See The New Stanner Golf Classic Digital Journal!

When we announced two weeks ago that this Monday, May 5th’s Stanner Golf Classic would be a sellout, we quickly received many well wishes and congratulations on a job well done. The work, however, is never done here at the Stanner Alumni Center, and in particular in regards to the Stanner Golf Classic. We’re still preparing for over 350 golfers to tee off at North Hills Country Club and Plandome Country Club on Monday morning, and with many scorecards, prizes, golf carts, and more to coordinate, that is quite a task in itself. But with the help of our Molloy staff, our Golf Board, and all of our volunteers, we have no doubt that this Monday’s event will be an amazing and historic day for our school.

We would like to take this opportunity to present the 28th Annual Jim Kinnier Stanner Golf Classic Digital Journal, which is filled with ads sponsored by very generous alumni, parents, friends, and corporate sponsors:

DOWNLOAD THE STANNER GOLF CLASSIC DIGITAL JOURNAL

Included among the over 100 ads are messages of congratulations dedicated to our 2014 Golf Chairman Bob Metzger ’88 and our Honorary Chairman Jack Conley. Both men have made an incredible impact on this year’s outing, and they certainly deserve to take a bow. Also featured are dozens of ads representing local businesses in our community, including many owned by Stanners, that support Molloy’s scholarship program and its goal to provide the gift of education to deserving students in need. It all happens at the Stanner Golf Classic, and we feel truly blessed to work with such a dedicated community. We would like to express our sincerest thanks to everyone who not only sponsored journal ads, but donated corporate sponsorships, signed up to play golf with their classmates, and made the Molloy experience possible for future Stanners.

Middle States Validation Team Visits Molloy

Since 1990, Archbishop Molloy High School has worked with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in an effort to self-evaluate and reassess its long-term strategic objectives and practices. The MSCHE is “a voluntary, non-governmental membership association that is dedicated to quality assurance and improvement through accreditation via peer evaluation.” The evaluation process is essential in not only maintaining, but advancing our school’s strong academic and athletic programs in the Marist Tradition, and it takes the work of many people working together to come to fruition. In 2012, the most recent evaluation began with the appointment of history teacher Mr. Chris DeSarno as the school’s Internal Coordinator for Middle States. Since his appointment, Mr. DeSarno has worked with strategic planning teams consisting of Molloy administration and faculty, students, parents, alumni and school board members to pinpoint Molloy’s strengths and opportunities for improvement. The teams also established action plans consisting of organizational and student-based objectives to devote specific attention to leading up to the next evaluation in 2021. Molloy’s organizational objectives include improving the quality and utilization of its website, and reducing the school’s impact on the environment. Student performance objectives include increased knowledge of career preparation skills as well as raised standards of academic excellence. The completion of these objectives will be measured by various criteria, which will be at the discretion of the strategic planning teams and the Middle States Validation Team to assess.

Last week, Molloy was delighted to host the Middle States Validation Team here at school during a four day on-site evaluation. The team, which consists of administrators and faculty from other schools in the New York / New Jersey area, were focused on evaluating Molloy on twelve standards: Philosophy/Mission, Governance and Leadership, School Improvement and Planning, Finances, Facilities, School Climate and Organization, Health and Safety, Educational Program, Assessment and Evidence for Student Learning, Student Services, Student Life and Activities, and Information Resources and Technology. To accomplish this, the validation team met with Molloy’s strategic planning teams while observing all aspects of school life. The validation team visited classrooms during lessons, toured the campus, met privately and in group sessions with administrators, faculty, staff, parents, students, alumni, and Board members and gained a deeper sense of the level to which Molloy meets the twelve standards.

Upon conclusion of the visit, the validation team addressed administration and faculty, thanking them for a pleasant visit and commending them on their fine efforts and announcing that Molloy had received early recommendation for accreditation. “One observation made by the Middle States team stood out to me above all else,” said President Richard Karsten ’81. “They concluded, ‘the work you are doing here at Molloy is transforming lives.’ For me, this was a great reminder that every aspect of education should be focused on transforming the lives of young people. This is at the core of the Marist Mission.” This, of course, was not the end of the evaluation process, but simply a beginning as Molloy works to meet the outlined standards and complete its action plan objectives by 2021. Mr. DeSarno and everyone at Molloy will continue to work with the internal and external Middle States teams during that time to monitor the school’s progress and provide feedback along the way. “The Chair of the Middle States team, who is the Principal of a premier college preparatory high school in New Jersey, could not believe that we offer the high quality education Molloy is known for at just $7,960 a year,” noted President Karsten. “Looking ahead to 2021, I think we’re on the right track.” We would like to thank the Middle States Validation Team for aiding Molloy in this evaluation process, as well as all the faculty, parent, student, and alumni volunteers who have worked so hard on this initiative. (Pictured: Middle States Team Chair John Stanczak speaks to faculty, parents and other Middle States team members)

Making Jesus Known and Loved

During Holy Week, the Marist Brothers Center at Esopus hosted the Triduum beginning on Holy Thursday with dinner and ending with morning prayer on Easter Sunday. Over 35 individuals in the Marist community, including those from nearby universities including Marist College, Mount St. Mary College, and Vassar, gathered to pray together along with the Marist Brothers. The tranquil setting provided a unique and powerful way to celebrate Easter, and those who attended expressed their interest in future celebrations there. Click the thumbnail to the right for more on the Triduum weekend, or visit http://www.maristbrotherscenter.org/ for more information on events and other ways to get involved throughout the year at the Marist Brothers Center at Esopus.

Upcoming Events

Alumni Wine Tasting

• When: Wednesday, May 14th @ 6:30pm
• Where: Archbishop Molloy High School
• Who: All Stanners and friends of LEGAL AGE
• REGISTRATION NOW CLOSED

Attention Stanners, family members, and friends of legal age! Join us on Wednesday, May 14th at 6:30pm in the William J. Murphy Library here at Molloy for an evening romp through the wine world, led by Jim Sheehan ’75 and Mike Garvey ’84. The evening will feature:

• Techniques for identifying aroma & taste
• Unique wine pairings
• Tips for bargain hunting
• Fruit and cheese platters

After a career buying wine professionally, Garvey currently works with a portfolio of over 700 wines from 6 continents at all price points, sourcing mainly from small, family run, and sustainable producers. His outfit, Vision Wine Brands, distributes wine to restaurants and shops in New York State. This is an excellent opportunity to get an insider’s take!

Around the School

Spirit Week 2014

Students got an opportunity to show off their school spirit this April during Spirit Week, an all out celebration of school spirit here on Manton Street! Throughout the week, events, contests, games, and dress down days encouraged freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors to work together, get involved, and show off their pride as students of Molloy. Homerooms submitted impressive artistic posters that combined Molloy and Disney/Pixar motifs. Disney/Pixar was the overall theme voted on by the students. In the Ralph DeChiaro Theater, events such as Molloy Idol and Trivia brought students together to cheer each other on, while dodge ball and the tug of war fueled everyone’s competitive energy. The top finishing class in the tug of war tournament even got a chance to take on some of their favorite faculty members. One contest, “Name the Mascot,” offered students the opportunity to name the school’s lion mascot, which recently came out of retirement and has already been a feature at many sporting events. Stanley Stanner was the winning name, which is actually a nod to the days at St. Ann’s when Stanley was a humorous character drawn in numerous school publications. Another contest tasked students with submitting designs for next year’s Walk-A-Thon t-shirt, which allowed them to show off their amazing creativity. Rounding out the week was the Senior vs. Faculty basketball game, which took center stage in the Jack Curran Gym during prime time on Friday night. As always, both sides fought hard, but it was the faculty who came out on top once again. It was a great week, and a reminder that school spirit is as strong as ever here at Molloy. View photos from the week below:

Students Share “Youth Views” With Reporter

Archbishop Molloy High School has always maintained a strong relationship with local press in Queens and the larger Brooklyn Diocese. Whether it’s an outstanding academic achievement, a big team win, or an event here on Manton Street, it seems Stanners are always finding themselves in print around the city. Following this trend, several students were recently interviewed by The Tablet reporter Antonina Zielinska as part of the paper’s ongoing Youth Views series. This feature gives students around the Brooklyn Diocese, including our Stanners at Molloy, an opportunity to share their thoughts with the community. Students are asked to answer a variety of questions that focus on certain everyday experiences that they may not normally think so deeply about. During this particular visit, Antonina asked our students to reflect on liturgical music and whether or not they think it’s important, if it helps them pray, if it changes the feeling of Mass, or if it is a good way to pray in general. Their answers will be published throughout the year as the series continues. Visit thetablet.org and search “Youth Views” for more.

Bob Corrigan ’63 Earns CYO Hall of Fame Honor

Stanner Hall of Famer Bob Corrigan ’63, the longtime coach of his native St. Joan of Arc parish’s CYO track and field team, will be officially honored by the organization with induction into its Hall of Fame. The CYO Hall of Fame was founded, “to recognize individuals that have made significant contributions to the Catholic Youth Organization in the Diocese or Brooklyn as a player, coach, clergy, coordinator, official, parish representative, athletic director, or other member of the community whose accomplishments and actions have brought life to the Mission, Philosophy, and Values of the Diocese of Brooklyn CYO.” A man steeped in faith, Bob has always been a shining example of the Stanner Spirit. For over 40 years, he has shared the lessons he gained at Molloy with the athletes at St. Joan of Arc, helping to nurture them as young people with not only physical skill, but also faith, respect, and confidence. Bob will join 14 other outstanding individuals as members of the CYO’s inaugural Hall of Fame class on Friday, May 16th at the Immaculate Conception Center at Douglaston. For ticket information or reservations, please contact Annmarie Creghton at acreighton@diobrook.com or (718) 281-9548.

Class Updates

A group of enthusiastic alumni spent time over a recent weekend volunteering at the Marist Brothers Center at Esopus – a place many of them consider to be a second home. Matt Waldron ’01, Brendan Cloonan ’01, Mike McGovern ’04, Matt Lavanco ’04, Sean Kearney ’04, Henry Ventura ’05, Keith O’Hare ’06, and soon to be alumnus Brian Hurley ’14 teamed up to repair and restore sections of the pergolas near the camp’s pool. The pergolas provide shade in the summer for campers and counselors  seeking refuge from the heat. Their condition had deteriorated as of late, but thankfully our alumni stepped up for a good cause. The improvements made as a result of the team’s efforts have extended the life of the pergolas, and in turn made Esopus an even happier place…if that’s possible!

The following note was sent in by Roy Elberfeld ’60: “Three years ago I suffered a traumatic brain injury and was hospitalized and under recovery for three years. During that time, members of my class of 1960 took the time to visit me. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them, especially Vincent Bonini ’60 and Ed Tully ’60 for their friendship and prayers. They also took me out onto the local golf course, where I thoroughly embarrassed myself, but I didn’t mind.  Thank you for being Stanners.  Also thanks to Edward Malin ’63 and William Malin ’80  for all their help and working with their sister, my wife, to keep my spirits up. Molloy means the world to us. It has been my pleasure, as a former high school principal, to have hired Stanners as my teachers. They instilled in my students the meaning of learning for learning sake, not for grades.” Thanks for sharing, Roy. Please know that the entire Stanner Community is praying for your health and happiness in the years to come.

We are saddened to share the passing of retired NYPD Lt. John W. Feeley ’72 at the age of 57 after a courageous battle against cancer. The Fordham University graduate was remembered during memorial services at Church of our Savior in Manhattan. He will be sorely missed by his family, friends, and colleagues in the NYPD. Please keep Lt. Feeley in your thoughts and prayers.

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Mrs. Marie Chowske, mother of Joseph ’81, and grandmother of Devin ’10 and Alexander ’15. Marie was also sister to the late Thomas McKenny, a graduate of St. Ann’s Class of 1953. Please keep this entire Stanner family in your thoughts and prayers.