Chesterton Network and Franciscan University Historic Alliance
On April 8, 2022, Dale Ahlquist, President of the Society of G.K. Chesterton and representing the Chesterton Schools Network (CSN), and Fr. Dave Pivonka, President of Franciscan University of Steubenville (FUS), entered into a historic partnership that will allow students at all 50 Chesterton Academies around the world to be concurrently enrolled at FUS and receive college credit upon successful completion of FUS courses.
What does this mean for the students attending a Chesterton Academy?
Juniors and Seniors who attend a CSN Academy can choose to concurrently enroll in a college level class at FUS with a similar scope and sequence.
This fall, Junior and Senior students will be eligible to enroll in twelve credit hours. These courses will be similar to the CSN Theology and Philosophy classes, and the agreement is open to growing to 36 credit hours. Although there is a charge per course, it is extremely cost effective for the older high school students who wish to earn college credits.
The Chesterton Academy school experience will not change as the students will enroll remotely with FUS. Juniors and Seniors will learn the material in their Chesterton Academy environment and with the CSN curriculum. But through these courses they will have the opportunity to complete college assessments. If the student passes the course, they will have an official FUS transcript.
“This partnership will be of great benefit to both the University and the Chesterton Schools Network,” said Dale Ahlquist, President of the Chesterton Society. “There is great excitement all around.”
Many thanks to Fr. Dave Pivonka, President, and Dr. James Mello, Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness, Innovation & Extension, and Dr. Cory Maloney, Director of Online Programming, Andrew Youngblood, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the CSN, Thomas Costello, FUS liaison to the CSN, and all those who helped bring about this collaboration with the Chesterton Schools Network.
The program begins this fall, 2022. Click Here for Chesterton Academy of Buffalo’s complete list of Advanced Studies opportunities.
ST. THOMAS MORE SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT
Chesterton Academy of Buffalo is proud to recognize Chesterton Academy Sophomore, Shannon Kersten, as this year’s St. Thomas More High School Scholarship recipient! Shannon received a $1500 scholarship for her essay on May 11, 2022 at the Annual St. Thomas More Guild Luncheon.
St. Thomas More was a man of faith who made the difficult choice of giving up his life rather than abandon his Catholic faith by swearing an oath to the king. Shannon was asked to identify someone that she considers to be a modern St. Thomas More. Congratulations Shannon!
“While the Auto Waits” By O. Henry
Our Spring Drama Production was held at the Theatre of Youth on May 12th. Thank you to Tracy Snyder, our drama instructor, the Chesterton actors and stage crew for a thought provoking and entertaining production!
Thank You for Attending the Walk by Faith…High School Eucharistic Youth Conference
Renew 716 Ministries, together with Our Lady of Victory Charities and SENT Ministries presented the “Walk by Faith, Not by Sight” Eucharistic High School Youth Conference on April 23rd. The conference was a tremendous success and the Holy Spirit was alive and leading youth from all over Western New York toward Christ. We are grateful to our generous sponsors, Burning Bush Ministries and to the countless priests who concelebrated Holy Mass, Adoration and heard Confessions. We are especially grateful for the The SENT (Student Evangelization Networking Teams) missionaries from Franciscan University of Steubenville, who led the retreat with great enthusiasm and love for our Lord. We are hosting the Middle School Summer Camp and Retreat on August 1st – 4th. Please click HERE for more details.
Fall and Winter Sports Highlights
We would like to sincerely thank our coaches and the parents of our athletes for their dedication and commitment to our Fall and Winter Knights Athletics program! Without you, our teams would not exist!
- Congratulations to our Men’s Basketball team for taking home the 2nd place trophy! Their grit and doggedness shined especially during the semi-final game. Our Knights suffered several devastating first string injuries throughout the season and all of our players rose up to claw our way to victory in our semi-finals. Our Knights showed great determination and perseverance but ultimately fell to Gilead in the Championship game. Great job boys!
- Congratulations to our Women’s Basketball team for a great first season as the Chesterton Knights! Our girls played all season with great drive, dedication and teamwork. Our women’s team finished third in the semi-final game after a hard loss to Cornerstone. Great job girls!
- Congratulations to our Flag Football team for taking home the league Championship on October 23rd! This was our Team’s 6th Championship out of 7 years! Our MVP for the season was Will Harmon, who led our offense as quaterback. He was a duel threat as a passer and runner. His leadership was invaluable this season. The Knights’ determination, commitment to regular practices and execution of their offensive and defensive strategies were key to their success. Great job boys!
- Our Girls Volleyball Team fought with great heart and perseverance against Christian Central Academy in their Quarter-Final Playoff game, but ultimately fell to their opponent. Congratulations to our seniors, Anna Reese, Clare Grande and Mary Udike. We are looking forward to seeing our 2022 lady Knights in action next Fall. Great season Knights!
- Congratulations on our Soccer team’s 2-0 victory on Saturday, November 6th, and finishing the season undefeated, and winning the NFCAA championship! “This has been the most enthusiastic and cohesive group I’ve coached so far. Thanks to everyone (players and families) for being a part of the team this season; I hope you all had a great time.” Coach Uhrich
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT
Mr. John Paul Brewster
Walsh University, OH
Psychology (Research)
Chesterton Advanced Studies: 3 college credits
Miss Summer Derwald
Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH
Secondary Education
Chesterton Advanced Studies: 9 college credits
Miss Anna Gracon
Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts, NH
Theology
Chesterton Advanced Studies: 6 college credits
Miss Emma Kruszka
Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH
Nursing
Chesterton Advanced Studies: 3 college credits
Miss Alyssa Merkel
Belmont Abbey, NC
Elementary Education
Chesterton Advanced Studies: 9 college credits
Miss Reagan Merkel
Belmont Abbey, NC
Elementary Education
Chesterton Advanced Studies: 9 college credits
Miss Kailie Peters
University at Buffalo, NY
Political Science / Law
Membership Information
Thank you to our 2020-2021 Sponsors!
“Whatever lies within our power to do, also lies within our power not to do.”
Deacon Mike McKeating
Paul & Nancy Dlugosz
The Chesterton Society of Western New York
Paul & Mary Ann Friedman
Cornelia Farley & Francis X. Carroll
John & Kathy Wabick
Joanne & Jim Wright
Brendan & Kristin Pratt
Michael & Maureen Pratt
Donna J. Updike
The Uhrich Family
Mike & Mary Beth Cucinotta
Paul & Kimberly Grande
The Magnussons
Barbara Bartels
Dan Hahn
Mary Krause
Charles & Mary Porter
Kruszka Interiors & Color Design
Basil Toyota
The Gracon Family
Lauri & Mike Hahn
Thank you to our new Charter Club members!
Gerald Kaczmarczyk John Hahn Paulette MacDonald Roderick & Barbara Quebral David & Mary Anderson Joseph & Susan Hoiden Michael & Diane Melerski Dwight Holbrook Evelyn Caterham Carol Cucinotta Mary Anne Rokitka Aluminum Injection Mold
SACRED HEART OF JESUS ENTHRONEMENT
On October 20th, students and faculty enthroned the Sacred Heart of Jesus as King of our school. The enthronement ceremony was led by our Headmaster, Mr. Jim Simon and the Pastor at Sacred Heart of Jesus Shrine, Fr. Lukasz Kopala. The students took part in the reading of the 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart and a presentation of roses in honor of the new image placed in our school lobby. Teachers and students then hung images of the Sacred Heart in each classroom, proclaiming, “Jesus, we enthrone You in our classroom. May Your love fill the room and our hearts.” May Jesus, King of our School, bring us countless blessings and take charge of our studies, projects, meetings, extra-curricular activities, and all of our affairs, big and small!
