44 THE QUEENS COURIER • KIDS & EDUCATION • MAY 31, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
kids & education
Photo courtesy of Christ the King High School
Holocaust survivor speaks to Christ the King freshmen
Stephen Berger, a Holocaust survivor
St. Francis Prep’s music program receives national award
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A private high school in Fresh Meadows
received top honors for one of its educational
programs.
Th e music program at St. Francis
Preparatory School was deemed a
“Program of Distinction,” a prestigious
title reserved for the country’s top-tier
institutions, by the Middle States
Association for the second time. Th e
school was the fi rst to achieve the merit
in music when it received the recognition
in 2011.
Th e title is awarded to schools who foster
an appreciation for music in its students
and where the subject is “recognized
as an essential component of the
social and cultural fi ber of society and
the school.”
Th e college preparatory high school
off ers a variety academic courses within
the program, including music technology
and production, and 11 ensemble groups.
“Earning the Program of Distinction in
Music and having to go through the process
has been such a plus for our program,”
chairperson of music and band
director Robert Corbino said. “It reaffi
rms the work we’re doing.”
In 2017, the school’s visual arts and
school counseling programs were awarded
the honor. St. Francis Prep is one of
only a few schools to have earned three
Programs of Distinction.
“At Saint Francis, we believe that providing
strong programs in the arts and
music is key to a high-quality education,”
school principal Patrick McLaughlin
said. “Unfortunately, music education
has become a luxury at many schools
throughout the country, instead of a
necessity … We are proud that Middle
States has recognized this work by naming
our music program a Program of
Distinction.”
Th e Middle States Association of
Colleges and Schools’ mission is to
improve the quality of education in the
United States and around the world. For
more information about the institution,
visit www.msa-cess.org.
from Strasshof, Austria, recently
visited with members of the Christ
the King High School freshmen class at
the Middle Village campus. He spoke
about the events that impacted his life
during World War II, and his experience
in a Nazi concentration camp.
Berger has been visiting Christ the
King for the last 19 years, teaching generations
of children about the horrific
experience.
“We are grateful to have a friend
like Mr. Berger who can provide real
life perspective to one of the greatest
atrocities of our time,” Christ the
King Principal Geri Martinez said. “As
grim a subject as the Holocaust is, the
students learn a great deal from Mr.
Berger’s testimonial.”
Photo via Facebook/St.FrancisPreparatory
Music students at St. Francis Prep
link
/www.msa-cess.org
