A message from Chris and Peter,
Tomorrow, our sons and daughters will have completed the Fall Term with the conclusion of exams and will be returning home to us for Thanksgiving vacation. What a busy week it has been for all! We are grateful that our children worked so hard during this trimester and for the support and encouragement of the Portsmouth Abbey School faculty and staff. Our children may have been treated this week to lunch or a special dinner by their advisors; a yoga/meditation session by their house parents; or the offer of countless hours of review/study sessions by faculty in preparation for exams. We are grateful for the time and attention they have received. We wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!
A Message from Robert Sahms, Academic Dean
Academically, the Fall Term is ending with the students hard at work taking exams. Parents will probably not receive Fall Term grades until after Thanksgiving. When the grades arrive home, they will be letter grades, and the format of the comments will look different from the past because of changing software. Thank you for your patience with the new system.
Headmaster's Run
The seventh annual Headmaster's Run was once again a show of School pride and fall fun, with 300 members of the School community turning out to race across campus. Chilly conditions kept the pack moving over the two-mile course after a hearty welcome by Dr. De Vecchi and the ringing of the handbell by Fr. Christopher to signal the start of the competition.
Pierce King '08 captured overall first-place honors with an impressive time of 12:57, more than 20 seconds off his fourth-place finishing time in the 2006 contest. He was followed seconds later by fellow XC members Kenton Gilmartin '10 (13:06) and Ed Kielb '11 (13:11).
First across the line for the girls, and fifth overall, was Fourth Former Olivia Fay, who kept stride with the boys and turned in a time (13:21) two minutes ahead of second-place girl Brigitte Spillane '08 (15:21). Third Former Grace Medley captured third place with a time of 16:19.
Mr. John Platt (13:33) once again bested all faculty members, coasting across the finish line more than two minutes ahead of second- and third-place faculty finishers, Mr. Greg Kierstead (16:05) and Ms. Lizzie Benestead (16:31). All three were a bit off their 2006 times, however.
Fletcher Bonin (15:17) again earned first-place honors among faculty children, shaving more than one minute of his 2006 time of 16:20. He was followed by Sean McDonough (17:17) and John Billings (19:08), each of whom turned in fine performances. All participants received a "Headmaster's Run 2007" t-shirt upon completing the course.
Jim DeVecchi, Al Brown, Fr. Chris Pierce King '08, Olivia Fay '10, Lizzie Benestead,
John Platt
Coach and Development Officer Pat Hewett reports on Flag Football
Having accepted the 6th Form's challenge to square off in "Raven Stadium" for a game of flag football on Tuesday afternoon, November 13, the David-like faculty team pulled off the upset of the century, 8 touchdowns to 7, over the Goliath-like 6th Form squad.
Team captain Matty Peterson (Athletics Dept.) and Former Williams College star Elliott Moffie (Math Dept.) led the way for the creaky but crafty faculty, notching a combined 5 TDs. Meanwhile, Mr. Marx's (History/English Dept.) young son, Duncan, spearheaded the faculty's defensive effort with his relentless pass rushing and harassment of 6th Form quarterback Nick White.
6th Formers Catherine Kennedy and Jai Crawl grabbed flags with snipers' precision, helping to keep the faculty within hailing distance, until Frank Holbrook and Darris Owens could lead a late offensive surge that would fall just short. A great time was had by all, but especially by the faculty who will hold bragging rights for the coming year.
Parents' Social Evening
As we ride on the coat tails of last year's super-successful "World of Portsmouth Abbey" Dinner and Auction, the Parents' Committee will sponsor another event this winter. Please mark your calendars for Saturday, February 9th (5th Form College Counseling Weekend) to take part in a social event strictly for parents and strictly for fun. Darlene Turner P '07, '09 and Daphne Papp P '09, '10 will be heading up the committee for the gathering. If you would like to help organize or have any ideas, please contact Kate Spinella at kspinella@portsmouthabbey.org. A planning meeting will be called after Thanksgiving break. Even if you are not local, we would love to have your input, you can participate by email, so SAVE THE DATE.
Fall Sports Round Up - Team Records
Varsity Football 5-3
Varsity Field Hockey 8-6-1
Boys' Golf 8-5
Girls' Soccer 8-4-4
Girls' Cross-Country 21-2 * Second in the New England Championships
Boys' Cross-Country 14-2
A winning season! Here are highlights provided by some of our coaching staff:
The Varsity Field Hockey team enjoyed one of its best seasons this fall as they participated in the inaugural season in the Eastern Independent League (EIL). The team ended up 8-6-1, and 6-2 in the EIL, and was guided by the outstanding leadership of Sixth Formers and Co-Captains Steph Perez and Naseemah Mohamed. The team was ranked 2nd going into the end-of-season tournament. They beat the Winsor School in the semi-finals, 3-1, after sudden-death overtime and an intense round of penalty stokes. The championship game vs. Pingree was a hotly contested battle with everyone on the team playing the best they had played all season. The Ravens fell 2-0 to Pingree, but should be very proud of their accomplishments this fall...Mindy Urick
The Portsmouth Abbey Girls' Varsity Soccer team had a wonderful season with a winning record of 8-4-4. We also made it to the championship game against Pingree in our first EIL tournament! One of the keys to our success was a team defense that allowed just 20 goals over the course of the season, while our offense generated 43 goals. The differential between goals allowed and goals scored was 23 points--better than last year's championship team. Underlying the team's achievement was a dedication to mastering the fundamentals of soccer, conditioning, and team spirit...Peter O'Connor
The Boys' Golf record was 8 and 5 for the season. We finished 4th out of 9 teams in League regular-season play. In the League tournament, Kyle Sargis '08 finshed 3rd in individual play, shooting a 78, and Kevin Wooters '09 won his flight. The team finished 4th in the League tournament...Shane McCarthy
Boys' XC finished 14-7 overall, 14-2 in the EIL. The team finished 2nd in the EIL. Girls' XC finished 21-2 overall, 16-2 in the EIL. The team finished 2nd in the EIL, and 2nd in the New England Division III Prep School Championships. Olivia Fay '10 won the EIL and New England Division III Championships...Dan McDonough
Looking back now, this was the archetypal J.V. athletic season at Portsmouth Abbey. There was much improvement and a pinch of frustration to go along with a handful of slapstick moments. Sewn together, it made for a lot of fun and hopefully for the players, a greater appreciation for the game of football and their teammates. When you start 0-4 with three losses coming in particularly gut-wrenching fashion, it can be difficult to dust yourself off and continuing fighting. To their credit, the boys did just that and in week five their hard work bore fruit in the form of an impressive 16-8 win over St. George's. A week later we finished the season on a high note with a 20-16 victory over St. Mark's...Patrick Hewett
The American Clock
The Abbey Players presented their fall play, The American Clock, by Arthur Miller, an ambitious undertaking from every point of view. Set in the era of the Great Depression, Miller crafted a piece he called "a vaudeville" with 55 characters and music evoking the poignancy of a very troubled and anxious time in American history. The cast and crew did an exceptional job bringing to life 40 scenes having to do with Americans during the Great Depression.
The Director, Jay Bragan, envisioned an acting area 55 feet long from the actual stage to the rear of the auditorium, entirely bisecting the audience area with a raised platform. On one end of the playing area was a jazz band (with members of the faculty playing instruments); on the other, a large wooden proscenium with a cloth screen to show a series of 1930s photographs.
In addition to all this, the crew assisted the professional costume designer with the wardrobe, kept track of the myriad props involved in the play, ran the projection and sound cues, and staffed the ticket and concession counters. The crew and actors did all of these tasks well with great attention, care and talent. For more pictures click on the gallery.
Courtney Rutledge '09 Jeb Beletsky '09
The World of Portsmouth Abbey Voyage
On Sunday November 4th, 35 members of the class of 2008 and 7 parentsenjoyed a scenic tour along Narragansett Bay aboard the Islander Touring Train. Robert and Patricia Andrews, grandparents of Ryan Andrews '09, graciously donated the ride for the World of Portsmouth Abbey auction last February. The Abraham, Behan, Ferrara, Hughes and Walsh families were the successful bidders for the train. Riders were treated to refreshments and lunch from Clement's Market. Parents of Sixth Formers provided the dessert. The train was boarded at the Portsmouth Abbey Boathouse. It toured northbound through Carnegie Abbey and then reversed direction toward Newport. En route, at a speedy 15 mph pace, we came upon a rogue hobby railroad train heading in the opposite direction a short distance down the single track. Our engineer adeptly reversed course and our adventure tour arrived back safely at the Boathouse.
Sixth Form Train Riders
SADD Skating Party
We would like to thank all the local parents who contributed food for the Skating Party that was sponsored by SADD on Saturday, Nov. 10th. It was a great success and the students really enjoyed all the home baked goods, soda, chips, sandwiches, etc. that were donated by our parents who live close by. There were also 22 pizzas that were given to us by North End Pizzeria at cost andthe 10 door prizes were supplied by SADD. Over 120 students attended and all who were there (whether they skated or just ate) have a good time. Once again thank you to our local families who brought a little home touch to this event. Sincerely, Nancy Weida and Pam Gorman
Comments? Email parentscommittee@portsmouthabbey.org
Chris and Peter Ferrara
Parents' Committee Co-Chairs
Kate Spinella
Development Officer
Alumni and Parent Programs
