Iona Prep Students Celebrate Season By Giving, Performing

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Iona Preparatory students have been celebrating this season of cheer with various activities throughout the last month, including food and toy drives, Christmas caroling and bell-ringing, as well as other festive activities. Here is a roundup of some of the initiatives the New Rochelle students have participated in over the past several weeks.

Students from Iona Preparatory’s Upper and Lower Schools came together for its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive that collected more than a ton of canned food, fresh meat and produce for the food pantries at St. Mark the Evangelist and St. Charles Borromeo churches in Harlem. Overall, more than 750 boxes and cans of non-perishables, as well as more than 1,400 pounds of turkey, 250 pounds of onions and 200 pounds of potatoes were collected. In addition, Iona Prep alumnus Mark D’Urso (LS’76, US’80) contributed $2,000 toward the purchase of items and, in keeping with his family’s legacy of philanthropy, has been contributing food and monetary donations toward this effort for more than 25 years.

Students from Iona Preparatory’s Lower School Bell & Vocal Choirs performed at The Westchester in White Plains earlier this month, singing carols and sharing their talents with shoppers. The vocal choir dates back to at least the mid-1950s when the former Iona Grammar School first moved to its present home on Stratton Road. The Bell Choir, previously an Upper School staple, made its way to the Lower School in the new millennium and continues to flourish under current director Stefynie Rosenfeld.

Students from Iona Preparatory Lower School made the rounds a few weeks before Christmas, delivering toys and other items, purchased by parents and the school community as part of its annual Giving Tree initiative, to local organizations such as the Little Sisters of the Poor, Hope Community Services, Friends of Karen (pictured above with Paul Koltovitch, Rowan Karim, Andrew Tornatore, Salvatore Ciminello, Logan Arena, Jason Kim and Leonel Chapparo), My Sister’s Place and the Christian Brothers’ retirement residence.

One of the newer Christmas traditions at Iona Preparatory Upper School is Santa Hat & Ugly Sweater Day, when students are encouraged to don some U-G-L-Y, “they ain’t got no alibi” hats, sweaters and in some cases, two-piece suits in a unique sharing of the Christmas Spirit. Prizes were awarded to the best…err, worst-dressed students and teachers. Pictured above, sophomores Patrick Cambria, Nicholas Belluccio and Dennis Bogdanowicz join English and foreign language teacher Christopher “Father Christmas” Minio in making their case.

Angels, shepherds and wise men…oh my! Students sang, played the bells and reenacted the nativity during Iona Preparatory Lower School’s annual Christmas Pageant on Dec. 20, directed by Stefynie Rosenfeld.

Photos provided by Iona Preparatory School. Main photo credit: Michael Woyton/Patch Staff.