Monthly Musings
REVERENCE FOR GOD AND THE HUMAN PERSON
RESPECT FOR LEARNING AND ORDER
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE SHARED EXPERIENCE OF COMMUNITY LIFE
This is part of an ongoing series of informal communications with Portsmouth Abbey School's constituents. Parents, alumni/ae, and friends have all expressed an interest in hearing more about our school, more often. It is meant to be one element among a number of activities designed to keep you better informed about the School, the Monastery and our community.
Portsmouth Sixth Formers Receive Coveted Scholarships to Elite National Programs: Two students in the Class of 2008, Naseemah Mohamed and Caroline Mason, have been selected as recipients of full, four-year scholarships for study in two different programs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill).
Naseemah, a native of Zimbabwe, was selected a Morehead-Cain Scholar. One of just 82 young men and women from the USA and Great Britain to be awarded the highly prestigious scholarship, Naseemah was chosen from a group of more than 320 prospective Scholars and an initial applicant pool of over 1,500 high school students. The Morehead-Cain Scholars Program is a unique, life-changing educational opportunity that combines a four-year undergraduate merit scholarship to UNC-Chapel Hill with a comprehensive experiential learning and leadership development program. Read more about Naseemah's Morehead-Cain Scholarship.
Caroline, of Lejeune, NC, was named a Kenan Music Scholar. As such, she will receive a full, four-year scholarship in addition to support for summer research and similar activities. Kenan Scholars are also provided with a special program that combines work on the concert platform and in the classroom with UNC Music Department faculty and visiting artists. Caroline had to audition twice at Chapel Hill as part of the selection process, first in February and then again in early March. Her final audition was against seven others, both vocalists and musicians. Read more about Caroline's Kenan Scholarship.
Congratulations to Naseemah and Caroline!
Annual Fund Reminder:
Only 87 days remain until the close of the 2007-08 Annual Fund. Thank you to those of you who have already made your gift(s). If you have not yet done so, please make a gift today by visiting www.portsmouthabbey.org/makeagift, or contact Polly Carter in the Development Office at 401.643.1204 or pcarter@portsmouthabbey.org. Click here for more information about the Portsmouth Abbey School Annual Fund.
2008 Appalachia Service Project, Reported by Brittany Hunt '08: "This year the Appalachia Service Project took 20 students and eight chaperones to Jonesville, Virginia, located in the most southwest part of the state. After the 14-hour drive, we split into four groups to do various jobs throughout the week. My own group dug a drainage ditch and repaired gutters on an old tobacco barn converted into a house for a single mother and her two sons. Other groups added siding to a 200-year-old log cabin for an elderly man, installed cabinets and flooring, and built a small porch. After the days of hard labor, we met back at the service center in which we all stayed and played games, ate together and went on excursions to the local bowling alley, Happy Mart, or Wal-Mart. Thanks to our fund-raising efforts, we were able to have a successful, enriching, and safe trip."
Mr. Paul Jestings, who served as a chaperone again this year, told of the family his team assisted--a young man, a disabled National Guardsman, and his wife--by constructing a new set of external stairs and installing a new floor in their trailer-home. "It is a lot of work," admitted Mr. Jestings, "but it is so gratifying to know how much we are helping these people. They are so grateful to the Portsmouth Abbey Service Project volunteers for the assistance we are able to give them."
This year's Appalachia Service Project volunteers were: James Allen '08; Jeb Beletsky '09; Jimmy Buckley '08; Katie Collins '06; Ethan DaPonte '10; Isaac Holmstrom '08; Liz DeMetro '08; Ben Fernandez '08; Brittany Hunt '08; Andrew Morsilli '11; Molly O'Neil '08; Grace Popham '10; Mike Popham '09; Stephanie Proulx '10; Brianne Rok '08; Cameron Shirley '10; Sarah Taddei '09; and Kathleen Timmons '10. Also helping out were Cecilia Spinella and Francesca Spinella, daughters of Mrs. Kate Spinella in the Alumni Affairs office, who accompanied their dad, Mr. Frank Spinella, one of the trip's chaperones. View photos of this year's Appalachia Service Project.
The winners of this year's Appalachia Service Project Raffle, which helped defray the expenses for the trip, were:
Pearl Necklace and Bracelet Set - Patrick Kamm '89
Newport Sweatshirts - Ms. Aileen Keenan
Manicure/Pedicure - The Shirley Family
Gift Card to Leo's Restaurant - Mrs. Cindy Waterman
Gift Card to the Lobster Pot Restaurant - The Popham Family
Carnegie Abbey Golf - Walter Camp
Weekend in New Hampshire - Mrs. Tara O'Brien
Abbey Student Recognized at State Poetry Competition: Fifth Former Courtney Rutledge took home Honorable Mention accolades in the Rhode Island State "Poetry Out Loud" competition, held March 11 at Rhode Island College. Courtney had gone to the state finals, representing Portsmouth Abbey, in place of Caroline Mason '08, who was unable to attend. She gave two recitations, "Fever 103 degrees," by Sylvia Plath, and "On Monsieur's Departure," by Queen Elizabeth I. Poetry Out Loud is a program sponsored nationally by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation in Chicago, IL. Organized along the lines of the national spelling bee, Poetry Out Loud promotes competitions at the high school level throughout the country, with local winners going to state finals, and from there to the national championship competition. Portsmouth Abbey was one of nine R.I. schools that participated in the state finals. In all, more than 400 R.I. high school students took part in the program. Congratulations, Courtney!
Abbey Student-Athletes Make All-EIL League: The following Abbey student-athletes have received All-League honors from the EIL for the Winter 2007-08 season:
Girls' Basketball: Kathleen Timmons '10; Jai Crawl '08; KK Behan '08 (Honorable Mention); and Stephanie Perez '08 (Honorable Mention). Ms. Lizzie Benestad was named Co-Coach of the Year. Boys' Basketball: Taylor Gyde '08 (Honorable Mention).
Girls' Ice Hockey: Kelly Coffin '09; Riley Grant '09; Ally Boglioi'09 (Honorable Mention); and Genna Kyriakides '10 (Honorable Mention). Boys' Ice Hockey (Holt Conference): Bryan Abraham '08 (Honorable Mention); Pierce King '08 (Honorable Mention); and Michael Behan '08 (Honorable Mention).
Girls' Squash: Anna Lopez '10; Olivia Simone '09; and Catherine Kennedy '08 (Honorable Mention). Girls' Swimming: Katherine Sullivan '09 (100 Free Style); and Kara Lessels '11 (500 Free Style).
The Spring '08 athletics season is underway. We encourage everyone in the Portsmouth Abbey community to come out and cheer on our Ravens! For a schedule of all games, visit: www.portsmouthabbey.org/page/athletics or click here.
