February 2012 The Annunciator Find us on the web at www.school.Annunciationcrestwood.com Graduates Display Their Entertaining Talents Whether in Theatre, Film, in the producer/director‘s office with my mother. On his coffee table he had a large Music, Radio, or Television, bowl of green grapes. While he and my Our Alumni Have Lots of Talent! mother were talking, I ate all the grapes, and a few minutes later I threw up all over his fancy table and carpet. Not a good perform- Inside this issue... ance on my first job interview at age five!‖ illy „48 and An- Letters from the 2 B Anthony Pagen passed away in 1969 and thony „50 Pagen had Pastor and Principal Billy in 2008. roles in the play Life Annunciation Fea- 3 with Father in 1944. tured on Fox News Although the play ran L arry Keyes „51 was a recording engineer on Broadway from from 1963 to 1998. He was originally with Crestwood Real Estate 5 1939 to 1945, Billy Columbia Records and continued on when it and Anthony‘s Bits of Crestwood 8 was later bought by SONY. Some of the brother, Dick ‗52, artists he worked with include Barbra Strei- Altar Boy Memories 9 recalls that they were sand, Paul and Linda McCartney, and Leo- Billy Pagen in a production in nard Bernstein. Larry earned a Gold Record Living Historian 10 Boston. Life with Fa- ther, which later became a film and a televi- Catholic Schools Week 14 sion series, was the story about the upper class New York family of Clarence Day, who Milestones 28 had four red-headed sons. Billy played the third son, Whitney, while Anthony played Class Notes 29 the youngest, Harlan. Each boy had to have their hair dyed red for the role, and their Sports 30 classmates recall how easy it was to spot them in church. Annunciation Elementary School Dick recalls that ―At some point I think 465 Westchester Avenue either my parents or someone at Annuncia- tion decided that all this acting was keeping Crestwood, NY 10707 Billy and Anthony from learning how to dia- gram sentences and figuring out how much 6 times 6 was, so they Rick Derringer, Al Lawrence and Larry returned to school and Keyes in the studio The Annunciator Editorial Board: didn‘t act anymore.‖ for his work on a reengineering of Janis Richard Burke ‘48 Dick also recalls that Joplin recordings and was nominated for a Patrick F.X. Brennan ‘53 his own acting career Grammy for recording Eugene Ormandy never took off. While Chris Grealy Brown Daly ‘62 conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra per- he claims that there forming ―The Planets‖. It's still widely con- Mary Theresa Gill McCombe ‘75 were deficiencies in sidered one of the best sounding classical John Sullivan ‘82 looks and talent, he recordings by vinyl enthusiasts. He was also thinks that perhaps Marie Villani-York ‘93 a member of the Board of Governors of there was another rea- Melissa Brennan ‘95 NARAS. Anthony Pagen son. ―One day I was Continued on page 12 Page 2 The Annunciator Letters to the Editor The following is a letter by one of our graduates that was richness of the Latin text, and would have welcomed the new published in Catholic New York on January 26, 2012: musical settings. Sheila Waters ‗58 To the Editor of Catholic New York, The traditional song to sing at midnight on New Year‘s Eve is ―Auld Lang Syne.‖ Some old acquaintances I will never forget are the Dominican Sisters of Newburgh who To the Editor, taught at Annunciation Elementary School, in the Crest- I really loved that article on Crestwood memories. wood section of Yonkers, during my student days in the Brought back lots of great memories and happy tears of a 1950s. blessed childhood. Thanks! I particularly remember Sister Marianne McDon- Dianne Cotter Ledingham ‗76 ald, teacher and choir director, who taught Latin Mass chant to hundreds of pupils. We children did not stumble over the Latin word ―consubstantialem‖ as we chanted the To the Editor, Nicene Creed, because Sister took the time to explain it. She told us that the Council of Nicea (A.D. 325) taught that I just wanted to say what a great publication The Annuncia- the eternal Son is ―of the same substance‖ as the Father. tor is. Even though I didn‘t attend Annunciation myself, it‘s And Sister Marianne gave young choir members timeless great to read about families I‘ve come to know and see how advice: ―Don‘t be mechanical. Think about the meaning of the ties to Annunciation and the community are still so the Mass. Notice the splendor of the Liturgy.‖ strong. Thanks for doing this! I think Sister Marianne would have been delighted Sue DiPanfilo (Alumni parent) by the new translation of the Mass, with its emphasis on the Letter from the Pastor Letter from the Principal Dear Alumni, Catholic education plays a more important role than Dear Alumni of Annunciation, ever before in today‘s media and entertainment driven soci- ―Lift High the Cross of Christ,‖ a familiar Easter ety. In today‘s society, the media and entertainment indus- hymn, will soon be sung here at Annunciation and tries are pervasive and have the ability to deliver informa- churches throughout the world. This song tells us that tion and messages in ways that have an immediate and the suffering and death of Jesus brings us salvation, powerful impact on all of us, including our children. This is all the more reason why parents continue to choose a redemption and God's peace. Catholic school for their children. Be assured of my prayers for all of you and your At Annunciation School we are educating our children families that this Lenten Season will be for you a time in Faith, Academics and Service as celebrated this year dur- of grace and renewal. ing Catholic Schools Week. I am confident that Catholic education in general, and Annunciation School in particular, I look forward to seeing you at the many reunion is preparing our children to live our traditional Catholic celebrations that will be held this spring. Know that values even in a society that may not always espouse such you are always welcome at Annunciation. values. It is my hope that some of our students will one day join with their fellow alumni in the media and entertain- Sincerely, ment industries in developing programming that is consis- tent with our traditional Catholic values. Sincerely, PageFebruary 3 2012 Page 3 Annunciation Featured in Fox News‟ “Proud American” Series At the end of October, Luis Pancheme, the father of a second grader at Annunciation, approached Principal Maureen Noonan to ask if any of the teachers at the school would be willing to be part of the ―Proud American‖ series, which is a station ID piece on Fox News Chan- nel. Luis says, ―I had been asked to produce a fifteen second Proud American Campaign element involv- ing a teacher. My son attends Annun- ciation, so I felt this was a great op- portunity for the school to gain some positive publicity.‖ The ―Proud Joanna Napolitano‟s fourth-grade students pledge allegiance to the flag. American‖ series features people in various professions. In addition to a teacher, Fox featured a When asked what the children in her class thought about fire fighter, a farmer, a Scout leader and others in the series. it, Joanna says, ―The kids loved it. They were truly so ex- Mr. Pancheme is a sixteen year veteran senior anima- cited! Every child in the class returned their release form so tor/director at Fox News Channel who storyboarded and that they could participate. Their parents were also excited directed the idea behind the ―Proud American Teacher‖ as well and very supportive!‖ shoot with the help of Russ Ritell. ―The day of the shoot, the Fox crew came early to set Maureen Noonan turned to our only alumnus faculty up. There were lights everywhere, even in the schoolyard member, Joanna Capozzo Napolitano ‗90, to see if she shining into my classroom windows,‖ recalls Joanna. ―It would be willing to participate. Joanna is a fourth grade was so interesting and amazing to see how much work and teacher and has been teaching at Annunciation since Sep- time goes into making fifteen seconds of television. Being tember 2009. Joanna became a willing participant, and a ‗mic-ed up‘ was also fun. You become so aware of every film crew came in one afternoon to film a preliminary shot Continued on page 16 for the powers at Fox to see and ap- prove. Permission had to be granted by Deceased Alumni Mass Held November 5 the Archdiocese of New York prior to the commencement of filming. One week later, the film crew returned and spent an entire day filming the piece that aired on Fox and Friends in the morning on the Fox News Channel. ―My name is Joanna Napolitano. As an educator, I‘m inspired by the spirit of children. Their determination mo- tivates me to help them reach their potential. The opportunity to teach the children of our country is why I am proud to be an American,‖ Joanna says in a voice over as twenty-five stu- dents, who also participated in the Sr. Barbara Anderson, O.P., class of 1948, Jean Fordrung Stellato, and filming, can be seen pledging alle- Lois Murphy Juan, both class of 1950, attended the deceased alumni giance to the flag and listening to a Mass on Saturday, November 5, at 5:00.