{"id":244401,"date":"2026-05-26T21:23:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T21:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/244401\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T21:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T21:23:10","slug":"red-white-new-catholic-war-veterans-gift-helps-fontbonne-raise-the-flag-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/244401\/","title":{"rendered":"RED, WHITE & NEW: Catholic War Veterans\u2019 Gift Helps\u00a0Fontbonne Raise the Flag High\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"\"\"Members of the Students for Soldiers Club at Fontbonne Hall Academy gather around their school\u2019s new flagpole. (Photo: Courtesy of Fontbonne Hall Academy)<\/p>\n

BAY RIDGE \u2014\u00a0By the time Rocco Gentile became the principal of Fontbonne Hall Academy in 2023, the campus flagpole had seen better days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1937, the Sisters of St.\u00a0Joseph bought the\u00a0original building\u00a0\u2014\u00a0a\u00a0former casino and speakeasy\u00a0\u2014\u00a0and repurposed it as\u00a0a Catholic school for girls.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gentile estimated that the\u00a0campus\u00a0flagpole\u00a0hadn\u2019t\u00a0been\u00a0maintained\u00a0since those early days.\u00a0It was showing rust,\u00a0and its pulley\u00a0system was rickety.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"The new flagpole at Fontbonne Hall Academy displays the colors so prominently that they can be seen billowing from the Verrazzano Bridge, says Rocco Gentile, the school\u2019s principal. (Photo: Courtesy of Fontbonne Hall Academy)<\/p>\n

He\u00a0investigated\u00a0the\u00a0costs to\u00a0renovate\u00a0the pole. But sticker shock grew, especially when it became clear that\u00a0expensive\u00a0boom-operated equipment was needed because\u00a0flagpoles\u00a0are\u00a0tall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just an ordeal,\u201d\u00a0Gentile\u00a0said.\u00a0\u201cBut we are\u00a0a Catholic school\u00a0with a Catholic\u00a0school budget. And,\u00a0as I like to say, even minor costs\u00a0are\u00a0major costs. Everything is expensive.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Turns out it was more cost-effective to completely replace the pole,\u00a0Gentile said,\u00a0but\u00a0the price tag amounted to\u00a0just over\u00a0$10,000,\u00a0which the school had to raise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fortunately, Fontbonne\u00a0has a\u00a0fundraising team\u00a0handled by Effie Maldari, development officer, and Gianna Curreri, development assistant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They reached out to the\u00a0Catholic War Veterans of Kings County, who\u00a0responded by covering\u00a0nearly the\u00a0entire cost with a $10,000 donation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RELATED: Catholic War Vets Seek \u2018Young Blood\u2019 to Carry on Vital Services<\/a><\/p>\n

The new pole\u00a0is now\u00a0planted.\u00a0Gentile said the American flag, billowing\u00a0at the\u00a0top,\u00a0is an amazing sight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"A U.S. Army color guard participates in the recent dedication ceremony for the flagpole. (Photo: Courtesy of Fontbonne Hall Academy)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou drive over the Verrazzano\u00a0Bridge on a sunny day, and you see the American flag flying like you should,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The school\u00a0recently\u00a0held a\u00a0dedication\u00a0ceremony for\u00a0the new flagpole,\u00a0with a\u00a0reception hosted by\u00a0Fontbonne\u2019s Students\u00a0for Soldiers Club. Its 80-plus\u00a0members perform volunteer service projects for veterans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mike Connors\u00a0and Vincent Laporta\u00a0represented\u00a0the Catholic War Veterans.\u00a0Connors, a Brooklyn lawyer,\u00a0said the decision to donate the money \u201cwasn\u2019t\u00a0a long conversation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Mike Connors (left) and Vincent Laporte represented the Catholic War Veterans of Kings County at the dedication. (Photo: Courtesy of Fontbonne Hall Academy)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe said, \u2018Hey,\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0a great idea\u00a0\u2014\u00a0let\u2019s\u00a0give them\u00a0the money,\u2019 \u201d\u00a0Connors\u00a0said.\u00a0\u201cAnd it was a great idea because the Catholic War\u00a0Veterans were always for patriotism in schools;\u00a0that\u2019s part of their mission.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many of the Students for Soldiers Club members have parents or grandparents who are military veterans or current and former first responders,\u00a0said\u00a0history teacher Stephen Yozaites, who supervises the club.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two members in the 11th grade expressed\u00a0their pride\u00a0in\u00a0the flagpole project.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Fontbonne Honors Alumnus Ita Ford With Multi-Panel Mural<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are extremely grateful for the generous donation that made our\u00a0recent flagpole raising ceremony possible,\u201d\u00a0Maryann Polanco said.\u00a0\u201cThe new flag looks\u00a0beautiful at Fontbonne Hall Academy\u00a0and serves as a meaningful way for\u00a0our school community to honor our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Club President\u00a0Caileigh Gratz\u00a0said\u00a0the\u00a0flagpole\u00a0is more than\u00a0a\u00a0place to raise the\u00a0flag.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt stands for unity, sacrifice, and the respect our school\u00a0community has for the people who serve our country,\u201d\u00a0Caileigh\u00a0said.\u00a0\u201cEvery time the\u00a0flag flies, it can remind us of the courage, freedom, and\u00a0opportunities we have because of their service.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"The new flagpole is inscribed. (Photo: Courtesy of Fontbonne Hall Academy)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Members of the Students for Soldiers Club at Fontbonne Hall Academy gather around their school\u2019s new flagpole. (Photo:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":244402,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-244401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}