Summer 2009 Newsletter - John Carroll Catholic High School

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Congratulations to...Teacher of the Year: Karen VercilloCongratulations to the 2009 John Carroll High School Teacher of the Year, Karen(Stromak) Vercillo! Karen (1993) is married to fellow alumni Tony (1993), andthey have two children Anthony (3) and Emma (10 months). Karen has a degreein Sociology from UCF and teaches Personal Fitness and Life Management.Karen has made numerous changes to the program and now runs a highintensityworkout regime and focuses on improving the fitness of every student.The variety of her curriculum includes military personnel visiting campus andhosting “mini-bootcamps”, using the latest fitness equipment, popular music,and workout routines that will improve the student-athletes’ performances.Did you know that Karen is the third member of the Vercillo family to teach Personal Fitness at JC (herfather-in-law, David and husband Tony both taught PE, too!) “Staying fit has always been a priorityto me, and I love to see others get excited about improving their level of fitness,” Karen remarked.Volunteers of the Year: Mike & Miriam BurnsMr. and Mrs. Burns have been married for 23 years and have three children(Michael (2008), Mitchell (2009), and Mark (13 years old). Mike is a certifiedfinancial planner with Wells Fargo Securities and is the interim Branch Manager.Miriam is a stay-at-home mom who loves to volunteer at St. Helen’s and JCHS.The duo served as Presidents of the Basketball Booster Club for 3 years,organized the basketball program for 2 years, and served as the FootballBooster Club Presidents for 1 year. Miriam has also volunteered for thelunch program weekly and for the 300 Club Committee. The dedicated couple also supported the Annual CampaignFund for five years and the Gym Fundraiser, where Mike served on the gymnasium fundraising committee.In the community Mr. Burns has coached soccer, basketball, and football, served as a board member chairman ofthe Abilities Resource Center, and on the board for the St. Helen Harvest Festival. Miriam has been active in JuniorLeague, is on the United Way of Indian River County board, and is very active at St. Helen’s Catholic Church and School.Parents’ Guild President: Diana HannaDiane Hanna (1979) has proudly served the Parents’ Guild for sevenyears and has been the President for the past four years. She has alsovolunteered as the Parents’ Guild Baccalaureate Reception Chairmanand Vice-President, as well as the cross country and track teams.Diane is an alumna of JCHS as are two of her children Ian (2006) andLeeanne (2009). Her son, Kyle is a freshman at Jensen Beach HighSchool. Diane has been a teacher with St. Lucie County for 23 yearshaving mostly taught kindergarten and is also a volunteer with the State Park in Fort Pierce. “It has been agreat ride and loads of fun to be heavily involved with the students of JC. They are truly a treasure to behold.”JCHS Connections Summer 2009 Page 10
Alumni of the Year: Derrick GibsonDerrick (1989) and his wife Kola have three children: son KeenanDixon-Gibson (JCHS student), Jasmine (12), and Derica (8).Derrick is a Probation Officer Specialist for the Florida Departmentof Corrections, where he has worked for the past 15 years.While attending JCHS, Derrick ran track and played on the varsityfootball team. Since 2005 he has been an assistant varsity footballcoach, an assistant track coach, and head track coach. Mostrecently, Derrick helped to coach JCHS Sophomore Justin Osking to a State Championship in the shot put.Derrick has proudly served as mentor at Garden City Elementary School & Samuel Gaines Academy,has spoken as a Probation Officer at Dan McCarty Middle School & Stuart Middle School, and has volunteeredas Pop Warner Football Coach for 7 years. We agree with one of Derrick’s favorite quotes: “People willforget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”.Business Partner of the Year:Big Apple Pizza, Fort PierceScott Van Duzer, owner of Big Apple Pizza in Fort Pierce, continueshis community support and philanthropy at John Carroll. His wifeDawn and three children, Scott (2008), Jordan (JCHS Senior),and Joe (incoming JCHS Freshman) reside in Port St. Lucie.Big Apple Pizza proudly provides lunch on a weekly basis for students,pre-game meals for athletes, donates meals for school events, andcaters numerous functions on campus. Big Apple Pizza has been sogenerous to JCHS, and we are grateful for Scott’s support. He donates to all of our special events and fundraisers,is proactive in finding areas of need on campus, and is always enthusiastic to work with. “Even though I didn’tgraduate from John Carroll, I feel like a member of the John Carroll family. Thank you for making me feel that way.”In 2008 he created the Van Duzer Foundation to help families in the community who aresuffering through a personal tragedy or crisis. The goal of the foundation is to make life better for thecommunity and to encourage volunteerism among members of the community – especially youth.Coach of the Year: Brian SiringoJohn Carroll teacher and coach Brian Siringo is married to a JohnCarroll teacher, Allison, and has two children Taylor (8) and Nicholas (6).Brian is a graduate of Cardinal Newman High Schoolwhere he played football, golf, and was an All-Area and All-State soccer player. He continued playing soccer and golf atWingate University in North Carolina on a full soccer scholarship.Mr. Siringo has been a teacher for a total of 11 years workingin the Palm Beach County public school system, St. Joseph CatholicSchool, and JCHS. His coaching resume includes girls’ and boys’ varsity soccer and boys’ varsity golf.This outstanding coach also serves as a lector for St. Anastasia church and is a volunteer soccer andbaseball coach for St. Anastasia School. “I love coaching and teaching. Any award I receive is becauseof my students and athletes. Without them, I am just a man sitting on the sideline watching a game.”JCHS Connections Summer 2009 Page 11
Page 1 and 2: ConnectionsJohn Carroll Catholic Hi
Page 3 and 4: Third HabitatforHumanity Home Dedic
Page 5 and 6: alumni in action1961 2005John C. Da
Page 7 and 8: JCHS Connections Summer 2009 Page 7
Page 9: Reunion InformationClass of 1969The

Summer 2009 Newsletter - John Carroll Catholic High School

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