On October 1st, The Nora Cronin Presentation Academy presented the Dominican Sisters of Hope with the 2017 Lantern Honors. The Academy celebrated the Dominican Sisters of Hope “for their significant donation of time, talent, and support for the mission to serve young girls in Newburgh, providing a vision of success through education and the means to achieve it.”
Sister Diane Trotta (second from left) represents
NCPA at Mariandale with students and staff
The Dominican Sisters of Hope currently sponsor Nora Cronin’s Extended Day Program and Graduate Support Program, but the Dominican Sisters have long been associated with the Nora Cronin Presentation Academy. In 2005, Dominican Sister of Hope Sharon Yount, OP served as a Site Supervisor and Project Manager for a complete rehabilitation of the Academy’s building. Dominican Sister of Hope Diane Trotta, OP sat on the Board of the Academy for the past six years; Dominican Sister of Hope Lucy Povilonis, OP currently sits on the Board.
“It was humbling and also a real joy,” Sister Lucy Povilonis says of the awards ceremony. An educator herself, Sister Lucy began teaching in 1968 and still serves as a substitute teacher today.
The Nora Cronin Presentation Academy, as Sister Lucy notes, parallels the sisters’ commitment to education.
Ranging from fifth to eighth grade, the Nora Cronin Academy offers girls eleven months of schooling per year plus an extended school day. When they graduate the Academy, they’re well prepared to excel in high school.
“They’ve come so far in just those four years, it’s amazing,” says Sister Lucy. “It’s an honor to be able to support the mission of a school that’s so deeply linked to our own values and the things that we hold dear.”