By Mr. Jack Muraca, Director of Alumni/Advancement
The official seal of the De La Salle Christian Brothers is more than three hundred years old. The motto on the crest, Signum Fidei, translated means “Sign of Faith,” and it has also been at the center of our school crest at Saint Peter’s Boys High School since our inception in 1917. During the recent years of pandemic, school closings, etc., we needed to lean on that motto more than usual. It seems that our dedication has now begun to shine through at our school in many ways.
This year, the alumni & school community had a sense of excitement as we were able to hold our second St. Peter’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The five alumni recipients have dedicated themselves to the betterment of our school in many ways. The prime example is the President of our school, John Fodera ’62, who is celebrating his fifty-fifth year of service at St. Peter’s. The other inductees were Dr. Harold Reilly ’50, lifelong Staten Island family practitioner, Mr. Harry Doherty ’59, former CEO of SI Bank & Trust (posthumously), Mr. Frank Siller ’71, Chairman/CEO of Tunnel to Towers Foundation, and John Astrab ’76, former President, CEO and founding member of Mission Search, a healthcare staffing company. We also inducted five “Honorary Alumni” for their lifelong commitment to the students of St. Peter’s Boys High School: Msgr. James Doherty, former pastor of St. Peter’s Church (posthumously), Brother Kevin McDonnell, long-time teacher and track coach (posthumously), basketball coach Charlie Driscoll, Eamon Shields of Daggart Construction, as well as the remaining fourteen Catholic grammar schools on Staten Island, for continuing to support Catholic education in our community.
Mr. John Fodera, President of Saint Peter’s Boys High School (center), is presented his award by Mr. Michael Cosentino, Principal, and Mr. John Walsh, Assistant Principal.
As St. Peter’s Boys H.S. continues to navigate the new landscape with fewer Catholic grammar schools to provide the foundation of our enrollment, in the last two years we have welcomed two of our largest incoming freshmen classes in the past decade. This is in great part due the extensive community outreach by the St. Peter’s administration.
These new students will be able to benefit from the latest upgrades to our facilities. We have transformed our former library space into a dedicated Student Center for club meetings, tutoring, group and individual study, and guest speakers. This was made possible through many generous gifts from our alumni. The space is open for students to use before school, during their lunch period, and after school for tutoring programs. A separate portion of the room is set up like a classroom. It is equipped with a Smart Board that can be used for tutoring, small classes, and college visits. Students can also use the space for Educere, a program that offers more than five thousand virtual courses for college credit. As a result of this program, approximately half of the 2025 Senior class will graduate with college credits.
We foresee a bright future as St. Peter’s Boys High School continues with Faith and Zeal to follow St. John the Baptist De La Salle’s educational principles!
Students involved with campus ministry pose around the chapel altar.
