Holy Rosary Academy Elementary School
After leaving Robert Waters School at the end of grade 6, I arrived at Holy Rosary Academy Elementary School for grades 7 & 8. Supposedly, I would receive a better education here - the truth is that I received just about the same as I did at Robert Waters. However, I did get to met my buddy Alex Lorenzo and exposure to St. Peter's Prep - where I would later attend high school in Jersey City. Alex and I have remained close friends throughout the years. Recently, I had the good fortune to back in touch with classmates Patti Villegas, Gloria Turletti & Adriana Barcia - more on these ladies and Alex below, but first a trip to...
Holy Rosary in Union City.
Grade 8 - The Silly Stuff...
A great deal of thanks is owed to classmate, Patti Villegas for the pictures you are about to see. As it was tradition in Mrs. Proenza's 8th grade class to create a yearbook, Patti was assigned the task for the Class of 1985. Luckily for us (unless your silly mug is pictured below), Patti made a duplicate book for herself. After reconnecting after many years had passed, Patti loaned me the yearbook for the purpose of scanning the picures and embarassing ourselves and fellow classmates. The pictures were taken in 1985 with special honors bestowed upon us by our classmates - silly categories which are almost too embarassing to admit! Note: the stickers in some pictures were part of yearbook and I didn't want to damage the pics (and also to preserve the charm of the yearbook). Without further blah, blah, blah, here are those juicy pics:
BEST EYES: Let's start off by embarassing the people responsible for this viewing pleasure you are experiencing! Patti & I were voted class eyes (blue). While Patti was proud of her braces, I opted to not show my silver! Why we wore sunglasses? Still a mystery to me.
BEST DANCERS/MOST POPULAR: Letty Gonzalez & George Garcia.
MOST AMBITIOUS: Patti Villegas & Manny Proenza.
BEST DRESSED: Hernan Hernandez & Letty Gonzalez.
BEST HAIR: Hernan Hernandez & Gloria Turletti (can you believe we had this category? Was their such a thing as good hair in the 1980s?)
BEST LOOKING: Manny Proenza & Susan Smulders.
CLASS ARTISTS: David Castro & Patti Villegas. Patti had a Garfield addiction.
BEST ATHLETES: Manny Proenza, Robert Mauriello, George Garcia & Claudia Acosta.
CLASS BULLIES: George Acosta & Alidi Rodriguez.
CLASS CHATTERBOXES: Alex Lorenzo & Letty Gonzalez.
CLASS CLOWNS: Alex Lorenzo & David Castro.
CLASS CUTIES: Adriana Barcia & David Castro.
CLASS FLIRTS: Letty Gonzalez & David Castro.
CLASS GIGGLES: Carlos Pomares & Alidi Rodriguez. This was probably the only moment we weren't laughing!
CLASS KLUTZES: Alex Lorenzo & Susan Smulders.
CLASS NUISANCES: David Castro & Susan Smulders.
CLASS PALS: Hernan Hernandez & Steve Fals - Letty Gonzalez & Susan Smulders.
BEST SMILES: Gloria Turletti & Manny Proenza.
MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED: Manny Proenza & Maria Elena Pis-Lopez.
MOST SOPHISTICATED: Manny Proenza & Diana Garcia.
MRS. PROENZA'S CLASS PETS: Manny Proenza & Maria Elena Pis-Lopez.
Most photogenic: Just kidding...
MOST LIKELY TO HANG HERSELF: Dilys Vasquez (ok, I'm kidding again...)
OTHER HONORABLE DISTINCTIONS GIVEN BUT NO PICS AVAILABLE:
MOST QUIET: Robert Mauriello & Dua Elayan
MOST ABSENT: George Garcia & Diana Garcia.
CLASS COUPLE: Manny Proenza & Letty Gonzalez
MS. ACKAWAY'S PETS (7TH GRADE TEACHER/READING CLASS): George Garcia & Iman Abbasi.
CLASS PICTURES:
The only phrase that sums it up: absolutely aweful!
Grade 7 - Mrs. Ackaway's class. You can see me laughing at one of Alex's jokes (top/left).
My grade 7 picture.
Grade 8 class picture. - Mrs. Proenza's class.
The graduation pose (with no smile because of the braces).
In the Name of Progress?
Across the street from Holy Rosary Academy was Holy Rosary High School (for girls only) combined with the convent. Incidentally, my mom would occasionally visit here (she was a visiting nurse tending to a nun's elderly mother). I was shocked to see a wrecking crew taking down the buildings in early 2004. I asked a nun nearby about the project; turns out the school is being replaced by a Senior Center. Oh well, one less tangible aspect of my childhood - it happens to all of us!
The New "HRA" Building?
The senior citizen building that replaced Holy Rosary Academy High School.
Holy Rosary Academy Elementary School - Class of 1985:
Iman Abbasi
Claudia Acosta
Adriana Barcia
David Castro
Dua Elayan
Steven Fals
Diana Garcia
George Garcia
Antonio Gonzalez
Leticia Gonzalez
Alejandro Lorenzo
Joyleen Magistre
Patti Mathies
Robert Mauriello
Medelena Mezzina
Arol Paz
Christine Perez
Maria Elena Pis-Lopez
Carlos M. Pomares
Manuel Proenza
Alidi Rodriguez
Susan Smulders
Gloria Turletti
Marilyn Valdes
Dilys Vazquez
Patricia Villegas
Life Beyond HRA...
The grade school remains open. In fact, HRA is celebrating their centenial in 2004.
My first recollection of HRA was the fact that I now had to dress up in a silly uniform. My second recollection was walking to school on my first day with my mother and thinking how silly I felt wearing a uniform on the street. My third recollection was being ushered into this new school for morning prayers, the pledge of allegence and other formalities. Alex was the first person to approach me & introduce himself as we stood on line for morning prayers (and of course, I knew nearly none of them). I still talk to Alex regularly and am proud to say he remains a close friend of mine. He is now a police officer in New Jersey.
As we were then: Alex with Gabe on his shoulders, I am the young stud with my arm around Gabe. This picture was taken around 1984/1985.
As we are today: Here we are in Fort Lee. Alex received a citation from his police department for bravery in October 2004. Proud moms are: my mom Carmen on left, Mrs. Lorenzo on right. Congrats Alex!
Alex in cop gear...
Alex at a recent holiday party.
About the ladies mentioned above...
Besides still hanging with Alex on occassion, I was very happy to get a call from Patti Villegas. She (left) and Gloria Turletti (middle) attended HRA Elementary with me and continued onto the HRA high school (only for girls). They were in the process of organizing a reunion when Patti came across my site and contacted me. We got together for dinner shortly afterword (Alex promises to make the next one) and had a nice time catching up. I had not seen these ladies since 8th grade - that was way back in 1985 when Duran Duran was hot! Patti even brought a homemade yearbook (pics you saw above) she made and we all had a great time laughing at ourselves - but more importantly - at others! It was great to see them and I hope we don't have to wait another almost 20 years to see each other again (hint!).
Here's a pic of the HRA High School Class of 1989 reunion in September 2004. Patti & Gloria are in the back row (center). Another two of my elementary classmates, Madelena (second row, extreme right in purple shirt) and Adriana (front row, second from the left). Hopefully, we'll be able to catch up at a HRA Elementray reunion.
A SORT OF HOMECOMING IN 2005
Celebrating the centenial anniversary of the Holy Rosary sisters with some fellow classmates from the Class of 1985.
I took the opportunity to get Alex & Adriana together for a reunion, of sorts, at our old elementary school gym at a dinner celebrating the sister's anniversary. Here are a few pics from the April 9, 2005 event:
Left - Right: Alex, Adriana (with son, Danny) and me standing outside our 8th grade classroom.
Just like1985 - so well-behaved!
OK - so it was really like this in 1985...
Alex & I spent some quality time at the office...
Just one of many reasons we spent quality time at the office...
Inside the playroom! This is where Alex & I met in September of 1983. Alex was the first person I met at HRA.
Alex towers beneath the basketball banner he helped win! He was even offered the basketball coaching job that night!
Adri boogies down with her little man!
Garfield eagerly awaits his reunion with Patti V. By the way, do you know HRA was responsible for her Garfield obsession? In her own words: "HRA grammar school was responsible for my whole Garfield thing to begin with. Remember the chocolate-bar-selling fundraisers they used to force us to do? The first garfield doll I ever got was as a prize the school gave to students who "sold" more than the minimum chocolate required..."
Next up, Patti's admission on how she and Gloria became Durranies...
AAAAAAAHHHHH - the school yard. Patti & Gloria may not remember this but when we sat near this window, some nearby dog would bark endlessly during our last semester of HRA schooling. Gloria & I even named him Arf! What I can't figure out is - why I remember this?
Alumni Updates:
Class of '85 mini reunion at Carlos' house on September 2005. Left - Right: Carlos, Patti, Alex and Gloria.
Jul 12, 2006 - Arol Paz '85 - In an email from Arol, he indicates that since HRA, he has moved around the US a bit, including New York, Los Angeles, and now resides in Columbus for the past 5 years. He is a Sales Production Mamager for a home builder. He states he returns to Hudson County about 2-3 times yearly.
Apr 14, 2006 - Letty Gonzalez-Rojas '85 - Letty emailed me to say hi and filled me in on her life since HRA. She has been in the Miami area since 1987. She is married and now expecting a baby girl in late May/June 2006. She expressed her gratitude for Mrs. Proenza's positive influence on her life and her fond memories of Mrs. Lorenzo, the all-time class mom!
Mar 29, 2006 - Manny Proenza '85 - Manny dropped me an email to say hi and thanks for the memories from Patti's homemade yearbook. If memory serves me correct, Manny was studying medicine in Arizona?
Aug 30, 2005 - Jesus Guerrero '87 - Jesus is now living in Madrid, Spain. He informed me that Steven Fals '86 is married and now lives in California. He also indicated that his cousins Christina Guerrero '88 and Louis Guerrero '87 also attended HRA.
Apr 04, 2005 - Vicky Padigas '86 - Vicky just wanted to express her thanks for the pictures on the site.
Jan 19, 2005 - Arlene Rodriguez '86 - Arlene sent an email with some basic info on some HRA alumni from the class of '85. Arlene and her brother Alex Rodriguez '86 both were in the same class. She continued in the HRA High School and now resides in Miami. She reports that she has kept in touch with Joyleen Magistre-Rodriguez '85 who is now married with three children. She is also aware that Hernan Hernandez '85 is a lawyer in the Miami area along with his brother. She also stated Chachi Rodriguez '84 is also in the Miami area.
MORE TO COME - CHECK BACK SOON!
Are you an HRA classmate? Drop me an email: carlos@carlopomares.com
----- July 13, 2006 -----
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