St. Michael’s School is honored to announce a generous and visionary gift from alumna Ms. Heide Abelli, Class of 1980. Ms. Abelli has pledged $100,000 over the next ten years to advance STEM-related initiatives, with $10,000 designated annually to strengthen and enrich our science and technology programs.

In addition, she has established the Heide Abelli STEM Excellence Award, an annual honor with monetary stipend recognizing an outstanding seventh-grade/ rising eighth-grade student who demonstrates exceptional achievement in Science and Mathematics.

“Ms. Abelli’s commitment to our growth in innovation will allow us to bring STEM education to life in new and exciting ways – from robotics and environmental science, to the kind of hands-on, inquiry-driven learning that inspires curiosity and confidence,” commented Mr. Brendan Sullivan, Head of School. “We are deeply grateful to Ms. Abelli and her family.”

“I attended St. Michael’s in 7th and 8th grades, and those years left a lasting impression on me,” Ms. Abelli reflected. “In making this gift, I wanted to create opportunities that prepare St. Michael’s students for a changing world, one where STEM subjects are increasingly essential, and to inspire them to dive into STEM with curiosity, creativity, and confidence.”

Her generosity allows us to enrich and expand our STEM curriculum, invest in updated equipment and resources, and deliver innovative learning opportunities for every student from Pre-K through 8th grade – from hands-on lab experiments and robotics challenges to integrated environmental science and technology projects that ignite curiosity and inspire problem-solving.

We are deeply grateful to Ms. Abelli for her steadfast support of our mission and for helping us cultivate future scientists, engineers, and critical thinkers. As a proud graduate of St. Michael’s, she embodies the values of inquiry, service, and leadership that we strive to instill in every student. Her gift is not only an investment in STEM – it’s an investment in the potential of every child at our school.