You have to adjust and move and change things as you go.“We’re going to try our best to provide this opportunity.”After the chat, St. Benedict’s issued a formal statement, saying: “Beginning July 6, St. Benedict’s Prep will begin offering enrollment for a girls’ prep division (grades 9-12) to the displaced students of Benedictine Academy and other interested female students. 100,000 memories. “We knew a lot of people are concerned about the finances and all that. “The board of trustees voted overwhelmingly to support these kids in this effort. I have gone here since kindergarten and I love it so much.”Asia Starks, who began attending AOLP as a kindergartener in 2004, wrote that “although I am not Catholic, this school has shaped my life with Christ.” Matthew Dunn recalled choosing AOLP “because of the love and concern the staff, students and community showed” when he visited from Virginia. We were talking about how we could fit together, but remain separate. ELIZABETH, NJ — This June, the city of Elizabeth will bid farewell to an institution that has been a pillar of the community for more than a century. ELIZABETH, NJ — This June, the city of Elizabeth will bid farewell to an institution that has been a pillar of the community for more than a century. Pointing to economic difficulties exacerbated by the pandemic, the archdiocese announced the permanent closure of one Catholic high school and nine elementary schools, including AOLP. Mainly, we were just seeing if they were willing to help us.Father Edwin Leahy of St. Benedict’s Prep speaks as girls from Benedictine Academy embrace in the background.What shouldn’t be lost in the news that St. Benedict’s Prep will have a girls’ division for the first time is this: The idea was conceived by students at one school and approved by students at the other.It’s no surprise to Father Edwin Leahy, the longtime leader of St. Benedict’s — one of the most inspiring schools in the state. So far, 63 have registered.The school will have to decide how it will reopen when it gets clearance. Still, she has no plans to change course. Some donations had come from as far afield as Florida, Colorado and California. She loved the experience so much that she switched to education full-time. “Once it became clear that the academy had a comprehensive, sustainable plan that met all criteria for continued operations in the 2020-2021 school year, we collaborated with the parish on transitioning responsibility for operations. The petition clocked in at 636 words. According to the school’s director of advancement, Ray Brush, the decision was forced by a 29-percent decline in enrollment over the past five years. Benedictine Academy announced its closure in March, leaving Elizabeth without a Catholic high school. That decline, in turn, was driven by the collapse of local Catholic elementary schools, which graduated around 56 percent of Benedictine Academy students. The board members met May 11, four days after the archdiocese’s announcement. And various athletic teams — most notably boys soccer — have a history of competing nationally.The school’s success educating inner-city students has been noted nationally, most recently on a feature on “60 Minutes” in 2016.Its board contains some of the most accomplished business leaders in the state, led by Chair William Connolly, president of William H. Connolly & Co., and Vice Chair Robert DiQuollo, president of Brinton Eaton Wealth Advisors.Other notable board members include Kevin Cummings, John Degnan and Hans Dekker.The school was founded in 1868 by the Bendictine monks of Newark Abbey. I don’t think they would have supported it this strongly had it not been kids-driven.”Leahy elaborated after the chat in a statement to ROI-NJ.“I’m just trying to listen to a bunch of kids who are telling me what they need,” he said. The transition had been made easier by the three friends and former teacher who accompanied her daughter from her old school. The monks of Newark Abbey and the St. Benedict’s Prep board of trustees both overwhelmingly support this endeavor.“St. “We were talking about potential buildings we could use outside of the campus.