St. Mark’s crowns winners in speech contest
WILMINGTON – St. Mark’s crowned four individual winners and a team champion last month at its sixth annual Spartan Speech Classic, which puts the public speaking skills of elementary school students to the test in the categories of declamation and oral interpretation. Thirty-three students from 10 schools – nine Catholic and one private – participated.
The winners were as follows: Tatum Schutt, Independence, fifth- an sixth-grade declamation; Patrick Palm, Mount Aviat, fifth- and sixth-grade oral interpretation; Annette Mubang, All Saints, seventh- and eighth-grade declamation; and Kennedy Crowder, Independence, seventh- and eighth-grade oral interpretation.
All Saints Catholic School won the first-place team trophy.
Eighth-grader will perform at international dance festival
WILMINGTON – Julianna MacGregor, an eighth-grader at Ursuline Academy, will represent the state of Pennsylvania from April 14-19 at the International Dance Excellence festival in Los Angeles. One dance studio from each state is invited to the festival each year.
MacGregor has been dancing for nine years and performs with the Paul Klocke Studio of Dance in Aston, Pa. Her performance in Los Angeles will feature jazz, her specialty.
Target grant supports school’s photography club
RIDGELY, Md. – A $2,000 grant from Target Corp. to the Benedictine School was used for the purchase of digital cameras and supplies, the school has announced. Students and teachers enjoyed picking out a variety of cameras from the Easton, Md., Target, for use in the school’s photography club.
“Target’s support allows us to teach the kids not only how to use the cameras, but by taking photos they also learn to communicate interests in a way that is also appreciated as an art form,” said Lorraine Slama, who heads the club.
St. Elizabeth senior is presidential scholar candidate
WILMINGTON – Madeline Rizzo, a senior at St. Elizabeth High School, has been nominated as a presidential scholar. She is believed to be the first such nominee in the school’s history.
Rizzo is among 3,000 seniors from across the country, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico named as candidates. She qualified for this based on her SAT and ACT performances. She will be evaluated on academic achievement, personal characteristics, leadership, service activities and a personal essay.
Christ the Teacher School wins national award
GLASGOW – Christ the Teacher School has been named one of 12 recipients of the 2014 Innovations in Catholic Education awards, which honor Catholic schools that have implemented programs to improve the teaching and learning of their students, faculty and staff. Winning schools will be featured in the March issue of Today’s Catholic Teacher and honored at the National Catholic Education Association convention in Pittsburgh.
Christ the Teacher was recognized for innovative projects in total community involvement for its work to provide potable running water in the Diocese of San Marcos, Guatemala. The school partnered with Cristo El Salvador School and provided filtration jugs that purify five gallons of water over a five-hour period, but the Christ the Teacher community realized that potable water systems and septic systems were needed.
In just over two years, the school has raised more than $15,000 for the Water Project Fund. Pipes have been installed for the plumbing and septic system at Cristo El Salvador. Christ the Teacher also has sponsored two orphan girls by paying their tuition to the school.
St. Mark’s grad receives congressional internship
Conor Boland, a 2013 graduate of St. Mark’s High School, has been awarded two prestigious internships, one in the U.S. Congress and the other at St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana.
Boland, a freshman at Catholic University, will be working as a congressional intern in the fall semester next year. He is the only current freshman to be named an intern, according to St. Mark’s.
Additionally, he will be one of 10 college interns this summer for the “One Bread, One Cup” program at St. Meinrad Archabbey. This six-week program introduces interns from across the country to Benedictine spirituality, taught by monks and faculty from St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology. The students also serve as catechists, staff and theological reflection group leaders for the One Bread, One Cup summer conferences.
Boland also will be writing a blog for the Catholic Apostolate Center about his experiences in Indiana and the liturgy in general. The center is online at www.catholicapostolatecenter.org.
St. Mark’s grad named national college pitcher of the week
Chris Murphy, a junior at Millersville (Pa.) University, was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II National Pitcher of the Week on Wednesday. He was placed on the ballot after winning the Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Week award and topped seven other regional winners for the honor.
Murphy, a right-handed starting pitcher, fired a nine-inning shutout against No. 7 Franklin Pierce on Saturday, allowing only three hits. He struck out 10 and walked only one. Including seven shutout innings against Le Moyne on Feb. 22, Murphy has now thrown 16 consecutive scoreless innings with 18 strikeouts and just five hits allowed.
A NCBWA All-America first-team selection in 2013, Murphy is now a three-time national pitcher of the week award winner.
In 19 career starts for Millersville, Murphy is 15-3 with a 2.09 earned-run average. Opponents are batting just .199 against him with 121 strikeouts and 29 walks.
