New Dad in the Spotlight: Richie Yeates

 New Dad in the Spotlight highlights new fathers who have joined the AoOL community in recent years.

This month we are pushing the boundaries of "new" with Richie Yeates, since he has been an active supporter of the Fathers' Guild for a few years now. But please welcome Richie and welcome back Corinne (formerly Corinne Brennan, AoOL Class of 2001) and their great kids Abigail (3rd grade), Brendan (1st grade) and Seamus (Pre-K 4).

Richie grew up on the north side of Dublin in an area called the North Strand. It's about a 10-minute walk from the city center. An elite runner, he was recruited by Providence College in 2005 and ran cross country, indoor track and outdoor track for the Friars. It was there that he met Corinne during their freshman year. Corinne grew up in Glen Rock and after brief stints in Hoboken and Rutherford, the couple returned to her roots.

Richie is an executive at a company called APA Securities, based in Englewood Cliffs. "APA stands for Abandoned Property Advisors which primarily deals with escheatment activities," he explains. We nod knowingly but looked it up after. Escheatment is the process of a financial institution handing over unclaimed property to the state, says Merriam Webster. Corinne works at JPMorgan on the insurance side.

Richie has really enjoyed helping coach the track team at AoOL. "I can see now why my coaches gave their time to it when I was younger," he says. "The improvements everyone has made this year have been truly magnificent to watch." As for the school generally, he and Corinne are very happy. "Every teacher has had a great influence on the kids," says Richie. "I'm also not used to parents being involved so much, so that has really blown me away," he adds. "From coaching any of the sports teams to just helping clean-up or fundraising, it amazes me how much people are willing to give."

The relationships among the kids also impresses the Yeates. "The biggest thing is the kids interacting with each other no matter the age," Richie says. "It doesn't matter whether they're 8th grade or Pre-K, they are all friendly and know each other."

Thanks Richie and Corinne!

Roberts Family Turns the Page after Almost Two Decades of Service

With their youngest daughter Mary Cate's graduation this past week, longtime AoOL parents Steve and Theresa Roberts will not have a child at the school for the first time in 17 years. It's a bittersweet time for the Roberts, who have been involved in every facet of the AoOL community.

To say Steve and Theresa have generously given of their time and talent would be a remarkable understatement. Over the past 17 years, they have done most everything you could possibly think of. Steve began the journey working as a 4th grade teacher back in 2007, a year before his eldest started in pre-K. He moved to 5th grade social studies, then 8th grade social studies, and was eventually tapped to serve as principal of the school from 2015 to 2017 before leaving to take on an assistant principal role at St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale.

Steve has been instrumental in the Fathers' Guild the whole time. "He was always there to help with the day-to-day Fathers’ Guild tasks, whether it be setting up for the Beefsteak, painting classrooms or handling one of the more glamorous duties like cleaning out the spit-pit," said former Fathers' Guild president Mike Hall. Even when his other duties at the school grew, Roberts maintained a close connection with the Guild. "I’ll never forget when Steve became principal of the school," continues Hall. "Despite his hectic schedule, Steve never missed a beat with the FG. He continued to be at every meeting and roll up his sleeves to get the job done. It really was an incredible time for the Fathers' Guild -- at our meetings we got live feedback from the principal of the school on the school’s needs and FG ideas and events."

Theresa is a pre-K teacher at AoOL, but that only scratches the surface of what Steve's better half has done. She was also a record-breaking track coach, served as a class mom too many times to count, moderated the ski club, been the President of HSA, served on the School Advisory Board, run Ladies Night Out and the Calendar Raffle, and a host of other activities. We thought, for example, that taking on a CYO basketball coaching gig was a solid time commitment...then we went to a 9-hour track meet. "It would take many pages to truly sum up what Theresa Roberts has meant to the AoOL Track & Field Program," says Theresa's colleague, coach Larry McGivney. "I could say that she was dedicated, always multi-tasking, overachieving, an organizational wiz with a passion for helping children, but that would fall woefully short of what she meant to the program" McGivney continues. 

During her time coaching track & field, Theresa coached over 200 kids. "She made a point of knowing each student" says McGivney. "Whether baking heat or cold rainy weather she encouraged, cheered and consoled each one, helping them discover their own talent and self-worth," continues McGivney. "Our program is diminished by her absence, but forever enriched and grateful by her gift of service."

How about the Roberts kids? As we said, Mary Cate ('24) graduated Saturday and is headed to IHA in September. She also just broke school records for the 800m, 1600m, and Distance Medley Relay in track. Meghan ('22) is a sophomore at Mary Help of Christians, where she is an honor roll student and even started her own club. Meghan participates in Trampoline and tumbling, a discipline of gymnastics. She devotes many hours to her craft and has participated in competitions all over the country, winning nationals in one of her events last year. Callie ('21) is a junior at Glen Rock High School. She was recently inducted into the National Honor Society and plays on the varsity lacrosse team. Callie plans to study nursing in college and is currently narrowing down her choices to apply in the fall. Casey ('19) just finished her freshman year at St. Louis University as an aerospace engineering major. She is currently part of a research lab that evaluates performance of autonomous reasoning and event detection using cube satellite technology.

The great New York Giant coach Tom Coughlin and his wife Judy did not like saying goodbye. In fact, the 2-time Super Bowl winner once said he and his wife rarely if ever exchanged "goodbyes" with one another. That's a difficult task when you spend decades coaching, always traveling around the country or working long hours at the practice facility. Instead of goodbye, they would simply say "next time" so it was more about the future than about parting ways.

Especially with Theresa coming back in the fall to continue helping the Pre-K program, we will take a page out of the old coach's playbook.

Next time, Steve and Theresa.

Where Are They Now: Megan Branagh, '05

Where Are They Now profiles an AoOL graduate each month.

Almost 20 years after graduation, Megan Branagh says some of her closest friends today are the friends she first made at AoOL. "The school taught me the importance of building a community of support around you," Megan says. "The friends I made there have always been a crucial source of support in my life," she adds. "Becoming friends at such a young age has made our bond stronger as we have gotten older."

That strong foundation poured at AoOL proved to be a springboard for Megan's future endeavors. She was a multi-sport varsity athlete in volleyball and basketball at Hawthorne High School, where she was also inducted into the National Honor Society. Megan kept the streak going by also graduating with honors from Iona College in 2013. Then it was off to William Paterson for a Masters of Science in Speech Language Pathology. Megan has been a licensed Speech Language Pathologist for 9 years, currently working full-time for Lyndhurst Public Schools in the Preschool Disabled Program. For the 2022-23 school year, she was honored with the Special Service Member of the Year Award for Lyndhurst Public Schools, a recognition of Megan's dedication and effectiveness with her students.

On top of her full-time work in the Lyndhurst system, Megan also finds time to run the New Jersey Institute of Speech and Language Pathology, a private practice that provides treatment and support services for children who have difficulties with communication, speech, articulation and language skills.

For the Branaghs, AoOL is a family affair. All of Megan's siblings attended the school, her mom Katie is a key part of the school's front office and her dad Mike has been the longtime 8th grade boys' basketball coach (with a huge CYO championship this year, see the March issue of The Herald). Megan's favorite memory from her grammar school years is also tied to basketball. In her 8th grade year, the girls' championship game was a seesaw battle against rival Nativity. She remembers it as if it were yesterday. "I can still hear the roar of the crowd in the gym as the buzzer went off and we beat Nativity by 2 points in that final game!" But the importance of the moment went far beyond the results on the scoreboard. "The camaraderie and support from the AoOL families, friends, coaches and each other was unforgettable," she recalls. Megan is top left in the victory photo above.

Congratulations to Megan on all you have accomplished since graduation.