from the President: “The Benedictine Foundation at Washington is the result of an idea springing from the present position of the Church in the World. The need was felt for some kind of specialty adapted appeal to the educated of America, and for a determined effort to bring back the spiritual to its proper place in modern study and research.”
From the writings of Fr. Thomas Moore, OSB, Founder
Dear Alumni, Students, Members of the Board of Trustees, Faculty and Staff, Past and Present Parents, Benefactors, and Friends of St. Anselm’s Abbey School, Why do parents and students choose a Benedictine monastic school? Some say they do so for the academic benefits afforded by a classical education, while others say they want a school with a religious component to help guide students as found in the 1,500-year-old Benedictine tradition. Sometimes, parents choose St. Anselm’s Abbey School because it is known for its academic excellence and its Catholic moral formation. Sometimes, students come to the Abbey School to learn in a small, protective atmosphere and to share in the stability of a monastic educational haven—a place for work, prayer, meditation, contemplation, and peace.
peace. Mourning and tears, cries of lamentation and wailing are all essential paths to healing and growth, cries of joy and wisdom, the foundations of the contemplative spirit searching for God.
The silence of contemplation sharpens the attentive mind, and I think a Benedictine education helps sharpen our students’ minds. Thus prayer and contemplation allow betterment for monks, students, teachers, and parents, in spite of mourning our loss of innocence, focus, and beauty, and all the while steeling our heart’s reserve for something even greater—reform, attentiveness, and tranquil
The last three popes, three great teachers, form a triptych to help us on our journey through life— John Paul II’s passion about what we believe, Benedict XVI’s passion to explain why we believe what we believe, and now Pope Francis’ passion about how to live what we believe. These successors of Saint Peter uniquely guide our understanding, our academic study, and our spiritual growth.
In academic studying, one may possess all the knowledge there is about what it means intellectually to be Homo sapiens, but such knowledge will never help one to understand spiritually the person next to you—we are here together; we accept each other for who we are—black, white, yellow, brown, or red— Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, or Hindu— transsexual, gay, or straight. The human desire to learn and to know has no bounds, no limits placed Of course, none of the reasons listed above could upon the growth of individual achievement. happen without monks and their vow of stability. Peaceful contemplation is best rooted in a place. We find in Hebrew Scripture an impressive notion Monks may be defined as those who create sacred of the covenant between God and the People of space. The monastic cell of each monk, the monastery Israel—the “I Am Who Am” given to us through rooted on top of a hill in Washington, D.C., this Moses. Later, Moses frees the Chosen People from school of the Lord’s service called St. Anselm’s, all the shackles of bondage. And in the Gospel, Jesus speak to the importance of place—a sacred place. said to his accusers, “Amen, amen, I say to you In taking the vow of stability, monks commit before Abraham came to be, I Am.” (John 8:59) themselves to one place for the rest of their lives. And for all those whom God continues to send to Exterior geography becomes interior or spiritual us as we all journey through life together, we find geography. For monks, meaning and fullness are in our Benedictine school a notion of a covenant found in the local place, in the routine of life lived between monks/teachers and students/parents, the in local intimacy with their surroundings, the same Ora et Labora given to us through Saint Benedict. routine of prayer and work day in and day out, week A monastic school frees students from the bondage after week, year after year. of ignorance and prejudice.
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All evolution and progress are convoluted and intertwined. The development and growth of St. Anselm’s is no different. It is May once again, and we are looking forward to the school’s 73rd Commencement. For 77 years, this Benedictine school has progressed. So how did we begin? Our school continues it miraculous journey evolving in time and space from a very tiny Priory School of eighteen freshmen in 1942 to 257 middle and high school students in 2019. Forms I and II (grades 7 and 8) were added after a new academic school building was opened in 1955. Then in 1961, there was a significant name change—the Priory School became the Abbey School. And in 1990, Form A (grade 6) was added to complete our middle school. The Priory School was housed in the old north wing of the monastery from 1942 until 1955. After 60 years of multiple uses for the abbey, this original building was converted into the Monmonier Senior Wing for aging monks in 2016.
After a lengthy feasibility study, our development office is now in a quiet phase of testing the waters for the launch of an official capital campaign. We are in the process of naming committee chairs from our constituent groups, such as past and current parents, alumni classes, and special regional groups, such as New York, Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, etc. I am pleased to report that Mr. Erich T. Schwartz has agreed to be the Lead Campaign Co-chair for the Benedictine Learning Center. Erich was a litigation partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP until his retirement in 2018. He has also been an adjunct professor of securities regulation at the George Washington University law school and spoke and wrote widely on professional topics. Both his sons graduated from St. Anselm’s, Erich, Jr., ’12 and Jack, ’17, and his wife, Faith, serves on the school’s Board of Trustees. The Schwartzes also have a daughter, Katherine, who is a graduate of Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School.
In the spring of 1946, our original gymnasium was finished just in time for Commencement exercises for our first graduating class. Then in 2003, that old Recently, Fr. Abbot James spoke to the faculty and gym metamorphosed into the Devine Theater. students on the importance of our monastic prayer and work, and how we are preparing for the 100th In 1974, a new science wing was added to the 1955 anniversary of the 1924 founding of the abbey, as academic building, and this was followed by the well as the school’s evolution over the next 75 years. 1986 construction of more classrooms and a cafeteria He called on all to pray for vocations, essential for space to house an ever-increasing enrollment. This our monastic growth and work within our mission of cafeteria was converted into the Stafford Library the Benedictine charism—stewardship, community when the new gymnasium/theater complex opened building, and our apostolate of education. in 2002. On the monastic side of things, I am pleased to At the beginning of our evolution, I am sure no report that our Br. Samuel (Padraic) Springuel, one thought that the humble Priory School would ’98, will be ordained to the priesthood on May 25th become St. Anselm’s Abbey School, a premier by Bishop Michael Fisher in the abbey chapel. Br. school for academic excellence and a bastion of Samuel attended St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Benedictine stability, stewardship, scholarship, and Vermont, where he started as a Physics major, went most importantly, spiritual growth. on to double major in Physics and Psychology and ultimately graduated with a B.A. in Psychology. He As you may have read in previous issues of The completed his Ph.D. in Physics at the University Corbie Chronicle, the abbey and school are jointly of Maine in 2010, having done his thesis work in planning a very ambitious capital campaign to raise the sub-field of Physics Education Research. Just ten million dollars for our Benedictine Learning before Br. Samuel joined our abbey, he was a Physics Center—a visible link between the abbey and school, Instructor at the University of Maryland. and for our laity, a concrete inspiration and their empowerment to carry our Benedictine mission well into the future. 4 corbie chronicle
Remembering Abbot Aidan As almost everyone is aware, Abbot Aidan Shea, OSB, passed away on December 2nd; we miss his scholarship, his guidance, and his patience. We are planning to name the monastic library in the new Benedictine Learning Center the Abbot Aidan Shea Scriptorium in his memory. Pax in Sapientia,
Fr. Peter Weigand, OSB President
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reflections from the Headmaster Dear Members of the St. Anselm’s Community, We are but a month from completing another stellar year here at 4501 South Dakota Avenue, led, once again, by the remarkable leadership and sage guidance of three monks, each of whose devotion to St. Anselm’s both within the school and the monastery, has been remarkable over five–plus decades: Abbot James Wiseman, Fr. Michael Hall, ’56, and Fr. Peter Weigand. Where this community would be without these three gentlemen is hard to ponder, and we can thank the Holy Spirit that each in his inimitable way seems to have found an ever-available flow from the fountain of youth, continuing to give selflessly and provide meaningfully while asking for little in return. Thank you, humble, wise, and devoted monastic leaders, for all that you have given and continue to give to this day, so fully and so well. Some observations and information about this year: • Faculty and staff turnover continue to be wonderfully low, which means that on average, year after year, only 3–5 new hires are called for in filling out our employee base of 66; our exciting news once again this year is that the School landed three excellent hires in filling our Chemistry, Drama, and Spanish openings. • Adding to this category of “having been in place for many years in a row” is my happy reporting out on this year’s sixth form—and on their senior year–—which has been as exemplary as we had hoped it might be in heading back to school last August. The Class of 2019, 39–strong, has a bit of everything by way of personality, predilection, and interest, and boy−oh–boy do they love their school, a sentiment they have expressed loudly and regularly during their run here, especially so this year. This invested and capable crew is also quite confident and certainly has put its money where its mouth is academically—as nearly one−third of them carried a 4.0 GPA into the sixth form and as the lot of them have been accepted into an array of wonderful colleges and universities with plenty of merit scholarship money on the table to sweeten the offer—and as athletes, as captured by the varsity basketball team’s performance this year, a team comprised of all but two seniors. Running the table in a fashion not seen at St. Anselm’s since 2003, this squad won both the PVAC tournament title and the SAAS Invitational Tournament (going back−to−back, in fact, as they won in ’18 as well— one sweet cherry on top). • The 50−plus students newest to the community, those who matriculated last August, have made their mark as well, cited by faculty members at various times in the year as “hard−working,” “inquisitive,” “talented,” “contributory” and “intellectually gifted.” Impressively, the small handful from within this group that got off to
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a slower start than would have been hoped for really began to figure things out as the year moved along, generating a tangible uptick in mid–year and third quarter grades from what had been a rocky start, displaying admirable adaptability and tenacity of purpose in making this happen. Of note, they’re a nice and cooperative group, too, and generally quite sunny. • The four major committees, of our making, that the School was called on to create/activate in complying with re–accreditation protocol two years ago—Technology, Student Life Balance, Academic Improvement, and Professional Development—continue to make excellent and dimensional progress, a progress that will be proudly on display a year and a half from now when a representative from said accrediting body, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, pays St. Anselm’s a mid–term visit. • Effective school year ’20−’21, we will add a new requirement to our list of graduation requirements, AP US History, which will be taken by sophomores both that year and in moving forward. I am thrilled to report this meaningful addition to our required courses, as calling on all of our students to take as fundamental and formative a class as US History—and at the AP level at that—will not only provide additional rigor and uniformity to their academic experience, it will also enhance every future graduate’s breadth of knowledge within this essential (perhaps now more than ever) field of study. This year marks an important milestone for me at St. Anselm’s, as I complete my seventh year, having begun my tenure at the same time that our soon–to–be graduates entered Form A, 2012. As I have had the good fortune to teach many of them in one, two, or even three courses, I have developed a particular affinity for and understanding of them. I continue to feel blessed and honored to serve and to lead this school and I look forward to many more years sitting alongside and with its community members in breaking bread and in getting to know one another all the better. Pax in Sapientia,
Bill Crittenberger
Benedictine Heritage Week During the week of March 18-29, the St. Anselm’s School Community celebrated the Feast of St. Benedict with our annual Benedictine Heritage Week. The Benedictine Ethos Committee planned a good balance of prayer, work, study, food, and fun with the aim of helping our students explore the history of our school, our monastery, and our connection to the worldwide movement sparked by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century AD. We kicked off the week on Monday with special readings and prayers during Morning Announcements, an exhibit of archival photos in the foyer of the upper building, and a display table of yearbooks in the library illustrating the black and white days of yore. These exhibits remained open throughout the week. Tuesday, Ora Et Labora Day, began with House Masses in four locations around the school. Then, following the customary Tuesday morning donut break, Forms V and VI traveled to their usual weekly community service sites while the remaining students attended various conferences centered on the twin themes of Faith and Service: Faith Sessions • Tour of St. Anselm’s Abbey • The Lengthening of Days and the Renewal of the Heart • Tragedy in St. Benedict’s Home Town: A Monk of Norcia Takes You There • Lectio Divina: The Ancient Benedictine Prayer Form • St. Benedict: A Word on Fire Film, Bishop Robert Barron, Host and Producer • Meditation • Benedictine Monasteries Around the World • Why Pray? • Leisure: A Fundamental Element of Human Existence Service Sessions • Capital Area Food Bank • Central Union Mission • St. Ann’s Center for Children, Youth, and Families • Catholic Charities After these conferences, the boys went to work on-grounds and in the local neighborhood. Middle schoolers made an incredible one-thousand bagged lunches for DC’s Central Union Mission, while Forms III and IV did cross-country trail maintenance and trash removal just outside the perimeter of the grounds. Upon
Campus News
by Tom Mehigan
completion of their work, upperclassmen returned from distant service sites in time to join the rest of us for the second annual Fr. Peter Fried Chicken Feast! After lunch, alumni speakers Allan La Grenade-Finch, ’09, and Chris Dwyer, ’87, shared stories of their work in non-profit and charitable service industries. Many students commented on how much they enjoyed these talks—especially the Q & A sessions. One student, attempting to stir up some sympathy (or controversy!), asked the age-old question, “Have you ever used your Abbey training in Latin language and literature during the course of your career?” Without missing a beat, Mr. Dwyer responded, “Not since the first few years I spent up north fighting the Gauls.” Ora Et Labora ended after what now seems like a perennial thumping of the faculty in the Faculty-Senior Basketball Game. Thankfully, all could salve their wounds with an ice cream feast before the buses began shuttle runs to Ft. Totten metro at dismissal. On Thursday, Abbott James celebrated the conventual mass for the Feast of St. Benedict in the Devine Theatre for the monks, students, staff, and guests. The other days of the week followed the regular school day schedule, although special morning prayers and displays continued through Friday. In planning this festal commemoration of the life, death, and legacy of The Founder, the committee hoped that all would pray a little, learn a little work a little, play a little, and of course, feast a little. We’d like to think St. Benedict would appreciate that balance. The Benedictine Committee
Ethos
Allan La GrenadeFinch, ’09, and Chris Dwyer, ’87, spoke at an allschool assembly about their careers in public service.
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Community Service
Forms V & VI
by John Goldberg, Campus Minister Although I am a biased voice, I believe one of the strongest aspects of the St. Anselm’s curriculum is the uniquely integrated “Christian Service” program for forms V and VI students. Having students go off-campus to volunteer during the school day may not be the most conventional idea, but then St. Benedict instructs us to act differently than the rest of the world (RB 4:20). For years we’ve been sending students to local schools, community centers, nursing homes, and various non-profits in the surrounding neighborhoods. St. Anselm’s has had the pleasure of serving at some of these sites since the inception of the program, while other sites are much newer. For the 20182019 school year we are excited for two new partnerships in this program. The first site is located at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land. Unlike a site like the Basilica of the National Shrine, our students aren’t serving as tour guides to James Grissom, Form V, and Henry Yuan, Form VI, plant seedlings at the Franciscan Monastery Garden, a new service visitors but instead are serving in the greenhouse with site this year. the Franciscan Monastery Garden Guild. Each year, the Garden Guild grows roughly eight-thousand pounds of fresh produce that is donated to local food banks and shelters within the DMV (District, Maryland, and Virginia). At this site our students explore the ideas of “food deserts” as well as hunger justice, all while getting dirty planting and harvesting crops. Our other new site this year isn’t entirely new to us, but rather an add-on to an existing site. For years we have been sending students to the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Institute to serve alongside high school students with varying developmental differences, and this year we are excited about our new partnership with their inclusive early childhood development and intervention program, Carder del Rosario, Form V, reads to students during their which is also run by Catholic Charities. This center library special at Bunker Hill Elementary School. primarily serves children from low-income families. At this site our students serve in the classrooms with various types of tutoring and play.
Joey Blum, Form VI, helps open containers for snack time at St. Ann’s Child Development Center.
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Jack Maxwell and Armando Bautista, Form V, tutor children at St. Anthony’s Catholic School.
Anton Wellisz, Form V, plays dress up with the children at DC Bilingual Public Charter School.
Joey Horner, Form V, cleans a client’s home for the Seabury Aging in Place program.
Will Monahan, Form V, works with a child at the Spanish Education Development Center.
Jimmy Duke, Form VI, gives a tour at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Throughout the year, students perform many other acts of community service: upper schoolers collected diapers for the Christ Child Society and Form A students went caroling and made holiday cards for Seabury Center for the Aging.
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Campus News It’s Academic and Quiz Bowl by Maryrita Dunlavey, Librarian and Team Moderator
It’s Academic: Our It’s Academic team, Will Monahan (Form V), Will Stubner (Form VI), and Dash Tischler (Form III), followed their strong season last year by again advancing to the Semi-finals. Our team won their first match against Basis Charter School McLean and South County (Fairfax County) 540, 404, 330 and their quarter-final play-off round against Walter Johnson (Montgomery County) and W.T. Woodson (Fairfax County) 635, 430, 515. Next up is the semi-final match against T. C. Williams (Alexandria City) and Rockville High School (Montgomery County) on Saturday, May 11th (broadcast date: June 15 @ 10:30 am). We wish them luck! In all our matches, we have been supported by a great turnout of fans, including our panther, Aiden Wetterhan! Quiz Bowl: We have two Quiz Bowl teams, middle school and high school, and they compete in all–day tournaments covering a broad range of academic subjects and well as the specific History Bowl & Bee tournaments. Middle School students practice once a week and High School students practice twice a week during their 10th period club time. Our high school team competed in five tournaments this year, qualifying to participate in the National History
St. Anselm’s is proud to announce that Ryan Fennelly, Form VI, has been named a 2019 National Merit Scholarship Finalist. Finalists are deemed to have the most distinguished credentials and the highest potential for academic success. Congratulations!
Bowl Championships and the Small School National Championships sponsored by NAQT. For the first time, the team—Will Stubner (Form VI), Will Monahan (Form V), Frank Daley-Young (Form V), and Dash Tischler (Form III) will be competing in this tournament in May in Chicago. Good Luck! Our middle school team competed in four tournaments this year and placed fourth in the Centennial Tournament, seventh place in the DC Region History Bowl, and third place in the LATTE-Eagle Ridge Invitational tournament. Will Stubner is graduating this year—we wish him the best in his college years and beyond and thank him for his hard work and dedication to making Quiz Bowl and It’s Academic successful and fun! Good luck in Chicago!
St. Anselm’s students and faculty participated in the annual March for Life January 19 at the U.S. Capitol.
Summer 2019
Congratulations to Max Kuhn, Form IV (below to the left), who will attend Georgetown University’s International Relations Academy this summer. Form I student Lucious Crawford (right) will study the Great Books at Amherst College in June and then will immediately fly to UCLA to attend Oxbridge’s summer program for “curious students” to delve into augmented reality.
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Priory Players
Cast
Henry V By William shakespeare
Joseph Lang Tyler Young Vinnie Blum Stephen DeCarlo Dash Tischler Will Monahan Ezra Onyewu Jimmy Duke Oscar Lloyd Jack Craig J.P. Libanati Jane Brinley Lorenzo Marra Hollis Howe Max Kuhn Lilly McCormick Maureen Boman Katie Quinn
Joseph Lang, Form IV, Hollis Howe, Form VI, Oscar Lloyd, Form IV, and Vinnie Blum, Form IV
Crew
Joey Blum Ryan McFeeters Jan Eshun Nick Daniel Will Stubner Nick DeCarlo Jimmy Duke Nicolas Daniel Nobel Tedros Photo Credit: Prima Donna Photography, LLC.
JP Libanati, Form V, Dash Tischler, Form III
Joseph Lang, Form IV, and Lorenzo Marra, Form IV
Tyler Young, Form VI, Ezra Onyewu, Form IV, Will Monahan, Form V, Stephen Hollis Howe, Form VI, Vinnie Blum, Form IV, and Max DeCarlo, Form IV Kuhn, Form IV
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Student awards and activities Geographic Bee
Poetry Out Loud
Jimmy Duke, Form VI, won the Abbey contest and competed well in the DC Poetry Out Loud Finals. A vocal cadre of Abbey students were there to cheer him on!
Brady McElroy, Form II, competed in the DC Geographic Bee at the National Geographic Society building. Accompanied by a large family contingency and moderator Jeff Harwood, Brady came in fifth overall in an exceeding tough match.
Top of the District Choral Festival Due to a weather conflict for our annual choral festival at the National Cathedral, St. Anselm’s hosted the first ever Top of the District Choral Festival with choirs from the Academy of the
Holy Cross and Washington Latin Public Charter School on March 19. The singers enjoyed afternoon rehearsals together, a spaghetti supper, and performed an evening concert.
High School Principals Association The High School Principals Association administers a symposium at Catholic University of America for high school students to research a topic they are interested in and then give a presentation before an audience of their peers. Form V student John Paul Libanati gave a talk about, “Progeria: The Elderly Children.” Formally known
as Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, it is a rare genetic disease which causes premature aging and death in children. JP said he was intrigued by the disease and researched it for Mr. Battle’s Biotechnology class. He is generally interested in biotechnology and medicine.
Form II Physical Science Rube Goldberg Machines
Warwick Lloyd, Freddie Daley-Young, Justin Feira, and Henry Felgenhauer
Connor Cavanaugh, Connell Paxton, and Bruno Karpinski
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Jack Hardwick, Brady McElroy, Zinachidi Achikeh, and Jalen Thayer
class notes 1952
Four classmates got together for lunch. Ben Giuliani, Ward Hostetler, Bill Borowski, and Bruce Beckert.
1980 The New York Times Sunday Magazine recently published a piece written by Thomas May about the composer George Walker, who died last summer at the age of 96. Based in Seattle, Tom works as a freelance writer, critic, educator, and translator, with a focus on the classical music world. He also serves as a critic for The Seattle Times and Musical America.
Washington area classmates met for Sunday brunch at the Old Ebbitt Grill Standing: Ron McDermott, Pat May, Philippe Hensel, Tony Owens, and Steve Barnett. Seated: Tony Zito and Andy Carroll.
1985
1984
Members of class got together to remember Fr. Aidan and their St. Anselm’s days: Roland Muse, Ralph Muoio, Tim Phillips, Nick Lanyi, Inga Barry, Christian Barry, and Terrence Caulfield. That’s Steve Barnett and Frank Kelly, Abbey classmates and carpoolers, back together again for the first time since...high school graduation? They raised a toast or two at Cornerstone Grill in College Park.
1987
1984 San Francisco Bay area alumni got together for lunch: Matt Tierney, Jasper Rubin, Chris Lane, and Dave Burke.
Scot Maxwell recently visited Fr. Peter. He lived on St. Paul Island in the Bering Sea, 760 miles west from Anchorage, Alaska.
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Panther Sports WRESTLING Wrestling had another great season. The Panthers displayed their never-say-never attitude throughout the season even against overwhelming odds as the Abbey had its smallest team in memory. In the MAWL Championship, the team really stepped up, having been defeated by two of the league teams during the season. The Panther wrestlers were in eight of the 14 weight classes. Those eight wrestlers
SWIMMING
What a great year for our newest sport, swimming. The Washington Metropolitan Private School Swimming & Diving League accepted St. Anselm’s Abbey School as a provisional member. That meant that meets were held against Potomac, DeMatha, the Heights, Bishop McNamara, Sidwell Friends, Bullis, and Maret. After the season, the League voted to make St. Anselm’s a full member next season. The PVAC also decided this year to make swimming a provisional sport. That meant that a PVAC tournament was held and the Panthers defeated Washington International, Washington Waldorf, CES Jewish Day, and Edmund Burke to capture the unofficial PVAC Championship. Four Panther swimmers qualified for the National Catholic Championships. First year coach Maureen Boman was thrilled with the Panthers’ performance and is already looking forward to next year.
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By Steve Roush, Athletic Director
earned five gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal. Individually, the Panthers were outstanding. Overall, the team finished in 2nd place to Model Secondary School for the Deaf, even though they had wrestlers in 13 of the weight classes. Four Panthers participated in the city championship, where three of the entrants earned bronze medals. The only matches the Panthers lost were to the eventual city champions.
Panther Sports BASKETBALL - MIDDLE SCHOOL AND JV Middle School basketball had another great season. The team played at CES Jewish Day in the semi-final PVAC Championship game. Down by 8 points with less than 4 minutes to play, the Panthers rallied and slowly and relentlessly closed the gap. The Panthers won 39-37 at the buzzer. MS basketball traveled to the #1 seeded Sandy Spring Friends School for the PVAC Championship game. The crowd was large — nearly filling all the available seating. The Panthers jumped out to an early lead and continued with that throughout the game. There was tremendous fan support on both sides filling the gym with opposing chants of “Let’s go Abbey” and “Let’s go Beests”. Quite an electric atmosphere. The Panthers prevailed with a final score of Wildebeests 48, Panthers 50; winning the PVAC Boys Middle School Basketball Championships and the banner for our gym. JV basketball was the best we’ve seen in many years, with the team ending the regular season in second place behind Berman Hebrew Academy. The JV Panthers traveled to Berman Hebrew Academy to play in the PVAC JV Championship game. The game ended with a Panthers loss, 40-42. The JV team brought home the second place plaque in the PVAC.
BASKETBALL - VARSITY
The varsity basketball team enjoyed the best season ever, tying the 2003 season in postseason performance. The team finished the regular season winning the South Division of the PVAC, and receiving a banner for the wall. The first round of the PVAC tournament saw the Panthers down by 2 with 1.6 seconds remaining. The Panthers stole the McLean Mustangs’ in-bounds pass under the bucket and put it in to force an overtime, which the Panthers won. The PVAC title game was played at Richie Coliseum on the campus of the University of Maryland where over 1000 fans were in attendance. The Panthers prevailed over Berman Hebrew Academy by a score of 42-33 to win the PVAC Tournament Championship. In the St. Anselm’s Invitational, the Panthers continued their fine play reaching the championship final where they defeated Avalon. For the first time since 2003, the varsity Panther basketball team won both the PVAC Championship and the Invitational Championship in the same season!
Michael Gerrety, Form VI
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Basketball Tournament March 3 - 5 “This is the tournament that really matters.� -Carlo Pizzano, Form VI
Announcer: Dr. Herb Wood
Coach Paul Grenaldo
Xavier Preston, Form VI
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Carlo Pizzano, Form VI
Jimi Olopade, Form VI
Panther Sports
SPRING SPORTS At this writing, the spring sports are all underway. Varsity baseball is enjoying a great season. MS baseball had a limited turnout so we combined the MS with some Form III players and they are playing a modified schedule. Fencing has a large team again this year and has a full competition schedule. Golf participated in the PVAC Mid-Season Challenge and won by 9 strokes over their nearest competitor, so we’re expecting another fine season from them. Both the varsity and MS lacrosse teams had a small turnout. They are playing a limited schedule of 7 on 7 games. Tennis has a large team this year and has already both won and lost in PVAC play. Track & Field is strong again this year with fine athletes in both the running and throwing events.
In the classroom - English classes Whether reading, reciting poetry, or analyzing novels or essays, English classes are extremely interactive.
Xavier Preston, Nathan Alakija, Form VI, and Mr. Jonathan Vaile
Mrs. Nancy Cholis, Marco Wang and Jack Craig, Form V
Ms. Janine Dunne and Braxton Peace, Form II
Brendan Grau, Form VI, and Mr. Mike McCarthy
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class notes continued 2005 Fadil Aliriza works as an independent journalist and researcher. He does extensive coverage of Tunisia, Libya, Turkey, and other countries in that region.
W i n t h r o p Rodgers lives in Sulaimani, Iraq’s Kurdish Region. He is a senior editor for NRT, a TV channel and media group, where he runs the English desk.
2009
Johnny Carpenter and Mikey Carpenter ’10 were in Minneapolis to watch the University of Virginia capture its first national championship in men’s basketball! Johnny is Director of Player Personnel for the program — both were team managers while undergrads in Charlottesville.
2014
Ayinde Grimes was recently interviewed on NPR. Ayinde, a spoken word artist, leads poetry workshops with DC youth. In the interview, he discusses his community engagement and artistic influences. He also performs a reading.
2015
Jeff Clark was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in South Korea. He will graduate from the University of Iowa with a BA in English and history. As part of the Fulbright, he will teach English in South Korea for one year.
2006
2018 Tim Brooks has been the Assistant Head Coach of IMG Academy’s National Men’s Basketball Team in Bradenton, Fl. for the last two years. He was recently in New York, where his team won the GEICO Men’s High School National Championship Tournament. Alumni meet in New York City
Justin Williams and his cheerleading teammates at the University of Pittsburgh captured the 2019 national championship in collegiate cheer. While at St. Anselm’s, Justin participated in national and international cheer competitions.
Marshall Hayes, ’88, Timothy Taylor, ’04, Taru Thompson, ’09, Lucas Husted, ’09, Paul Yao, ’78, Evan Ernst, ’00, Richard Stafford, ’53, Fr. Peter Weigand, Lawrence Lucier, ’86, James Lucier, ’82, Brian McMahon, ’79, Thomas Lee, ’87, Bill Crittenberger, Robert Bond, ’01
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tenth annual all alumni Reunion weekend 2019 Distinguished Alumnus Address
An Advance in Learning Peter McLaughlin, ’69, professor of Philosophy at the University of Heidelberg, reinterpreted the classical models of the origin and advancement of science provided by Herodotus and Aristotle as complementary and showed how reading them against the grain with a little help from Francis Bacon can lead us to an advance in learning. He also shared some of the highlights of his Sixth Form year at St. Anselm’s – without going into too many details (it was the 60s after all).
St. Anselm’s Annual Family 5K run/walk ∙ in Memory of Peter Samp ’08
Sponsors Gold: F. Patrick Ostronic, ’73, Carol Giacomo & Chris Marquette, ’08, The Henneburg and Frey Family, The Kylis Family, The Samp Family, and the St. Anselm’s Alumni Association. Silver: The Kelly Family, The
Krafft Family, The Mahaffeys, and The Moniz Family. Bronze: The Hamm Family, The Jurith Healy Family, The Riddick Family, District Amputee Care Center, and the St. Anselm’s Parent Association.
Cocktail Hour before the All-Alumi Banquet
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Alumni Banquet
John Whiteman, M.D., ’59, plays “Up the Hill Jim Leathers, ’04, receives the Abbot Fr. Peter Weigand presents the St. Anselm’s of Canterbury Award to Bill Voegtli, ’49 to Priory” on one of his 4500+ harmonicas, the Alban Boultwood Alumni Award third largest private collection in the world. 60th Anniversary Class of 1959 Standing: Richard desJardins, ’57, John Whiteman, Anne Maio, Richard Maio. Seated: Abbot James Wiseman, Brian Devine, Silvija Devine, Fr. Christopher Wyvill
50th Anniversary Class of 1969 Standing: Dennis Hughes, Michael Lombardi, Kate Lombardi, Juan LavalleRivera, Martha LavalleRivera, Peter McLaughlin, Edward Mazique, Joellyn Gray, Kevin Gray. Seated: Chris McCloskey, Amy McCloskey, Diane Kirchner, Jake Kirchner, Charles Callanan, Armando Saavedra, Lucky Stokes 45th Anniversary Class of 1974 Standing: Thomas Ostronic, James Sharer, Jim Hearn, Peter Collins, William Conyngham, Victor Thuronyi, Stephen Kearney, David Pickering. Seated: Laura Collins, Sharon Stout, Janet Hearn, Eydie Andrews
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40th Anniversary Class of 1979 Standing: Noah Sack, Michael Damiano, Valerie Damiano, F. Daniel Jordan, David Haaga, John Pestaner, Peter Whitesell, Carl Procario-Foley. Seated: Albert May, Candice Haaga, Fr. Christopher Wyvill
40th Anniversary Class of 1979 Standing: Bill O’Sullivan, Sue Ellen Castellan, Dave Castellan, Rev. Anthony Giampietro, ’78, Brian McMahon. Seated: Doug Hamby, Barbara Burns, Terence Burns, Msgr. James Watkins, Karen McMahon
30th Anniversary Class of 1989 Standing: Philippe Holmes, Rob Benedetto, Peter Powers, Holly Gilbert, Jeffrey Lang. Seated: JeanMarc Taymans, David Huitema, Corbett Daly, Courtney Salamone, Joe Snider
25th Anniversary Class of 1994 Standing: Dr. Daina Graybosch, Carl Morales, Theodore Stocker, Gary Benedetto, Loren Smith. Seated: Bill Crittenberger, Tracy Crittenberger, Albert Hansen, ’72, Daniel Attridge, ’72, Missy Attridge
Join us next year! REUNION WEEKEND April 24-26, 2020 corbie chronicle 21
In Memoriam We Extend Our Deepest Sympathy to the Families of Those in Our Community Who Have Died Andrew Novotney, Jr. Class of 1960
Anthony W. Lombardi Father of Michael Lombardi, ’69
Charles W. Watson, II, MD Class of 1950
Helene Connellan O’Neil Friend of the Abbey, grandmother of Brady Gradowski, ’11 (non-grad)
Hugh Neill Class of 1952 Jane Walsh Mattingly Wife of Paul Mattingly, ’58 Boniface Kwesi Cobbina Father of Awenate Cobbina, ’98 Patricia Ann May, Ph.D. Widow of former religion teacher Dr. William May and mother of Michael May, ’77, Thomas May, ’80, Timothy May, ’83, Patrick May, ’84 William Richard Gigax Father of Richard Gigax, ’89 Mary Patricia Rinn Mother of David Rinn, ’82 John Michael Balderston Class of 1954
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Stanley M. Sherman Father of Daniel Sherman, ’76 Laura (Mother Perpetua) Giampietro, OSB Sister of Joseph Giampietro, ’70, Charles Giampietro, ’77, Anthony Giampietro, ’78, Gordon Giampietro, ’84 Paul Plant Father of Jake Plant, ’03 John Helm Pratt, Jr. Class of 1962 Helma Lanyi Mother of Nikolas Lanyi, ’85 Matthew H. Wixon Class of 1995 Thomas Cholis Husband of Nancy Cholis