CAPTION: Raquel Cardoso (front, center) is seen with her students and their artwork.

Warren-Prescott School art instructor Raquel Cardoso knows her work allows her to reach a wide range of students, including those who otherwise struggle in the classroom.
“Art appeals to a wide range of learning styles,” she said. “Even kids who have problems in academics have success in the arts.”
Cardoso joined the staff at the Warren-Prescott last February, thanks to the efforts of the Warren-Prescott Foundation, a legally recognized non-profit that includes parents and faculty members and finances supplemental programming at the school. After the Boston Public Schools were unable to hire an art teacher at the school for several consecutive years, the Foundation raised the money to bring Cardoso to the Warren-Prescott.
Cardoso, who graduated with a double major in art education and art therapy from Springfield College and earned a master’s in art education from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt), previously launched the art program at the Neighborhood House, a charter school in Dorchester.
At the Warren-Prescott, Cardoso takes a unique approach to teaching art, giving her students a lesson in the history, traditions and culture of the region from where a particular style originates. Cardoso recently taught eight-grade students about Australian Aboriginal dot painting — a “dreamlike” form that uses dots to create intricate patterns — as well as the tribe’s customs.
And if the achievements of Cardoso’s students are any indication, they are thriving under her direction. Last year, one of her eighth-grade students excelled in graffiti art and landed a paid internship with Artists for Humanity, a Boston non-profit that employs underserved youth in the arts.
“It was a big thing for him to do his art and make some money,” Cardoso said.
Cardoso also recently helped two students assemble their portfolios when they applied to Boston Art Academy. “These kids are really skilled, but they might not have this opportunity without an art program at the school,” she said.
Nancy Wovers Cadene, the mother of a Warren-Prescott third-grader, is helping Cardoso organize the students’ upcoming “In Living Color” art exhibit at the StoveFactory Gallery. She believes Cardoso also could be nurturing the next generation of great artists.
“This is a talent that she has encouraged in them, and maybe they’ll really do something with it some day,” Cadene said.
Dr. Domenic Amara, principal of the Warren-Prescott School, hopes the community will turn out to see the students’ paintings, drawings and collages featured at the exhibit.
“It’s an outgrowth of an outstanding art teacher and the support that parents have for the arts at the Warren-Prescott,” Amara said. “It would certainly help continue motivating the students to have a large number of parents and community members view their work.”
Cardoso gave students a great deal of input in planning the exhibit by allowing them to name it and to title and hang their artwork.
“I really wanted the exhibit to be for the kids,” Cardoso said. “I want to give them the experience an artist would have at a gallery.”
In addition, students will earn a small percentage from the sale of their work, although most of the proceeds will go to the Warren-Prescott Foundation. “I want [my students] to know they can make money from art,” Cardoso said.
But even with all that Cardoso and her students have achieved, the future of the art program is still uncertain after this school year.
“Parents are going through so much work to raise money for my salary. We’re still waiting to see what happens,” Cardoso said. “It would be really sad for the kids to lose [the art program] after this.”
An opening reception for the “In Living Color” art exhibit takes place at the StoveFactory Gallery, 523 Medford St., next Thursday, March 6, from 6 to 9 p.m. Parking is available in the gallery’s adjacent lot. For more information, call 617-635-8346.

CAPTION: Robert Luongo, newly named Area A-1 community service officer.

While Robert Luongo didn’t take on his new role as Area A-1 community service officer until earlier this month, the 20-year Boston Police veteran was no stranger to Charlestown after sprnding the last 12 years in the neighborhood as part of a two-man rapid response team.
A native of the North End, Luongo, age 49, worked as a member of the Anti Crime Unit (i.e. plainclothes) in Mattapan after joining the force in 1988. After coming to Charlestown in 1994, he was paired in a patrol car with his partner, Tommy Corbett,
In his new role, Luongo is pleased he’ll be interacting more closely with residents of the neighborhood than he has in the past.
“I’ll be spending more time addressing quality of life issues than I would if I were in a car taking calls,” Luongo said. “I want to give people a more personal touch and help them put a face to the police department.”
In addition, Luongo, who attended his first Charlestown Neighborhood Council Public Safety meeting last week, looks forward to meeting more residents at future meetings.
“I’m seeing a lot of people I know from being over here, but I’m also getting to know some new ones at meetings,” he said.
Luongo was also named the Area A-1 senior response officer, acting as the BPD contact person for elderly developments in Charlestown, the North End and the rest of the district.
And although Luongo realizes many issues he handles on a daily basis might seem small, he knows something as seemingly trivial as a noise complaint or a parking grievance can be of the utmost importance to the people he serves.
“I think everybody deserves a certain quality of service, even if it might not be something major in the grand scheme of things,” he said.

Despite published reports to the contrary, a company spokesman maintains that Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital hasn’t yet abandoned plans to relocate to the Navy Yard.
“We’re still looking over everything, and Charlestown is still a viable option,” said Tim Sullivan of Spaulding, adding that the status of the project hadn’t changed since hospital representatives met with the Charlestown Neighborhood Council Development Committee on Oct. 14.
At the meeting, Spaulding President Judith Waterston said the hospital had undertaken a feasibility study to explore design options for the Parcel 6 project site. Waterston added that Spaulding hadn’t ruled out plans for a 300,000 square-foot 150-bed facility that was previously presented to the community.
Regardless of what design is ultimately chosen, Waterston said the cost of the project had risen from $160 million to $220 million, according to an estimate compiled by its general contractor, Boston-based Walsh Brothers, Inc.
Waterston said rising construction costs and inflation accounted for $50 million of these projected increases, while the remaining $10 million was due to the high price of new technology.
Other trends in the healthcare industry are also being considered as part of the feasibility study, Waterston said, including a decrease in discharge rates at rehabilitation hospitals and a drop in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.
Spaulding representatives are scheduled to give a status meeting for the project at the CNC Development Committee meeting at the Constitution Inn YMCA, 150 Second Ave. in the Navy Yard, on Wednesday, March 19, at 7 p.m.

CAPTION: Sania Tavares and Junior Liz of Style Cafe.

As a longtime employee at the Navy Yard, Junior Liz believes the Style Cafe has just what the neighborhood’s residents are looking for.
“I’ve been working [in the Navy Yard] for eight years,” said Liz, who opened the coffeehouse with his sister-in-law, Sania Tavares, on Valentine’s Day. “I know what people like and thought I could do something good for them.”
Located on the first level of Flagship Wharf, Style Cafe offers a unique selection of coffee, teas, juices, sandwiches, salads and breakfast foods. It also features ingredients from local business, including breads from Charlestown Biga Breads and muffins from Carberry’s Wholesale Bakery of Malden, to ensure freshness. Tavares also estimates that half the items on the menu are organic.
During the summer months, the menu will be expanded to include smoothies and shakes, as well as tropical fruits from Liz and Tavares’ native country of Brazil.
“We want to change the menu to get the most out of the season,” Tavares said. “We plan to offer fresh fruits and vegetables seasonally.”
And while some residents of nearby Paris Landing still don’t realize the Style Cafe has opened, it has already developing a regular clientele, thanks largely to people who Liz and Tavares already knew from working in the Navy Yard. (Liz and Tavares both worked at Tuttles Cleaners at Flagship Wharf until recently, and Liz was also an employee of Biga Breads Café, which once occupied the same space as the Style Cafe).
“We have a lot of support from neighbors,” Tavares said. “They have really been [patronizing] us like we never thought they would.”
The owners of Style Cafe also hope to create a welcoming atmosphere and offer patrons free Wi-Fi Internet service, among other perks. “We want them to feel at home in a cozy atmosphere,” Tavares said.
Meanwhile, Tavares said the Style Cafe also plans to offer catering orders to go in an effort to please customers.
“We do whatever we can to make customers happy, and we’re open to suggestions as well,” she said.
The Style Cafe is located at 197 Eighth St. in the Navy Yard and open 365 days a year. Its hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. The phone number is 617-241-7300.

Mackenzie Wheeler, age 3, trudged through the remnants of the snow to play on the rocking horse at Rutherford Union Playground on Monday morning.

For Christians, the season of Lent began on Feb. 6 as we celebrated Ash Wednesday. This ancient practice serves as a reminder of our mortality and calls us to turn away from sin in our lives and follow Jesus Christ more closely. Lent is primarily a season of repentance; the readings and lessons, the music and the liturgies recall the richness of our Judeo-Christian tradition as they invite each member of the community to reflect on life and our call to holiness. The 40 days are sort of a reality check in the light of the brevity of our lives and our destiny.
These days most ministers in the Christian tradition are involved in additional services at our churches. In Lent, we exhort our faithful to spend more time in prayer, to exercise acts of fasting in some form and to practice acts of generosity. All three are the pillars of the Lenten journey and offer us opportunities to gain deeper insight into our own lives and our relationship with God.
In the fast paced world in which we live in Charlestown, making time for prayer is not easy. And yet many Christians pray in ways both formal and informal. We pray for our loved ones, and we pray for those in need. We pray for peace, and we pray for success in our lives. We also pray in gratitude to the God who created us and who sustains us in our lives. Prayer brings us closer to God and to one another. At its root, prayer is exercising our faith; our belief in God’s omnipotence and love for us.
Our society has so much that fasting seems odd – unless it is for health reasons. Yet fasting – choosing to deny oneself something (actually anything) sharpens our understanding of our weaknesses and our dependence on so much that is unnecessary. Fasting can free us to see and act more clearly and with greater purity.
Confronting our selfishness by acts of generosity also is freeing. This freedom has one primary objective: to help us recognize our dependence on God above all else. Additionally acts of charity are fundamental expressions of the Christian life and so Lent urges us to look on our brothers and sisters and to share what we have with others.
The Lenten Journey finally looks toward Jerusalem. We are a people of the Light. Our faith calls us to recognize that in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we find our hope – in this life and in eternity.
The clergy of the Charlestown Clergy Association urges all Christians to enter into this holy season with prayer, fasting and almsgiving and with hope.

The Patriot-Bridge has invited the members of the Charlestown Clergy Association to contribute an article on relevant spiritual and religious topics. The Association includes the clergy from the following churches in Charlestown: First Church in Charlestown, St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church, St. John's Episcopal Church and St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church. This column will appear in the paper once a month.