
ANSONIA — Calling all alumni of Assumption School: You are being called back home.
That’s the message Class of ’94 graduate Nancy Monaco Marini wants to spread in order to bring together as many Assumption School graduates as possible to join a newly forming Assumption School Alumni Association.
An information meeting-both in person and virtual- has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Nov. 8 at Assumption School, 51 N. Cliff St. Those interested in attending in person or virtually are asked to send an email to AssumptionSchoolAnsoniaAlumni@gmail.com
Marini said there are several Facebook groups of alumni who share photos and memories of their beloved school, and an official Alumni of Assumption School Facebook page launched back in 2012. But she said the time is now to create a formal Assumption Alumni Association.
“Assumption’s alumni have always played an integral role in its continued success,” Marini said. “Being an Assumption Cager isn’t something that you can shake. It’s this identity that sticks with you for a lifetime and we wanted to formalize that feeling.”
The effort to formalize the process is geared to bring all alumni-some who may have lost touch with classmates or moved away from the area‑a way to get together and “a very easy way to find their way back home,” Marini said.
Marini said the new group’s role and mission will have many functions.
“The possibilities are endless,” she said. “We hope it’s a social outlet for individuals. We’d love to bring friends together. We’d love for our current students to benefit from our alumni’s experiences, their stories and their guidance. We’d also love our alumni to share photos from their Assumption days or their mementos.”
Marini is a mom of twin seventh-grade boys who attend Assumption. She said from the current student body’s perspective, they’d love to welcome alumni to participate in the school’s many events. For example, the school is being hosted by the Bridgeport Islanders on Nov. 19 and students will carry the American flag onto the ice. Marini said it would be a great opportunity for alumni to walk alongside current students at the event.
Another upcoming event, scheduled for Nov. 3 at Italian Pavilion in Derby is a ‘give back night,’ where 20 percent of the proceeds will benefit the school’s upcoming ‘You Are My Sunshine’ dance. Marini said she’d love for alumni to stop in for a meal that night.
Marini said something as simple as alumni attending the annual Seymour Christmas Parade and “cheering us on from the sidelines” or taking part in the annual golf tournament would be a way to get involved.
“Etched in stone over the entrance at Assumption is the school’s motto: ‘enter to learn, go forth to serve,’” Marini said. “We hope that connecting our alumni provides our current students with an appreciation and understanding of what it means to live by this motto. And, of course, we want our alumni to just have fun.”
Marini hopes the message about forming an Alumni Association is heard far and wide.
“Who isn’t curious to know what classmates are up to or who doesn’t want to remember those incredible innocent and wholesome grammar school days”: Marini said. “I always have a good laugh at myself when I encounter my old classmates. We’d love to give all our alumni an opportunity to rediscover their friends and share their memories.”
Marini, a graduate of Sacred Heart University and Albany Law School, and a current administrator at Griffin Hospital, said Assumption School played a major role in her life.
“So much of who I am was shaped as an Assumption student,” she said.
School Principal Tourin Bourke is excited about seeing a formal Alumni Association take shape.
“As a private institution we not only rely on the support of those enrolled currently, but on the ongoing service of those who have moved on to the next chapters of their lives,” Bourke said. “The Alumni Association provides a means for active partnership. Alumni are able to reconnect with each other, reconnect with the school and hopefully help us continue our important work through acts of service.”
For more information, contact Marini at 203 – 231-1766.