Top Regis Stories of 2013

As 2013 comes to a close, the Regis community reflects on a variety of fun, exciting, historical, and inspirational news stories from this past year. These are the events that grabbed our attention and continue to motivate us as we continue our commitment to both academic excellence and fostering a spirit of generosity and service to those in need.

January 2013

The year began with the school community pausing and reflecting upon the busy service work of Regis students. Regians provided service and assistance in their communities in a variety of ways, including food donations and food drives, volunteering at pantries, creating boxes of toiletries, shoes, and clothing for donation, providing over 400+ volunteer service hours, selling wristbands to support St. Aloysius school for AIDS orphans in Kibera, and raising money for the Kibera Project during Regis AIDS awareness month.

February 2013

The Regis Freshman Basketball team defeated All Hallows 70-56 to capture the "A" Division City Championship. The team wrapped up the season with a 22-3 record, including a 16-1 record in league play.

March 2013

The Regis community shared in the joy and celebration of the election of our new Pontiff. Members of the Regis community, ranging from current students to prominent alumni, appeared in the news, speaking about Jesuit education and the significance of the first Jesuit Pope.

April 2013

Students and staff gathered in the Regis cafeteria to watch a live web stream of President Barack Obama's address at the 2013 White House Science Fair. Among those watching were the advisement group classmates of Christopher Hillenbrand '15 (top right in photograph), who was one of only 22 students given the opportunity to sit on stage as the President addressed the audience.

May 2013

The Regis Volleyball Team completed another season of league dominance as it secured the 2013 CHSAA Title on May 20 with a win over St. Joseph by-the-Sea. Regis completed the match with a decisive 3-1 victory (25-19, 19-25, 25-17, 25-23). The championship win was the third in a row for Regis, and the school’s fourth in the last 5 years.

June 2013

On Saturday, June 1, 131 young men—donned in the traditional white graduation tuxes—entered the Church of Saint Ignatius Loyola one final time as students of Regis High School to receive their diplomas and celebrate the academic and extracurricular successes of the class of 2013.

Also in June, one of New York's most popular weatherman, Mr. G,  stopped by Regis High School to conduct an interview and chemistry experiment with Chris Hillenbrand '15. The interview was the latest installment of a new PIX11 news segment called "It's a G Thing!" where Mr. G searches for interesting and inspiring people who make New York unique.

July 2013

Throughout the summer months, the Regis IT department worked tirelessly to complete an infrastructure upgrade that now supports the latest innovations in wireless technology. The now 100 year old classrooms of Regis High School showcase some of the latest and most innovative technology tools available in the world of education.

August 2013

The Regis community celebrated Pope Francis' appointment of Auxiliary Bishop Frank Caggiano of Brooklyn, Regis class of 1977, as bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Above: Bishop Caggiano '77 with Regians at the 2007 ordination of Fr. Anthony Andreassi, C.O.

Also in August, Luke Passannante '14 was one of five Regis seniors who traveled to the Kibera slum in Narobi, Kenya this summer as part of a volunteer service trip. An avid photographer, Passannante documented much of the trip through his camera lens. The result of that documentation was Set the World Aflame, an exhibition of photographs focusing on the children and families living in the Kibera slum in Narobi.

September 2013

Don Kennedy, who coached Regis basketball from 1933 through 1950, was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame on September 19th at the New York Athletic Club. Kennedy's 1948 Regis squad, ranked #1 in the country at that time, won the national schoolboy championship and is often regarded as the best high school team of its era.

October 2013

A group of Regis seniors were given the unique opportunity to meet Regis Philbin after Philbin invited Regis students to be part of a live studio audience during a taping of Crowd Goes Wild, Philbin's new Fox Sports talk show. A handful of Regis alumni and staff members were also in attendance.

Also in October, students were introduced to two new building additions that were generously donated to the school. Brightly-colored, backlit stained glass windows of Saint John Francis Regis and Saint Ignatius were donated to Regis from the retreat house chapel at Mount Manresa (which was closed in June).

Second, the Regis Library now showcases a rare collection of antiquities donated to Regis by Dr. and Mrs. Emil and Patricia Polak. Though they had no prior connection to Regis, they knew of its strong academic reputation, and felt Regis would be a worthy recipient.

November 2013

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Regis High School students enrolled in the Comparative Religious Ethics senior elective participated in a special video conference with students from the Islamic Educational College in Jordan. Mr. Blair was originally scheduled to join the video conference remotely, but instead made a surprise visit to Regis High School to join the student discussion in person.

Also in November, former United States Senator Pete Domenici GP '15 visited Regis and spoke to students about many of the current issues facing our government today.

December 2013

The Regis community gathered for the annual Christmas Tree Lighting. Students, their families, and staff then celebrated the eve of our Centennial year with a rousing rendition of The First Noel.