16003_TODAY Summer '08.R2 - St. Joseph High School - Saint ...

From the President’s officeNEWS FOR ALUMNI, PARENTS AND FRIENDSSaint Joseph TODAY ispublished for the alumni,parents, and friendsof Saint Joseph High School,Metuchen, NJ.The magazine seeks topresent news and updateson people and events ofinterest to Saint JosephHigh School and ourcommunity.All inquiries, questions orcomments can be directed todatabase@stjoes.org,732-549-7600 x227.Saint Joseph High School145 Plainfield Ave.Metuchen, NJ 08840732-549-7600www.stjoes.orgMr. Lawrence N. Walsh ´68PresidentMr. John A. Anderson ´70PrincipalMr. Jerry PawlowskiDirector of Developmentdevelopment@stjoes.org732-549-7600 x228Cover:Career Day VolunteerSpeakers pose for a groupphoto in front of theBrothers’ Residence aftertheir sessions.Photo by PM Studios©2009 Saint Joseph High SchoolAll Rights ReservedDear Alumni, Parents and Friends,Another school year is passing into our collective memory. As always, the year seemed to speed by.We grabbed on tight in September and now, in June, things are starting to slow down.This issue is a celebration of two of our alumni and a life long supporter of St. Joseph High School,Brother Peter Murphy, S.C. or “Bio Pete” as those of us from the early years used to call him (but neverto his face!). Each senior class seems to set new standards for excellence. However, this year’s class hasexceeded normal expectations of excellence. To date, 77% of this senior class has received a collegescholarship. The aggregate total of these awards is in excess of $23 million –over $7 million more thanlast year’s record. Both the Valedictorian and the Salutatorian will attend Princeton; 10 graduates willattend Ivy League institutions; 28 graduates will attend Rutgers;2 students will enroll in service academies. Our graduates will attend schools from Duke to UCLA.Our academic teams fared very well. Our College Bowl Team, coached by Mr. Ed Powers, vies fora state championship as we go to print and has been invited to the Nationals. During the course of theirseason they defeated Pingry and Delbarton and won matches against national power Horace Mann HighSchool of New York. Our Mathematics Team once again proved itself to bethe top team in the Greater New York region by winning the CatholicConference. Additionally, a group of our seniors, coached by DepartmentChair Ms. Linda Muratore, also won honors in the Moody Mega MathChallenge a prestigious contest featuring the brightest Math students on theEast Coast. Our Robotics Team performed well in their regional contests,entering the final rounds as one of the top teams in each tournament. TheFalcon, our school newspaper, in national competition, won First PlaceHonors from the American Scholastic Press Association for the 8th year in arow! Our Vignette literary magazine, for the third year in a row, won FirstPlace with Special Merit from the ASPA.Our athletic teams saw another championship year! Our Winter TrackTeam won a state championship. Our varsity teams won 4 out of the 7 countychampionships they entered. Our Lacrosse and Volleyball teams were stillinvolved in their respective state tournaments as we went to print.Our alumni resurgence continues at an amazing pace. Alumni in Chicago,Washington DC, New York, Florida and Central Jersey continue to meet atregional gatherings. Our Alumni supported our Open House in October, serving as guides, and alsoserved on panels for our new student reception in December. The Annual Christmas Tree Lighting andAdvent Mass was attended by over 400 people. Our alumni helped make Winter Fest, the Father’s Clubbeer tasting event, an outstanding success. In May, 19 alumni spoke to our current sophomores andjuniors during our annual Career Day.Our recent Brother Bernardine, S.C. Golf Tournament, chaired by John Langdon’80, at theFiddler’s Elbow Country Club brought together alumni, parents, alumni parents and friends of StJoseph’s to help future generations of St. Joseph men.Thanks to our many friends and supporters, the school’s Annual Fund Campaign surpassed its goalof $200,000. Monies from the Annual Fund directly support scholarships, financial aid, technologyupgrades, curriculum enhancement and other needs not covered by tuition. If you have not yet made anannul fund commitment, there is still time!As the year winds down, I would be remiss if I did not thank both the Mothers’ and Fathers’ Clubsof Saint Joseph’s for their hard work and dedication which directly impacts all of our students. Thisyear alone, the parents clubs have provided scholarships, laptop notebooks and projectors, librarysoftware and subscriptions and improvements to our physical plant. Their camaraderie and unselfishnessexemplify what we call the St. Joes’s way.Each May, as we welcome the freshman parents of the next academic year, I tell them that St.Joseph’s is a dynamic, ever changing community, dedicated to helping their sons grows. New teachersarrive. Old friends pass away (Brother Peter Murphy, S.C.). New courses are added as others arechanged. New clubs and athletic teams (football) are on the horizon. But despite the changes, or maybebecause of the changes, Saint Joseph’s is still the premier educational institution for boys. We still makeexcellence, be it in academics or extracurricular activities, a habit. We let others make it a goal. Weremain a Brother of the Sacred Heart School where we teach young men to be resilient in spirit andunafraid to pray.Thank you for your support of St. Joseph High School. No matter the form of that support, doknow that it is appreciated and needed. Have a great summer!Sincerely,2Lawrence N. Walsh, ´68President