By Katie Vasquez

The students at St. Ephrem Catholic Academy couldn’t contain their excitement as the Dyker Heights school opened its new Eagles Readers Library.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, St. Ephrem had a different library, but it was converted into a classroom that was later used for storage.

When Michael Phillips took over as principal last year, he knew that had to change.

“It was a shocker,” Mr. Phillips said. “I want to bring back a library. I want to give them a space where, during the day, kids can come and find a way to escape reality.”

Carol Fell, the school’s Board of Trustees chairperson, was thrilled with the idea.

Reading was an experience she shared with her son, who graduated from the school in 1998.

“We reinforced it at home. But these children, not everybody has parents who are able to reinforce it at home,” Fell said. “And that’s why I feel it’s so important for them to have this exposure in school, not just in the classrooms, but to come into a peaceful and quiet space, pick up a book, and really grow to love reading.”

Ninety-five percent of the hundreds of books on the shelves were donated by families and community members.

“There’s a lot of books, and the books are very fun to read,” said Hughie Gallagher, a 2nd grader at the school.

Although it was hard to part with, 5th grader Ava Plantamura contributed some of her own books from home.

“We were going through the books because we wanted to make some extra space, and we thought that we could donate them, just to, like, you know, have more books.”

On Monday, the space was blessed by St. Ephrem pastor Father Robert Adamo, who also brought a portrait of Saint Jerome, the patron of librarians, to inspire these young Catholic readers.

“The children will also get to learn about this great man, who made a big contribution to the Christian world through the scriptures,” Plantamura said.

The Brooklyn school plans to create a “Saint Corner” so children can learn more about holy men and women. St. Ephrem also wants to invite authors to speak with students.

St. Ephrem says they will gladly accept more book donations! If you would like to help, just call 718-833-1440.

By Jessica Easthope

Jeanne Shannon feels at home in the classroom, as long as there are children, it’s colorful, and faith is at the center, she knows exactly what to do.

“I believe in my heart this is really where I’m meant to be,” Shannon said. 

Jeanne is the new principal at St. Bernadette Catholic Academy in Dyker Heights. These old halls are anything but familiar, yet she walks them, hoping to settle in deeper with every step. Before her, the school was run by the Filippini Sisters, whose ministry is devoted to education.

“I know I have big shoes to fill,” Shannon said. “I think that I bring a strong Catholic identity with me here to St. Bernadette’s. And I think Sister Joan has left me a great foundation to build upon.”

Within hours of the start of the school year, Jeanne sent out a survey to faculty, families, and students, asking their opinions about the school.

“I wanted to give people the opportunity to let me know how they felt about the school,” Shannon said. “And I wanted to learn for myself, like what I could do to continue to help this community grow and thrive.”

Jeanne is committed to celebrating learning diversity, even offering special education coaches to her teachers over the summer.

“That’s one thing I hope to bring to St. Bernadette—the opportunity to learn and teach in different ways, and to recognize that we all have different talents,” Shannon said. “Those talents make us special, unique, and important members of the community.”

After nearly 40 years as a teacher and principal at St. Elizabeth Catholic Academy, Jeanne says this change was meant to be.

“I used to read the story of St. Bernadette to my students. But also, my mom grew up in Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, and it was Our Lady of Lourdes who appeared to St. Bernadette,” Shannon said. “So I really believe my mom was nudging God, saying, ‘Send her there, send her there.'”

Now that Jeanne is at St. Bernadette, she’s hoping to stay rooted in what brought her here.