View from the Cupola/Annual Report v.28 i.1 - Mount de Sales ...

Mission
Mount de Sales Academy forms young women in the
spirit of Saint Francis de Sales and in fidelity to the
Sacred Scripture and the Sacred Tradition of the
Roman Catholic Church through a college preparatory
education that nurtures the whole person.
Anchored in faith, the community of Mount de Sales Academy
is committed to academic excellence, lifelong learning,
moral responsibility, service to others,
and the dignity of the human person.
From the Principal
Dear Friends,
In this annual report we are pleased to highlight a wide-ranging conversation
between members of our Board of Trustees and current student leaders at
Mount de Sales, the fruit of a breakfast meeting the students hosted for the
board earlier this spring. As the Board and the administration move forward
together in updating our strategic plan, the Board recognizes how important
it is to be in touch with the experiences and concerns of our students and
teachers. The hard work of the Board of Trustees, as well as the tireless
dedication of our talented faculty and staff, is yielding great results. This past year has been
a full one, packed with many improvements and activities. Here is just a sampling from the
2011-2012 school year that demonstrates how we achieve our goal of academic excellence in the
Catholic tradition. As you read below, keep in mind that we are successful in large part because
of the generous donors who are recognized in our Honor Roll of Donors.
ACADEMICS
• New Sacred Heart Program for learning differences
introduced for 2012-13
• SAT and AP scores rank among the highest of 19
area Catholic schools
• On the National Latin Exam, 4 students scored in
the top 1% (Perfect) and 32 students scored in the top
13 % (Gold Medal Awards)
• Catholic Social Teaching’s class gains national
coverage for their initiative responding to the HHS
mandate and Helen Alvare’s “Open Letter to
Women” campaign
• Visits from the Maryland BioLab and Nifty Fifty
Science and Engineering speakers; freshmen attend
USA Science and Engineering Festival in D.C.
• 14 students score in the national top 20% of the
National Financial Capability Challenge
• AP Art History; Great Explorations, an
interdisciplinary course in science, math, and
technology; Honors Advanced Drama; Arete Honors
Great Books Seminar; Geography and Global Issues
all introduced for 2012-2013 school year
• Photojournalism debuts an online school news blog:
www.thesailorsource.blogspot.com
Athletics & Extracurriculars
• Concert Choir received highest overall rating in
Virginia Beach competition and featured on Channel
2 News
• IAAM League Champions in field hockey and cross
country
• Swim team set three school records and finished
third in the league
• Track 4x400M and 4x800M-relay team set school
records and several runners rank nationally
Sincerely in Christ,
Principal
FAITH & SERVICE
• A host of great speakers—singer Tony Melendez,
Olympic hopeful boxer Franchon Crews, Wounded
Warrior Project speaker Adam Widener, Fr. Dave
Pivonka, Fr. Tad Pacholczyk from the National
Catholic Bioethics Center, former top model Leah
Darrow, Bill Mitchell of the Kristen Mitchell
Foundation, college campus missionaries from
FOCUS, Msgr Stuart Swetland from Mount St.
Mary’s, and many great classroom guests as well!
• The launch of the Anchored event and speaker series
for parents and friends of MDSA
• iPray events organized by Teens for Catholic Action
• Newly-founded Support Our Troops Club organizes
two Operation Welcome Home events as well as the
Sailors for Soldiers 5K with over 200 participants and
nearly $10,000 in sponsorships
• Exclusive Mount de Sales-sponsored showing of the
film October Baby
• Students participating in the 40 Days for Life, the
national and state March for Life, Catholic Lobby
Night, local rallies for Marriage and for Religious
Freedom
• New summer service opportunities: Baltimore
Ongoing Outreach Mission (BOOM)—and a second
summer Steubenville Youth Conference due to high
student interest
Facilities
• New HVAC installed and running in the 1852
Building
• Sisters moved into new convent on campus
• Expanded computer lab added in the library
Mount de Sales Academy
Board of Trustees
Executive Committee
Nora Coakley Reiter, CPA '70 P'08
President
Sister Anne Catherine Burleigh, O.P.
Principal
Joseph Geier P'08 '12
Vice President
Mary Jo Warthen P'87
Secretary
Christopher Giermek P'14
Treasurer
General Board
Carol N. Abromaitis, Ph.D.
Richard Arnold P'11
Chris Brown, J.D. P’04 '08
Monsignor Carl F. Cummings
Keith Dalton P'10
Frank H. Falter, Jr. P'84 '86 GP'15
Barry Fitzpatrick
Elizabeth Gibbons Jennings '80 P’12
Sharon McCormack, M.D. '77
Reverend Michael J.P. Roach
John L. Voigt, Jr. P'03
Alumnae Association Board
Donna Hall Denhardt '85 P'10 '14
President
Kay McElgunn Everett '85 P'13
Vice President
Jeanne Schaible Langeluttig '84
Treasurer
Position Available
Secretary
Comments, contributions or
corrections? Please contact:
Courtney Giulioni Gahagan ’00
Director of Communications
Mount de Sales Academy
700 Academy Road
Catonsville, Maryland 21228
e: cgahagan@mountdesales.org
p: 410.744.8498 ext. 140
Volume 28 Issue 1 3 From the Principal 4 Capital Campaign 9 On Campus 11 Annual Report of Donors 32 Alumnae News
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