Fall 2012 - Cistercian Preparatory School

News & notesMISSION TRIPTO HONDURASA BIG SUCCESSFor the first time,Cistercian studentsjoined the DallasDiocese summeryouth missionarytrip to Honduras.The studentsworked alongsideresidents to buildwalls, constructfences, clean churchproperty, preparefor the installationof a septic tank, andplace a new andmuch needed roofon a parish church.John Kane ‘14,Nick Porter ‘14,Jack Skaggs ‘14,Matt Steidle ‘14,Miko Tanco ‘14,Sam Tomaso ‘14,Nick Capasso ‘13,Brenden Glover‘14, and AndrewDudasko ’13 werejoined by teachersGreg Graham, LisaHernandez, MichaelMcGuire, and MichaelO’Brien ’00.All were heartenedby the prayerand fellowship theyshared with theresidents of thesevillages.Brenden Glover ‘14NEW TEACHERSBrnicky, COLLIER (?),Kennedy, Key, Fr. Philip?,Br. Justin, Merrick?NEW TEACHERS (l-r) Tara Kennedy (Spanish), Fr. Philip Lastimosa ’00 (formmaster Form I, Latin-Form I, Physics-Form VIII), Nick Merrick (Finance elective),Dylan Key (English elective, drama), Matthew Brnicky ’05 (Physics, Form VII).CISTERCIAN’S NEW TEACHERSAn infusion of experience and enthusiasmThis year’s additions to thefaculty bring a lot of experiencein their field (or at Cistercian) tothe school.A study-abroad program toSegovia, Spain during collegehelps Tara Kennedy “continueaspiring to bring the Spanishlanguage and culture to my students,”she said.Kennedy has taught highschool Spanish for 17 years, 12 ofthem in the Dallas area.“The Cistercian experiencewithout girls has been a very differentone!” she said.Of the five new faculty members,two are alumni. Both areteaching physics.Fr. Philip Lastimosa ‘00, whois also serving as form master ofthe Class of 2020, teaches Latinto his young group and physics tothe seniors.“My seniors give me tips onthe most memorable and effectiveforms of punishment,” Fr. Philiplaughed.Fr. Philip has a masters of artsin teaching (in science education)from the UT Dallas in addition tohis M.A. in Theology (UD), andhis B.S. in Materials Science andEngineering (Lehigh University).Matthew Brnicky ’05, a physicsand math major at Creighton,teaches physics to Form VII.“Fr. Paul always said that Iwould come back to teach,” saidBrnicky, who is pursuing a Ph.Din statistics from UTA. “I didn’tthink it would be this soon.”Cistercian dad Nick Merrick(Matthew ’15) is teaching a financeelective.“Nine of my fourteen studentsare football players,” said theHarvard MBA. “They posedfor a picture with me. I felt veryhonored.”Dylan Key, a U.D. graduatewith a double major in drama andEnglish, teaches an English electiveand coaches the MS SpeechLeague. In the spring, he willdirect the Upper School drama.“When not teaching at Cistercian,”said the Pennsylvania native,“I work as associate directorof Undermain Theatre.”QUIZ BOWLWhile “A” team is away,“B” team shows it can playFr. Gregory Schweers, faculty guru ofall things Quiz Bowl, received a glimpseinto the future at a tournament outsideOklahoma City. It made him smile.With the “A” team already havingqualified for the Nationals in May (andworking on college apps), MitchellSawtelle ‘14, Michael Uhrick ‘14, ShobitSrivastava ‘14, and Joshua Maymir ’15took second in the tournament.More importantly, their finish qualifiedthe young group for a slot in the Nationals.Kathleen Muldoon and Kent ClayNEW BOARD MEMBERSClay and Muldoon filllegendary board seatsWith the retirement of three schoolboard members — Abbot Emeritus DenisFarkasfalvy, Dr. Bob Henderson, and JimMoroney ’74 — Abbot Peter appointed Fr.Julius Leloczky, Kathleen Muldoon, andKent Clay to fill their seats.Muldoon, mother of Ryan ’93, is acertified financial planner and senior vicepresident of Carter Financial. She serves onthe Bishop’s Finance Council and the boardof trustees of The Catholic Foundation.Attorney Kent Clay, father of Brennan’10, Jess ’13, Jameson ’16, and Sam ’19, isForm II Sustentation captain. “I am gladthat a place like Cistercian still exists in theworld and feel fortunate that my family hasbeen exposed to all that it has to offer.”13 42Number of Cistercian students and faculty memberswho traveled to Honduras over the summeras part of the Diocese youth missionary trip.Number of years Abbot Emeritus Denis Farkasfalvyhas sat on the Cistercian school board. He leaves theabbey and the school in very capable hands.Honduras photo by Lydia Torrez; other photos by Jim ReischFALL 2012 • THE CONTINUUM5