Best Friends’ Special Bond Rewarded With Surprise Gift During Graduation

Eighth-grade graduates Izabella (Izzy) Gamarra and Grace McKenna have gone through life side-by-side, and their journey together isn’t over. The pair became friends in kindergarten at Sacred Heart Catholic Academy in Bayside and have been inseparable ever since — especially after Izzy was diagnosed with a golf ball-sized brain tumor, at age 7, before starting second grade.

DOE to Discontinue “Pre-K for All” in Five Diocese Schools, As Appeals Continue

The city’s Department of Education (DOE) has decided not to renew 105 “Pre-K for All” program applications for fall ’21 — including five programs in Catholic schools located throughout the Diocese of Brooklyn. The free, full-day “Pre-K for All” program has been one of the mayor’s signature initiatives since launching in 2014.