On Friday evening, June 11, Wilton’s Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Academy (OLFCA) held commencement exercises for its graduating eighth-grade class in the parish church. Principal Stanley Steele welcomed those in attendance, and Our Lady of Fatima Church Pastor, Rev. Reginald Norman, celebrated the Graduation Mass and offered a homily. Susan Miller Kaiser, a parent of one of the graduates, gave the commencement address, and Steele, Norman, and mathematics teacher Geri Galasso presented the graduates with their diplomas.
The members of the Class of 2021 include Jacobo Betancur, William Earls, Juan Garcia, Abigail Jones, Colin Kaiser, Ryan McMahon, Crina Pariza, Maxime Roberge, Adriana Salageanu, Jack Sargeant, and Chloe Thompson.
As part of the commencement, the Eugene Rooney Award was presented to McMahon, school board scholarships were awarded to Betancur and Salageanu, and Roberge was recognized with the Phillip Lauria, Jr. Memorial Award.
The graduates have committed to attend the following CT high schools: Fairfield College Preparatory School, Hopkins School, P-Tech Norwalk, St. Joseph High School—Trumbull, and Wilton High School.
During his commencement remarks, Steele lauded the students and faculty for completing a full year of in-person, full-time learning under historic circumstances. Speaking about the safety plans instituted and the full cooperation of students and their families, he said, “Our school was well-positioned for these unusual times. We offer a Personalized Approach to Learning, and due to our small classroom sizes and the efforts of all involved we achieved our goal of being here and learning together.”