STEM, Performing Arts Continue to Flourish at CBA
August 14, 2018
Since Christian Brothers Academy first opened its doors in 1959, the tradition of academic excellence, athletic achievement, and Catholic roots have been at the forefront.
With those timeless founding pillars continuing to excel, the Academy is also now capitalizing on its students’ excited interest in both STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) offerings and a flourishing performing arts department.
CBA will be entering its third year of offering robotics courses to its students. What was always a popular student club at the school, the robotics academic course has produced award-winning projects over the last year. In April, seniors Thomas Gana and Michael DeMasi and junior William Walsh took second place, out of 18 high schools, at the SeaPerch Northern New Jersey Regional Competition.
Throughout the competition, the CBA students used engineering concepts, problem solving, teamwork, and technical applications to create an ROV capable of navigating an underwater obstacle course and an underwater recovery course. Students are judged on the design of their robot and their ability to present and explain their engineering process.
In the presentation portion of the tournament, the boys received top scores, and a first place trophy, from the judges for professionalism, teamwork, conduct, and knowledgeability.
CBA also hosted its first-ever STEM Day for underclassmen last May. The freshmen and sophomores were exposed to a full-day of surveying STEM projects involving robotics, physics, forensics, computer programming and more. Perhaps most impressively, many of the day’s activities were led by seniors in the CBA scholars program.
Just as the STEM program at CBA has expanded, so has the performing arts department at the Academy.
Last year, Pegasus Production Company, the CBA student-run theater program, broke attendance records for both their fall drama (Don’t Drink the Water) and spring musical (Fiddler on the Roof).
At the annual Basie Awards, senior Michael Guarino won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical for his performance of Teyve in Fiddler. The entire company won the Basie for Outstanding Musical Direction. Pegasus was nominated for 13 total Basie Awards, which spanned both the fall and spring shows.
Pegasus also has seen a boost in alumni involvement in the company, thanks to theater director Mr. Marcos Orozco ’01. This summer, they hosted their second-ever alumni show, in which 35 alumni produced the show Noises Off.
In addition to theater, CBA has a critically-acclaimed jazz band, which has performed with the likes of Max Weinberg from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, an award-winning Irish pipes & drums band, and a talented men’s choir.
To learn more about CBA’s STEM or performing arts offerings, the 2018 Open House will take place on Sunday, October 14th from noon to 3 p.m. at the Lincroft-based campus.
This article originally appeared in the August 10th edition of The Monmouth Journal, on poststands until August 16th.