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september 2011 on the power of a simple apology my dear parents and guardians as i begin my forty-first year in school and my twenty-eighth year as a high school headmaster i feel thoroughly bereft of new ideas for newsletters additionally i have published every thought i ever had in two books which many of you have read if whatever i write is repetitious it isn t senility there is just so much you can say about teenage boys when mr bonham was preparing the seniors who will work at the junior retreats this year i had a brief opportunity to speak with them i told them that what they do will set the tone for the retreats far more than what they say teenage boys watch very carefully for any discrepancy between what we adults say and how we live to say that puts a great deal of pressure on adults is certainly an understatement i learned long ago the value of a simple apology when our words and our actions have not coincided last year i received an email from a young man derek gray whom i taught in 1993 at saint xavier in louisville this email might seem self-serving on my part but i think it is a good example of what i mean brother james i hope this email finds you well and enjoying a wonderful advent season as i often do i ve recently read through several of your president s newsletters at once and enjoyed them all the october letter resonated with me for a number of reasons you mentioned your worries about the bad example you may have set during some of your worst days in the classroom i wanted you to know that you taught me a lesson during what i presume was one of your worst days in the classroom i remember in one particularly bad class your irish temper reared its head however a few periods later each of your students was summoned to your office one by one where you apologized to each of us years later that lesson has still stuck with me every once in a while i let the stress of work get to me and end up taking it out of some poor first year staff accountant and every time that happens to me i always think back to my time at saint xavier and apologize to the offended party and try to make things right with them 15 years later i ve regretfully forgotten many of the lessons in grammar but i ll always remember you taking responsibility for your actions and apologizing when you felt it was necessary do i remember that class and the apologies the class most certainly those boys were one of the brightest groups i ve ever taught the apologies certainly not but i do recognize my habitual behavior when i feel that i have crossed the line and not acted like a gentleman when god was distributing the kelly-vigneault genes from my parents into me he apparently emphasized the impatient impetuous ready-to-flare irish genes over the more gentle french ones while i am always painfully aware of my responsibility to give good example to the faculty the staff the students and the parents of mount saint joseph i am also painfully aware of my flawed humanity thus i learned long ago the power of a simple apology boys being boys they size up the adults in their lives pretty perspicaciously any of the boys i have ever taught can list for you all of my flaws as a teacher and some of my flaws as a man what consoles me is that by the end of the school year most of them also know how very much i love them and how very important their welfare is to me knowing that they can forgive anything as with teachers so with parents don t forget the power of a simple apology and remember if your son is aware of how very much you love him he can forgive anything sincerely brother james m kelly c.f.x president

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dear parents students and friends of the mount the post-earthquake/post-irene era has gotten off to a slow start thanks to continued power outages and the like so as i write i cannot wait for a return to the normal everyday flow of life here when your sons all return perspective is like beauty all in the eye of the beholder and while your sons may have seen this summer as a short and all too quickly ended break i cannot remember a longer summer so i very much want to see this campus bustling with your sons activity our iris alert system has already either passed or failed its initial test this year based again on your perspective if the numbers called and texted are not good ones for you please contact us as soon as possible so that we might replace them with numbers more suitable to meet your needs i remember last year one senior s grandfather telling me he had no desire to be awakened at 5:30 am to find out his grandson had no school that day because of the weather take a moment to check that we have the correct weather/emergency alert numbers and we will make every effort to make this notification system more efficient if you need to provide us with a correction or a number for the first time for this weather/emergency alert please contact my secretary mrs imbach as soon as possible our after school procedures have changed this year for those awaiting rides in the cafeteria the cafeteria will remain open after school each day from the end of the school prayers and announcements until 4:00 pm at that time anyone wishing to remain on campus must accompany the prefect to the library where the student must be engaged in quiet work until leaving to be picked up when they get to the library they must sign in so we have an accurate accounting of who is there the library will remain open until 6:00 pm unless otherwise noted on a given day the cafeteria is often used for meetings and other programs and this change allows for our crew to see to its readiness for its other uses it also allows for students to finish up some school work prior to going home what it does not allow for is considerable wasting of time and i trust that you parents understand this alteration in our procedures there will be no other areas on campus to wait for rides that will be supervised each day our daily procedure in the cafeteria will change also this year i have been aware of the need for a better way to address the failure of our young men when it comes to caring for this space this lack is sometimes accompanied by an entitled attitude regarding our custodial crew the sort of attitude that assumes we hire people to clean up after our students that doesn t sit well here nor will it ever each lunch table will be responsible for clean-up each lunch period and all of this will be explained to the students their first week back offenders will have their privileges altered in terms of the use of that space on campus and persistent offense will indicate to us a desire to remove one s self from this community we pray before each lunch period for god s blessing we will end each meal by leaving that space clean for those who follow it really is as simple as that i know that many of our rising juniors began their community service this summer and i want to thank the many of them who get it who understand why in fact we require this for all of our students there is a lesson hiding in service waiting for those who embrace doing for others to discover the lesson to me is quite simple this is what we are about the models we have been given not only in the life of christ but also in the lives of so many men and women who have served on this campus over the years call us forth to be our best selves every chance we get whether we are ladling soup for the less fortunate or teaching lacrosse to autistic young people we miss the point if we are simply counting hours i have had the good fortune to talk to more than one of you who understand the gifts you have been given in this life and the accompanying responsibility to share them thank you for being that lesson to me once again please pray in a special way for the men from the class of 2011 as they begin a new school year as our alumni power s on see you all soon peace barry j fitzpatrick principal

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important financial matters mr david norton director of studies any changes to the student schedules must be completed within two cycles of the school calendar before a student can switch or drop a class he must have written permission from his teacher counselor and parents students should check with me before initiating this process a copy of each student transcript and an emergency contact form were mailed home in august any corrections to the transcript or emergency form should be directed to the studies office parents are asked to send in the completed student handbook consent form for the mount book this form should have been returned to the homeroom teacher before the end of the first week of school notice to parents and students regarding edline if you activated your edline account last school year your screen name and password are still active if you have forgotten either the screen name or password go to the edline site and select the option to have them emailed to you the edline web address is www.edline.net if you did not activate your account last year or do not have an account activation code one will be mailed to you by the first week of september please email questions about accessing the edline site to mrs jeri buster msj network administrator jbuster@admin.msjnet.edu parents and guardians need to understand that the school enforces rigorously all of its financial policies you will find these policies outlined in the enrollment agreement which you signed to register your son for the school year and in the mount book a student whose tuition and fees are not current will not be allowed to start the school year additionally the school reserves the right to suspend any student from classes and withhold final exams grade reports and/or transcripts if tuition and fees are not current at any time during the school year if you have any questions or concerns regarding finances please contact mr sapienza our business manager at 410-646-6215 thank you for your cooperation in these matters brother james kelly c.f.x attention parents of seniors senior class portraits will be taken by appointment on tuesday october 4 wednesday october 5 thursday october 6 and tuesday october 11 from 8:00 a.m ­ 2:00 p.m appointment times will be mailed to your home by lifetouch prestige portraits our designated photographer only the senior portraits taken by lifetouch will be used in the yearbook as well as the senior class composite if you have any additional questions regarding the senior portraits please visit the web site at prestigeportraits.com or e-mail answers@lifetouch.com don t miss the opportunity to meet the faculty on the following back to school nights attention juniors jenkins and jostens our two junior ring companies will be at mount saint joseph on monday september 19 and tuesday september 20 2011 between 10:00 a.m 1:00 p.m they will be in the cafeteria to take measurements and orders more detailed information will be distributed in homeroom freshman parents tuesday september 13 7:00 p.m in the auditorium sophomore junior senior parents tuesday september 20 7:00 p.m in the auditorium sat prep classes in verbal and math skills will be held in september in preparation for the october and november sat tests and the october psat test classes will start on monday september 12 and end on thursday september 29 and are in the morning before school begins the cost is $100.00 the teachers are mr bernd mcdivitt and mr louis romeo registration information is available by contacting mr mcdivitt for the verbal class by e-mail at bmcdivitt@admin.msjnet.edu or mr romeo for the math class lromeo@admin.msjnet.edu.

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campus ministry mr chuck belzner director of guidance mr clay bonham director of campus ministry the 2011-2012 sat program test calendar begins with a saturday october 1 2011 date the deadline for registration is friday september 9 2011 to register online go to www.collegeboard.com mount saint joseph will be a test center for the saturday november 5 2011 date the registration deadline for this test is friday october 7 2011 a good academic year and good health go hand in hand if your son has a chronic health condition food allergy or any type of health concern requiring special attention please contact the nurse now so we can put a plan in place for the school year encourage your son to set up sleep and nutrition routines that most likely weren t in place over the summer reinforce good hand washing habits ­ one of the best ways to prevent illness if your son has a temperature of 100 degrees and/or vomiting you need to keep him home until free of symptoms for 24 hours all students new to the school should have a summer physical and immunization record on file in the nurse s office by now students missing a current physical or complete immunization record may not be allowed to attend classes until required documentation has been received i encourage everyone to ask your health care provider about the flu vaccine for your son if you have any questions or concerns please contact pam bezirdjian rn at 410-644-3300 ext 354 i hope everyone has a healthy school year substitute school nurses are needed throughout the school year requirements are an active rn license in the state of maryland current cpr and stand training if interested please contact pam bezirdjian pbezirdjian@admin.msjnet.edu campus ministry wishes everyone a very blessed and successful beginning to the school year we are looking forward to another fantastic year please stop by the campus ministry center to visit and share the exciting tales of your summer break retreats will start soon for the freshmen and juniors the sophomores will be returning to the holocaust museum in january and february finally we encourage all juniors who have not begun their required christian service hours to find appropriate service sites information and paperwork may be obtained from the msj website using the link christian service learning we thank you for your continued support and know that you are in our prayers and if you need to contact us please feel free to e-mail us at campusministry@admin.msjnet.edu the american foundation for suicide prevention is sponsoring a community walk on saturday october 8 2011 the foundation helps to raise community awareness about mental health suicide prevention and erase the stigma surrounding mental health conditions the walk will help to raise money for research education and assistance for suicide survivors more information will be provided at the october mothers club meeting by donna curley the curley family lost their beloved colin in december 2006 colin was twenty two years old when he lost his battle with depression depression is a treatable illness if you or someone you love needs immediate help call 911 1-800-suicide or 1-800-273-talk for more information or to register go to www.outofthedarkness.org please remember in your prayers our deceased brendan truffer `03 travis bielaski `92 angelina benjamin mother of senior sam benjamin john rafferty father of faculty member mary wiedel alexander slafkosky father of faculty member dave slafkosky anna mnkande mother-in-law of staff member jackie mnkande gary bennetts friend of faculty member ken pittman teresa peterka friend of faculty member thadine coyne larry krug friend of staff member cindy drenner justin smith father of former msj wrestling coach please remember in your prayers our sick brother james kelly c.f.x tim kabara and joanne morgan faculty members carolyn belzner mother of faculty member chuck belzner senior riggs brusnighan jake natoli `08 marie flynn and christine mitchell former faculty members sue mcclure friend of staff member sarah peightel michelle rucker mother of marion rucker `11 eileen bednar mother of junior jason bednar clare scholand fr james keegan ruth grondon sr joan keating mother elias and fr edward ward friends of the xaverian brothers brother roger demon c.f.x christopher burdette `87 edward judy `64 lou goode `83 fred napfel `55 edward latchford `65 anthony miller `64 latoya wise and cyril thames grandchildren of staff member pearl thames donna gorman mother of kevin gorman `09 nancy hoffman wife of robert hoffman `47 sharhonda tynes sister of joe tynes `11 lucas mcwilliams brother of sophomore adam mcwilliams ted leach father of colin leach `08 nanci weaver armstrong friend of staff member dale wolters donald herbert `50 sophomore robert butcher andrew tippett `51 madeline smith daughter of pete smith `95 agnes basco mother of msj board member ceil beck donald fiery father-in-law of faculty member kevin shearer mary e morgan mother-in-law of faculty member joanne morgan.

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spotlight on faculty and staff mr robert peace director of staff formation mr kraig loovis interim athletic director september marks the end of summer practice and the beginning of the fall sports season listed below are opening events for our fall sports teams along with other information about the athletic department come out this fall and support our teams sports information line ­ the athletic department has a sports information line that has up-to-date information about the day s events in case of inclement weather information will be updated throughout the day most changes and cancellations will be posted after 12:00 noon the phone number for the sports information line is 410-644-3300 ext 345 msj web page ­ the mount saint joseph web page www.msjnet.edu will also have sports related information the athletic page will have general information sport schedules and game results the athletic page also has a travel guide with directions to different schools and links to the soccer wrestling lacrosse ice hockey and baseball web pages daily announcements will also be posted on the athletic page of the web site these will include any sports related announcements made to the students during the school day you will also find forms for physicals emergency information forms and travel permission slips we would like to welcome two new staff members to the mount saint joseph community mr sean walsh will be a network administrator and will be working with mrs jeri buster mr roger bosse will be the new manager of the cafeteria we look forward to working with them as well as our new faculty members this year in the past we have used this space at this time of the year to describe a particular spiritual direction for the year usually connected to a specific xaverian value as a focal point this year instead of directing our energies towards a specific value we will reflect on the overall mission of the mount as a xaverian teaching community and our specific roles in carrying out this mission we will also have numerous opportunities to use different forms of prayer as a means of grounding us and sustaining us in our work i am grateful for the work of our campus ministry department and faculty/staff life committee in working to make these goals a reality and for br james and mr fitzpatrick for having the expectation and setting the example for a community of prayer each day omnia cum deo nihil sine deo all with god nothing without god opening day events football thursday september 1 5:00 p.m vs friendship collegiate bowie state university i-95 kickoff classic i-95 kick-off classic ­ advance tickets are on sale now for $10.00 http i95kickoffclassic.com volunteer substitutes needed one of the most significant experiences for your sons at the mount is their time spent on retreats an integral part of that retreat experience is the interaction between our young men and the faculty and staff who accompany them that leaves us with classes to cover and we are asking for volunteer substitute assistance for the 2011-2012 school year we greatly appreciate your presence and assistance if you are available to take part in this important service and ministry all new volunteers must undergo a criminal background check and must be stand trained we will assist you in completing these cross country saturday september 3 9:00 a.m @mount st mary s invitational soccer tuesday september 6 4:00 p.m vs oakland mills msj water polo tuesday september 13 4:30 p.m vs mcdonogh ccbc volleyball wednesday september 14 5:30 p.m vs boys latin msj ice hockey sportsmanship meeting the ice hockey sportsmanship meeting will take place on monday september 12 at 6:00 p.m in the auditorium this meeting is mandatory for all ice hockey players and a parent attendance will be taken at the meeting anyone who cannot attend this meeting must notify mr loovis prior to the meeting mr loovis can be reached by phone 410-644-3300 ext 212 or by email kloovis@admin.msjnet.edu procedures if you are interested in helping and willing to make a commitment to this important service of substitution please contact mr robert peace director of staff formation at 410-644-3300 or contact him by email rpeach@admin.msjnet.edu jimmy k 5 k saturday september 17 2011 8:00 a.m mount saint joseph high school for more information contact russ keagle 410-869-9057 or jeanne deboy 410-579-1716 www.charmcityrun.com spring sports update we would like to congratulate the following rugby players who made the all-pru rugby team for the school year 2010-2011 nick mastracci andrew schatz uriah cunningham eric sweeney matt clash and john schuberth.

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welcome new and present moms the mount saint joseph mothers club would like to extend a warm welcome to mothers of mount students especially the mothers of freshmen and transfer students our regular meetings are held the first tuesday of each month beginning october 4 at 7:30 p.m in the cafeteria although it is not necessary to attend every meeting to be a member of the mothers club attending makes for great fun food laughter and fellowship with other moms who share the same experiences of raising boys we extend a warm welcome to all moms including moms of alumni mothers club annual welcome tea sunday september 11 2011 at 2:00 p.m in the cafeteria this event is an opportunity to welcome all the new moms to our msj community and to re-connect with moms of current mount students the school cafeteria is totally transformed into a beautiful oasis full with color and charm that can only be done in the msj fashion the mothers club is such an integral part of the school community we offer several volunteer opportunities through committees that assist with enriching the activities at the school so join us for an afternoon of fun and conversation as we kick off the beginning of another momentous year at the mount we look forward to seeing you mother-son communion breakfast join us for the mother-son communion breakfast scheduled for sunday october 2 and sunday october 9 mothers and grandmothers of all faiths are welcome take advantage of this opportune time to create some bonding time with your son mass begins at 10:00 a.m in the marion burk knott fine arts center breakfast follows in the cafeteria tickets are $20.00 per person and may be purchased at the mothers club welcome tea or at back-to-school nights a form is provided below to order tickets by mail you won t want to miss this event as it usually sells out for more information please contact dale rodriguez dalefielderrodriguez@gmail.com or debbie cupps debbie.cupps@comcast.net operation mount the ad book mount saint joseph s version of the one book features commercial and personal ads sold by the students and their parents this is the mothers club s biggest fundraiser letters of explanation will be sent out in the beginning of september and will include contracts to copy and forms to solicit ads student kick-off assemblies will also be held in the beginning of september many volunteers are needed for various positions please contact rosemarie kraus bramkraus@verizon.net with any questions or if you can donate some time my brother s keeper mbk community outreach mbk is located at 4207 frederick avenue baltimore md 21229 to make donations or volunteer some time please contact mbk at 410-644-3194 or www.mybrotherskeeperbaltimore.org for more information or to arrange alternate drop-off please contact chris childres cachildres4@verizon.net donations of white tube socks travel-size toiletries toothpaste toothbrushes razors feminine products antiperspirants coffee and sugar would be most appreciated items of particular need frozen hamburgers hot dogs meatballs casseroles #10 cans of vegetables large cans of tuna fish paper plates napkins paper towels large trash bags 33 gal and 55 gal cleaning supplies 409 bathroom cleaner socks and forever stamps school supplies for the irvington community children pens pencils erasers loose leaf paper crayons glue etc when you are cleaning out your closets this fall consider making donations to collins thrift store in irvington 211 collins avenue baltimore 21229 410 242-8111 mothers club membership form name address email phone son s name class year i am interested in volunteering for check as many as you like ad book basket bingo fashion show membership outreach hospitality ways and means faculty special events student special events newsletter/publicity please complete and return this form in an envelope marked mothers club membership to the msj business office with your $5.00 membership fee checks payable to msj mothers club mother-son communion breakfast ticket order form sunday october 2 2011 or sunday october 9 2011 mother s name telephone son s name year date preferred sunday october 2 2011 or sunday october 9 2011please circle only one date i would like to order tickets at $20.00 per ticket i have enclosed special accommodations wheelchair parking etc please make checks payable to msj mothers club and forward payment and form along with a self-addressed stamped envelope to debbie cupps 1579 melanie road pasadena md 21122 or mount saint joseph high school 4403 frederick avenue baltimore maryland 21229 attn communion breakfast please note that tables seat twelve people if you wish to sit together as a group of twelve please order all tickets for your group on one form.

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the parents corner mrs mary wiedel director of parent relations welcome back picnic and september meeting monday september 12 2011 at 7:00 p.m with freshman fathers as special guests the officers of the fathers club want to extend an invitation to all msj fathers for this fun event to kick off the new school year we would like returning fathers to help us welcome our special guests freshman dads please join us in the cafeteria at 7:00 p.m for a picnic with plenty of free food and drink please don t miss this event this meeting is the perfect opportunity to meet other msj fathers and renew acquaintances already made you can register if you have not already done so if you cannot make it to the picnic please join us for our usual meeting at 7:30 p.m this will be our first general membership meeting of the year please come to learn what s new with the fathers club the fathers club meets the second monday of each month the meetings are held in the school cafeteria at 7:30 p.m mark your calendars and come out and join the fun fall activities please consider volunteering for one or more of the following fathers club activities jimmy k run concessions football concessions fall clean-up day bull and oyster roast citrus fruit drive saturday september 17 saturday september 17 saturday november 5 sunday november 13 saturday december 17 if you are interested in helping out please e-mail jeff cupps jeff.cupps@comcast.net or call 410-437-9221 or sign up at the monthly meetings bull and oyster roast sunday november 13 tickets available now call rich drgos 443-756-0288 welcome to those of you who are new to our school community and welcome back to our veteran families may god bless your comings and goings throughout this year may you experience joy and a great sense of belonging each time you step on campus with each new school year we are given another opportunity to make our community stronger because of your individual presence among us our school s rich history started with the founding group of xaverian brothers in 1876 and continues today under the guidance of our two current brothers br james kelly c.f.x our president and br charles cully c.f.x both math teacher and assistant in our athletic department they inspire us daily in embracing the values of xaverian charism humility trust zeal compassion and simplicity as the year begins i suggest that you spend some time thinking about how you can encourage your son to make the most of the opportunities that he has to become an active member of the school just think if he models himself after the xaverian charism he will become an individual who shows compassion to others is trustworthy in his personal relationships both as a friend and as a student will perform all things with great zeal while keeping life as simple as possible and doing all things with great humility not seeking personal adulation this sounds like a tall order but i have witnessed it in some of our older students as they have grown into young mount men as his parent you can be a positive influence on him by being actively involved for many of you it may consist primarily in attending all meetings that pertain to your son s involvement back-to-school nights parental meetings held by the guidance department the ryken depaul parent meetings sportsmanship meetings for the parents of our athletes band parent meetings sporting events academic events honor society inductions and fine art activities are all very important to attend your involvement sends a message to your son that what he does is important to you you are welcome to attend these and cheer your son on to being the best person he can be come join in the many volunteer opportunities via the mothers club and fathers club organizations.

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