Anne Ceasar Named President for Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School

Anne Ceasar, principal of the elementary and middle school campuses at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School (MCPS), was recently named the school’s new president in an announcement by MCPS School Board President Brett Wilkinson.

Ceasar was unanimously nominated by the Board and was approved by Most Reverend Oscar H. Lipscomb, Archbishop of Mobile.

“I’m honored to be in this position,” said Ceasar. “My relationship with Montgomery Catholic began as a teacher at Our Lady Queen of Mercy, then as a parent with my three children. I have served as a member of the school board and then as president of the school board.

“Being a part of opening the Middle School in 2004 and working with the tremendous faculty at St. Bede this year, I am humbled to be a part of our great school. I’m extremely honored to be able to take the next step with such a wonderful group of talented students, devoted faculty, and dedicated parents.

“It is not about the person, it’s about the institution and carrying out the legacy of the Sisters of Loretto, Fr. Pat Delahunty, Dr. Tom Doyle, Sr. Martha Belke, and Mr. Faustin Weber. I relish the tradition and embrace the growth that lies ahead for our school,” said Ceasar. The first task for Ceasar as president of MCPS will be to hire her replacement as principal for the Middle School.

Gwen Byrd, superintendent of education for the Archdiocese of Mobile, expressed delight with Ceasar’s appointment.

“Anne is a deeply-rooted spiritual woman who is truly following her call to serve. She is a collaborative person with a vision who knows how to work with others to carry it out. Anne will continue leading our Catholic community into the future,” said Byrd.

Ceasar and her husband, Rod, have been married for 35 years and are active members of Church of the Holy Spirit in Montgomery. Their three children, Leah, Tony, and Rachel, are all graduates of Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School.

Montgomery Catholic's Yost Earns Eagle Scout Designation

Montgomery Catholic eighth grade student AustinYost earned the designation of Eagle Scout during a Court-of-Honor ceremony conducted at Aldersgate United Methodist Church on Tuesday March 25, 2008, where he was formally recognized as an Eagle Scout by his Troop and given his Eagle Scout medal.

Austin began as a Tiger Cub Scout in 1st grade and earned the “Arrow of Light” award in Cub Scouts, the highest rank possible. He has been a Boy Scout since age 10 and earned the Eagle Scout rank last November at age 13, which is the Boy Scouts highest rank.

Only about 4% of all Boy Scouts reach the rank of Eagle Scout. The average age of a Boy Scout earning the rank of Eagle Scout is nearly 17 years old. It took great determination from Austin to reach Eagle at 13.

Austin Yost completed his Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project on Saturday Oct 13, 2007. The project consisted of 15 mobile benches to be used for the Pike Road Arts and Crafts Fair. Through fundraising efforts, Austin obtained the necessary finances for this project from the Pike Road Civic Club and the Pike Road Community Club.

The service project required approximately 200 man-hours to complete. This included planning, fundraising, developing design drawings, purchasing materials, cutting materials and assembly of benches. Austin had many volunteers including Scouts, Scout adult leaders, neighborhood friends and family to help with the project.

The benches seat a total of 75 people and really fill an important need for the Arts and Crafts Fair. In the past, there has been limited seating, so the benches will give fair-goers a nice place to rest their feet during lunch or when they view the popular Kelly Bartlett Conservancy’s Birds of Prey Show. Also, each bench has a different plaque mounted on it. These plaques represent the points of the Boy Scout Law such as – BE TRUSTWORTHY, BE LOYAL, BE HELPFUL, BE FRIENDLY, etc.

Austin Yost is the son of Glenn and Susan Yost.

Pictured: Montgomery Catholic's Austin Yost and his mother, Susan Whatley Yost, at his Eagle Scout Court-of-Honor Ceremony.

Montgomery Catholic Students Artwork Selected for Exhibition at MMFA

Three Montgomery Catholic students' artwork has been selected for inclusion in the "You, Hue, and Babar" exhibition at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Art. Over 300 pieces of student artwork were submitted from fifteen schools in the River Region.

Montgomery Catholic senior Mary Sullivan, juniors Lauren Gore and Caroline Starr's artwork will be on display in the ARTWORKS Corridor of the Montgomery Musuem of Fine Art through June 1, 2008. Montgomery Catholic's art instructor is Ms. Joane Grant.

For the exhibit "You, Hue, and Babar," students mimicked a portrait from the MMFA permanent collection incorporating the Museum's artistic duck, Hue, into the art.

On Thursday, March 27th, the students, their families, and their art instructors were invited to the opening gala for "You, Hue, and Babar," "Portrait Photographs by Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002)" and "Babar's Museum of Art."

Pictured above: Montgomery Catholic junior Caroline Starr poses by her artwork on display at the opening of "You, Hue, and Babar" at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Art.

By: Mary Sullivan

By: Lauren Gore

Last Call for Cookies!

Girls Scouts from Troop 469 spent the afternoon selling their last boxes of Girl Scout cookies in the Halcyon neighborhood.

Montgomery Catholic students Maggie Starr, Barbara Bradley, and Evan LaBarge drove around East Montgomery in a golf cart decorated with their troop flag and lots of ribbon as they sold the last cookies of the season.

Girl Scout Troop 469 is led by Jean Bradley and Ann Schaum.