Dear alumni, family members, and friends,

As we approach Thanksgiving, we are called to reflect on what we are thankful for in our lives. In witnessing the recent tragedy in the Philippines, and other events around the world over the course of the past year, we are reminded that life is precious. Despite the difficulty our journey sometimes presents us, we must remain steadfast in following in the footsteps of St. Marcellin Champagnat. In doing so, we understand that our families and friends serve as our lanterns in the darkness. We also remember those faithfully departed who shine brightest and have loved and inspired us, and we receive comfort knowing that their spirits continue to live on in our thoughts and prayers.

In celebrating Thanksgiving, we would like to pray, as one community, for your lost loved ones. We invite each of you to send us the names of your beloved deceased so that we may pray for them in our Chapel here at Molloy, and at our annual Thanksgiving Liturgy on Tuesday, November 26th. Please do not send an offering with your intentions. This is a gift from our students, faculty and staff as a sign of our appreciation for your generosity and loyalty to Archbishop Molloy High School. List the names of your loved ones in the text box provided below.

The Fund For Molloy

Recently the Stanner Community received a mailing in regards to our school’s annual request for support to The Fund For Molloy. Annual gifts of all sizes provide Molloy the resources that are crucial to its growth and success as a nationally recognized college preparatory school of distinction. Annual donors impact lives every day with gifts that support academics, research, needs assistance, and service to others in our community and beyond. It takes the collective annual support of alumni, parents, friends, students, faculty, and staff to make an institution like Molloy great. Donors provide the largest base of critical unrestricted support for strategic priorities at our school. Gifts provide the resources to train the next generation of leaders and create learning opportunities to help students and faculty shape their own futures, which in turn will benefit others.

By making annual gifts, donors support the strategic priorities that are most meaningful to each of us. There are limitless opportunities available to support Archbishop Molloy High School at all giving levels. Your philanthropy, joined with others’ support, has a great collective impact in addressing Molloy’s most immediate needs.

By giving to The Fund For Molloy, Stanners create positive change at Molloy through each annual gift, and this support allows our school to continue the academic and athletic excellence that is its hallmark. Through the images accompanying this article, see how Molloy became stronger in the 2012-13 school year through your philanthropy.

Your charity this year will help Molloy accomplish the following capital projects this:

• Technology infrastructure completed for iPad initiative
• New technology help center
• New multi-purpose room for dance, step, and general use
• Two new meeting spaces in the Ralph DeChiaro Center
• New fire-rated doors in the Captain Marsloe Gymnasium
• New ballfield entrance and fence along the parking lot perimeter

Commitments to Molloy ensure we can continue to provide needs assistance to deserving students and their families who are addressing extraordinary circumstances. Last academic year the average grant provided was $2,500. This current school year we are seeing the need for help increase to over $3,000. Gifts make an impact, everyday, on everyone at Molloy. Please make sure you make your annual gift through The Fund For Molloy. Each gift makes us stronger as we meet the challenges ahead.

Alumni Finish 2nd in Van Cortlandt Park Race

Last week, Molloy’s cross country teams competed against rival high schools for the CHSAA at the intersectional championships. Held at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, Molloy runners assembled early on Saturday, November 9th with a spring in their step. Also joining the student teams were a group of eager Molloy alumni. Each year, an alumni race is held alongside the cross country city races as a way to broaden community interest and involvement in the day’s festivities. It’s a tradition that alumni of many schools embrace, but it is not just all fun and games. In fact it’s a scored race, which means final times count! Scores are calculated by comparing the times of the top three finishers for each team. This scoring system is used for both the student and alumni races. In all, 11 alumni represented Molloy at Van Cortlandt, with class years ranging from as recently as 2013 back to the 1960’s. Alumni times are listed below. In the end, Joe Mayer ’09 (13:28), Pat Goldberg ’13 (13:51), and Anthony Morales ’09 (14:14) secured the top three spots for team Stanner. Mayer is on quite a hot streak, having also just secured the top overall time during the Andrew Harvey Memorial 5K Fun Run in October. Molloy would ultimately finish second in the alumni race with 24 points, which is tied for their best finish in the history of this race. Our Stanners finished in between first place Bishop Ford, who scored 8 points, and third place St. Anthony, who scored 27 points (lowest score wins). As for our student teams, they ran competitively, and senior Branden Warders ’14 qualified for the NYS Federation Championship at Bowdoin Park near Poughkeepsie. It was a great day all around, and we hope to have more alumni help represent Molloy at next year’s race!

Alumni Race Times:

1. Joe Mayer ’09 | 13:28
2. Pat Goldberg ’13 | 13:51
3. Anthony Morales ’09 | 14:14
4. Tom Harvey ’94 | 15:51
5. Ed Harvey ’05 | 16:29
6. Justin Schaefer ’95 | 16:36
7. Eric Roppa ’95 | 18:17
8. Danielle Tirelli ’05 | 18:41
9. Ed Kenny ’83 | 18:57
10. Brian Sullivan ’67 | 19:16
11. Jim Mahony ’74 | 25:29

Around the School

Stanners Visit Northeast Colleges

Students eager to learn more about their potential future colleges recently took two exciting trips with members of Molloy’s college guidance staff. On November 1st, Mr. Ted McGuinness ’81, Mrs. Christine Loo (University of Pennsylvania alum), and guidance intern Ms. Claudia Goncalves ’09 accompanied 43 juniors and seniors to visit schools in and around Philadelphia. Among the schools the group visited included Drexel, University of Pennsylvania, and St. Joseph’s University. Students toured campuses, met with representatives from each college, and came away with a deeper understanding of what these schools have to offer each individual student. “What a great experience,” said Ms. Goncalves, who once benefited from these trips as Molloy student herself. “These visits were informative for our students, and Molloy’s presence generated interest in our student population. It was a win-win!” Establishing connections with these schools is important not only for current students, but future students who will benefit from college rep visits here on Manton Street.

The second trip took place on November 8th. Once again led by Mr. McGuinness, Mrs. Loo, and Ms. Goncalves, students headed in a bit of a different direction. Our Stanners eventually arrived at the beautiful 440 acre campus of St. Michael’s College in Vermont. While there, the group met up with Molloy alums Katie Gribbons ’13 and Morell Gaskins ’12, who are both attending St. Michael’s. Katie and Morell shared their perspectives and experiences with the group and, of course, asked about life back at Molloy. Overall these were two important, informative trips that will eventually influence these 43 students in making life-changing college choices.

Campus Ministry All About Giving

Every year during the giving season, students volunteering with the Campus Ministry program are hard at work organizing donations for the less fortunate. Director of Campus Ministry Mr. Mike Germano ’93 collaborates with many enthusiastic students, homeroom leaders, faculty members, and alumni throughout November and December on a number of special initiatives that focus on distributing items to those in need, including those in nearby shelters and church parishes. Efforts like the Coat Drive keep hundreds in our community warm, while Operation Christmas Child and the Toy Drive help raise the spirits of children both locally and abroad through the collection and distribution of care packages and toys. National Honor Society members are also adopting the giving spirit, collecting donations during homeroom for the victims of the recent tragedy in the Philippines. In addition, Campus Ministry is also looking forward to hosting Br. Tony Leon, who is visiting all the way from Australia on behalf of the Marist Brothers Evangelization Office. Br. Leon, a well-respected and dynamic speaker, will be leading a special presentation on “How to live our Call to be Marist,” which will reinforce much of the charitable work that is planned here at Molloy this season. Students from fellow Marist school Mount St. Michael will also be attending this presentation, further driving home the idea that we are all working together not just as one school, but as one Marist community. Between these efforts and the upcoming Thanksgiving Liturgy and Alumni Prayer Service during homecoming week, Campus Ministry and our students will be quite busy for the foreseeable future. Pictured from left to right are Mr. Mike Germano ’93, President Richard Karsten ’81, and coat drive volunteer Christopher Waters ’05. Chris is the son of the late FDNY Captain Patrick Waters ’74, a September 11th hero and Stanner Hall of Famer. Captain Waters’ Hall of Fame portrait is also pictured.

Four Stanners currently working for Major League Baseball continued their own tradition this year during the World Series at Fenway Park in Boston. Pictured left to right are Steve Arocho ’00 (Manager of Business Public Relations, MLB), Marc Caiafa ’90 (Coordinating Producer / Remote Field Production at MLB Network), Nick Trotta ’95 (Director, Library Licensing at MLB Productions), and Matt Bourne ’91 (VP of Business Public Relations at MLB). Each year, Steve, Marc, Nick and Matt take a group photo together at the World Series venue to stamp their “Stanner Pride” on the festivities. The group had plenty of fun during the series, but they also worked hard on what was yet another exciting event for Major League Baseball.

Jennifer Moncino ’11, a junior at St. Joseph’s College, was named to the 2013 Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) All-Conference Team for volleyball. Jennifer’s performance helped lead the college’s women’s volleyball team to a 14-8 record overall and a 7-0 mark in league play en route to their second straight regular season championship. Jennifer played in all 22 games and scored 262 digs, good for second on the team. She recorded 91 kills and led the team with 51 service aces. Jennifer’s outstanding season on the court and in the classroom also earned her Academic Team Honors.

Andrew Jagusiak ’66 and his wife, Anna Mary Portz, recently began joint assignments with the US Department of State at the Consulate General, Basrah, Iraq. This is Andy’s second time in Basrah, where he served part of his eighteen months as a military advisor in Iraq to the 1st Infantry Division, ‘The Big Red One’ in 2010. He is now serving as a community liaison officer. This is Anna’s third time in Iraq (previously ’03 and ’07) and she will be serving as a political officer. According to Andrew, “Temperatures in August average 119 degrees and sometimes reach 130 degrees in Basrah, but the opportunity to participate in fostering US-Iraqi relationships in the extreme southern part of Iraq makes up for the lack of personal comforts.”

Dr. Raoul Wientzen, MD, ’64 recently had his very first novel published by Arcade Press in New York. A work of literary fiction titled The Assembler of Parts, Dr. Wientzen’s 35 years of work experience as a pediatrician is a major influence in telling the story of a child born with a rare genetic syndrome. “It weaves together family drama, medical-legal conflict, and a theology of the necessity of imperfection in creation to create a compelling and touching story,” said Dr. Wientzen. Kirkus Reviews included the novel to its list of the top 100 Best Books of 2013, also awarding it a star for extraordinary merit and naming the one of 13 Best Debut Fiction works of the Fall. The reviewer called it “astonishing” and “the kind of book you’ll put down anything you are doing to finish, then spend time contemplating its profundity, and then start reading again.” Dr. Wientzen’s book is available for purchase on Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com.

We are saddened to share news of the passing of Mr. Robert J. Podlovits, father of Steven ’82, Richard ’77, and Edward ’76. Mr. Podlovits grew up on the Lower East Side and moved to Middle Village, Queens during the 1950’s. The move made it easer for he and his wife Josephine to send all three of their boys to Molloy. Mr. Podlovits was a well known and respected member of the community as a police officer of 20 years (John Jay College alum) and later the owner of Bob’s Sports Center of Metropolitan Avenue for many years. According to Steven, his dad was healthy for the majority for his whole life, which has been a true blessing.  In addition, Mr. Podlovits and Josephine enjoyed 61 years of marriage. We ask that you please keep Robert and the Podlovits family in your thoughts and prayers.

We are saddened to share the passing of Anthony Vytuvis ’70 on October 13, 2013. Please keep Anthony and his family in your prayers.