St. Margaret of Cortona School

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St. Margaret of Cortona School, also known as SMS, is a Middle States Accredited Catholic Elementary School located in Riverdale, in the Bronx, New York.[1]St. Margaret's is a Roman Catholic, coed, and religious school. It was founded over 80 years ago by the Sisters of Charity and the parish of St. Margaret of Cortona.[2]


Contents

[edit] Location

It is located at 452 W 260th St. Its cross streets are Riverdale Avenue and Delafield Avenue.[3] St. Margaret's is placed in the Northern area of Riverdale, the 10471 section. Riverdale is home to the upper and middle class. Throughout the two zip codes 10471 and 10463, one can find a mixture of luxury apartments overlooking the Hudson River and many colleges, high schools, and grammar schools, both public and private.[4]

[edit] Students and staff

St. Margaret Of Cortona School is a private grammar school with grades kindergarten through 8th. A full day pre-Kindergarten is also available for three and four year olds. 331 students attend the school.[5] The ethnicity of the students is as follows: White, non-Hispanic: 68%, Black, non-Hispanic: 3%, Hispanic: 18%, Asian/Pacific Islander: 11% (2003-2004 data).[6]

Students attend school 180 school days per year, 5 days per week. A full day of school begins at 8:15 am and ends at 2:30 pm for grades K-8. Students are taught Language, Arts, Reading, Writing, Computers, Mathematics, Social Studies, Foreign Languages and Science.

Students who are registered in St. Margaret's Parish have priority for admission, but other Catholic students are welcomed if there are spare places. However, the families of students who live outside of the Parish pay higher annual fees.[7]

The pastor is Fr. McCarthy and the principal is Sr. Kathleen Marie, who took over from Sr. Dorothy DeYoung in 2007.[8] There are 16 teachers[9] and the student to teacher ratio is 1:21.[10] At the start of the September 2007 school year, two new teachers joined SMS: Ms. Christina Washburn, teaching pre-Kindergarten and Ms. Gina Angiolillo, teaching Physical Education.[11]

[edit] Students in each grade

  • Kindergarten: 27 students
  • First Grade: 36 students
  • Second Grade: 25 students
  • Third Grade: 41 students
  • Fourth Grade: 36 students
  • Fifth Grade: 31 students
  • Sixth Grade: 48 students
  • Seventh Grade: 33 students
  • Eighth Grade: 28 students[12][13]

[edit] After-school and extra-curricular activities

This school offers a basketball team thats in the CYO division with 3 different levels for different age groups beginning with the gidgets (grades 3rd-4th), then the junior varsity (grades 5th-6th) team and the varsity team (grades 7th-8th).

An after school program is given from 2:30pm (dismissal time) until 5pm. Students can play, get after assistance from teachers, and get their work done until pick up time. This grammar school also offers a school band, art classes, and music classes. Other extra-curriculars offered are student council, science fair, spelling bee, academic olympics, drama club, dance, and an intermural soccer and basketball team.[14] There is also a Parents Association that hosts dances, benefits, and meetings on how to improve the school for the better.[15]

[edit] Stated aims

"The primary purpose of St. Margaret of Cortona School is to offer each child the spiritual, intellectual, personal and social foundation through which he/she will be able to lead a productive and fulfilling Christian life."[16]

[edit] Ratings

As of November 7, 2007, the school had received the following ratings from parents[17] on the greatschools.net website:

  • Principal Leadership: 4/5
  • Teacher Quality: 4/5
  • Extracurricular Activities: 4/5
  • Parent Involvement: 5/5
  • Safety and Discipline: 4/5

Therefore, the school's overall rating is 4/5.[18]

[edit] References & notes

  1. ^ St. Margaret of Cortona School Riverdale, NY
  2. ^ St. Margaret of Cortona School Riverdale, NY
  3. ^ St. Margaret of Cortona School - Bronx, New York - NY - school map
  4. ^ www.privateschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/20157
  5. ^ St Margaret Of Cortona School - Bronx, New York/NY - Private School Profile
  6. ^ Student Teacher Ratio St. Margaret of Cortona School - Bronx, New York - NY
  7. ^ St. Margaret of Cortona School Riverdale, NY
  8. ^ Parent welcome letter http://stmargaretschoolriverdale.com/welcomebacktoschool.html
  9. ^ St Margaret Of Cortona School - Bronx, New York/NY - Private School Profile
  10. ^ St Margaret Of Cortona School - Bronx, New York/NY - Private School Profile
  11. ^ Parent welcome letter http://stmargaretschoolriverdale.com/welcomebacktoschool.html
  12. ^ St Margaret Of Cortona School - Bronx, New York/NY - Private School Profile
  13. ^ data presumed up-to-date
  14. ^ St. Margaret of Cortona School Riverdale, NY
  15. ^ St. Margaret of Cortona School Riverdale, NY
  16. ^ St. Margaret of Cortona School Riverdale, NY
  17. ^ based on eleven ratings
  18. ^ Parent Reviews of St. Margaret of Cortona School - Bronx, New York - NY

[edit] External links