Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Frances Harbin Named Public Relations Director for Montgomery Catholic


Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School names Frances Harbin as the Director of Communications and Marketing.

"We are thrilled to have Frances join our Advancement Team and look forward to working with her as she keeps our community, alumni and others abreast of the wonderful things that are happening at Montgomery Catholic," said Anne Ceasar, school president.

From a military family, Harbin considers herself a native of Texas. She joins Montgomery Catholic with years of customer service experience and four years at a private school in the area. Harbin and her husband, Alan, have been married for three years. They are active members of St. Bede the Venerable Catholic Church in Montgomery.

"I feel so blessed to be joining the Montgomery Catholic family. I am inspired by the mission, which calls us to guide the students in our care to develop both spiritually and academically. It will be exciting to promote this wonderful organization to our community and beyond and I look forward this amazing opportunity," said Harbin.

Harbin begins her role as Director of Communications and Marketing on June 1.

Spring Athletic Signing Held at Catholic, Monday, May 14

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School held a signing ceremony for our spring student-athletes inside the Dolly Barranco Center (DBC) on the high school campus at 3:30 pm on Monday afternoon, May 14, 2018.  The Knights celebrated the signing of (pictured below) Landon Pritchett, B.J. Barker, Hannah Kate Magee, Ryan Janson,  Kyriacos Philippou and Jonathan Doan.

All six Catholic Knight athletes will commit to continue their athletic careers at the college level.

Landon Pritchett will sign to play baseball at Lurleen B. Wallace Junior College. Pritchett has attended Montgomery Catholic since the eighth grade, and played football, basketball and baseball for the Knights. Landon is the son of Stephanie and Scott Pritchett of Pike Road.

B.J. Barker will sign to play basketball at Montevallo. He was named as the male 2018 Knights of the the Round Table Athlete of the Year. He is the son of Tekeele and Denard of Montgomery.

Ryan Janson will sign to run Cross Country at Montevallo in the fall. Janson has spent his High School career at Montgomery Catholic. Janson is a member of the 2018 Class 4A State Runner-Up boys track team. He is the son of Suzanne Jensen and Patrick Janson of Montgomery.

Hannah Kate Magee will run track for Middle Georgia State University, she has attended Montgomery Catholic since the eighth grade and began her track career this year, running Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor track. Hannah Kate is the daughter of  Aimee Hill of Montgomery and Bill Magee of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Jonathan Doan and Kyriacos Philippou will both play soccer locally in the fall for Faulkner University. Both athletes have attended Catholic since elementary school, where their love of soccer began. He is the son of Kim Lee and Johnny Doan of Montgomery. Philippou is the son of of Philip and Stella Philippou of Montgomery. 

Montgomery Catholic president Anne Ceasar, principal Justin Castanza, athletic director Daniel Veres, Head Basketball Coach Robb McGaughey, Head Baseball Coach Tony Hudson, Head Cross Country/Track Coach Ed Wright and Head Soccer Coach Hunter Wolfe along with assistant coaches will welcome students, parents and friends to campus to celebrate the accomplishments of these athletes.


These six athletes join Aleigha Walden (softball), Parker Dennis, Greg Ellis, Tyler Price and Charlie Ryan (football),  who will continue their athletic careers in the fall at the college level.Montgomery Catholic is looking forward to following their success over the next four years.

GO KNIGHTS!

Monday, May 14, 2018

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School Academic Awards Ceremony Held in May

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School honored their top high school students at the annual Academic Awards Ceremony held in the Dolly Barranco Activity Center, May 7, 2018.

School president Anne Ceasar began the evening with the presentation of the Charles T. Harbin Distinguished Service award to Col. Jack Lauer, for his years of dedication and volunteer service to the school. Followed by the announcement of the students who received scholarships for the 2018-2019 Academic year.  The scholarship presentations included the Norma Mungenast Scholarship, the Carole Skoneki Clark Endowed Scholarship, the Sally Evans Hodges Memorial Scholarship, the Padre Pio Endowed Scholarship, the J.J. Bednarz, Sr. Memorial Scholarship,  the Helen Faircloth Gross & Charles J. Gross Scholarship, the Ann and Harold Paige Scholarship and the Frye,Arban, Ortega Scholarship.
Jonah Gier was named as the
Frye, Arban, Ortega scholarship recipient.
Melody Taylor received the
Sally Evans Hodges
Memorial Scholarship
Anna Sadie received the Carole Skoneki Clark
Endowed Scholarship 
Patti M. Smith, Norma Mungenast's daughter presented three scholarships in honor of her mother, the recipients were Grace Leslie, DJ Carter and  Teresa Nguyen (pictured above), Teresa was also the recipient of the Helen Faircloth Gross and Charles J. Gross Scholarship. Mr. Scott Skoneki, in honor of his sister, presented the Carole Skoneki Clark Endowed Scholarship to rising junior Anna Sadie. Melody Taylor received the Sally Evans Hodges Memorial Scholarship from Mrs. Hodges son Michael, while Christian Friday received the Padre Pio Endowed Scholarship. Kendall Couey received the first J.J. Bednarz, Sr. Memorial Scholarship from Mathew Bednarz and Charlie Anderson. Ja'Michael Washington received the Anna and Harold Paige Scholarship, while rising senior Jonah Gier was named as the Frye, Arban, Ortega scholarship recipient.
Teresa was also the recipient
of the Helen Faircloth Gross
&Charles J. Gross Scholarship







Christian Friday received the
Padre Pio Endowed Scholarshi
Many honors were bestowed during the evening,including the most outstanding student in each subject area. These students are Henry Petters, Isabelle Cochran, Sofie Izer and Jaewon Huh in Math; Jessie Clark, Reagan Herbek, Victoria Hall and Emma Garrison in Science; Anna Nutting, Johnny An, Annie Bach, Reagan Herbek, Tanner Carter and Harrison Skala in Social Studies; Chloe Newell, Reagan Herbek, Jason Flowers and  Angela Gier in English; Odalyz Montes, Zy'Keria King, Tanner Carter and Matthew Barranco in Theology; Austin Collett in Spanish and Victoria Hall in Latin and  Jaewon Huh in Mandrain Chinese. The Art department named most outstanding students: in art - Annie Bach, in band -  Henry Petters, and in drama - Hannaley Haigler and in choir - Marcelo Villena.
Outstanding Art Student
Annie Bach
Ja'Michael Washington received the
 Anna and Harold Paige Scholarship

A total of 60 students were recognized during the ceremony for being inducted into the Loretto chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS), 30 new members and 30 graduating seniors.

Honor cords were given to the seniors that participated in Science Olympiad, Mu Alpha Theta and Key Club.

Outstanding Freshman Students
Students with the highest grade point average for each high school grade level were also recognized.  The most outstanding freshmen are Ian Cullen, Devan DeRamus, Daniel Gacha, Angela Gier, James Saliba, Harrison Skala and Emma Garrison..  The most outstanding sophomore is Clare Wilson.  The most outstanding junior is Reagan Herbek . The most outstanding senior for the class of 2018 is Henry Petters.

Honor roll certificates for both the A and A/B honor rolls were given to those students who attained A or A/B honor roll throughout the school year for each grade level.  The Joe Arban Perfect Attendance Award was given to Spencer Back, Mai Ellington, Hannah Parrish, Joshua Tobias for having perfect attendance this year.

James Avery & Anna Nutting
Sister Martha Belke Servant Leader of the Year
The evening culminated with three of the highest awards given at Montgomery Catholic: Leader of the Year. the Ideal Graduate Award and the Sister Martha Belke Servant Leader of the Year Award.



Mrs. Anne Ceasar, president, presented the second ever Sister Martha Belke Servant Leader award to
Miss Anna Nutting for her school spirit and never ending support of the school. Anna is the daughter of Ann and Bill Nutting of Montgomery. A surprise to all, Mr. Justin Castanza, principal presented  the third Sister Martha Belke Servant Leader Award to James Avery for his willingness and commitment to serving his school and his peers as a student at Montgomery Catholic. James is the son of Carole and Robert Avery of Montgomery.

Mr. Justin Castanza, high school principal, awarded the Montgomery Catholic Leader of the Year award to Miss. Paige Rentfro. Paige has served the school in numerous leadership positions throughout her school career including a leader in SGA, a National Honor Society officer, Mu Alpha Theata, Key Club member and a member of the Pep Club, on top off all that she is also an athlete. She is the daughter of Missy and Donny Rentfro of Montgomery.

Mrs. Anne Ceasar, Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School president,  awarded the Montgomery Catholic Ideal Graduate Award to the student(s) who embodies the overall qualities and talents of an ideal graduate.  This year the Ideal Graduate at Montgomery Catholic was presented to two seniors, who happen to be best friends, Mr. Luke Craig and Mr. Garrett Cook. Luke is the son of Linda and Gary Craig of Montgomery. Garrett is the son of Janna Cook of Montgomery and Bryan Cook of Covington, Louisiana.

Tuesday, May 08, 2018

Montgomery Catholic Announces Colonel Jack Lauer 2018 Charlie Harbin Distinguished Service Award Winner


Col. Jack Lauer was honored by Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School on May 7, as the 2018 Charlie Harbin Distinguished Service Award winner for his service to the school.  The
Charlie Harbin Distinguished Service Award was established by the Harbin family and is awarded by the school to recognize those selfless individuals who have significantly served Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School and exemplified its values in their lives.

Montgomery Catholic's president, Mrs. Anne Ceasar, presented Jack with an engraved clock to begin the 2018 Montgomery Catholic High School Academic Awards Night, in appreciation for the gift of his time.

The 22nd recipient of the Harbin Award,  Jack is a great supporter of Catholic education and well known for his dedicated service and integrity. Col. Lauer has served Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School in a variety of ways over the last ten years.

A military father of two Catholic graduates, Kim ’84 and Kevin ’88, Col. Lauer wanted to “give back” to the school that had given so much to his family, and he quickly found himself teaching religion AND acting as Dean of Students, filling a need for the school for a year.

 After his teaching job finished, Jack wanted to stay involved and asked the AD in 2007, Jim Tolbert, if he could try announcing the basketball games, which led to announcing other sporting events, mounting up over 1200 service hours in announcements alone. In addition, he spent many years working the gate for football games and acted as the official welcoming committee at all of our home games, welcoming guests and fans. He has served as a substitute teacher, provided gifts to graduates, been an athletic booster, volunteered for FCA’s Jason Armstrong Baseball Tournament, he was a member of The Knights of Columbus and acted as Grand Knight for several years helping to serve the school through the Knights fundraising efforts.

Whether you call him Colonel, the Voice of Montgomery Catholic sports, the “unofficial” Ambassador of Montgomery Catholic or Grand Knight, we are grateful that he is a friend to Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School.


Congratulations Colonel Lauer and Thank you!

Colonel joins past Distinguished Service Award recipients:  

Leonard J. Mrotek, 1997      
Margaret Olive Jones, 1998         
Edward P. Clark, 1999
Marty & Bebe Taylor, 2000      
Dottie A. Dean. 2001         
“Goose” DeLongchamp, 2002
Rod & Anne Ceasar, 2003     
Bill & Marian Saliski, 2004        
Jeff Downes, 2005
David & Jeanne Barranco, 2006   
Nora Cammack, 2007   
Dennis & Karen Weber, 2008
Chip & Lisa Vercelli, 2009     
Bill & Debbie Barranco, 2010
Barr & Cappy Younker, 2011
Liz Sutton & Jerry Lopez, 2012    
Jack Galassini, 2013    
Gaylon & Mary McAlpine 2014
Marty Rupert Huett, 2015
Kevin Ryan, 2016
Ann  Karst, 2017

Friday, May 04, 2018

Montgomery Catholic Hosts 12th Annual Coach Tim Turner Memorial Blood Drive

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School hosted the 12th annual Coach Tim Turner Memorial Blood Drive Wednesday, April 25, 2018 in the parking lot of the Middle/High School Campus.  The LifeSouth Bloodmobile was on site and accepted donations from 8:00 am until 5:00 p.m. This annual blood drive is hosted by Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School's high school student government association in honor of the late Coach Tim Turner who valiantly coached several MCPS Middle School sports teams while bravely battling a terminal illness. This year the campus received 55 blood donations for the day.

Coach Turner's sister, Gena Brasington along with Tim's extended family join our SGA each year and welcome donors as they arrive.


Left: Coach Tim Turner on the MCPS football Field.
Right: Sophomore students Hayden Pritchett and Kyla Stinson give blood for the first time at the 12th annual Coach Tim Turner Memorial Blood Drive.