Third place- Samantha Dedian ‘10 – $100

Second Place- Danielle Street ‘11 – $150

First Place- Jennifer Ben ‘11 – $200

The topic for this year’s essay was “Does America Still Have Heroes?”, and these students answered that question most successfully!

Congratulations to the McAuley Limelighters for a stellar performance of the Holocaust drama Who Will Carry the Word? at the Regional One-Act Competition this past weekend at Thornton Academy.

Receiving “All-Festival Cast” honors for excellence in acting were students Courtney Libby ‘10 and Caroline Martin ‘13.

An award for sound design was given to Gabrielle Gochie ‘12, while students Amy Richard ‘10, Kat Arabatzis ‘11, Elizabeth McGarvey ‘11, and Lauriana Gaudet ‘13 were celebrated for their costuming skills.  A special nod for set design was awarded to seniors Courtney Libby, Danielle LaCasse and Taryn Moore.

The McAuley community is proud of these well-deserved honors and the talents of our young women — both on and off the stage.

***Of special note:  The McAuley Limelighters will be performing this production once again at Cape Elizabeth High School on Thursday, March 18 at 7:30 PM.  All are invited to attend in support of our young women.

The total will be split into five equal scholarships of $500, to be presented to a graduating senior (Class of 2010), an incoming freshwoman (Class of 2014) and one award each to a returning student from the Classes of 2011, 2012 and 2013.  All graduating seniors are automatically eligible.  All returning students are eligible to apply and further details, including a Scholarship Application form, will be provided in a mailing in May.  The scholarship to the graduating senior will be announced in May and all other award recipients will be notified in July.

This scholarship grant was made possible by the generous support from the McAuley community for the Parents Club activities over the past year.  Gifts of food, supplies and your labor for the Welcome Back Breakfast, Follow Your Daughter Night, Craft Fair Weekend and many other events have allowed the Parents Club to conserve its income and fund these scholarships.  Accordingly, the PC’s Board and members were pleased to approve these scholarships at its March meeting and give back to the McAuley community.

Thank you for your generous support and please look forward to our mailing in May.

Ms. Cook’s homeroom came in first place with $165.03 collected, followed by Ms. Dubreuil’s with $111.40.  Ms. Franey’s homeroom took third place with a total of $46.46.  For raising over $100, first and second place homerooms are Bronze Champions and will receive a special award from the LLS.  A pizza party and breakfast celebration will be awarded to the first and second place winners respectively.

In related news, the Social Action Club also led a recent effort to collect jeans for homeless teens in Haiti and in the greater Portland area.  Pairing with local clothing store Aeropostale, the “Jeans for Teens” campaign saw an extraordinary 82 pairs of jeans collected.

Kudos to the Social Action Club for sharing our Mercy values of service, hospitality and compassion with the surrounding community…and beyond.

On Thursday, March 11, 2010, from 8:30 am – 1:30 pm, the Anatomy classes at Catherine McAuley High School will be hosting their annual Blood Drive with the American Red Cross.  The goal is to obtain 65 pints of blood this year, which will require approximately 80 donors.

If you are eligible to donate, please consider doing so.  The entire process takes about an hour to an hour and one half, but the actual donation lasts only ten minutes.  If you are unable to donate, we would gladly appreciate an hour of your time as a volunteer.

Please contact Sister Ruth at rconlogue @mcauleyhs.org if you are interested in donating or volunteering.

It was only fitting that her friends and colleagues at Catherine McAuley High School continue what she started so many years ago.  So on Saturday, January 9, 2010, the first annual Sister Mary Grace Scholarship Bottle Drive was held in her honor.

Over sixty students, parents, faculty and staff members, friends and alumnae stopped by to contribute $809 in bottles and cans and $320 in cash donations, totaling $1,029.  Other cash donations to the School in her memory have totaled $2,100 to date.  These combined dollars will be part of fund to aid students with fees and other monetary McAuley needs.  * Recyclables continue to be collected daily in school and will be returned for redemption on a monthly basis, adding approximately $100 each month to this fund throughout the school year.

The effort, led by the Advancement Office with the assistance of the Admissions Office, saw many volunteers pull together that day to ensure a successful drive.  A nod of thanks is extended to parent and student volunteers Peter Jendrasko and daughter, Olivia ‘11, and Jack and Kim Miller and daughter, Molly ‘13.  Special recognition is also given to Jim Fitzgerald, Par ‘13, for his generous donation of a moving truck for the day’s use.

A second bottle drive is planned for January 2011, once again honoring the woman whose passion was Catherine McAuley High School…and its young women.

Saint Joseph’s College Women’s Soccer Coach, Michael Bolanz, recently announced his 2009 team awards.  Included in the ranks are McAuley graduates Mikayla and Katelyn Call.

Mikayla, a 2007 graduate, was honored with the team’s Most Valuable Player Award.  A junior forward, Mikayla is set to be a team co-captian again in the fall of 2010.  This past season, she led the team with eight assists and was second on the side with 18 total points.  A three-time All-GNAC First Team honoree, she is poised to challenge some of the most coveted program career records during her senior campaign.

Class of 2008 alumna Katelyn Call, a sophomore defender, is the 2009 Most Improved Player.  Katelyn played eight games for the Monks last fall and will be a key contributor in the future with her continued development.

Congratulations, Mikayla and Katelyn!  The McAuley community is proud of your accomplishments.

Amelia Krahe of Scarborough, a senior at Catherine McAuley High School, has been selected to receive the 2010 Principal’s Award.  The award, sponsored by the Maine Principals’ Association, is given in recognition of a high school senior’s academic achievement and citizenship.

“Amelia Krahe is gifted, motivated, intelligent and inquisitive.  Among the faculty, Amelia is considered an ideal scholar, one who enjoys learning and thinking about what she is learning.  Amelia is not only special because of her academic accomplishments, but because of her personal integrity.  I believe our world and her chosen field of study will benefit from Amelia’s impeccable character.”

Krahe, along with McAuley Principal Sister Edward Mary Kelleher and other award winners and their principals, will attend an Honors Luncheon at the Spectacular Event Center in Bangor on Saturday, April 3, 2010 at 1:00 pm.

The Honors Luncheon recognizes these outstanding students with the presentation of an individual plaque and the awarding of five $1000 scholarships in the names of Horace O. McGowan and Richard W. Tyler, two former Maine principals and executive directors of the Association.

The Principal’s Award is presented in more than 140 Maine public and private high schools by member principals of the MPA, the professional association that represents Maine’s school administrators.

If so, you may qualify for the Maine State Government Summer Internship Program, a 12-week program offering paid, full-time employment.

The Program “combines work experience with an educational program designed to provide students an opportunity to participate in and contribute to Maine State Government.

In order to compete for the Internship Program, a student must be currently enrolled in a Maine college, or be a Maine resident enrolled elsewhere, and have successfully completed a minimum of two years of college. Students currently graduating from undergraduate and graduate programs are also eligible.

The Internship Selection Committee reviews the applications and makes the final selections. Consideration is given to participation by both men and women, education of the applicant, and previous work experience in relation to the internship positions available with state agencies.”

To learn more about the Program or to access an online application, please visit http://mcspolicycenter.umaine.edu.

The deadline for Internship Applications is Monday, March 15, 2010.

McAuley junior Jolie Thomas recently spent a day job shadowing Hannah Pingree, Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives.  She sat in on a full house session, attended a press conference with the Speaker, attended meetings, and met the Governor and the President of the Senate.  She also had a brief chat with McAuley’s own Representative Joe Wagner!

Way to go, Jolie!

Brianna Heisler, the daughter of Mark and Linda Heisler of Gray, has been awarded McAuley’s Academic Excellence Scholarship, receiving full tuition for the four years she attends Catherine McAuley High School.  Scoring in the 99^th percentile nationally on the HSPT, Heisler is the top-ranking student for those seeking enrollment in the Class of 2014.  She is currently a student at Gray-New Gloucester Middle School in Gray.

Carolyn Liziewski, the daughter of Daniel and Sarah Liziewski of Gray, is the recipient of McAuley’s Academic Scholarship, receiving half tuition for the four years she attends McAuley.  Scoring in the 99^th percentile nationally on the HSPT, Liziewski is one of the top-ranking students for those seeking enrollment in the Class of 2014.  She is an eighth grader at Gray-New Gloucester Middle School in Gray.

Developed collaboratively by the School’s Faculty, Administration, and Board of Trustees, these scholarships reflect McAuley’s commitment to academic excellence and the hope that each student becomes a ‘woman of Mercy’: well educated, self-disciplined, enriched by diversity, able to lead and willing to serve others.

Bánica is located near the Haitian border. The library was built in 2009 and opened in January 2010.  While the construction of the library is very exciting,  there is still a need for books in Spanish for young children and teens.  The Spanish Club hopes to raise enough money to send one book per Catherine McAuley homeroom to the library in Bánica.  Each book will be sent with a book plaque to recognize the generosity of those who donated money.

The Spanish Club is excited about this project and the opportunity to provide children in need with something as important as the adventure and education of reading age-appropriate books.

For more information, please contact Spanish teacher Elizabeth Mendoza at 797-3802 ext. 2030 or emendoza@mcauleyhs.org.

These six students will be part of a performance at Falmouth High School on Saturday, February 6 at 3:00 pm. All are invited to attend the concert in celebration of our talented young women.

District Chorus is an annual tradition that unites some of the most talented vocalists and musicians in the area.  In order to be considered for District Chorus, each student must participate in an audition process that includes singing a musical scale, an excerpt of an Italian aria, and some additional lines of sight reading.  Tone, musicianship, pitch, rhythm, and vocal technique are important components of the selection process.

Please contact Lynn Brown, Advancement Coordinator, at (207) 797-3802 ext. 2043 with any questions.