Spring Arrives with "Formal Knights" Fashion Show

Spring arrived on Baker Street as students in grades 7-12 hit the catwalk Sunday afternoon, March 22. The event was "Formal Knights," the 6th Annual Catholic Memorial School Fashion Show. The annual display of spring formal and informal fashions is one of the largest fundraisers for the Parents Council, which supports all activities and programs at CM throughout the year.



Watch highlights of the show by clicking on the video above.

Chairperson Beth Leney and the CM Fashion Show Committee, along with Brother Kirk Phelps, transformed the Ronald Perry Gymnasium into a dazzling show of light and color, and over twenty-five vendors from are businesses made the shopping event surrounding the show a pleasure for all visitors to the sold-out event. Ms. Ellen Eberly and Brian Murphy '09 emceed the event with wit and poise. Dozens of students from CM and girls from area schools dazzled the crowd with the latest fashions.

CM Life in Photos: Freshman Lit on stage

Thanks to the Watertown Repertory Theater for sending a troupe to Baker Street on Monday morning, March 23rd to bring John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men alive for the freshman class.

Sláinte! A Taste of St. Patrick's Day

(l-r) Joe Sweeney '10 and Sean Donaghy '10 took in a taste of Ireland along with their Irish Studies classmates at an authentic Irish breakfast held on March 16th to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. (Thanks to CM parent Michael Curley in the kitchen!)

CHAMPS.

Congratulations to the Catholic Memorial School Boys Hockey Team, 2009 Division 1A State Champions. The team defeated Burlington High School in the Super-8 Championship at the TD Banknorth Garden on Sunday evening, March 15th with a 5-1 victory.

Though it was the ides of March and Coach Bill Hanson was vying for his 13th Super-8 trophy, there was no shortage of luck for the Knights as they earned their 17th state title in twenty five years.


The crowd tipped its hat to T.J. O'Brien '10 who earned a hat trick in the game; Derek Colucci '10 and Dan Cornell '09 added one goal each. Keeper Tommy Knox '11 played a near-perfect forty-five minutes of hockey in net.

The team defeated Malden Catholic, Hingham and Central Catholic in its previous three Super-8 contests to earn a spot in the championship game.

Watch highlights of the game here.

CM Robotics earns two recognitions at Boston Regionals

Antonio Rufo '10 and Brendan Shea '11 competed in Boston's regional competition of FIRST Robotics. The competition, which took place at Boston University's Agganis Arena on Friday and Saturday, March 6th and 7th, pitted 53 high school teams from across the United States and Canada against one another in robotics games.

Each team had six weeks to develop and build a robot to participate in the game, assisted by their mentor and company sponsorship. This year’s game was called “Lunacy,” in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the United States landing on the moon. It was a basketball-type game played on a hockey rink-type floor (without the

The Nutrons, a team coached by Josh Miranda and advised at CM by Josephine Antonellis, includes Rufo and Shea and nearly forty students from CM, Boston Latin, and Brookline High. At the Boston Regionals, the Nutrons won the Delphi "Driving Tomorrow's Technology" Award and were recognized for their “Ask an Engineer” program, a program that helps other local area teams that don’t have the necessary resources to complete their robots.

The Nutrons will be competing in the FIRST National Championships in Atlanta in April.

Catholic Memorial Chamber Orchestra gets Master Class with Modigliani String Quartet

Members of the Catholic Memorial School Chamber Ensemble, accompanied by CM President Paul Sheff ’62 and Director of Music Craig Spaner, attended a performance by the renowned Modigliani String Quartet on March 9 hosted by Roxbury Latin School. At the conclusion of the concert, students participated in a “master class” with Modigliani, where they received instruction and feedback on their work.

Catholic Memorial junior Seung Eun Park performed the Appasionata for cello for cellist François Kieffer and violinist Loïc Rio, who offered him advice and encouragement. Other Catholic Memorial Ensemble members in attendance were Hyun Woo Kim, Kyung Tae Park, and Yang Woo Kim.

"The performance was stunning,” said Spaner. “And Modigliani was so generous and kind with their feedback and instruction for our students during the master class.”

Christmas in March: Forensics team brings home 4th place from Natick Holly Fest

Placing fourth out of 26 teams, the CM Forensics team continued its winning ways this year at the annual Natick Holly Fest on March 7 (rescheduled from December). This is the team's best performance at the event in over a decade. Earning top honors were:

Ethan Madden '11 – 1st Place (Declamation)
Michael Giovanucci '09 – 2nd Place (Play Reading)
Chris Masterson '10 & Pat Simas '10 – 4th Place (Duo Interp)
Pat Simas '10 – 4th Place (Drama Audition)
“County Fair” - Murphy, Steinberg, Giovanucci, Verity, Labelle, Macchi – 4th Place (Multiple)
John Barrett '12 – 5th Place (Novice Extemp)
David Consigli '11, Andrew Rogantino '11, Mike Woodall '10, & Kevin Donnelly '10 – 5th Place (TV News Team)
Connor Lynch '10 – 5th Place (Humorous Interp)
Sean Sweeney '10 – 6th Place (Impromptu)
Kevin Donnelly '11 – 6th Place (Declamation)
Greg Cunningham '11 – 6th Place (Original Poetry)
Kevin Verity '09 – Honorable Mention (Original Oratory)
Sean Steinberg '09 – Honorable Mention (Original Oratory)

The team was led by sophomore Ethan Madden (1st Place - Declamation) and senior Michael Giovanucci (2nd - Play), as well as a solid performance by the multiple and TV News teams.

Rob Croteau '93 praised the entire team as well as some individual members. "Pat Simas '10 double-broke in Duo and Drama Audition, and Ethan Madden '11 & Kevin Donnelly '11 were recognized as overall Holly Double Entry Award Winners," he said. "This is a great achievement, given that there were more than 525 entries."

The team sends 12 students to NFL Qualifiers this coming Friday at Newton South High School.

March Madness: Update

All winter sports teams have fared well in the postseason, including hockey, basketball, swimming, track and wrestling.

CM Hockey heads to the TD Banknorth Garden on March 15th to vie for its 13th Division 1A "Super-8" Championship title. The team defeated Malden Catholic in the crossover bracket of the tournament on March 11th, 6-4, at Tsongas Arena in Lowell. Gametime on 3/15 is 7:30pm.

Tommy Knox '11 had 36 saves in goal and T.J. O'Brien '10 earned a hat trick with a goal each period--assisted by Troy Starrett '10 in the first, unassisted in the 2nd, and into an empty net in the 3rd. Frankie Tierney '09 added two goals and Dan Cornell '09 scored one goal in the Knights' 6-4 game.

Previously in the tournament, Dan Cornell '09 scored twice and T.J. O'Brien '10 added a third as CM defeated Hingham, 3-2 to advance to the crossover bracket on 3/7. In their 3/4 matchup against Central Catholic, Vin Repucci '10, Shane Walsh '10 and captain Garrett Noonan '09 scored in a thrilling 3-1 shootout to give CM the overtime win, 3-2.


Wrestling: Congratulations to State Champion Josh Boyd '09, who finished in the top 6 at the 2009 New England Wrestling Championships at Hillhouse High School in New Haven, CT on March 6. Boyd had previously won 2nd-place at the All-State meet on February 28th. At that meet, held at Salem High School, Boyd lost a close final bout (3-2) to Rockland senior Petros Hologitas. Joshua Rosario '09 also competed at All-States, going 1-2 in early rounds. (Below: Boyd with parents Eric and Tonya on senior night.)

Basketball: The #8-seeded Knights fell to #7-seed Milton on March 7th, 86-68. Congratulations to the team on a great postseason which included wins over O'Bryant, Bishop Feehan and Walpole.



In other news:

CM Track competed in the All-State Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center on 2/27. Nahed Lakkis '09 recorded a personal best in the 1000-meter event (2:33.73), coming in 9th place overall. Ed Colvin '10 came in 8th place in the 2-mile event (9:39.63).

Swimming: CM's 200-yard freestyle relay team of Sean Farrell '09, John Mackie '10, Ryan Clifford '11 and Matt Farrell '11 came in 9th place in the Division II State Swimming Championships on February 21. CM swimmers (including James Myers '09) also qualified and competed at the state meet in the 200-yard medley relay, 200-yard individual medley, 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard breaststroke events.