BRIDGEPORT -- They talked of toiling in the dirt and heat to build classrooms in Kenya and of helping impoverished children in countries thousands of miles away. But these kids from Bridgeport giggled like the schoolchildren they are as they gathered around a TV Sunday night to see their charitable endeavors during the summer profiled on a national news program.

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Why do parents choose Catholic schools for their children? What makes them take on the financial challenges necessary? This question becomes most acute when it is posed to parents in the inner city.

BRIDGEPORT—When Dara Reyes, then 11 years old, attended the first National Park Service BioBlitz in Biscayne National Park, Key Biscayne, FL, in 2010, she met and impressed some of the top scientists in the world.

BRIDGEPORT—Students in the six Catholic elementary schools in Bridgeport (the Cathedral Cluster) are performing at or above grade level and showing improvement from one year to the next, according to Sr. Mary Grace Walsh, assistant superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Bridgeport.

Six students from the Cathedral Education Cluster Schools in Bridgeport, CT, recently attended the 2nd Annual Ladies Luncheon at Woodway Country Club in Darien, CT, featuring author Mary Higgins Clark (seated) The event was a huge success to benefit the Cathedral Education Cluster schools in Bridgeport, CT.

Samantha Henry, a 3rd grade student at St. Peter's, was chosen to be this year's Lavinia Warren for the Barnum Festival. She was selected from third and fourth graders representing 26 schools in the Bridgeport area at a judging event at the Bridgeport Holiday Inn. The contestants were interviewed by a panel of judges who choose the winners of the Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren Contest based on their academic records, leadership, enthusiasm and social skills.

Mrs. Patricia O. Ruane, a sixth grade teacher at St. Augustine School was selected to receive the 2012 Connecticut Science Educator Fellow (CSEF) Award. This award is the highest and most prestigious award given by the Connecticut Science Teachers Association (CSTA) to a science teacher who has given sustained and outstanding service to science education associations in Connecticut.

Dara Reyes, a St. Ann 8th Grader, was recently named the National Park Service Youth Bioblitz Ambassador for the next 5 years.  The Bioblitz is a series of 10 events, 1 in a different National Park representing a variety of ecosystems, leading up to the 150th Anniversary of the National Parks Service.

BRIDGEPORT — The Cathedral Cluster Advisory Board has issued its own report card on the six Catholic elementary schools in Bridgeport: St. Ambrose, St Andrew, St. Ann, St. Augustine, St. Peter and St Raphael. The report card offered a picture of growth in enrollment, increase in endowment funds, and impressive academic achievement. It also outlined challenges to upgrade school facilities, provide financial assistance, build and stabilize finances. The report was issued by James L. Bailey, Advisory Board chair, and Sr. Joan A. Magnetti, rscj, executive director.