Immaculate Empowers Every Mustang to Write Their Own Story

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“Very weird career path, right? My dad thought I’d be working on diesel trains and I ended up making hot dog buns.”

Immaculate High School students sat riveted recently by visiting speaker Jeffrey Teasdale, a commercialization engineer at Campbell Soup Company. It helped that he brought lots of their favorite snacks from his former company, Pepperidge Farms: Goldfish Crackers, Milano cookies and yes, hot dog buns.

“Do you have to create separate packaging for different countries?” Madison Graham-Thomas ‘26 asked. Yes, they did.

Other students were curious how many products the multi-million dollar manufacturing machines Teasdale showed videos of produced in one day. Tens of thousands. “This is a field where you will not ever be unemployed unless you want to be,” he told students about the computer engineers needed to create, implement and monitor manufacturing.

The talk was all part of Immaculate’s commitment to expose students to a variety of innovative fields – including STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). The school – the #1 Catholic Co-Educational College Prep School in Connecticut according to Niche – is celebrating 60 years of providing a Catholic college prep education in Connecticut and New York that develops the whole student by nurturing academic, spiritual, moral, physical and social growth. Immaculate prides itself on its signature programs and reviews academic offerings every year for one reason: It is always innovating. From STEM to graphic design, to healthcare to languages and even broadcasting, students stay on the cutting edge of skills that give them a leg up in our world today.

Here are six signature programs Immaculate High School offers students:

1. STEM

“I am so proud of our school’s STEM curriculum and commitment to always challenging students in new areas,” said Jeanine Antonios, Immaculate’s Business and Technology Department Chairperson. “For the fifth year in a row our student team the ‘Brave Engineers' won the State Level Real World Design Challenge and will be going to the National/International Competition. That wouldn’t happen without our strong program here.”

Using the Project Lead the Way engineering curriculum, Immaculate provides students the opportunity to earn college credits as early as their freshman year. Immaculate also utilizes the Cisco Networking Academy model, which provides a comprehensive course to teach technology skills that are in high demand in today’s business world.

Students participate in networking theory, practical experience, soft-skills development and career exploration. The IT Essentials curriculum supports a broad range of national educational goals and prepares students for important exams. Immaculate offers several science Advanced Placement courses that are also part of UCONN’s Early College Experience program for college credit.

2. Graphic Arts

How would you like to graphically redesign your favorite cereal box? That’s what Immaculate students have been doing.

In this information age of mobile devices, online entertainment and digital advertising, the demand for graphic designers is strong. This skill is needed in a wide variety of careers that require professional presentations. At Immaculate, students can take four levels of Graphic Design courses – from an introduction to an advanced independent study course.

“I think this area is so important because technology is such a crucial part of our lives right now,” said Jane Mahoney, Immaculate’s Graphic Arts teacher who has decades of professional experience in the corporate world. “The opportunity for a high school student to learn professional software like Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign definitely gives them an advantage over other students.”

Immaculate’s beginner course utilizes hands-on projects to teach students about design fundamentals and the basics of the Adobe Creative Suite. Subsequent classes cover photo manipulation, retouching, package design and typography. The Quinnipiac University AP Graphic Design III Program gives students an opportunity to earn college credits. And Immaculate’s highest level course is designed for those who intend to pursue a career in design or a related business/arts field.

3. Certified Nursing Assistant Program

There is nothing like real life practice when it comes to the medical field – and that’s what Immaculate students get right in the classroom.

Those interested in pursuing health and medical science college students including nursing, physical and occupational therapy and related fields benefit from the school’s innovative Certified Nursing Assistant Program. Students can participate in off-campus clinical rotations at St. John Paul II Genesis Center nursing facility and apply to become a Certified Nursing Assistant with the State of Connecticut as Juniors or Seniors.

“Visiting my patient every week has made the biggest impact on me. Our patients have taught us compassion and resilience,” said Sadie Jarboe ‘23. “While I am looking to pursue social work and not anything in the medical field, this class has taught me bedside manner, how to listen, and how to care for others, which are all skills that I will need for social work.”

4. American Sign Language

Interest in American Sign Language is on the upswing – as evidenced by the media coverage of interpreters at the Super Bowl – and Immaculate is right on trend.

“Interest is definitely growing,” said ASL teacher Robin Morovsky, who was a professional sign language interpreter for 25 years. “The movie Coda started bringing great attention to and love for sign language. And now, more parents are teaching sign language to young children before they can speak.”

The beginner two-semester ASL course is an introduction to Deaf culture, grammatical concepts and vocabulary. More advanced courses focus on expanding students’ ability to communicate and language mechanics. All Immaculate students are required to fulfill a World Language requirement of at least two years of study.

“I started out taking the class so I could talk to my friend,” said Sophia Da Silva ‘26, who is considering a career as a doctor. “But I have learned that sign language has so many uses – especially if you have to communicate with a deaf patient working in medicine.”

5. Podcast 101

On any given day walking the halls of the school, you might mistake Classroom 319 for a professional recording studio.

“This is the Immaculate High School Podcast Class coming at you,” a student announces. This time, it’s the Debate Club, with an interactive conversation about which is scarier: the ocean or outer space? Other podcasts in this new elective at Immaculate are topical or geared towards events happening in the school community. Recent broadcasts included “Tips for Midterms” and the “SuperBowl.”

“Podcasting is the new radio,” said instructor Anthony Pellegrini, who teaches students the purpose, process and execution of a successful podcast. “You can take it anywhere and people can get up there and talk about whatever they want like sports or events.”

For Brooke Gilroy ‘25, the class has been life changing. “I feel like our Podcasting class helps us with social anxiety because it makes you more comfortable speaking to others fluently and correctly,” she said.

You can check out all the latest Immaculate Podcasts here: https://www.immaculatehs.org/discover-ihs/ihs-podcasts

6. eSports Program

Video games at school? When Ryan Beverly ‘26 heard about Immaculate’s eSports program, he was excited to join right away.

“People don’t realize how much teamwork is involved in eSports,” Beverly said. “When I played video games alone it was all about me, but this is a real team sport. I have already made a lot of new friends.”

Immaculate’s eSports Program is an after school team that is part of the Athletics Department. An increasing number of colleges and universities are offering scholarships in this area because it’s a booming field – one that can lead to successful careers in programming and gaming. Immaculate students have an opportunity to win scholarship money at the end of each season’s competition.

But even if students don’t go into this industry, eSports teaches valuable life skills, said teacher and team coach Ryan Blecharczyk. “This is a great opportunity for students who don’t usually participate in sports perhaps to focus on working as part of a team, utilizing strategic thinking, doing cost risk assessments, building social skills and contributing to the school community at large,” he said.

All of these signature programs place Immaculate at the forefront of the latest trends in technology, industry and education. As Steve Jobs famously said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”

At Immaculate, your student will definitely become a leader. The school is currently accepting students for the 2023-24 school year. Find out more information here: https://www.immaculatehs.org/admissions/overview

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