This year, graduation ceremonies at Fontbonne Hall Academy, Bay Ridge, were set to reflect the true nature of a Fontbonne education – filled with tradition, yet academically progressive. The 129 members of the Class of 2015 wore traditional white gowns and carried red roses at their Commencement exercises at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Sunset Park. This year, however, they also donned navy blue caps and gowns at a graduation liturgy held at St. Patrick’s Church, Fort Hamilton.

Fontbonne Hall Academy opened its doors in 1937. Sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, the academy has flourished for the past 78 years and has offered young women excellent academic preparation for admission to top-tier colleges and universities.

Today, Fontbonne offers a high level of college preparatory education that ensures its graduates are more confident and more qualified than ever. The school offers a rigorous college preparatory experience with AP classes that students may take as early as ninth grade. It has established a true STEM curriculum with emphasis on project-based learning and an introductory course in the physical sciences for all ninth-grade students. The STEM curriculum also includes a Science Research Program, a three-year sequence of classes that begins in the 10th grade, along with several AP science classes and electives such as a pre-college engineering program with Brown University.

Fontbonne’s unique blend of tradition and progressive academics is serving its students well. The Class of 2015 has earned over $17 million in scholarships. Class Valedictorian Michel Fallah will be attending the Macaulay Honors College at Brooklyn College in the fall, and Class ­­Salutatorian Andrea Arcadipane will be attending Northeastern University.