Academy Spotlight: Business, Finance, & Entrepreneuriship

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ACADEMY SPOTLIGHT: OnCore Golf co-founder Bret Blakely spoke with members of the Business, Finance, & Entrepreneurship Academy along with the Journalism & Marketing Academy earlier this week. Bret spoke about his experience in getting OnCore Golf off the ground in 2011 and how it takes a great idea, a lot of hard work, some great people, and a little bit of luck to have a successful company. OnCore Golf is now one of the biggest names in the sport, and to have that type of company homegrown in Buffalo, NY is really inspiring to the students in the Entrepreneurship Academy.
Throughout his presentation, Bret gave some great business lessons to our students, and we are so appreciative to him for coming in to speak.
You can check out more about OnCore Golf here.

Alumni Meet Up in Tampa/St. Pete

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In February, we had an amazing meet up with our Lancer alumni in the Tampa/St. Pete area. It was so great to catch up with so many alumni who moved away from the snow and cold.
As you can see, it was a beautiful afternoon at the Vinoy, as these Lancers reminisced about their days at St. Mary’s. Can’t wait for the next one! Keep your eyes peeled for where our next St. Mary’s meet up will be.
Photo 1: Classmates from 1984 – David Repka, Barbara Brueckl, & Bob Prindlville
Photo 2: Kay Danner & Beverley (Reid) Repka from the Class of 1963
Photo 3: Dan Saracki ’78 and his wife, Paula, Selene (Matuszewski) Partridge ’90, Jill (Schilling) Hampton ’75
Photo 4: Beth Anne Prindlville, Tanya Repka, David Repka ’84, Paul Danner ’62, Bob Prindlville ’84, Barbara Brueckl ’84, and Jared Repka ’87
Photo 5: Classmates from 1958 – Barbara (Gister) Pryor and Linda (Matteson) Reece
Photo 6: David Repka ’84 brought his letterman jacket, and it still fits

It’s Musical Time!

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Follow the yellow brick road! We’re officially one month away from opening night of St. Mary’s 2023 spring musical, “The Wizard of Oz.” The cast, crew, and directors have been hard at work, and they can’t wait for family, friends, and supporters to see the show March 9th, 10th, and 11th.
If you’d like to help contribute to the show, you can donate an item from their Amazon Wish List or purchase an ad in the program. More information on how to purchase an ad can be found by calling the school at 716-683-4824.

Academy Spotlight: Education

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ACADEMY SPOTLIGHT: After partnering with our neighbors at St. Mary’s Elementary School, the Education Academy has been getting some serious on-the-job experience. For the past couple of months, members of this Academy have been shuttled over to SME to actually be in the classrooms to work directly with the amazing teachers at St. Mary’s Elementary. Every member of the Education Academy has been able to gain experience in teaching all of the different grade levels and subject areas to really hone in on their passions and interests.
This type of experience is exactly what The Academies at St. Mary’s High School are all about. We are so appreciative to St. Mary’s Elementary for being so welcoming and cooperative as we worked out the details of this amazing program. The St. Mary’s families working together and enhancing each other’s academic programs is such a wonderful thing!

Academy Spotlight: Visual Arts

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ACADEMY SPOTLIGHT: Members of the Visual Arts Academy recently embarked on The Memory Project. The intention of The Memory Project is to link children together all over the world through art. These portraits allow children to truly see each other, regardless of any cultural, religious, or circumstantial differences.
After applying to partake in The Memory Project, a school is then linked with a group of children facing some type of challenge in a different part of the world. St. Mary’s students painted portraits of children in Nigeria.
Now that these portraits are complete, they will be shipped to Nigeria and delivered to their likenesses to bring them a little sense of joy and hope.

Academy Spotlight: Law & Criminal Justice

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ACADEMY SPOTLIGHT: The Law & Criminal Justice Academy welcomed a very special guest speaker, Stephen Kasper. Mr. Kasper is the father of St. Mary’s Spanish teacher, Mrs. O’Brien.
Mr. Kasper is a world renown consultant on fingerprinting and latent evidence and is even a published author on those topics. He retired from the Amherst Police Department, Lee County Sheriffs, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement and taught at Edison College.
With our students, he discussed the different types of fingerprints and what causes them to be left behind, showed them how to dust for fingerprints and lift them, and then worked in the lab with chemically processed fingerprints taken off of pop bottles and cans. So cool!

Senior Class Visits Historical Churches

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As part of their senior portfolio project, the Class of 2023 visited two of the most ornate, historical, and just plain beautiful churches in the city of Buffalo as part of a class-wide field trip. The seniors visited Corpus Chirsti and St. Louis churches and learned from the wonderful staff the historical significance of each church and about so many of the amazing details hidden in these holy spaces.
After the tours, the class enjoyed a delicious lunch at Ilio DiPaolo’s. This day has become a great tradition for our seniors and something they look forward to throughout the year.

Academy Spotlight: Journalism & Marketing

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ACADEMY SPOTLIGHT: The Journalism and Marketing Academy welcomed back SMHS alumnus, Daniel May ’20 to guest speak. Dan laid out the basic degree track for those students interested in majoring in public relations and showed examples of press releases and media advisories. This spring, Dan will be able to graduate a full year early thanks to the Advanced Placement credits he earned as a student at St. Mary’s.
Dan was also able to speak about his experience in gameday operations with the Buffalo Bills and in a summer internship with the Pro Football Hall of Fame that he was able to land after a very competitive application process.

Academy Spotlight: Global Citizenship & International Relations

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ACADEMY SPOTLIGHT: The Global Citizenship & International Relations Academy welcomed back some recent alumni, including Jeff Zoyhofski ’20 (Cornell University), Laura Fontaine ’21 (Carroll College), and Eric Pfalzer ’21 (Marist College). St. Mary’s Spanish teacher, Mrs. Larson, also welcomed her daughter, Astrid Larson (Tufts University), who just got back from a semester abroad in Madrid, Spain.
All of these students have traveled the world and taken the opportunities laid out for them to become true global citizens along with majoring in things like Economics, Biochemistry, and International Relations.
Jeff, Laura, and Eric all went on a mission trip offered at St. Mary’s, led by the Spanish Department, in the summer of 2019 to an orphanage in Guatemala with the Work, Play, Love Foundation. This trip sparked an interest inside them to continue traveling abroad to help those in other countries. Through their colleges, they have been to Europe, South America, and Asia to study abroad and go on mission trips, and all have plans to continue this work in the future.
Way to go, Lancers!

Academy Spotlight: Business, Finance, & Entrepreneuriship

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ACADEMY SPOTLIGHT: The Business, Finance, and Entrepreneurship Academy welcomed Mike Casciano to speak to students. Mr. Casciano is the Chief Operating Officer of NOCO Corp. and spent the first 15 years of his professional career working for the “big guys” in senior positions in Industrial Engineering, Warehouse & Distribution, Information Technology, Procurement and Pricing. His small business consulting firm, Casciano Business Partners, helps businesses meet their strategic goals.
Mr. Casciano spoke to students about what he’s learned makes a good entrepreneur and how to conduct themselves in the business world.