Mary Queen of Angels Regional Catholic School in Cheektowaga is extremely proud of its status as a STREAM Academy.

The Franciscan institute at St. Bonaventure University has been helping to reaffirm its tradition and Catholic identity. On May 4, St. Bonaventure rededicated its oratory located in the center of the campus. The building, built in 1927 as a chapel, was originally intended for the celebration of the Eucharist, but has changed over time.

As part of their STREAM education, middle school students from 10 diocesan schools viewed the screening of the documentary, "Finding Noah," about an expedition to the summit of Mount Ararat in Turkey to search for scientific evidence of Noah's Ark. The screening took place at the Buffalo Museum of Science.

Dr. Andrew Roth has been named interim president of St. Bonaventure University, Board of Trustees Chairman Robert Daugherty announced today.

Graduation day at D'Youville College was not only special for the 650 students who received diplomas. It also served as a touching tribute to Sister Denise Roche, GNSH, who will retire after nearly 37 years as President of the College.

ATHOL SPRINGS — The Summer Enrichment Program at St. Francis High School gives students the opportunity to develop intellectually and creatively while having fun in the summer.

HAMBURG — Hilbert College's Digital Media and Communication Department will host a Summer Film Camp for students in grades six to 10. Campers will work together to write, direct and shoot their very own short film.

KENMORE — Mount St. Mary Academy will present "Summer Sessions 2016" for girls entering grades five to eight. The program, running Aug. 1-5 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the school, will include a combination of athletic, arts and educational sessions.

Students of Niagara Catholic Jr./Sr. High School went out into their neighborhood to spend a day carrying out the Corporal Works of Mercy. They fed the hungry at soup kitchens, visited the sick at senior centers, and gave alms to the poor at community missions.

St. Bonaventure President Sister Margaret Carney, OSF, was honored by Pope Francis during the university's Baccalaureate Mass Saturday afternoon.

The entire student body of Niagara Catholic Jr./Sr. High School in Niagara Falls joined in a project teaching global awareness. The seventh- through 12th-graders all learned about the need for clean water in South Sudan, along with the horrors of the Sudanese civil war through the book, "A Long Walk to Water," by Linda Sue Park.

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY — A new course on Cuban politics and society at Niagara University includes an intensive two-week research program in Havana and its surrounding areas. The faculty-led, field-based research component of Cuban Politics & Society will take place from May 16-29.

CHEEKTOWAGA — Two students at Mary Queen of Angels Regional Catholic School have earned scholarships to continue their Catholic education.

St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute is offering two types of summer programming this year, both designed to introduce young men to our St. Joe's community of excellence.

The board of trustees of Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School in Buffalo has appointed Kevin P. McLaughlin to the newly created position of president, effective July 1.

In anticipation of the passage of the 2016 New York state budget, advocates for Catholic education had expressed support for education tax credits which would have provided additional financial assistance to low- and middle-income tuition-paying families who send their children to private schools.

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY — Niagara University's College of Education, for several years, has sought to provide access to quality science, technology, engineering, and math education for children - especially girls and low-income youths, who studies show enter the STEM fields at the lowest rates.

St. Bonaventure University officials announced a series of activities and commemorations of Sister Margaret Carney's 12-year term as president.

Checking one's heritage is a popular pastime, which takes time and patience.

EAST AURORA — When patients, family members, and visitors walk into the future John R. Oishei Children's Hospital, they will be greeted by 10,000 smiles. These smiles will be in the hospital's community art mosaic.

Seventeen teenage boys heard a call to visit Christ the King Seminary, and they answered. They gathered at the East Aurora education facility to learn about the priesthood and get to know the men who have already answered their vocational call.

It was a picture perfect day for flying Thursday afternoon, when four United States Army Blackhawk helicopters touched down on the rugby pitch of Niagara University. They came to pick up 80 ROTC cadets and bring them to a Joint Leadership Field Exercise at Fort Drum, NY.

Beyond strengthening Catholic identity, Carol Kostyniak says she is most proud of applying sound business practice to the Department of Catholic Schools over the past 10 years. The secretary for Catholic Education will retire in May from her position with the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, but the road that led her to it was a winding one.

CHEEKTOWAGA — Villa Maria College is responding to the ever-increasing role emerging technology has taken in traditional communication by announcing it will offer a bachelor of science degree program in Digital Media and Communication beginning with the fall 2016 semester. Students can begin registering for the program immediately.

ST. BONAVENTURE - St. Bonaventure University will observe Holocaust Remembrance Day with a memorial service at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 14, in the University Chapel, Doyle Hall. The public is invited.

KENMORE — Rosary making was recently taught to third-graders at St. John the Baptist School. The ornamental prayer beads, which emerged during the Middle Ages, continue to be a beloved, sacred tradition in honor of Jesus' mother, Mary, among Catholics.

Mary Queen of Angels School said hello to the doctors, designers and dancers of the future on March 30. The Cheektowaga school held its first career fair with students presenting on the jobs they might want when they become adults.

ST. BONAVENTURE - St. Bonaventure University School of Education Dean Nancy Casey, Ed.D., today announced the creation of the Education Forum, an annual event focusing on contemporary issues in pre-K to 12th-grade education.

ST. BONAVENTURE - St. Bonaventure University will honor Father Joseph Bayne, OFM Conv., and three other outstanding Buffalo community members with the 2016 Gaudete Medal on Thursday, April 28, at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo.

With an April 1 deadline approaching to finalize the New York state budget, Western New York Catholics at all levels continue to push for passage of legislation that would include an Education Tax Credit to help families defray the cost of Catholic education.

Wade Bianco still talks in football terms. The former coach took over the role of principal at Notre Dame High School in Batavia last summer, and he's already looking to score one for the school.

ST. BONAVENTURE - St. Bonaventure's women's basketball team hasn't even arrived in Oregon for its first-round NCAA game Friday night, and it's already reached the Sweet 16.

EAST AURORA — Members of the faculty of Christ the King Seminary will be offering a series of lectures at parishes throughout the diocese this spring. While there are always opportunities for people to visit the seminary for classes, workshops, retreats and lectures, the new lecture series brings the extensive knowledge of the seminary faculty, many of whom hold doctorate degrees in sacred theology or related fields, out into the diocese.

At St. Andrew's Country Day School in Kenmore, students in the middle school grades are in the process of learning more about energy use and how to live according to Pope Francis' call to care for their common home.

The Lasallian Association of Secondary School Chief Administrators (LASSCA) presented its Brother Michael Collins Award for Excellence to the St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute Swing Choir, during its conference on Feb. 21, in San Antonio, Texas.

While we fully understand the reasons behind the decision to close the Academy, we are saddened over the Sisters' decision to end their sponsorship of the Academy and the decision of the Board of Trustees to close the school.

James T. Walsh (R-N.Y.) and Richard H. Stallings (D-Idaho), former members of the U.S. House of Representatives, will visit St. Bonaventure University March 6-8 as part of the Congress to Campus program.

On Feb. 18, Bishop Richard J. Malone formally announced Upon This Rock, a five-year, $100 million capital campaign that will fund the Diocese of Buffalo's mission in three specific areas. These three pillars, which the campaign calls "those we serve," "those who serve" and "how we serve," involve investing money into the future of diocesan parishes, caring for retired priests, and supporting efforts of Catholic Charities and Catholic education, all with the goal of ensuring a solid future for the diocese.

Nardin Academy, an independent Catholic school, provides an enriching academic experience, allowing students in the Montessori school, elementary school, and high school to broaden their horizons and explore new perspectives on a daily basis through hands-on, cross-curricular instruction.