Welcoming Montgomery Catholic's new Families with Cocktails in the Courtyard

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School (MCPS) hosted new families to our school on Thursday evening, October 25, 2012 at 6:30 PM, with Cocktails in the Courtyard. MCPS President, Anne Ceasar welcomed new parents in attendance to the Montgomery Catholic High School Campus. The Courtyard was a lovely setting as Administrator's, Advisory Board Members, Father David Carucci, Father Pat Arensburg, and Father Patrick Driscoll socialized and welcomed guests to the Montgomery Catholic Family.

Father Carrucci offered the Blessing, as guests were served a delicious menu catered by Ted Nobles including; chicken salad in phyllo cups, open face tomato sandwiches with basil and apple smoked bacon, homemade pimento cheese pinwheels, spanakopita, and meatballs, with mini strawberry cupcakes for dessert.  Members of the Class of 2013 served the food, while Coaches Wes Henderson and Brad Parker tended the wine bar. Tables were candle lit and trees twinkled throughout the courtyard. The evening was filled with thanks for the wonderful new additions to the Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School Family.

Montgomery Catholic Athletic Director, Travis Jarome; Development Director, Anna Lee Ingalls; Principal Laurie Gulley; President Anne Ceasar; Secretary to the President, Bonnie McClure; Principal Chad Barwick Welcome New Families to Montgomery Catholic with Cocktails in the Courtyard.

Servers for Cocktails in the Courtyard included Montgomery Catholic Seniors: Caya Taylor, Megan Karst, Berkeley Hall and David Norris

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School Band and Chorus Fall Concert held October 22

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School Band and Chorus held their Fall Concert October 22, 2012, at the Dolly Barranco Activity Center on the MCPS Middle and High School Campus.  The program included performances by the Middle School Band, the High School Chorus and the Concert Band.  Directed by Mr. Alex Johnson and Ms. Christina Banks, the concert began with the Middle School band performing 3 pieces, concluding with Robert W. Smith’s Furioso, an exciting piece that uses energetic rhythms and fierce imagery to capture the fury, turbulence, and vigor of an ordinary day in the Middle School. 

The High School Chorus with Accompanist, Mrs. Vicki Petters, performed Mary Lynn Lightfoot’s A Festive Alleluia, Ruth Elaine Schram’s arrangement of The Water is Wide and closed with the lively American Spiritual dating from the pre-Civil War era, Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit. 

The Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School Concert Band was the final group to perform.  Beginning  with a colorful, contemporary overture, Aventura by James Swearingen. The Band’s next piece was the theme march from the classic British film, The Dam Busters,  followed by a piece, taken from Act II of Alcina, the well-known opera written by George Frideric Handel in 1728. The Band performed Verdi Prati, transcribed by Albert Davis. The final piece ended the concert with power and excitement,  Robert W. Smith’s Incantations.  

The encore performance, had the High School Chorus joining the Concert Band for the contemporary hit by Adele, Rolling in the Deep.

Middle School Band performs October 22, 2012

The High School Chorus joins the Concert Band for an encore.

The Concert Band performs at the Fall Concert, October 22, 2012.

Montgomery Catholic Can-Do-Good

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School participated in the 4th Annual Can-Do-Good event, held October 13, 2012 at The Shoppes at Eastchase in support of the Montgomery Area Food Bank. A social design competition between area High School students. Overseen by Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood architects and engineers, High School teams created artistic structures made from canned goods.

Montgomery Catholic Students were responsible for conducting their own food drives and for designing, planning, and building a structure out of cans and other non-perishable food items. The MCPS team sponsored by Mrs. Tina Tynan had three hours to build their structure, a piece of Pecan Pie and a cup of hot chocolate. The event culminated in an awards ceremony where MCPS took 3rd place and was voted "Viewer's Choice".

Montgomery Catholic's team was inspired by what Fall means to them; "God, family, friendship and food. Memories turned into playing in Grandma's yard under the huge pecan trees and making games out of picking up the most pecans, the best smell in the house was pecan pie."  The structure was made of 368 cans and a total of 424 were donated to the Montgomery Area Food Bank.

The team pictured here with their "Viewer's Choice" winning Can-Do-Good Structure:

Ally Micher, Morgan Micher, Mrs. Tina Tynan, Lexy Tynan, Jennifer Tyner, Lindsey Tynan, Sarah Murray, (not pictured Andrea Hayes)

St. Bede Principal Chickened Out!

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School St. Bede Principal thanked her students in October for meeting the annual campus cookie dough fundraising goal. There was a special incentive for the students to meet the goal... Principal Laurie Gulley appeared on campus Friday, October 4 dressed as a chicken for the day, as a special way to show her appreciation for all the effort her students put into making the goal.  The children loved it! Special thanks to all the volunteers, students, faculty and especially Ms. Gulley for making it all happen!!

Elementary Football & Cheer Banquet held October 23

The Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School Termite and Pee Wee Football and Cheer teams celebrated the end of their season with a banquet on October 23, 2012.  The banquet took place in the Dolly Barranco Activity Center.  Players, parents and family enjoyed pizza and cake while the head coaches spoke about the teams and awarded all participants with a Trophy.

The Termites (Grades 2 - 4) coached by Bruce Johnson, Jason Morehouse and Rod Bach finished the season with an impressive 6-1 record! The team had wins over St. James 14-8, Lee Scott, 22-0 Lowndes Academy 26-0, Southern 26-0, and two wins over Prattville Christian Academy 35-6 and 14-6.  The highlight of the season for the Termites was on October 13, when the Knights were named Champions of the Rebel Bowl at Lowndes Academy!

Under the direction of Head Coach Matt Binns and assistant coaches Scott Godwin and John Wyatt the Pee Wee team (Grades 5 -6) finished the season with a respectable 3-4-1 record. After starting the season 0-2 the Knights recorded their first victory over SMCA with a 20-12 victory. The victory came at the SMCA Raider Jamboree where the Knights finished in 2^nd place. The boys improved every week and the fundamental skills they learned this year will help them as they make the transition to Middle School Football.

The Elementary Cheer program was led under the direction of Kelley Klinger and assisted by Emily Younker.  The Termite team is comprised of girls in Grades 2 - 4, while Pee-Wee team is girls Grades 5 & 6. The teams cheered at every Termite and Pee-Wee game.  At half-time the girls performed a cheer and stunt formation or a dance routine.  The Termite team did a dance to the popular song by Carly Rae Jepsen “Call me Maybe” while the Pee Wee team performed to  “What makes you beautiful” by One Direction.

Congratulations to all of our athletes on their 2012 season!

Knights Fare Well in Auburn

The Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School cross country teams traveled to Auburn October 20, 2012 and brought home some hardware for their efforts; with the boys team finishing first overall and the girls second in the meet.

On the boys side, Jarrett Mason finished second in the Small School race with a time of 16:45, setting a new school record on a 5K course.  He was joined across the finish line by Skip Martin in a time of 17:11, Timothy McOmber in a time of 17:33, Dylan Martin in 18:16, Nathan Revor in 18:34, Patrick Gregorius in 19:01 and James Cleghorn in 19:13.  All of the aforementioned runners finished the race with new personal bests.

The Knights finished first overall with 29 points, easily outdistancing second place LAMP (44) and third place Montgomery Academy (88).

On the girls side, Katherine Terino claimed first place in the Small School (Class 1A-4A) race in a time of 19:40, setting a new school record on the course.  Kylie Frank finished in a time of 22:30, Katelyn Stark in a time of 23:14, Annabel Starrett in a time of 23:18 and Katie Lawrence in a time of 27:16.  All of the aforementioned girls set new personal bests during the race.

The Knights finished second overall with 64 points, finishing behind Montgomery Academy (20 points) and ahead of LAMP (66 points).

2nd Graders Preparing for the Sacraments

As Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School 2nd graders prepare for the Sacraments, the Holy Spirit Campus class learned about the Sacrament of Baptism by having Father Driscoll come and "perform" a Baptism service for a group of baby dolls and "their parents"on Friday, October 19.  Father blessed the classes very own font of water, and baptized each doll. As he did the service, he talked about each step and the importance of each in the Sacrament of Baptism. What a blessing our Catholic faith is!!!!

2nd Graders learn about the Sacrament of Baptism

1)Caitlin O'Grady, Laura Thomas Zhvania, Alex Litzo, Jake Dean

2) Gabe Russo, Max Barranco, Jack Maloney, Esa Gancayco

3)Mason Sylvester, Fr. Driscoll, Angelina Conceicao, Will Belsterling

Montgomery Catholic Crowns 2012 Homecoming Queen & King

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School recently crowned their 2012 Homecoming Queen and King during the half-time ceremonies of the varsity football game as the Knights hosted Geneva  High School, October 5, 2012.  Miss Michaela Marie Armstrong was crowned by the 2011 Homecoming Queen Miss Hailey Loria.  Michaela is the daughter of Brett Armstrong and Joanie Armstrong . Mr. Michael Tyner was named Homecoming King and presented a scepter by 2011 Homecoming King Miller Clemmons . Michael is the son of Russell and Kathy Tyner.

The Freshman Attendant was Nadine Moussalli. Nadine is the daughter of Drs. Samir and Cinzia Moussalli. Nadine was escorted by Patrick O’Mara. Patrick is the son of Col. and Mrs. Ray O'Mara. The Sophomore Attendant was Emily Walker.  Emily is the daughter of James Walker and Dana Walker. Emily was escorted by her bother Jake Walker. The Junior Attendant was MacKenzie Colvin. MacKenzie is the daughter of Chris and Tracie Colvin. MacKenzie was escorted by Kyle Berher.  Kyle is the son of Steve and Ann Berher.

Sarah Talbot was an Senior Attendant.  Sarah is the daughter of Maj. and Mrs. Gordon Talbot.  Sarah was escorted by Homecoming King, Michael Tyner. Shelby Taff was an Senior Attendant.  Shelby is the daughter of Jerry and LuAnne Taff.  Shelby was escorted by Jack Starr. Jack is the son of John and Susan Starr. Homecoming Queen, Michaela Armstrong was escorted by Will Littleton.  Will is the son of Rick Littleton and Marty Littleton.

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School welcomed all Alumni home with an Alumni party at the Homecoming game from kick-off to half-time.  Knight Alumni were able to enjoy re-connecting with former classmates and tailgating with Jim-N-Nicks Bar-b-Que, including the class of 2002 celebrating their 10th reunion, the class of 1982 celebrating their 30th reunion and the class of 1977 celebrating their 35th reunion. Montgomery Catholic also welcomed the Class of 1962 home, celebrating their 50th Reunion, including former Knight Football players: Doug McElvy, Jimmy Jehle, Ray Shulstead, and John Lueken who were recognized between quarters.

Montgomery Catholic students celebrated Homecoming Week with a host of daily activities building up to the Homecoming Dance on Saturday, October 6 held at the St. Bede Family Life Center.

Knights Win Area Championship

The Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School Knights defeated Barbour County 3-0 (25-18,25-21,25-22) to capture the Class 3A, Area 4 Tournament championship Thursday night October 18, 2012 at Father Pat Delahunty Memorial Gymnasium.

The Knights continued their run through area play as they won 15 out of 16 sets against the likes of Barbour County, Pike County and Abbeville.

With the area tournament championship, to go along with their regular season area title, the Knights advance to the South Super Regional at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex beginning Friday, October 26.

Montgomery Catholic will face the runner-up of Area 8, which was being played in Montevallo Thursday night.

Earlier in the day, Montgomery Catholic defeated Pike County 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-10) in the opener of the Class 3A, Area 4 Tournament inside Father Pat Delahunty Memorial Gymnasium Thursday afternoon.

MCPS Termites Rebel Bowl Champs

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School's Termite Football team (2nd - 4th Grade) won the Lowndes Academy Rebel Bowl this past Saturday, October 13, 2012. The Montgomery Catholic Knights beat Lowndes Academy  26-0 in the first game. The Knights were victorious in the championship game by the same score, defeating Southern,  26-0.  The team is coached by Head Coach Bruce Johnson, Assistant coach and offensive coordinator Rod Bach and Assistant coach and Defensive Coordinator Jason Morehouse. 

The Montgomery Catholic Termites are undefeated, 6-0 this season.  Finishing the season this Tuesday with a home game vs. Saint James.

Congratulations to the Montgomery Catholic Termites and Termite Cheerleaders! Go Knights!

Montgomery Catholic Termites are:

Spencer Bach, Owen Beesley, John Berryhill, Brennan Binns, Ethan Binns, Austin Cleghorn , Harrison Downes, Jacob Downes, Will Driver, Will  Gooslin, Hunter Hodges, Will Holderfield,   Dean Johnson,  Hollis Johnson, Cameron Koepele, John McLennan, Caleb Morehouse, James Franklin Saliba, Shawn Sponsler,  Grant Smith,  Alex Snowden, Riley Swain, Jake Talbot.

Montgomery Catholic Termite Cheerleaders are: 

Alyssa Decker, Savannah Decker, Devan DeRamus,  Cecilia Hoffpauir, Blair Huffman, Emily Klinger, Alexis Meshok, Emily Riggles, Maggie Stewart,  Sophia Taylor, Danielle Willcox, Cacey Williams

Marching Knights Compete at Huntingdon Invitational

Photo from Left to right:  Ashley Sulzby (10), KalebLibby (11), Will Brunson (11), Kristina Vanella (11), Mandy Jones (10),  and William Russell (10) 

The Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School Marching Knights competed at the Huntingdon Marching Invitational held at Huntingdon College on Saturday, October 13. The Band placed overall 3rd in Class A, and was rated Superior by every judge in every possible caption, including Color Guard, Drumline, Drum Major, and overall Band. Congratulations Marching Knights, on a job well done!

MCPS Senior Varsity Volleyball Players Honored

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School Varsity Volleyball Seniors were recognized at center court before the final home game of the season Thursday, October 11, 2012.  Each player was escorted to the court by their parents and congratulated by Principal Mr. Chad Barwick and school President Anne Ceasar. Natalie Sullivan daughter of Mr. Johnny Sullivan and Mrs. Linda Meharg; Hannah Barranco daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Steven Barranco; Callie Wilkinson daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Brett Wilkinson and Alex Manning, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Osten and Mr. Pat Manning were each presented with yellow roses and a framed photo highlighting their last Montgomery Catholic Volleyball season.  Congratulations Seniors!

MCPS Featured Teachers of the Month, October 2012: Mr. Wes Henderson & Mrs. Mary Walker

Montgomery Catholic would like to introduce our Featured Teachers of the month.  MCPS is so fortunate to have amazing teachers leading our students to become persons of faith, virtue and wisdom. 

Meet K-4 teacher at our Holy Spirit Campus, Mrs. Mary Walker and 9^th grade World History Teacher, Mr. Wes Henderson.

Mrs. Mary Walker is the Holy Spirit Elementary campus K-4 teacher; this is the first year MCPS has offered a K-4 program.  She is a Catholic High Alum, Class of 1976. Mary attended college at Auburn and AUM and holds a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education.

Mrs. Walker and her class on the fist day of school.

Mrs. Walker loves to teach reading and the alphabet to her four year olds. She believes that teaching is her way of serving God. She explained, “I believe teaching is the gift the Lord blessed me with.  Teaching is challenging but very rewarding.  Four year olds are special people in many ways. I feel fortunate to spend my days with these people.”

Fun Facts about Mrs. Walker: The most interesting person she ever met was someone who taught her a lot, her husband. Her favorite prayer is the Hail Mary. She has an adventurous spirit, this summer she hiked Mt. Rainer in Washington State with her son. The most exotic place she has been is Hawaii. Her favorite Christmas present ever is her iPod.  She loves to listen to Mary Chapin Carpenter sing while eating her favorite shrimp dinner.

Mr. Henderson and his 9th grade World History Class

Mr. Wes Henderson currently teaches MCPS 9^th grade students World History, piloting the first MCPS all digital curriculum.  A graduate of Oxford High School in Oxford, AL, Wes continued his education at The University of Alabama receiving his bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science and a master’s degree in Secondary Education.

Mr. Henderson teaches because he always wanted to work with young people. He has a deep passion for making students the best they can be in any aspect of their life, and finds nothing more rewarding than seeing a child reach their full potential. He finds it “very fulfilling to see someone do something they did not believe they could do, to not settle for mediocrity, and to excel in anything they attempt.”  His favorite lesson to teach is WWII because it is such a powerful topic and the students respond extremely well to the events and characters discussed and the many class activities they complete. His students have enjoyed a WWII battle reenactment with “Capture the Flag” in the courtyard, and test review basketball in the classroom.

Fun facts about Wes: His favorite prayer is The Lord’s Prayer. His cereal of choice is Frosted Flakes or Fruity Pebbles. He played baseball of The University of Alabama and traveled to Havana, Cuba to play in the Goodwill Games, a life changing experience. He met Whitey Herzog, who managed the St. Louis Cardinals to the 1982 World Series Title, when he attended Whitey Herzog night at Busch Stadium as a special guest during the summer of 2005. The Christmas present he will never forget is the battery powered PowerWheels Corvette Santa Claus left under the tree in the 80’s. To this day his mother still has the car.

Knight Boys Second at Jesse Owens Classic Cross Country

Competing in the biggest meet of the 2012 season with over 5,700 runners in 14 races in conditions that rivaled a swamp for mud, muck, and water, the Montgomery Catholic Cross Country Team established its credentials as one of the best in Alabama over the Columbus Day weekend.

Senior Jarrett Mason paced the boys to a second place finish in the Bronze Division against teams from six states. He finished sixth overall in a field of 387 runners. His time of 17:20.92 was the best by an Alabama 3A runner overall in all the races and was the third best effort ever by a Knight on the course. He was closely followed by senior Timothy McOmber’s 13^th place finish in 17:37.23, a new personal best time for 5K by over a minute. Senior Skip Martin placed 25^th in 18:02.05. Junior Dylan Martin also ran a personal best by over 10 seconds with his 18:46.79 time, good enough for 54^th place. Freshman Nathan Revor closed out the team scoring by nailing down 80th place in 19:21.54.

The Boys finished second behind Alabama 4A power Randolph, but defeated 3A rivals Cottage Hill Christian Academy, Westminster Christian Academy, and 35 other schools to claim the runner-up trophy.

The Girls claimed 17th place out of 25 other teams in the Bronze Division. They were led by senior Sarah Talbot’s season best time of 23:44.26, good for 67^th out of 276 runners. Seventh grader Sarah Beth Littrell placed  71^st with a personal best 23:47..20. Katelyn Stark (25:04.86), Annabel Starrett (25:20.15), and Katie Lawrence (27:52.63) also scored for the Lady Knights. Senior Katherine Terino ran in the Gold Division and finished 44th in 19:55.23, third best ever for a Catholic runner on the course, first among Alabama 3A runners in the race, and second best on the day for 3A. 

Marching Knights Perform at Troy Marching Band Festival

The Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School Marching Knights performed along with high school bands from all over Alabama and Florida at theSoutheastern States Marching Band Festival on Saturday, October 6. The Band was rated an overall "Excellent" by the judges, and the Drum-line, Color Guard, and Drum Major Kristina Vanella received "Superior" ratings in their individual captions. Congratulations Marching Knights!

Photo from Left to right: Will Brunson (11), Kaleb Libby (11),Kristina Vanella (11), Olivia Nobles (10), Ashley Sulzby (10) and William Russell (10) Photo Credit to Diane Vanella

MCPS 3rd grader attends Ag Discovery Adventure

In attendance were (left to right): Glen Zorn, Assistant Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries with his grandson, Curt Zorn of Opp, Will Driver, Montgomery, son, of Claire H. Austin, and grandson of Ginger Austin, and Dr. William Batchelor, Dean of the Auburn College of Agriculture.

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and Auburn University’s College of Agriculture put on the Ag Discovery Adventure at the E.V. Smith Research Center in Shorter, September 28 - 30, 2012. In attendance was Glen Zorn with his grandson Curt of Opp and Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School 3rd grader, Will Driver, grandson of Ginger Austin. At the Ag Discovery Adventure the young boys were taken around the research center and shown the modern innovation and practices in Alabama agriculture while also getting to enjoy a corn maze and hay rides around the farm. While there they also had a chance to meet Dean Batchelor, the Dean of the College of Agriculture, and even had a chance to stop and take a photo. The demonstrations at the Ag Discovery Adventure  were used to open the eyes of these young boys to the world of agriculture and the usefulness and practicality of it in our everyday lives.

Montgomery Catholic Math Team takes 1st Place at AMP'ed

The Montgomery Catholic Preparatory Middle School Math Team brought home 1st place from Auburn on September 29, 2012.  The team traveled to Auburn University and participated in A.M.P.'ed (Auburn Mathematical Puzzle Challenge). Students spent the day on Auburn's campus using their mathematical and problem solving skills to recover missing puzzle pieces in order to solve a crime!  The team placed first out of the ten teams competing. Participating Team members were: Henry Petters, Lauren Smith, Isabella Padilla, David Bender and Ledariane Moore. Teachers sponsors were Mrs. Vicki Petters and Miss Caitlyn DeMouy.

Photo: From left to right: Deputy from Auburn Katherine, Isabella Padilla, Lauren Smith, Ladarian Moore, Henry Petters, David Bender, Mrs. Vicki Petters and Miss Caitlyn DeMouy