A message from Chris and Peter
Welcome to all Portsmouth Abbey Parents! By now our children are well immersed in their classes, athletics and social activities at School. Our Campus looks fabulous, with the beautiful new St. Brigid's girls' dorm a focal point as we enter the grounds. It was very gratifying this past weekend to tour the Student Center with its new furnishings and appliances. The funds to renovate this building of course came from the very hard work and generosity of parents, staff and faculty. We thank everyone gratefully.
Each year, the Parents' Committee helps to connect us parents to student and administration events. The Committee consists of a variety of parents representing the four forms. Working with Kate Spinella, the Development Officer for Alumni and Parent Programs, we support student, faculty and staff by volunteering as needed throughout the school year. Any parent with questions about the Parents' Committee or if you have school specific questions, we would love to hear from you and share our own personal perspective. Here is to a great year at Portsmouth Abbey School!
Peter and Chris Ferrara
Co-Chairs, Parents' Committee
A Message from the Headmaster
The School year is off to an excellent start. We were pleased to welcome 121 new students to campus on Saturday September 8, and they were joined by our 237 returning students the following day. Actually, many of our returning students were already here when the new students and their families arrived; 130 of our athletes began pre-season practice on Tuesday, September 4, and the balance of our Prefects arrived on campus Friday, September 5, for a leadership workshop.
We opened the 2007-08 School year last Monday the 10th, with Mass celebrated by Abbot Caedmon. Our students and faculty were delighted to congratulate our newly elected spiritual leader at Opening Assembly.
There is a clear sense of excitement and optimism on our campus. Greeted by a small "dirt pile" west of St. Benet's last September, this year's returning students were met with the stunning presence of the wonderful new St. Brigid's dorm. Fortunate, indeed, are the students and faculty who now reside in St. Brigid's! We are proud of St. Brigid's and the standard it has set for future campus development. Next on our list of capital projects is the renovation of our Abbey Church of St. Gregory the Great, which we hope will begin immediately after Commencement 2008. Beyond the Church, we are working hard on the planning and the gaining of support for the Science Building expansion and renovation, a new boys' dorm (to match St. Brigid's) and additional on-campus faculty housing.
All of our students are benefiting from the wonderfully refurbished Student Center. These renovations, which took place this summer, were made possible by last February's Parents' Committee Auction, "The World of Portsmouth Abbey," and all of us on campus thank everyone who worked on this project, especially Auction Chairs Tish Behan and Kristin Hughes.
Included in this year's "What's New" category is a series of initiatives intended to make students' free time more productive during the class day. To that end, among several additions and enhancements made this summer are: a Current Events Annex in the Library, complete with daily newspapers and a continuous, low-volume broadcast of CNN; morning lunch and study/relaxation opportunities in the Stillman Dining Hall; a new College Counseling Center on the second floor of the Cortazzo Administration Building; and a daily, 15-minute Campus Mass available at the start of Conference Period.
There is much to be excited about, and I look forward to sharing with you all that is happening on campus as you visit your children and attend games on campus this fall.
Dr. James DeVecchi
Headmaster
The New Student Center thanks to our Portsmouth Abbey Parents!
Sports Scores 9/12/07
Boys' Varsity Soccer
The Abbey played a well-fought match against a talented and attack-oriented Lexington Christian team. After a challenging first half, where both teams saw some good scoring opportunities, the Abbey fought strong in defense and held LC to a scoreless tie. Jorge Ibarra'09 played a good game in goal and came up with some fantastic saves while Martin Minondo'09 helped lead the attack for the Abbey.
Boys' JV-A Soccer
The team tied with Lexington Christian Academy; 2-2. Scorers for the Abbey were Thomas Passarelli'11 and Mike Irving'09. Everyone played well.
Boys' Golf
The boys' golf team initially halved their match with Berwick Academy, but won the match after going to the tie-breaker. Low medalists for the match were Kyle Sargis'08 shooting a 33 and new-comer Pat Hannon'10 winning his first match for the Abbey with a 42.
Girls' Varsity Soccer
Girls' Soccer beat Lincoln School, 12-1, at Lincoln.
Sports Scores 9/15/07
Varsity Field Hockey
The varsity field hockey team opened its season with a great win (8-1) over Beaver Country Day. The scoring was lead by Jai Crawl'08 who had 3 goals, Ally Boglioli'09 and Ana Lopez'10 , each of whom had 2, and Celina Wright'08 with 1. The team worked really well together, and dictated the pace of the game. Captain Steph Perez'08 and IV former Ana Lopez played great games.
JV Field Hockey
The girls lost 2-0 in a hard-fought game. Everyone played well.
Girls' Varsity Soccer
The girls' soccer team traveled to Beaver Country Day in Newton, MA, for its first EIL game of the season. Led by sixth form captains Maggie McCarthy, KK Behan, and Liz Childs, the Abbey girls managed a 10-0 win. Olivia Simone'09 and Brigid Behan'11 each had two goals, while KK Behan'08, Riley Grant'09, Molly O'Neil'08, Katie Collins'08, Katie Sgarro'11, and Tori Sgarro'11 each had one goal. It was a promising opening in which the girls executed a well-balanced attack, played aggressive defense, and were helped by goalie Liz Child's 4 saves. The team plays consecutive home games this week against Concord Academy on Wednesday and Pingree on Thursday.
Cross-Country
Cross-Country opened its season Saturday, with the boys hosting 6 schools and the girls hosting 5 schools. Both teams dominated the competition. In the girls race, Brianne Rok'08 took 1st place, with Olivia Fay'10 finishing 3rd, Corrigan Van Sant'08 7th, Brigitte Spillane'08 10th, and Kaitlin Patton'11 12th. In the boys race, Brendan Connolly'10 took 1st place, followed by Pierce King'08 in 2nd, Isaac Holmstrom'08 in 5th, Quent Dickmann'10 in 6th, and Kenton Gilmartin'10 in 9th.
Boys' Varsity Soccer
After a well-fought first half, the Abbey took the lead early in the second half with a penalty converted by Martin Minondo'09. Beaver Country Day tied the game later in the half and both teams saw few, but good, scoring opportunities in the final minutes of the match. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.
Boys' JV Soccer
Boys' JVA soccer beat Beaver Country Day at home, 4-0. Scoring for the Abbey were Juan Gautreau'10, Danny Caplin'10, each with one goal and Daniel Rodriguez'11 with two. Chris Weber'11 in goal had the shutout.
Boys' Golf
The boys' varsity golf team defeated the Landmark School, 4-2. Winning matches for the Abbey were Captain Kyle Sargis'08, as low medalist, Teddy Hackett'08, Ben Fernandez'08 and Kevin Wooters'09.
Boys' Varsity Football
The football team had a solid debut performance Friday afternoon in their annual scrimmage versus St. George's. Bob Ensign'08 led the way for the Ravens notching a touchdown run on offense and wreaking havoc from his linebacker position on defense. Darris Owens'08 and Nick White'08 also contributed significantly to the Ravens' dominant ground attack. The team opens their regular season schedule at home this Thursday versus Pingree at 4:30 pm.
Academic Office
The Academic Office reports that the addition of new places to go to relax, eat, socialize, and do group study, it has had a very positive impact on the opening of School. Students can go to the completely renovated Student Center, the Current Events Annex or the Dining Hall to be with friends, leaving the Library a place for quiet study.
Christian Community Service
Dr. Blake Billings '77 has returned to the role of Director of Christian Community Service, bringing his ten years of previous experience to the position. Dr. Billings says he was busy over the summer, his technological skills enhanced by the school's Summercore program, so that he has now created a website for Portsmouth Abbey's community service. The site aims to become a clearinghouse for volunteer needs, student service accomplishments, news and information, and so forth. Please check out this site, accessible at the link above, or via the School's intranet page (see the Abbey Intranet link at the bottom of the Portsmouth Abbey School homepage). Parents are encouraged to send any volunteer needs, whether for specific events, ongoing projects, or non-profit agencies to communityservice@portsmouthabbey.org. These will be posted on the web.
Please tell us what more you want! We'd love to hear from you. Welcome to Portsmouth Abbey!
Kate Spinella
Development Officer
Alumni and Parent Programs
