May 15 - Oratory Preparatory School

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OPEN
A
t the annual New Student Dinner, hosted by the
Admissions Office, Mr. Kevin Donnelly welcomed
the soon-to-be seventh and ninth graders and
their families. While the parents heard from Head of School
Bob Costello and other administrators, the young men
talked with the student leaders who fielded questions. At
the end of the Q and A session, the boys were given T-
shirts and sports sacks to get them psyched about coming
to Oratory in the fall.
Oratory Prep’s Electronic Newsbits, May 15, 2010
I F Y O U H A V E I N F O , C A L L S U S A N D O U G H E R T Y , X 4 6
Welcoming
New Student Families
Racing for a Cause...Brandon Deger, top right, organized
an Oratory team for a recent Susan G. Komen race in North Jersey.
With a dress down day at the school which raised $1,000
and the pledges these boys brought in, Brandon estimates over
$2,000 was raised for the cause of Breast Cancer Awareness and
this charity that he has embraced for years.
The OP Family Grows
O
n Thursday,
May 13, just
after 6 a.m.,
the Costello family
grew with the addition
of Kellen Neri Costello.
Tipping the scales at 6
lbs. and 15 oz., the
youngest child of Bob
and Evelyn Costello
joins older brothers
Logan and Robbie
and older sister Shannon.
Best wishes!
Robbie Costello smiles for the
camera at the Medieval Times
trip with the Lower School trip
last winter. He welcomed his
baby brother on Thursday.
1962 Alum in NJ Hall of Fame
D
anny De-
Vito, movie
star and
Oratory Prep graduate
‘62, was inducted
into the NJ Hall of
Fame on May 2,
2010. Along with 14
other inductees, De-
Vito reminisced
about his life in the
Garden State. “I’ve
always felt really
close to the Garden
State. I related pretty
much everything I do
to my roots, ” he said.
According to the
May 3, 2010 Star
Ledger, Bruce Springsteen
one of former
inductees, invited
DeVito to join him on stage in a
rousing rendition of “Glory Days”
during the event.
Oratory teacher Steve Fava gives
tidbits of information about the
alum, although they are mere
speculation and hearsay. “Danny DeVito was
one of the boarders at the school when he
attended here in the 1960s. Rumors have it
that he was quite the cut-up in all his classes.”
Established in 2005, the NJ Hall of Fame
honors NJ residents who have made significant
contribution their state. Susan Sarandon,
Jack Nicholson and Frankie Valli were among
the honorees. Former inductees include Toni
Morrison, Malcolm Forbes, Harriet Tubman
and Yogi Berra.
An A & E TV biography of DeVito is being
compiled and his biographer has contacted
Oratory for pictures of him while he was at the
school.

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PAGE 2
Mass, Ring Ceremony and Honors
Awards for OP Students Place
in National Latin Exam
Koomars at West Point
OP has been notified of the results of the students who
participated in the National Latin Exam. The 40-minute test
presented 40 questions on grammar, geography, history, literature
and mythology and sight translation.
Tests included Introduction to Latin, Latin I and II and the
Latin IV, prose exam.
Awards earned included: Gold Summa Cum Laude, Silver
Maxima Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude and Cum Laude.
Seventy-one Oratory students took the exam with 45% of
them winning an award.
2 Gold awards – David Batista, Greg Koziol
8 Silver awards – Angus McReynolds, August Atencio, Harris
Hoke, McManus Dolan, Christopher Ditta, Ryan Montalvo,
Daniel Fitzpatrick and Loren Reinoso.
6 Magna Cum Laude awards – Brendan Dore, Alexandre
Berberi, Cormac Quinn-Rada, Richard Montalvo, Sean Zimmerman,
Michael DeNigris.
9 Cum Laude awards – Gregory Toye, Alec Antunes, Joseph
Koomar, Daniel Berberi, Fernando Garcia, Michael Brennan,
Christopher Billups, Liam Ward and Brandon Deger. (Please
note that due to an error, Christopher Billups was not called
up for his certificate during the ceremony. We regret the error.)
7 Intro certificates— Ribbon and certificate: Eric Kleppinger
Brian McReynolds. Certificates: Brian Wasik, James Gagliano,
Christopher Farrell, John McKenna and Andrew Coder.
Latin teacher Mr. William McCrystal, Sr. congratulated
the boys on their achievements.
At the May 13 awards ceremony
following the Ascension
Mass, Joe Koomar accepts
the Eisenhower leadership
award from West
Point representative John
Dilley who praised the junior
for his character, service
and leadership
The Koomar family and College
Counselor Ann Geissler
attended a special ceremony at
West Point for honored high
school juniors .
Student Council Officers Take Oath
Newly elected
council officers
Michael Rosella,
Nick Barresi, Joseph
Bizub, Tim
Lynch and Cormac
Rada recite their
pledge to do the
best job they can
do for their school
next year.
Dore Heads to West Point, Rosella Takes Reins
Passing a ‘Torch’
Photo by Ann Geissler
2009 —10 Student Council Secretary Tim Dore continues the
Oratory tradition of passing the chalice to the incoming Student
Council President. Michael Rosella earned the top spot in the
recent student body elections. The cup that is passed to the
senior class was donated by art teacher Mrs. Susan Preston on
the anniversary of Oratory’s 100th year.

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MAY 15, 2010 OPEN PAGE 3
Fr. Sal Blesses Rings Before Parents
of Juniors and Student Body
M usic
played, the
altar servers processed
and the
gymnasium transformed
into a
place for the Ascension
Mass. An
OP tradition, the
blessing of the rings,
followed Fr. Sal’s
homily.
Then Mr. Owen
McGowan, Dean of
Academics and Mr.
Bill Martin, Director
of Co-Curricular
Activities, distributed
the rings and
announced various
awards. (See below)
More Honorees
Jon Schwolsky
Additional
awards were
won by:
John Plantemoli
Mike Rosato
Chris Kraft
Tobias Kraft
Daniel Sommer
Spencer Berstler
Jared Littlejohn
Gus Exarhakos
Brandon Deger
Bob Vander Meulen
Omega (newspaper) award winners
Rings and Celebration
After the ceremony, parents and students enjoy a
continental breakfast for the juniors.
May 15, 2010

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If you have information or
photos to share, please send
them to OPEN editor Susan
Dougherty, PR Coordinator
Phone: 908-273-1084, x 46
E-mail: sdougherty@oratoryprep.org
Tennis Fun at the MS Consortium
Photo by Dr. Peter Astor
VARSITY
BASEBALL
A
ccording to
Pat Gist, Athletic
Director
and head coach of Varsity
Baseball, the best game this
season had to be against
Roselle Park, which they
won 9—2. “It was pretty exciting
that this is the first
Union County Tournament
game we have played in
years,” he said.
He invites the OP family
to come out next Friday,
May 21 to the home game
against Newark Academy.
“It should be a good match
and decent cap off to our
season,” he said.
Mark McDonnell
won second
place in the
Middle School
Consortium in
tennis last week.
Dr. Peter Astor,
the JV tennis
coach chaperoned
the boys.
Photo by Jeneen Perrella
Robotics Club Slated for the Fall
Sports Updates
TRACK: Union County Conference
Valley Division Meet Results
1st Place, 400 Hurdles — Alex Martynetz
1st Place, Shot Put — Marcus Laroche
1st Place, Discus — Marcus Laroche
2nd Place in various events: Bobby Vander
Meulen, Alex Martynetz, Joey Mascolo,
Digno Andino. Conference Champions:
Marcus and Alex Martynetz.
LACROSSE
Under
the
direction of Coaches Kevin
Donnelly and Denis
Noonan, the lacrosse team
won a hard-fought game
against Verona , 4-3. They
are on a roll, winning three
games in one week.
GOLF
Junior Scott Miller
won third-place in
the Prep B finals
and placed fifth in
the recent Union
County Championship
Tournament. At
that same meet, Robbie
Weeks placed
8th at counties.
Scholar Athlete
Matt Pigott
Mr. Ted Dore
holds an informational
meeting of
the newly
formed Robotics
Club
that will officially
commence
in the
fall.
P
ast president
of the
Parents’
Guild Ted Dore recently
paid a visit to
the school for a
presentation to interested
students in
forming a Robotics
Club next year.
“This is no small
undertaking,” Dean
of Co-Curricular
Activities Bill Martin
said. Mr. Dore concurred.
“This is a club
that has national
competitions where
we build the robotic
element and compete with others.” Although
the club officially is for high school students, Mr.
Dore made it clear that seventh and eighth graders
are welcome to come to meetings to learn about
the process of building and strategizing together so
that they will be ready to compete when they are in
high school.
In September, there will be announcements
about the meetings.
A
four-year varsity swimmer and
four-year varsity tennis player
who was named MVP as a
sophomore and Coach’s Award winner
as a junior, Matt Pigott received a
$1,000 scholarship, a commemorative
watch and a plaque from the Interscholastic
Conference Scholar Athlete Association
at a dinner on Wednesday, May
12.
Varsity Tennis
Mr. and
Mrs.
Robert
Pigott and
Athletic
Director
Pat Gist
congratulate
Matt
at the
Pines
Manor
event..
Next OPEN: Brandon King Scholar Athlete
Congratulations to the Varsity Tennis
Team that had what the coach called “a
memorable season.” The team made it to
the Union County Tournament, the Prep B
Tournament and won their first round at
states.