From January 30 to February 5, teachers and students will celebrate Catholic Schools Week in Westchester. The event spotlights Catholic elementary schools and high schools throughout the Archdiocese of New York.
Sophia Callaguazo, a second grade student at John Cardinal O’Connor School (JCOS) in Irvington, a Catholic School for children with learning disabilities, is embracing JCOS’ motto #choosekind during Catholic Schools Week.
Sophia Callaguazo, an Inner-City Scholarship Fund recipient, Sophia will be spreading love and kindness with her classmates by creating Valentine’s Day cards for residents of the St. Cabrini Nursing Home in Dobbs Ferry. to service during Catholic Schools Week in Westchester.
JCOS is dedicated to providing a Catholic education to children with learning disabilities while consistently participating in community service projects. Gladys Callaguazo, Sophia’s mother, credits Inner-City Scholarship Fund with enabling her daughter to attend JCOS, a school with a dedicated faculty that understands Sophia’s learning disability and helped her develop stronger skills in reading and writing, while supporting the community through service.
In 2021, Sophia received a scholarship from Inner-City Scholarship Fund (Inner-City), which provides tuition assistance to 11,000 students in Catholic Schools within the Archdiocese of New York. Since she started at JCOS in September, the scholarship gave Sophia access to highly specialized instruction in a small classroom to help her learn how to read. Thanks to the outstanding work that Sophia’s teacher, Mrs. Bollati, does with Sophia each day, she has made great strides in expanding her sight word vocabulary and her ability to read, write, and spell. Today, Sophia is more self-confident and often participates in class.
Over the next few weeks, Sophia will make Valentine’s Day cards for the residents of the St. Cabrini Nursing Home. By writing uplifting messages on the cards, Sophia is going to use the reading and writing skills that she is learning at JCOS to help make a difference in the lives of others.
