December 2012 Newsletter - Albertus Magnus High School

Albertus Magnus High School
Newsletter
Joseph T. Troy, President/Principal
Carl Locatelli, Assistant Principal
December, 2012
Volume 53, Number 3
ADVENT
Even though Advent comes but once a year in the liturgical calendar, the older I get, the more I’m convinced
that life is all about Advent:
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She awaits word from her physician on the results of the biopsy of the “growth” taken from her body,
fearful “it” has come back….That’s Advent.
He watches daily for the mail, looking for word from the university where he applied, wondering if he
has been accepted….That’s Advent.
They sit helpless next to their two-year-old’s bed, wondering if and when the child will regain
consciousness after his fall down the basement steps….They’re in Advent.
She watches CNN on the hour for the latest word from Iraq, apprehensive that sooner or later she’ll
get the dreaded word that he’s been killed in action, and scared to tell the kids….She’s in Advent.
He sits in the confessional Saturday after Saturday, wondering if anyone will ever come and experience
the renewal and mercy of the Sacrament of Reconciliation…He is in Advent.
She has invited her husband to sit down and talk, realizing that their marriage is in peril, and she paces
the floor asking herself if he will come back after he stormed out the door….She’s in Advent.
He’s exhausted from praying for a job, having begged God hour after hour, day after day, these past
four months of unemployment, as he replies to the most recent want ad, knowing his savings and
benefits are almost gone, reluctant to admit failure again to his wife and kids….He’s in Advent.
She’s at the end of the long line, all her belongings in two plastic garbage bags, and she is fearful that
the beds will all be taken on this freezing night by the time she gets to the door of the shelter….She’s
in Advent.
It’s now 3:00 a.m., and he’s been the only one in the Eucharistic Chapel of Adoration since midnight,
but he will not leave; he will wait until someone else shows up to pray before the Blessed Sacrament
….He’s in Advent.
Waiting, longing, hoping, watching, yearning, expecting…seems like that’s what life is all about. Life is Advent.
He kisses her gently on the forehead, as the hospice caregivers have told him it’s over, and he realizes
her nine years of Alzheimer’s have come to the end. His waiting, and hers, is finally over.
Her Advent is over; his will continue, and so does ours.
ADVENT REFLECTIONS
Come, Lord Jesus!
by Timothy Cardinal Dolan
HONOR ROLL
FIRST HONORS is awarded to a student who achieves an average of 95% with no failing grade.
FRESHMAN
Emily Auld
Casey Bischoff
Paulina Dore
Maria Fernandes
Reilly Golden
Samantha Heavner
Timothy A. O’Connor
Jacklyn L. Onody
Carly M. Winchell
Chelsea L. Yagel
SOPHOMORE
Edward Amaba
Maxx Annunziata
Victoria Cipollina
Christian Conklin
Griffin Favre
Claire Hatala
Jacqueline Hennelly
Kelly Houlihan
Madison McGrath
Elisabeth Pappalardo
Gianna Pisano
Rianna Scanlon
Kiera Townsend
Gabrielle Valdez
Michael Waldron
Caroline Zemsky
SECOND HONORS is awarded to a student who achieves
an average of 90% with no failing grade.
FRESHMAN
Kyra Berkner
Olivia Berkner
Isabella Bono
Brendan Callahan
Erin Ciborowski
Zachary Cunillera
Erin Curley
Kelly DeVizio
Edward Faro
Julia Gillies
Matthew Grieco
Allison Holandez
Samantha Joseph
Derek Kelly
Alex LoPresti
Richard Michel
Emily A. Nealon
Nicholas F. Proscia
Katherine A. Reilly
Jordan C. Rivera
Stephen R. Rodriguez
Giordana Scaffidi
Amanda M. Silvestri
Stephen R. Storms
Ashley Tortorella
Heba Z. Yacoub
JUNIOR cont.
Patrick Ward
Allison White
SOPHOMORE
Ronald Arvanites
Timothy Brenner
Madison Brooksbank
Catherine Cain
Casey Davies
Joseph Denise
Allison Fisher
Andrew Gallagher
Samantha Giuliano
Kevin Hayes
Sean Healey
Daniela Herrera
Luis Herrera
Kaitlyn Joong
Kelly Kozar
Michael Lang
Ashley Lara
Kevin Leddy
Alexia Mazis
Lauren Milano
Christopher Munno
Jade Ortiz
Amber Pandya
Anthony Parisi, Jr.
Andrew Pierre
Emily Roff
Sean TenEyck
Allyson Tierney
Joanna Todd
Victoria Vieira
Megan Witt
JUNIOR
Terence Amonica
Kristin Burns
Megan Confrey
Mikaela Connell
Michelle Coppola
Fiona Egan
Brianna Flores
Annemarie Hahnenfeld
Jessie Kay
Cristina Magistro
Megan Mearian
Raymond Mosquea
Maureen O’Dowd
Matthew Raggi
Brian Reardon
Katie Solesky
Megan Townsend
Tracy Xiao
JUNIOR
Cara Amador
James Arnowich
Michael Aurellano
Caroline Bartholomew
Marisa Blanco
Jenna Braca
Maliq Cham
Laura Clinton
Mary Czerwinski
Bridget Dineen
Heather Durkin
Kristen Fahey
Sabrina Francois
Bridget Gallione
Alessandra Garcia
Charles Giordano
Madison Kandoth
Janine Kennelly
Luke Kern
Victor Leeber
Felicia Long
Dana McLaughlin
Kaitlyn McNamara
Daniel Miller
Emily Minkowitz
Savannah Moore
Christine O’Riordan
Courtney Olsen
Grace Ostolazaga
Jacqueline Parker
Tabitha Salci
Sania Solon
SENIOR
Callie Bailey-Wickins
Monica Branca
James Brooks
Dylan Discenza
Shannon Donohue
Lauren Gruffi
Karn Pandya
Giselle Rodriguez
Michael Strack
Jack Sullivan
SENIOR
Jennifer Bases
Katherine Bonikos
Richard Cant
Michael Catania
Sara Chivelly
Ashley Columbia
Elizabeth Czerwinski
Matthew Dale
Stephanie DeCoro
Nico Denise
LeslieAnne Dessources
Jessica Dominianni
Salvatore Florio
Robert Gelok
Conor Houlihan
Karl Jamiolkowski
Caroline Keenan
Shannon Keown
Alexandra Kezek
Jee Won Khil
Joseph Koza
Micheline French LeBlanc
Thomas McConnell
Brian McFadden
Kelly Mickler
Kerry Mulcahy
Casey O’Brien
Christine O’Keeffe
Mary O’Sullivan
Hae Wan Park
Meghan Reilly
Daniel Rivas
Stephanie Ruppen
Jessica Silva
Brianna Untener
FROM THE OFFICE OF CAMPUS MINISTRY
November 7th brought the welcome sound of our students’ voices to the halls of Albertus as we were finally able to return to class in the wake of “Sandy”. Stories were shared
and prayers said for those who were victims of this epic storm and then in the Albertus
Family tradition, it was time to reach out to those in our area in need.
We jumped right into our Thanksgiving Food Drive and although short in duration due to the storm it was
long on enthusiasm as food items were collected and sorted, boxes were wrapped and cards of support and
prayer were created to help make Thanksgiving a special day for local families in need. In the end 50 boxes were
prepared for distribution and sent along with extra supplies for future use The following week, we turned our
attention to our neighbors who were affected by Sandy and another drive began as we collected cleaning supplies, baby items, toiletries and more. We were connected to Catholic Community Services of Rockland through
the efforts of one of our students and her family. Once again, our students rose to the challenge and provided
many goods needed to help families get back on their feet.
Where will we drive next?????? Well, December brings our annual “FORGET YOURSELF AND BE AN
ELF” toy drive which helps support children both on the local (St. Dominic’s Home, One To One Learning,
and Rockland Children’s Hospital) and national level (Toys For Tots). The drive runs from December 3rd
through 18th.
As November is the month of All Souls, each student was given the opportunity to place the names of loved
ones in our “Book of Remembrance” which was placed in the chapel and carried up to the altar during our
liturgies. We were blessed by two beautiful liturgies in November. On the 15th, Rev. Bryan Taylor, A.M.H.S.
alum celebrated a Mass in honor of our patron St. Albert the Great. After Mass he did a small blessing in our
newly designed chapel which was rededicated to the memory of our deceased alumni, faculty and staff. On the
21st our annual Thanksgiving/Grandparents Mass was celebrated by another alum, Rev. Msgr. Emmet Nevin.
Monsignor is the current pastor of St. Catharine’s in Blauvelt and newly appointed Vicar of Rockland County. At
the end of Mass, a beautiful poem written by one of our students and dedicated to grandparents was read.
Throughout Advent, our students will be able to participate in prayers with their Theology teachers as a way to
prepare for the feast of the birth of Our Lord. May you be blessed with the joy and hope that this beautiful season brings.
-submitted by Sr. Nancy Richter, O.P.
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Teacher Christmas Gifts
A long standing Falcons Parents’ Club tradition at Albertus Magnus High School is to
provide our faculty and staff with a Christmas gift to recognize their hard work and
efforts. Donations may be sent directly to Irene Cossa’s attention until December 21st.
Thank you for your continued generosity and support of Albertus Magnus High
School.
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Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
SAVE THE DATE - The production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night has been rescheduled to Friday,
January 4, 2013 and Saturday, January 5, 2013 in the rotunda of Albertus Magnus High School.
CHRISTMAS BOUTIQUE WAS A BLAST!!!
Kudos and special thanks go to the Boutique’s co-Chairs, Mrs. Kim Gruffi and Mrs. Cheryl Ward, for their
tremendous effort and leadership in making the Second Annual Christmas Boutique a very successful
gathering. We had over 300 happy customers from around Rockland County visit Albertus Magnus on Saturday, November 17th in search of that perfect Christmas gift.
We also hosted over 50 vendors who offered their products and services to the early season shoppers
from 10am-3pm. There were another 75 AM students (including a contingent of carolers from Mrs. Nadia
Rizzo’s Music Dept.) who helped these merchants bring their “goodies” into the school; or assisted with
Room Set-up; or dressed like elves and helped Santa with the young children; or staffed the concessions and
provided sustenance to all who were in the school that day.
While we still had to contend with the residual fall-out from Superstorm Sandy and did lose valuable “leadin” time for publicizing this program, the work of numerous Falcon Parents’ Club Members was of invaluable
help in making the day run so smoothly. At the risk of omitting a number of Parent Volunteers, wanted to
recognize: Diane Cain, Jeannie Connolly, Anne Coleman, Marie Lorenz, Barbara McConnell, Mary Jane
Michalak, Dennis O’Keeffe, Jen Rodriguez, Hal Schweitzer, Lisa Sullivan, Grace Zemsky.
This event shows real promise as a long-term Albertus tradition and we encourage families to participate
as vendors, volunteers or happy holiday shoppers in the future---Merry Christmas and Go Falcons!
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2013 Parents’ Club Dinner/Auction Fundraiser
Please note that our 2013 major fundraiser, The Parents’ Club Dinner/Auction, is scheduled for Saturday
evening, April 20, 2013, at the New York Country Club in New Hempstead, NY. We ask all our families
to participate in this very special event where monies raised will benefit the continued rehabilitation of our
suite of science classrooms.
This celebration has become our annual “signature event” that brings together current parents, faculty, administrators, students, alumni and friends for an evening of fellowship and fun. Its success is critical to the
work of rebuilding our science laboratories/classrooms, with the Biology Classroom scheduled next on the
reconstruction agenda—hopefully during the summer break of 2013.
Please consider joining us by donating a gift or service, or by asking others to donate funds, sponsorships or
gifts-in-kind--- the Committee meetings will begin in the New Year! Call Marty Moran in the AM Alumni
Office (845)623-8842 x229 with any questions or e-mail him at: [email protected] Go Falcons!!
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Please Make Certain You’re on the K-12 Alert Network!
We are concerned that a good number of families are not receiving timely updates on programs and/or
events involving the Albertus Magnus High School Community. It is very important that we have accurate
records on your email addresses to keep you informed of all that is happening on Campus—especially when
we need to be certain that new information is making its way to the Family decision-makers.
This “Courtesy Reminder” can only do its job if we send these electronic notices to the proper addresses’ so
that you can take the necessary action. If you have not been receiving K-12 Alerts over the last month’s activity, please send in your email address to: [email protected]
MUSIC NOTES
SINGING FOR A CAUSE: Veritas will be performing at the Marion Shrine on
Thursday, December 6th in a "Concert for Life" to benefit the Good Counsel Home
in Spring Valley. Mr. Troy will be honored for his years of service as principal of our
school.
DECK THE HALLS: The Christmas Concert is almost here! Please join us in celebrating the Season on Thursday, December 20th at 7pm in the gym with performances by the Pep Band, Veritas, and Concert Chorus. Admission is free, all are welcome.
After school rehearsals for all performers will take place on Monday 12/17, Tuesday
12/18, and Wednesday 12/19 from 2:30-4:30pm in the gym.
CANDY LAND: Veritas will be selling "Candy Cane Grams" starting December
10th. Send a sweet treat to all of your friends for Christmas cheer! See a Veritas
member for details.
THE WIZ: Rehearsals start next week! More info to come!
Quote of the Month:
"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!" -Buddy The
Elf
Submitted by Mrs. Rizzo
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ART NEWS
Hartford Art School is presenting to the art classes from 9am-1pm
on Friday, December 14th.
FALL 2012 VARSITY AWARDS
VOLLEYBALL
TENNIS
MVP: Mallary McFadden
MIP: Dana O’Sullivan, Amanda Shepard
Coach's: Meghan Reilly
MVP: Jordan Galindo
MIP: Kaitlyn Joong, Jaclyn Onody
Coaches: Stephanie Ruppen
All League: Erin Hanley, Katie Solesky,
Katarina Lopez
All Section: Mallary McFadden
All County: Mallary McFadden
Honorable Mention All County: Vicki Slowik
All League: Mallary McFadden, Heather Durkin,
Catherine Kennedy, Brianne Gallagher, Meghan Reilly
BOYS SOCCER
MVP: Matt Dale , Karl Jamiolkowski
MIP: Brendan Valentine
Coaches: Michael Strack, Brian McFadden
All League: Matt Dale, Karl Jamiolkowski,
Brian McFadden, Charlie Giordano, Michael Strack
GIRLS SOCCER
MVP: Lauren Gruffi, Kerry Mulcahy
MIP: Katherine O’Connell
Coaches: Christine Ottaviano
All League: Julia McGowan, Kaitlyn McNamara,
Brianna Flores
Honorable Mention All League: Lauren Gruffi,
Carly Clinton
All Section: Julia McGowan
All County 1st Team: Julia McGowan
All County 2nd Team: Brianna Flores
Honorable Mention All County: Kaitlyn McNamara
CHEERLEADING
MVP- Kim Roc, Monica Branca, Micheline
LeBlanc
MIP- Michelle Bonikos, Bree Anna Patrick
Coaches- Danielle Rodriguez, Victoria Celenza
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
FOOTBALL
Most Improved: Robert Gelok
Coaches Award: Tom McConnell,
Dan Lopez
MVP: Nico Denise
All League: Nico Denise, Tom McConnell, Ryan
Tobin, Dominick Rodriguez
2nd Team All Section: Nico Denise
MVP- Michael Waldron
MIP- Kevin Meredith
Coaches- Richard Cant
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
MVP: Grace Ostolozaga
MIP: Andrea Nardone
Coaches: Casey O’Brien
SECTION ONE—ALL LEAGUE WINNERS
Boys Soccer
Girls Soccer
Brian McFadden
Charlie Giordano
Matt Dale
Karl Jamiolkowski
Michael Strack
Kaitlyn McNamara
Brianna Flores
Julia McGowan
Volleyball
Football
Brianne Gallagher
Heather Durkin
Catherine Kennedy
Mallary McFadden
Meghan Reilly
Nico Denise
Tom McConnell
Dominick Rodriguez
Ryan Tobin
Tennis
Taylor Mormile
Katie Solesky
Katarina Lopez
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VOLLEYBALL NEWS
We began our season playing A and AA teams with traditions of having
strong programs. The highlight came early as we defeated Suffern High
School in a 5 game match at their gym. With a 15W - 3L overall record, our 3
losses were fought hard against 2 upper tier strong teams (Clarkstown South
and JFK). The rest of our season consisted of the remaining 15 wins over all
teams in our league, as well as, Maria Regina and Burke Catholic.
Our team evolved nicely after having to make strategic changes throughout
the season. Acquiring the 3rd seed for Class playoffs we received a bye in
the first round and a home game in the second. Then came Sandy. We had to play our Quarter and Semi Final at Croton Harmon.
We defeated Dobbs Ferry and ultimately lost to Croton Harmon on the same day in a very exciting 5 game
match. This match gave us a glimpse on what we will need to do going forward for next year, as well as, how
much we accomplished over the season.
With a team that consisted of 10 juniors and 3 seniors, we expect to come back very strong next season.
Our seniors this year provided the rest of the team with great leadership and character that we expect to
carry over to a very successful experience next year.
Superintendent of Schools Unveils New Logos for the
Three Pilot School Regions in the Archdiocese of New York
October 12, 2012, New York, NY – Superintendent of Schools Dr. Timothy J. McNiff has announced 3 newly designed
logos for the new pilot regions of the Northwest/South Bronx, Rockland and Staten Island, which became operational in September 2012.
Inspired by Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s idea that the regions operate under the patronage of a saint to spiritually
guide their work in Catholic education, the three regional Boards of Trustees chose their patrons, then selected a
logo from among various design concepts that visually incorporated iconography and symbolism associated with that
saint.
The logo, which will be incorporated into regional letterhead, as well as individual school’s print and online materials, will serve the twofold purpose of creating a “brand identity” for each respective region, while reinforcing the
regions’ Catholic identity and membership in the larger New York Archdiocesan Catholic school system.
“Each region has a distinct personality, but we are all part of one New York Catholic school community,” said
McNiff. “I feel these logos graphically communicate each region’s character, but also the shared Catholic history,
values and mission that binds us together in our geographic diversity.”
The chosen regional patron saint of Rockland County is:
• Saint Dominic (Rockland) – Spanish monk who, in the 13th century, founded the Order of Preachers, more commonly known as the Dominicans, an order long associated with a great respect for study and learning.
Each Catholic School Region is a separate, not-for-profit, educational corporation chartered by the New York State
Department of Education.
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YEAR OF FAITH
OBSERVANCE
Year Begins: October 11, 2012
- 50th Anniversary of second
Vatican Council opening
Year Concludes: November 24, 2013
- Feast of Christ the King
ALBERTUS MAGNUS
HIGH SCHOOL
798 Route 304
Bardonia, NY 10954
www.albertusmagnus.net
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage PAID
Monsey, NY
NO. 56122
Return Service Requested
DATES TO REMEMBER
Thursday, December 6
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Junior Retreat
Friday, December 7
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Mass
Freshman/Sophomore Christmas Dance
Saturday, December 8
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Immaculate Conception
Wednesday, December 12
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Blood Drive
Thursday, December 13
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Senior Retreat
Friday, December 14
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Junior/Senior Christmas Dance
Thursday, December 20
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Christmas Concert 7:00pm
Friday, December 21
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Christmas Liturgy—9:00am
Full Instructional Day
December 24—January 1
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Christmas Recess
December 27—28
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McNichol’s Boys Tournament
Wednesday, January 2
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Classes Resume