Fontbonne students greet school year with sunrise ceremony
The cliché about teenagers is that they like to sleep late. But try telling that to seniors at Fontbonne Hall Academy!
They started off their school year literally at the crack of dawn.
More than 100 students from the Catholic high school for girls in Bay Ridge took part in a school tradition known as “senior sunrise,” in which seniors gather on Shore Road on the first day of classes to watch the sun rise. Fontbonne Hall Academy is located on Shore Road and 99th Street. Shore Road, which sits on the southwest Brooklyn waterfront, offers a spectacular view of New York Harbor.
The “senior sunrise” tradition had a special significance this year, according to school officials, who said a new day is dawning at the school. With the installation of Mary Ann Spicijaric as the new principal, and with the continuing work of Gilda King as associate principal, this year marks the first time in the history of Fontbonne Hall Academy that two lay women are leading the school. Throughout its history, the school, which was founded by the Sisters of Saint Joseph, has been led by sisters from that religious order.