SUMMER | 2019 YEARS OF HOLOCAUST EDUCATION Also in this Issue Farewell, Class of 2019 Alumni Weekend Annual Report MESSAGE 2019 Board of Trustees Chairperson Table of Contents Elizabeth A. Campion Vice Chairperson Louis J. Vigliotti 25 Years of Holocaust Education Treasurer 4 Rev. Blaise C. Sedney ’78 Secretary Mark Ramsay ’77 10 School News Ex Officio Most Rev. Archbishop William E. Lori Arts Ex Officio 14 Steve DiBiagio, President Trustees Athletics Nathaniel Albright ’99 15 Vickie Ensor Bands ’75 Thomas Bonsack ’78 Sister Kathleen Brabson Alumni News Sheila Dews-Johnson 20 Robert Falter Rev. William Franken Stephen Lutche ’83 Cindy Morrison ’74 E. John Pipitone Charles Riemenschneider, Ph.D. ’70 Lisa Sheehan Emeritus The Honorable Rose Mary Hatem Bonsack, M.D. A. Freeborn Brown, III, Esq. (dec.) Augustus F. Brown, Esq. Florio N. Franetovich, Esq. (dec.) John Karas Thomas E. Kelso ’70 William E. McGuirk, Jr. (dec.) Rev. Charles K. Riepe (dec.) Donald M. Thomey (dec.) Connections Contributors Kathy M. Walsh Director of Strategic Marketing & Communications, Connections Editor Karen Cashour Everett ’93 Associate Director of Creative Services, Connections Creative Director Susan Butcher Roarty ’95 Director of Institutional Advancement & Alumni Relations Caroline Thomey Adolph ’01 Correction Associate Director of Admissions & Parent Relations In the Winter 2019 issue, we mistakenly indicated that fall of 2018 was the first time JC competed in the Baltimore Catholic Forensics League. In fact, JC was a regular Alyson Jacques Shiflett ’07 participant in that tournament when the Forensics Team was started by Ms. Elizabeth Director of the Annual Fund De Monte and later taken over by Sister Marie Gregory. The note should have indicated A. Bright Idea Advertising & PR it was the first time in recent history that JC competed in the tournament. We are proud Connections Graphic Design of our former Patriots who had much success in Forensics, with many earning spots to attend the National Forensic Tournament! Connections regrets the error. Message from the President I am proud to report that 2018 – 19 was another successful year for The John Carroll School, and we are well-prepared and poised for an even stronger 2019 – 20. Our cover story commemorates the 25th anniversary of the senior class trip to the U.S. Holocaust Museum and the birth of John Carroll’s Holocaust curriculum. This program, which has deeply impacted thousands of students, would not have been possible without Andy Klein ’70, who was taken suddenly from us. Andy was special. We miss him, we mourn him, and we will always remember him. On November 16, we will posthumously honor Andy with the John Carroll Medal of Honor at the Black & Gold Gala. Our academic rigor and results continue to distinguish John Carroll as a premier college preparatory school. Our inaugural class of Carroll Scholars finished their first year of study, and 22 incoming freshmen will join their ranks. Fifty-seven percent of our graduating class completed AP course work. Signature programs such as the STEAM Academy, St. Joseph Program and College Preparatory Dance are running at capacity. Outside the classroom, students continue to shine in athletics, performing arts, community service and a multitude of activities. On May 29, the sun shone brightly at Gerry Gray Stadium as the class of 2019 became our newest alumni. They join a robust John Carroll alumni community who turned out in record numbers for Alumni Weekend and our annual Golf Tournament. I would especially like to thank our dedicated Alumni Advisory Board. With their help, attendance at the Mod Off party tripled, we hosted the first Golden Patriot Brunch, and the golf tournament was a sell-out. It was great to have so many alumni join us, and we look forward to welcoming even more to campus for Homecoming on October 11. We are wrapping up campus enhancements to prepare for the return of our students. The fall will bring cooler weather, games under the lights, courtyard cookouts and a full house of Patriots, including the largest entering class in recent years. I want to extend a warm welcome to our new students and families to John Carroll. I encourage everyone to fully participate and enjoy being a Patriot. Finally, I want to thank everyone who voted John Carroll Harford’s Best Private School. This recognition is a tribute to everyone who works diligently each day to reinforce our Catholic values and deliver an exceptional educational experience. I am looking forward to working together to make 2019 – 20 another great year for John Carroll. BEST PRIVATE SCHOOL We are proud to share that The John Carroll School was voted Harford RFORD President, The John Carroll School AAGAZINE H M County’s Best Private School! Please also join us in congratulating EST OF Principal Tom Durkin who received Honorable Mention for Best Principal. B WINNER We could not have earned this honor without our families who make the 2018 JC community so special. A special thank you to everyone who took the time to vote for us. JOHNCARROLL.ORG 3 YEARS OF HOLOCAUST EDUCATION On Monday, March 11, 2019, the John Carroll school community was fortunate to once again learn firsthand from survivors or relatives of survivors about their Holocaust experiences. Two days later, on March 13, seniors continued their Holocaust studies during their annual class trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. — the 25th class to participate in what has become a life-changing rite of passage for all John Carroll students. Members of the class of 2018 at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 4 CONNECTIONS MAGAZINE • Summer 2019 TEACHING BEYOND THE PAGES OF A BOOK A TEAM APPROACH In the early 1990s, then AP English teacher, Dr. Paul Barker, In 1998, then Social Studies department chair, Mr. Jim was teaching Elie Wiesel’s memoir “Night” and had the Chrismer, read an article in the “Baltimore Sun” highlighting a students respond creatively to what they read using artwork national movement to write the Holocaust off as a massive and writing. Several students wrote to Mr. Wiesel and received hoax. This prompted Mr. Chrismer to initiate the Holocaust a hand-written note back from the Nobel Prize winner! Seeing Project Committee, a cross-disciplinary effort to help the great response students were having to the book, and students understand Nazi genocide. This effort involved after reading that the Holocaust Museum was opening in history, English, social justice and language classes as 1993, Dr. Barker decided a trip to the museum was a good well as a capstone project. fit in conjunction with the lesson. Three years later, Mrs. Louise Géczy joined the John Carroll Dr. Barker initially took just his AP English class on the trip, faculty, and immediately indicated her interest in assisting but that quickly changed once Mr. Andrew P. “Andy” Klein ’71 and expanding the Holocaust Program. As Dr. Barker says, got word of it. He immediately offered to fund the museum “Her experience, creativity and exuberant energy broadened trip for every John Carroll senior, as he and his family felt the curriculum.” In addition to the Holocaust Museum, it was of the utmost importance that all students have the Mrs. Géczy added a visit to Arlington National Cemetery opportunity to learn about this appalling time in world history. to the senior trip. In an article in the school newsletter detailing the first time the seniors experienced this trip, Miguel Rivera ’95 was Mrs. Géczy also implemented Holocaust Remembrance quoted as saying, “We were horrified by the gripping reality of Day. Using her connection with the Baltimore Jewish Council one man’s quest to destroy a race that did nothing to deserve Holocaust Education Program, she began bringing multiple this type of treatment, a treatment so visibly depicted at the survivors and a liberator to John Carroll to share their stories museum and a treatment that I personally never want to see each year. again.” Michele Tarquini ’95 added that the trip to the museum In 2013, John Carroll became the host and co-sponsor for was “an experience I will remember all my life.” Lessons of the Shoah, a long-standing interfaith program While Holocaust studies curricular components have evolved for high school students with the goal of using the Holocaust over the years, one thing has remained a constant — the reading as a starting point to promote tolerance, understanding and of “Night” followed by the trip to the Holocaust Museum. respect among students of diverse backgrounds. This program is sponsored by the Baltimore Jewish Council, the Jewish Learning about the Holocaust at John Carroll stands as one“ of the most important “parts of my education. — Scott Novak ’12 JOHNCARROLL.ORG 5 Museum of Maryland, the Center for Jewish Education, my generation will be among the last to hear these stories in The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, person, so continuing this John Carroll tradition of Holocaust and Klein’s ShopRite. Remembrance Day for as long as possible is especially important.” He adds, “The Holocaust teaches the destructive nature of A Genocide Awareness Vigil was added in 2018 in conjunction ignorance…I cannot think of a lesson that is more relevant with the non-profit, Together We Remember. This interactive vigil than this. But such an idea can’t be easily taught in a classroom commemorates the lives of victims of genocide, mass atrocities setting. That’s why the time spent outside of class on this and identity-based violence throughout history, to remember both subject is well worth it, as it is among the most valuable the victims and the upstanders who have fought for justice. lessons I have taken away from my John Carroll experience.” TODAY'S CO-CURRICULUM Mrs.