Bay Ridge
Happy Birthday to Rose Marciante, formerly of Bay Ridge. The centenarian turned the magic age of 104 years young on Feb. 12. Our Rose is currently living with her grandson Michael Marciante in Manhattan, but wants all her Brooklyn buds to know she is doing well and misses the old neighborhood.
Standing O wishes Rose 100 more happy birthdays, and hopes to give her another shout-out next year when she turns 105!
Park Slope
It’s perfection
Three cheers to Poly Prep senior Flora Gallina-Jones for acing her Advanced Placement with a perfect score on her Spanish Language and Culture exam. Standing O pal Flora credits her Spanish teacher Diana Chery with this stellar achievement.
“She’s my Spanish-language mom and I absolutely have to thank her for her help guiding me toward this success,” she said. “She has been an excellent teacher, motivator, and guide throughout my work with the language.”
According to the College Board the Prospect Heights resident falls into a very “special-category,” as a result of being one of 91 students out of 135,341 worldwide students to achieve the distinction.
Headmaster David B. Harman explained the reason for her success.
“Poly Prep sees a robust world languages curriculum as central to our mission to educate and inspire the next diverse generation of leaders and global citizens,” he said. “I am thrilled with Flora’s stellar performance, which reflects her keen intelligence and hard work.”
Flora is headed for Stanford University in the fall, and Standing O wishes her luck and success.
Poly Prep Country Day School [9216 Seventh Ave. at Poly Place in Dyker Heights; (718) 836–9800].
Park Slope
Outreach to help
A great big thank you to the members of the Church of Gethsamene for hosting its annual Criminal Justice Sunday special worship service. When the Criminal Justice Division of the Presbyterian Church was cut due to lack of funds, the Second Sunday of February was designated as Criminal Justice Sunday, and the Church of Gethsemane came to the rescue to continue the tradition.
The service included liturgy, scripture, prayer, and a sermon relating to prison and re-entry ministry, as well as criminal justice reform and other issues relating to incarcerated men and women.
Invited guests, parishioners, and members of Project Connect joined together and heard testimony from former incarcerated individuals, special speakers, and District Attorney Kenneth Thompson.
This service is part of the Project Connect outreach initiative that has successfully advised incarcerated men and women for the past 20 years.
Upon release Project Connect members are welcomed into the Church of Gethsemane church family as active members. Many persons receive assistance in finding referrals for housing, job training, social services, and programs that are of help during their transition period. The church collaborates with other community organizations and churches that provide re-entry support.
Standing O says, “Thanks for your continued support in this critical program.”
The Church of Gethsemane [1012 Eighth Ave. between 10th and 11th streets in Park Slope; (718) 499–6704].