Mr. Rubenacker joins Rosarian from the prestigious Friends Academy on Long Island, New York where he served as a principal, administrator, teacher and coach over the last 13 years.

"In a field of strong candidates, Steve had the combination of qualities we required: proven leadership, academic experience, sharp intellect, and, above all, a commitment to Rosarian to prepare our children to be leaders in academics, faith, arts, athletics and social responsibility," said Andy O'Brien, Chairman of the Board, "He is a very good fit for our Rosarian family and leading our school on its strategic path. He understands our priorities for spiritual leadership and social responsibility."

The Board unanimously recommended Mr. Rubenacker for the position, and the Adrian Dominican Sisters General Council approved the first-ever male as Head of Rosarian. "We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Rubenacker and his family and cannot imagine a better choice to lead Rosarian at this important time in the school's 90-year history," announced O'Brien in the letter he sent to parents and faculty on November 24, 2014.

Steve and his wife, Kate, will be relocating to the area at the start of the summer and enrolling their two sons in Rosarian's Lower School and Children's House programs next fall. 

The Head of School search began last May when Principal Virginia Devine announced her retirement after serving the school for 31 years. This decision ends an extensive and highly competitive process that included a pool of accomplished and inspiring candidates being interviewed by parents, students, faculty, and community members. 

The 2013-2014 Annual Impact Report is a declaration of the generosity of the Rosarian community. Through the financial support of parents, past parents, alumni, grandparents and friends of Rosarian, we are able to constantly improve our facilities and technology; retain highly trained and qualified faculty and staff; maintain small class sizes; offer an advanced, progressive and accelerated academic program; provide outstanding athletics and arts; increase co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. Each gift received is a testament to the value of a Rosarian education--educating and fostering students to make a positive difference in this world.

Click here to view the 2013-2014 Annual Report >>>

In celebration of All Saints' Day, the fourth graders chose saints to research and then wrote speeches about their saints. Dressed in costume, the students delivered their memorized speeches in the Rosarian Chapel on November 3. 

Click here to view photos >>>

Thirty-four 2nd through 4th grade Rosarian Academy students presented Disney's Aladdin for Kids on Saturday, November 8. The young talent performed in front of a full-house in the school's 485-person professional theater. The cast was led by fourth-graders Crede Janson (Aladdin), Kendal Perry (Princess Jasmine), Lily Guari (Genie), and Marcus Meinke (Sultan).

Aladdin tells the story of street rat Aladdin who meets Princess Jasmine and instantly falls in love. Aladdin happens upon a magic lamp with a Genie who grants him three wishes. He wishes to become a prince in order to win the heart of the princess. Crede Janson's melodic voice and captivating stage presence took the audience on an hour-long magic carpet ride that left you wanting more.

The musical was produced and directed by Robert Sherman, with production assistance by Francesca Coniglio, musical direction by Gay Dedo and choreography by Jeanne Bennet.

Led by Mr. Sherman, Rosarian started lower school productions five years ago with It's Showtime, followed by It's Showtime 2, Willy Wonka, Cinderella, and this year Aladdin. Aladdin is the first of the lower school productions to sell out of all the seats in the theater. All shows are shortened versions of the Broadway productions. The music is adapted for younger voices, yet, is still challenging.

"Aladdin is the most elaborate lower school show Rosarian has produced in terms of costumes, props, and sets," said Mr. Sherman, "It was also the most challenging show for young voices that we've done."

Rosarian Academy gives children from second through eighth grade the opportunity to participate in fully-staged and executed productions, directed by professionals with real-world theatrical experience. 

For the second year in a row, with the help of Rosarian Academy Lower School students, the World Record for "Most People Sport Stacking at Multiple Locations in One Day" was broken! The entire Rosarian Lower School, kindergarten through grade four, participated in 2014 STACK UP! 

Sport stacking has been termed a "track meet for your hands at warp speed." It's an exciting sport where students up stack and down stack 12 specially designed cups called Speed Stacks in predetermined sequences as fast as they can. Stackers race against the clock, compete in relays and often combine sport stacking with fitness challenges as part of physical education classes. For more information, visit www.thewssa.com or www.speedstacks.com.

 Rosarian started the Holiday Season early this year with its 36th Annual Auction & Ball, Christmas in Hollywood, at The Breakers on Saturday, November 22, 2014. Inspired by the 1946 movie, "It's a Wonderful Life," Auction Chairs, Laura Herlong and Cindy Osborne, transformed the Ponce De Leon ballroom into a Christmas scene filled with hundreds of members of the Rosarian community acting as "vintage Hollywood" stars.

The chairwomen and their vast committee planned the holiday party to be remembered, including silent and live auctions, dinner, dancing, raffles and more. While guests used smart phones and iPads to bid for silent auction items through BidPal for the second year in a row, auctioneer and long-time supporter of Rosarian Academy, Jim Arrigo, lead the live auction.

Thanks to all who helped us meet our fundraising goal and who continue to make it "A Wonderful Life at Rosarian Academy!"

Rosarian Academy eighth grade student, Samir Thakkar, was honored as the school's November Kiwanis Club Student of the Month on November 18th. Continuing its tradition of honoring excellence, character and leadership potential, Kiwanis Club of Palm Beach recognizes students from local schools at a monthly luncheon at the Chesterfield Hotel. Selected students are honored with a check and a certificate.

Samir was accompanied by his father, sister, and History teacher Mrs. Kathy Moormann. In the speech he delivered at the luncheon, Samir thanked Rosarian and the teachers who chose him for this honor. He also thanked his family for all the support. 

Coordinated by the 8th grade, Rosarian Academy continued its annual community food drive in conjunction with Channel 5 Bill Brooks Food for Families from November 3-14.  Rosarian worked with St Paul of the Cross Catholic Church and donated the canned food collection again this year to their van ministry and St. Vincent de Paul Society.

 Click on the image to the right to view the Channel 5 news coverage on Rosarian's food drive.

In the short school week leading up to Thanksgiving, the kindergarten students finished their studies of the first Thanksgiving with a performance and lunch together. The two kindergarten classes performed a Thanksgiving narrative and songs in front of family and friends, followed by a turkey feast.
 

As our students become more aware of their own thinking and the strategies and processes they use to think, they become more metacognitive...THEY THINK ABOUT THEIR THINKING. The utilization of Thinking Routines will support the development of these skills and will cultivate students' deeper understanding. Our CORE Thinking Routine is: "What Makes You Say That?"

 Provided by Mrs. Linck, below is a short list of high-leverage "Thinking Moves" that are being modeled in our lessons here at Rosarian and supporting the development of our students.

1. OBSERVING CLOSELY AND DESCRIBING WHAT'S THERE

2. BUILDING EXPLANATIONS AND INTERPRETATION

3. REASONING WITH EVIDENCE

4. MAKING CONNECTIONS

5. CONSIDERING DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS AND PERSPECTIVES

6. CAPTURING THE HEART AND FORMING CONCLUSIONS

7. WONDERING AND ASKING QUESTIONS

8. UNCOVERING COMPLEXITY AND GOING BELOW THE SURFACE OF THINGS

 Parents, we encourage you to support our goals by incorporating these Thinking Moves into your dialogue at home.

5th/6th Grade English Teacher, Mrs. Chrissie Ferguson published an article in the November edition of South Florida Parenting on helping your child build self-esteem. Click here to view the article.

 Recently ministering as "grandmothers" to girls at St. Clare Girls' Centre in Meru, Kenya, Sisters Maurine Barzantni, OP, and Renee Richie, OP, now play a similar role, offering the ministry of presence to First Nations people on four reservations in British Columbia. They began their ministry on May 1.

"We're very happy and we love what we're doing," Sister Renee said. "And what we're doing primarily is not so much the action mode as just being - our presence with the people."

Sisters Maurine and Renee are based in Fort St. James, about a two-hour drive north of Prince George, in the Diocese of Prince George. They serve as pastoral assistants to Father Frank Salmon, OMI, pastor of Our Lady of the Snows Parish in Fort St. James. They live on the Nak'azdli reservation, in community with Sister Divinia, a Sister of St. Joseph of Toronto, in a house established by Sister Divinia's community. Their ministry also takes them to the Binchy, Tache, and Yekoochie reservations of the Carrier Nation. Traveling to Yekoochie, the farthest of the reservations, entails a two-hour drive on a logging road, which at times drops to one lane.

"When we go to the reservations, we're still at the point of just visiting people - knocking on doors and saying hello and trying to engage in conversation" to let the people know of the Church's concern, Sister Maurine explained. "They receive us with warm hospitality."

Sisters Renee and Maurine have taken the opportunity to listen to the stories of the people they visit and to learn about their lives and culture. Although the people they meet are joyful, they also experience deep grief over the loss of their culture and language to the dominant culture.