At the  MIAA 
Sports Summit 
Presentation of Mary Academy  ePathways 

November 2017
It's November and the year is moving at a record pace.  This month we are collecting canned foods to donate to the Lazarus House food pantry for the holiday season.  The Theater Guild wrote and performed the show Who Runs the World.  Seniors had their overnight retreat and juniors were given their class rings at the Junior Ring Ceremony. There are so many great things happening at PMA and we are excited to share them with you in this edition of ePathways. 
PMA Today
French Week...ooooh la la

PMA was transformed into an 
école (French for school) during National French Week, which was November 1-7 this year.  The celebrations began with a French breakfast, complete with c rêpes and croissants.  Crepes were made by Ms. Anderson, Croissants were brought by Cielo Romano and all other French III students contributed by bringing in filling and toppings  such as chocolate sauce, strawberries, bananas, Nutella, pineapple and whipped cream. Thank you to Mrs. Bobola for helping and the use of her kitchen. 

There was a school wide dress down day that encouraged everyone to wear the colors of the French flag.  The week continued with friendly competition between the students and staff  with an over-sized French/English crossword puzzle filling an entire wall in the main hallway, and the freshman won.

This is a magnifique way to get the entire school i nvolved in u ne merveilleuse semaine française  (a wonderful French Week)!
 

 


Who Runs the World: PMA Caberet
On Friday, November, 10 PMA students shined performing Who Runs The World: an original script written and performed by PMA students.
Simon Rodriguez, '18, Sage Delrios, '18, and Britney Savage, '19 wrote this story and directed by Janessa Murphy, '97.  
Who Runs the World is a story where people of the United states lived in a happy and prosperous time.  This all changes when reports surface of an unknown disease ripping through the country which is targeting males, 18-years old or older, and not affecting women.
The story weaves a tale of the role gender plays in our society.
Geometry Project
Students in Mrs. Frey's Geometry Honors class applied their knowledge of parallel, perpendicular, and transversal lines on a City Planning Project.  Students were asked to design a city with a theme of their choosing. They had to determine the locations of various required elements (including a Target) using their knowledge of the angles formed by parallel and transversal lines.  Students exceeded expectations with their artwork and themes, including a Geometry Village, Bikini Bottom, Hogwarts, Christmas City and the town of Hawkins from the show Stranger Things.  The entire class agreed that this project was more fun than taking a quiz!
           
Freshman Retreat
After being rescheduled due to the severe wind storm, the Freshman Retreat for the Class of 2020 was
 held on Friday, November 3. The theme of the day took the school's logo to heart as students discovered a little more about themselves, about PMA, as well as about
 what faith has to offer. Over the course of the day, the freshmen played games and took part in group discussions as a way of getting to know each other bett er. They heard talks from upperclassmen which revolved around what to expect from the PMA experience; from academics to social life to opportunities to deepen their faith. Included in this retreat was a tour of the Convent of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, as well as the Searles Estate property. The day concluded with Mass in the Sisters' Chapel with Fr. John Delaney of Sacred Hearts in Bradford emphasizing how important freshman year is in making new friends, exploring new things, and becoming the person you want to be.  
Senior Retreat
The Class of 2018 became a stronger, more united class after returning from the Senior Overnight Retreat at Toah Nipi Retreat Center in Rindge, NH on November 16 and 17.  Nestled among a wooded area by a lake in Rindge, NH, Toah Nipi provided a serene environment for the seniors to hike and explore as new friendships were made and old ones were rekindled.  The entire class had an opportunity to bond together over this two day retreat.  The Seniors were provided opportunities to be open and honest with each other, allowing everyone to see beyond what is just on the outside and, as a result, became more unified than they had all year. This opportunity was made possibly by Dave Dumaine who led most of the retreat activities and helped to break down the barriers between the students through games, songs, and witness talks about his faith and how it had led him to serve so many people throughout his life.  The experiences Dave provided helped the seniors to open up to share their emotions and their own personal experiences.  Many seniors have stated that this was a life changing experience.
Junior Ring Ceremony
The class of 2019 at the Junior Ring Ceremony
The class of 2019 celebrated their Junior Ring Ceremony on  Monday, November 20, at the Sisters' Chapel.  The Junior Class ring ceremony is a long tradition at PMA.  The annual event is a time to recognize the junior class's role in leadership of the school as upperclassmen and  coincides with the feast day of the namesake of our school, the Presentation of Mary in the Temple. 

The ceremony provides the Junior Class with an opportunity to pause and take time to mark this important milestone as they shift from underclassmen to upperclassmen.  The purpose is to initiate these juniors into this leadership role, as well as to help them begin to focus on their future lives as alumni.  The selected token which each student has chosen to bless will serve as a symbol of their connection to the school, both for their time spent here, as well as after graduation.  

The overall message of the ceremony given to the Juniors was to continue to be exactly who they are: energetic, enthusiastic, united, and proud of who they are, where they go to school, and what they do.  Over the next year and a half the Class of 2019 will leave their mark on PMA and already their legacy is looking to be something for the record books.

Interact Food Drive
PMA's Interact Club is collecting canned goods until mid-December to help those in need.  The first round of food was delivered to Lazarus House Food Pantry the week of Thanksgiving and we are looking forward to delivering more in the following weeks. 

Photographed are are few of PMA's Interact members (L-R):  Greg Blomgren, '18, Maggie Powers, '19 (President), Aiden Lena, '19 (Communications), Nathalie Garcia, '19 (Vice-President), Ben Ton That, '19 (Communications), and Nicole Costa, '18.



MIAA Sportsmanship Summit
 On Friday, November  17 four PMA athletes, along with Athletic Director, Mr. Stankus and coach, Ms. Gillette, attended the 24th Annual MIAA Sportsmanship Summit at Gillette Stadium.  PMA was honored this year with a Sportsmanship Award, given only to
 schools that recognize the importance of "high standard of ethics and
 integrity in interscholastic athletics."

We are proud of our students and teams for setting such a great example on the court, field, and track.

2017 Fall Sports Banquet
On Tuesda y, November 14 PMA celebrated the students who participated in fall sports. Ninty-eight PMA students  participated in a fall sport and a the banquet recognized their achievements. 

  
FeasterFive

Thanksgiving morning several PMA students, along with Mrs. Viscosi, volunteered at the FeasterFive, a Thanksgiving Day Road Race in Andover, MA that has been a Merrimack Valley tradition since 1988. At 10,000 participants, it is one of the largest races in Massachusetts and one of the largest Thanksgiving day races in New England.  The responsibilities of volunteers are to man water stops, hand out pies, manage the crowd, or other tasks the day of the race. We are proud to have students represent PMA at this wonderful community tradition. 
       
(L-R) Willa Norman, '18, Mrs. Viscosi, Katie Krikoris, '19, Nicole Costa, '18,  Arthur Jia, '18, and Maddy Zygmont, '18.
Searles Ballroom Concert

PMA held its second annual Searles Ballroom Concert, featuring alumni performers, on Saturday, November 25.  The concert was held in the Sisters chapel, which was Mr. Searles' former ballroom. Musical stylings arranged from contemporary, Broadway, Jazz, opera, pop, rock and more. 
Alumni who performed were Hannah Alvino, '17, Lillian Alvino, '16, Amanda Beveridge, '09 , Liam Comtois, '15, Isis Diaz, '17, Josh Dionne, '16, Abiah Floyd, '12, Ashley Garcia, '13, Liza Giangrande, '13,  Jillian Harmon, '02, Jordan Lena, '16, Eryn McGuiness, '17, Janessa Murphy, '97, Son Ngyuen, '16, Robert Pauley, '16, Katie Sullivan, '08, and Sean Toomey, '17. 
PMA alumni and music teacher, Janessa Murphy, '97  not only performed, she produced and directed the concert.  Dave Comtois, PMA music teacher and parent of Liam Comtois, '15 and Jillian Harmon, '02 provided guitar accompaniment for several performers.  Concert go-ers were amazed at the talent that filled the room and plans are already in the works for next year's event.
Quick Pics
Flag Football and Turkey Toss
The annual Flag Football and Turkey Toss before Thanksgiving Break.  
                                   
      

                                           
 
Christmas Parade
Students on the PMA Float at the Methuen Santa Parade, Saturday, November 17.
              
   

 
In This Issue
Email Us
Admissions Office
Advancement Office
Alumni Relations Office
How You Can Help
Yankee Candle Fundraising Drive
The 2017 Yankee Candle Drive is over.  Don't worry if you didn't get your catalog order in. Yankee Candle has committed to help PMA all year long.  Anytime you shop online they will make a donation to our school.  Visit
www.yankeecandlefundraising.com and enter group #99896054 in the "start shopping" box.  
Thank you for your support!
GoodShop
It's almost time to start Christmas shopping...if you haven't already.  Hands down, online shopping is the easiest way to go.  Through GoodShop, you can donate back to PMA, from the comfort of your own home, office, or wherever you online shop.  Goodshop has partnered with over 5,000 stores to offer you daily online promotions and coupons.  Plus, they give a percentage of your total back to your favorite non-profit. That could be us!
 
Before you shop, quickly set up a user name and password and don't forget to assign Presentation of Mary Academy, Methuen, MA as your non-profit of choice!  Everybody wins!  Happy shopping!
 
Visit  www.goodshop.com to see some amazing deals!


Amazon Smile
You can support PMA every time you shop online at Amazon!   It's not too early to start thinking about Christmas shopping!!
Through the Amazon Smile program, Amazon will donate 0.5 % of your purchase to PMA.  It's that simple.  Just make sure you select Presentation of Mary Academy - Methuen, MA as your charity of choice.  Click in the link below to be taken directly to  smile.amazon.com in support of PMA.  Doesn't that make you want to smile?


Upcoming Events
PMA Calendar
Click here to view the latest events on the  PMA CALENDAR

Or download a printable 2016-2017 school calendar here

Early Dismissal
Wednesday, December 20
Christmas Break
Thursday, December 21 - Monday, January 1
Classes Resume
Tuesday, January 2
Winter Concert
Sunday, January 7
Dupre Center
4:00 pm

Travel Opportunity for PMA Families. 

Current students and their families have the opportunity to travel abroad to Ireland during April vacation 2019. Spots still available. If interested please contact Mrs. McGuinness at

 
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