RAVENVOLUME VIII NUMBER 2 St. Raymond High School for Boys CELEBRATING 50 YEARS IN THE LASALLIAN TRADITION RAVEN THE MAGAZINE OF ST. RAYMOND HIGH SCHOOL iNSidE FOR BOYS Pastor’s Letter 1 Principal’s Letter 2 Volume 8 • Number 2 Spring 2011 SaiNt RaymoNd PaRiSh SChooL NEWS archdiocese of New york archbishop from Ghana, africa Visits 3 monsignor John Graham Parish Pastor Senior Wins Film award 3 School Service Projects 4 School Administration Brother Daniel Gardner, FSC a Visit from the Consulate General of italy 5 Principal Judith Carew annual march for Life 5 Associate Principal for Academics Andrew Sedia ChSaa Basketball division Champs 6 Associate Principal for Student Life mSG Varsity: the Challenge 6 John Musto Assistant Principal for Student Affairs homecoming 2011 7 Michael Norelli Assistant Principal for Information Services Campus Ministry adVaNCEmENt Brother Richard Galvin, FSC ‘82 Campus Minister director of advancement’s Letter 8 Raven Fund Update 8 RAVEN Publication Christopher Ellis Ways to Give 9 Director of Advancement Genna Toye Advancement Associate Construction Update 10 Valerie Noble Advancement Assistant alumni association donation 11 Design EP Graphic Design Photographs Davis Studios, Bronx, NY aLUmNi NEWS Reunions 14 - 15 RAVEN magazine is published by St. Raymond high School for Boys for alums in the Spotlight 14 - 15 alumni, parents, friends and the St. Raymond community. Class Notes 16 Send address changes and class information to the advancement office at 2151 St. Raymond avenue, Bronx, Ny 10462. Spread the word: Pass this on to a friend or other alumni interested in learning more about St. Raymond High School for Boys. from theParish Pastor dear alumni and Friends of St. Raymond high School for Boys, We are so happy to see Spring! it was a difficult winter with all of the snow storms, closings and rescheduling of events. We hope that we are back to normal here at the parish. the good news is that we continue to celebrate our 50th Anniversary—so be sure to keep reading for our final events and gatherings. the response of our eighth graders for the incoming freshman class has been most encouraging. We actively try to ‘recruit’ our own St. Raymond Elementary School eighth graders and our efforts are proving to be very successful—we anticipate that more than 200 students will register for the class of 2015. We speak to our families about our parish efforts to provide a Catholic education while also providing financial assistance to families who have children in our elementary school and high schools. it seems to be working and i know that our families appreciate the “family discount.” during the late autumn and winter months we have been refurbishing and renovating our church and it is scheduled to reopen this april 15. it will be a beautiful and fitting place to worship and thank God for his many blessings to our parish. Be sure to make a visit to the church as well as to the Boys high School to see the construction of the new annex. We look forward to our holy Week celebrations and an Easter season filled with holy Communions, Confirmations and Graduations. We are the parish and schools that never sleep! thank you for your prayers and support. Sincerely, monsignor John Graham Pastor fromthePrincipal dear alumni and Friends of St. Raymond high School for Boys, Greetings from St. Raymond high School for Boys on the occasion of our 50th anniversary! our celebration opened with a 50th anniversary mass of thanksgiving at St. Raymond Church last march. Since then, we hosted our annual de LaSalle Leadership dinner, made a trip to the new yankee Stadium, welcomed students and their families back to school with a Family Pasta dinner and gathered for a great homecoming basketball game in January. as the celebration nears to a close, we are gearing up for our biggest event of the year, and quite possibly in our school’s history—the 50th anniversary Gala. We are always grateful for the support that you have given to your alma mater over these 50 years. that support has allowed our students to develop as young Christian gentlemen who have attained academic excellence. it has allowed our faculty to maintain their professional excellence by attending classes, seminars and workshops. it has allowed us to maintain our facilities as a showplace of educational excellence. So, the common theme and the theme of St. Raymond high School for Boys is excellence. this edition of RaVEN magazine will highlight many aspects of the school’s programs including student and faculty achievements and alumni news. i would like to personally invite you to attend our Gala Celebration on April 1, 2011. We will be able to fully celebrate and appreciate the contributions of the Brothers, faculty members and alumni over the past 50 years of excellence at this grand event. God bless and go Ravens! Sincerely, Brother daniel Gardner, FSC Principal 2 CELEBRATING 50 YEARS IN THE LASALLIAN TRADITION SCHOOLnews A Visit from Archbishop Palmer-Buckle of Ghana, Africa Archbishop Charles Palmer-Buckle of Accra, Ghana (center) with (from left) Chris Sottie ‘11, Daniel McLendon ‘11, Kevin Adjei ‘11, Augustine Anyanful ‘12, Edmund Nathan ‘14, Joshua Obeng ‘11, Mr. Moses Alabi, William Boateng ‘11, Chris Amoako-Kwaw ‘13, Christian Asiedu ‘11, Timothy Aheneku ‘11 and Robert Osei-Owusu ‘11. on February 8, 2011 St. Raymond high School hosted Archbish- tribe ourselves,” the archbishop joked. he told the students that op Charles Palmer-Buckle of accra, Ghana for a discussion with “prayer does not have to be mental gymnastics. Prayer is about students of Ghanaian descent. organized by Monsignor John building a simple relationship with the Lord.” Graham and math teacher Mr. Moses Alabi, the archbishop vis- ited Ghanaian students in the school’s chapel to discuss culture, Senior Kevin Adjei was truly inspired by the archbishop’s sto- education and ministry. ries. as a student who wishes to attend a Christian college and continue his work in ministry, he related to the relationship arch- a priest for 31 years, archbishop Buckle was appointed arch- bishop Buckle had with his father. “hearing him talk about the bishop of accra in march of 2005. he shared stories of what it strict lessons his father taught him showed me that just because was like growing up with 12 brothers and sisters. “We were like a he’s a priest, we’re not all that different,” said Kevin. “my father is teaching me those same lessons on how to be a good man.” Senior Premieres Award Winning Film Jared Ray ‘11, wrote, directed and edited his own fea- ture film this past summer. the film, In Darkness is a six minute thriller that premiered at Lincoln Center on September 15, 2010. Ray is taking part in the Ghetto Film School (GFS) program in the Bronx. the mission of the GFS is to “educate, develop and celebrate the next generation of great american storytellers.” they aim, among other things, “to broaden the pool of filmmaking talent and subject matter feeding the entertainment industry by providing opportunities for young people who might otherwise be overlooked.” the film school and Jared’s entry was featured in a New york times article on September 5, 2010. Congratulations to our young director on winning a $1,000 prize. Next year Pictured left to right at the Lincoln Center premiere is art Jared hopes to attend SUNy Purchase or New york University to study film. teacher Mr. Ed Mouzon ‘82, Jared Ray ‘11 and his broth- ers Gabriel Pagano and Gabriel Romero. The Magazine for St. Raymond High School for Boys 3 Annual Service during the Holiday Season Thanksgiving School librarian mr. Robert heckmann and 16 students visited St. ann’s Church on thanksgiving day to help those in need. the students attended mass, participating as ushers, and served a traditional dinner to elderly parishioners. Fr. Frank Scanlon celebrated the mass and thanked the volunteers, as well as the entire St. Ray- mond community, for participating in this activity for the past three years. Pictured (left) are St. Ann’s volunteers and (right) Brother Richard Galvin, FSC ‘82 and Lasallian attending this year were Mayo Afolabi ‘11, Youth members delivering cans to Mercy Center in the Bronx. Tireri Akaramu ‘11, Omarri Allen ‘14, Jorge Bautista ‘14, Brian Colon ‘14, Jona- throughout the day, students served food, mercy Center offers programs and services than Diaz ‘14, Kevin Escarraman ‘12, Bri- escorted parishioners from the nursing to women and their families. dry goods an Ferrer ‘14, Carlos Hernandez ‘14, An- home to the parish hall and cleaned up af- and canned food were collected and deliv- thony Irizarry ‘12, Quiny Lassiter ‘14, ter the meal. after the event, mr. heck- ered to help single mothers create tradi- Nicholas Nazario ‘12, Andrew Narine ‘11, mann remarked that the “students were tional thanksgiving meals for their fami- Robert Osei-Owusu ‘11, Alfred Rivera incredibly helpful and humble—truly per- lies. members of Lasallian youth delivered ‘14, Jeremy Rodriguez ‘14, Edwin San- sonifying what St. Raymond is all about.” the goods monday, November 22, 2010 chez ‘14, Victor Sapia ‘14, Jonathan Sas- and spent a few hours with the grateful tre ‘14, Jeffrey Urrego ‘12, Angelo Vega the annual Canned Food Collection, held mothers. this was an excellent opportunity ‘12, Shawn Villeta ‘14, Ra-Mel Williamson during the first two weeks of November, for the students to understand and prac- ‘12, and parent Gennaro Pasantes. benefited mercy Center in the Bronx. tice a fundamental Catholic responsibili- ty—serving the less fortunate. Gving Back at Christmas St. Raymond students continued the “Year of Kindness” theme during the holiday season by giving back in multiple ways.