preparing for high school, it was Cathy, and her long-time friend, Lauren Steers, who would launch the Graduate Support Program for SMAN. Today, the highly successful program for high school placement and support, boasts a 90% placement rate for SMAN grads in private high schools and boarding schools. Christmas came early—wrapped in a $1 million bow—for San Miguel Academy of Newburgh. e giſt is from longtime benefactors of the academy who wish to remain anonymous. e money will be earmarked toward the ongoing operation of the independent Catholic middle school for boys in the fiſth through eighth grades. e tuition-free, faith-based academy was established in 2006 to help break the cycle of poverty through education. roughout its seven years, the academy has welcomed more than 100 families, creating previously unimagined educational opportunities for underserved boys. All graduates of San Miguel Academy have continued on to high school; 90 percent are currently attending private high schools and boarding schools, also through tuition assistance and scholarships. e city of Newburgh is among the most distressed urban centers in the archdiocese, marked with high crime, extreme poverty and an underperforming school district. Courtesy of Catholic New York, cny.org. Some call it graffiti, but Francisco Fernandez calls it street art. Francisco has also acquired a street name to accompany his talent, he prefers to be called Dasic. Dasic was born in Rancaqua, Chile in 1987. He told the boys at San Miguel that by 13 he realized his calling was to become an international artist of the street. He began his career in his home town and quickly achieved recognition for his unique style. Since then he has painted street murals in Toronto, New York, Detroit, San Paulo, Buenos Aires, Lima, Montevideo, and Santiago. With such an impressive list of cities, one has to ask "Why Newburgh?" at's because his long time girlfriend, Anusha Mehar, lives locally, and when he came to visit her, he realized the great potential of Newburgh. Beginning last summer, Dasic began leaving an impressive legacy in our city. He painted a sixty foot mural on the former Hotel Newburgh, and he created a stunning scene on the overpass of South Street. Aſter that his next stop was San Miguel Academy. rough a generous grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Trust, Dasic was commissioned to work with four of San Miguel's top artists. e result was a six foot by four foot creation on canvas, of a multi-cultural boy. Dasic kept speaking about the harmony of the many parts of the face, and so we decided to name the child Harmony. So much of what we do at SMAN has to do with creating a culture of tranquility and serenity, both within each child, and within the school. It works. By the time our boys leave us they are brothers, regardless of skin color or ethnicity. Newburgh recently ranked 9th on a list of the most unsafe American cities. So oſten the violence in Newburgh is black versus latino, as they struggle for turf in the ever present drug wars. Harmony will grace our school and remind us each day to strive for the peace that God has intended for all of us. WINTER 2013 Online Giving Online Giving at www.newburghsanmiguel.org Online Giving Online Giving at www.newburghsanmiguel.org WINTER 2013 GET AND GIVE—Students at San Miguel Academy in Newburgh pack socks and gloves to distribute to a homeless shelter in Newburgh. Clockwise, from leſt: fiſth-grader George Huagi; sixth-graders Nasir Carter and Zion Alicia Holmes, and eighth-grader Anthony Fiscal. e school recently received a $1 million donation from anonymous benefactors. With such success behind her, Cathy asked to be considered for the development position when Pat Burns-Inglis announced her retirement in the summer. Cathy assumed the position in September and immediately joined the dinner committee in preparing for our 8th Annual Benefit Dinner at the end of October. It was Cathy who informed the board, the evening before the dinner, that SMAN had just received a pledge of $1,000,000 from a generous benefactor. Currently, Cathy is joined by part time assistants, Joanne Walsh, Lillian Mojica and Louise Harris. Our challenges for sustainability loom large, but Cathy confidently attests, “It is unthinkable that San Miguel would not exist.” e Board of Trustees of San Miguel Academy of Newburgh is pleased to announce three new members: Katharyn Hiebert of Chappaqua, New York; Patrick Dennis of Port Washington, New York; Lauren Steers of Rye, New York generous grant from the New Hampshire Lillian Mojica, Cathy Wooters, Louise Harris
