St. Aidan Catholic School

August 2019

Dear Parents,

It is with great pride that I write this letter to you as the newly appointed Principal of St. Aidan School. I begin this 2019-2020 academic year filled with energy, excitement and motivation to lead St. Aidan School. I am grateful for my three years as Assistant Principal and thank each ofyou for your part in guiding me on this new, exciting adventure. I am honored to partner with all of you and I ask for your prayers in continuing this mission.

On behalf of the entire St. Aidan School community, I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Miss Eileen Oliver for her outstanding service and dedication to St. Aidan School these last forty-one years. I am fortunate and honored to carry on her legacy of leadership. We are beginning this school year thriving with an increase in enrollment, new additions to our faculty and staff, updates to our facilities and exciting plans for the future.

For those of you who do not know me, I am a proud product of Catholic Education. I started my educational career at St. Helen School in Howard Beach, followed by The Mary Louis Academy in Jamaica Estates. I then went on to pursue a BA in Child Study and Speech Communication at St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn where I obtained certification in Elementary and Special Education. While teaching in the North Merrick UFSD, I received an MS from St. John’s University in Reading. I then completed my Educational Administration certification at CW Post. In addition, I spent some time working for the education department at the Archdiocese of New York. I am married to my husband, Jim for twenty years and we are the proud parents of three children who all attend Catholic Schools within the Diocese of Rockville Centre. I have been blessed to be the Assistant Principal at St. Aidan School these last few years under the guidance of Miss Eileen Oliver.

I am very happy to introduce our new Assistant Principal, Mrs. Barbara Graham. Mrs. Graham joins us with thirty-one years of dedicated teaching experience at St. Kevin Catholic Academy in Flushing, New York. Mrs. Graham holds a BS in Elementary Education and an MS in Reading from St. John’s University. She recently completed her Educational Administration certification at Fordham University. Mrs. Graham has many valuable years educating the middle school population. We are thrilled to welcome Mrs. Graham and I am personally excited to work closely with her this year.

I look forward to seeing you throughout this upcoming school year. Enjoy the remaining days of the summer.

With warm regards,
Mrs. Julie A. O'Connell
Principal