John Thornburg
Headmaster
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Dear Families,
I hope that you have had a nice weekend and your family is well on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. This day is set aside for us to recognize the life and contributions of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He carried a vision that we are all created equal and have the same rights and privileges. One of the well-known quotes from his famous speech, “I Have a Dream,” stated, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
His life and his words inspire us to move past prejudice and bias and instead, value and respect others as we are born to do. May we all take time to reflect on Dr. King’s words today and think through what our part is in making sure every person is able to live in a world where they are valued, respected and belong. It is only then, that we will truly reflect the best version of ourselves, the one our Lord intended.
Another quote from Dr. King is, "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
The COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it has had on students (and families) has been challenging and sometimes controversial. I receive phone calls weekly from parents hoping the end is in sight and wanting to hear an update on when we can all be together. These are the most difficult phone calls for me since there is no answer at this time. Our students hope and long for a time when they can come to school and be together throughout the week. The social interactions and synergistic experiences that occur in our beloved school are sorely missed by all. It is my prayer every day that we move closer to being together again. This has been a difficult year, but I do believe that with warmer spring weather and the distribution of the vaccine, there are brighter days ahead!
Though our faculty and staff have gone above and beyond to make sure all our students continue to receive an excellent education, nothing can replace the experience of in-person learning. I want to make sure families realize that the current experience is only temporary and the best is yet to come. Much like a close family that has been apart, there is a rich and wonderful reunion in our future.
“We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Thank you for your support!
John K. Thornburg
Twitter: @MCHSHeadmaster
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Monday, January 18
Martin Luther King Day
Offices Closed
No Classes
Tuesday, January 19
Gold Day 1
Wednesday, January 20
Blue Day 1
Thursday, January 21
Blue Day 2
Virtual Rosary | 7:30 AM
Friday, January 22
Gold Day 2
Virtual Rosary | 7:30 AM
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Susan Viscosi
English Teacher
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Dear Malden Catholic Community,
Thomas Wolfe once stated that you cannot go home again. I disagree. From the moment I met my first class of MC students last fall, I knew that I had returned to a place I love! Twenty-seven years ago, I began my English teaching career in an all-girls parochial high school, located in northern Massachusetts. The camaraderie and community that a single gender environment creates is unmistakable and magical.
By now my students know that I frequently utter this phrase, “This is my favorite!” My top three favorite pieces to teach are probably Walden, Our Town and Pride and Prejudice, but whatever I am currently teaching always gets added to the list.
Given the challenges of hybrid learning and social distancing, I jumped at the opportunity to help coach cross country. Running is a longtime passion of mine. I have run numerous races from 5ks up to full marathons. This past fall, the Chicago marathon would have been my fifth. Joining forces with Coach Joy Leone P’14, 16, we successfully grew the program and won several meets. Throughout the season, I witnessed many of the young women push themselves to be their best. So inspiring!
In addition to teaching English and running, I am the mother of four wonderful children ranging in ages from 28 down to almost 21. Like many other college-aged children, my youngest, Faye, returned home last March for a weeklong spring break. The week transitioned to months. She will be returning to her Bentley dorm room this week. I will always cherish this bonus time in our lives.
This past year has taught me so many lessons about flexibility, faith and mostly gratitude. I am so grateful to be part of the Malden Catholic community!
Ms. Susan Viscosi
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Thank you for participating in MC’s winter COVID-19 saliva testing. The testing process was very smooth and efficient and we greatly appreciate your cooperation. All positive cases will be notified individually by the testing provider, MEENTA. You will be sent an email about logging into the MEENTA system and obtaining your positive test results. If your student has a positive test result, they will need to remain in isolation for 10 days and must be symptom free for three days without the use of antipyretics in order to return to in-person learning. If you did not receive notification from MEENTA your student’s test results are negative.
We look forward to seeing all of our students with negative test results back in the building in the Yellow Phase tomorrow, January 19, unless your child has opted for Red Phase. If you did not participate in the mandatory testing, your student would have needed to provide a negative test result to Nurse Paquette or Nurse Olive by Monday, January 18, or your student will be required to quarantine until February 2.
If you have any additional questions, please contact the Girls Division Leader, Mr. Jeff Smith or the Boys Division Leader, Mr. Robert Bucchino.
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Lucky Lancer Malden Catholic Cafe Raffle - 1/19 - 1/22 |
To welcome back Malden Catholic students to the building, the MC Cafe is holding a Lucky Lancer Raffle from January 19 - 22! When students purchase a lunch, they will receive 1 raffle ticket for the chance to win a Fujifilm Instax Instant Camera and film. The more lunches students buy, the more chances they have to win. This prize package is valued at $120. Hold on to your raffle tickets and good luck Lancers!
Plus, there are more treats! On January 21 and 22, students will receive a free cookie or ice cream with the purchase of a lunch.
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For many years, Malden Catholic has collaborated with Mission of Deeds as a service site for our student volunteers in support of the annual Buy-a-Bed campaign. Mission of Deeds is a non-profit charitable organization in Reading that gives beds, furniture and household items, free of charge, to people in need in over 90 Boston-North communities. In fact, Mission of Deeds provided nearly 1,500 beds and cribs to families in need in 2019 and last year, MC contributed $4,400 to the charity.
From January 19 - February 5, members of Malden Catholic's Theology Department are inviting MC students to support this year’s Buy-a-Bed Drive by making a donation in any amount in Theology class. Theology teachers will accept daily donations and every contribution goes a long way toward buying a bed. Let’s see which Theology class can contribute the most!
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The next MC Parent Book Club meeting will be held on January 19 to discuss, The Boy From the Woods, a book by New York Times bestselling author, Harlan Coben. The meeting will be held on Zoom through this link: https://sanofi.zoom.com/j/9307039967
Meeting ID: 930 703 9967
The upcoming book selections for winter/spring include:
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February: A View Across the Rooftops by Suzanne Kelman
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March: Untamed by Glennon Doyle
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April: This Tender Land by William Kent Kreuger
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Headmaster Coffee with Headmaster Thornburg and Br. Puccio on 1.21 at 8 AM |
Please join us for the January Headmaster Coffee with Headmaster Thornburg and Brother Puccio on January 21 at 8 a.m. With Catholic Schools Week approaching, Brother will discuss his goals for MC's mission integration and how "Catholic Schools Support the Common Good."
Coffee with Headmaster Thornburg and Br. Thomas Puccio, CFX, Ed.D., H'18
Thu, Jan 21, 2021 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM (EST)
Please join through this link:
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Seeking MCPC Official Facebook Group Social Media Writer |
Do you enjoy creating social media posts? Our MCPC Facebook Group is currently seeking a contributing Social Media Writer for the MCPC page - the official site for the latest information and resources for MC parents. We are seeking a parent to assist us with creating the daily content, posts, photography and responses to our MCPC group members. Please send an email to Dianne James to assist with this exciting project at [email protected].
MCPC January Meeting Recording
Last week, the January Parent Council meeting featured guests, Boys Division Leader, Mr. Robert Bucchino and Girls Division Leader, Mr. Jeffrey Smith. If you were unable to attend, you can watch the meeting through this link.
MCPC Volunteer Sign Up Form
Interested in helping with MC events this year?
Please sign up to volunteer for upcoming events using this Google link.
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The Angelus - Daily Prayer of Reflection Video |
The Angelus is beautiful tradition of the Catholic faith that offers a prayer as an opportunity to meditate for a few moments midday on Mary’s discipleship and her radical obedience to God’s will. Campus Ministry has created an opportunity for students to share in the tradition by creating a video tape of themselves reading a few lines of Scripture, one Hail Mary and a concluding prayer.
This week, Campus Ministry with feature a video highlighting a different MC student reciting the Angelus each day on Campus Ministry's Instagram account. If you are interested in making a video, please contact Ms. Foley at [email protected] for the information and video submission instructions.
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Club Spotlight - 30 Day Challenge |
The 30 Day Challenge Club is one of Malden Catholic’s many exciting clubs with the goal of building individual strength, skill and healthy habits through communal support. The group works to enhance individual strength by creating and collectively taking part in a series of challenges lasting approximately 30 days each. Challenge ideas are collected and distributed to club members, as well as the faculty. After each challenge has been voted on, a sign up period is created and the rules are set.
Previous challenges have included:
- Push Up Challenge
- H2Only Challenge
- Consistent Creativity Challenge
- 30 Days of Positivity and Gratitude
- Vertical Jump Challenge
- Mindful Spending, Mindful Giving Challenge
If you would like to participate in this engaging club, please contact Mr. Alex Kissel at [email protected].
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Sophomore PSATs and Junior College Kick-Off |
Winter is a busy season for MC Sophomores and Juniors!
The PSAT will take place on Tuesday, January 26 at 7:45 AM. This is mandatory for all Grade 10 students.
The Junior College Kick-Off event provided an overview of the entire college application process, the context of the admissions landscape and other important information that will make applying to college easier. To view the recording of the Junior College Kick-Off event, click here.
The next College event will be our Virtual College Admissions Panel on February 10 at 6:30 PM. Admissions representatives from Catholic University of America, Stonehill College, Syracuse University, Tufts University and University of Massachusetts Lowell will provide information about the admissions process and take audience questions at the end of the panel discussion. Please register through this link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8551172820778079248
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Praying the Rosary on 1/21 and 1/22 at 7:30 AM |
MC students are invited to join Campus Ministry this Thursday and Friday morning at 7:30 AM for a live rosary gathering. This event will take place in the cafeteria before school. |
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Mission Moment with Brother Puccio |
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"I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become reality. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word."
Sometime about 12 years ago, while in Atlanta for an NCEA Convention, I made a pilgrimage with fellow Xaverian Brother Brian Davis and MC alum/teacher (now State Rep.) Steve Ultrino to the Martin Luther King National Historic Site, which includes King’s birthplace, his grave, and the Ebenezer Baptist Church where he worshipped and preached. I don’t think any of us knew that the Atlanta rapid transit system would not drop us off near the site, but perhaps a mile away. There must have been bus routes, but we had no interest nor ingenuity to figure them out. So, maps, in hand, without benefit of GPS, on a hot, sunny day, we wandered through quiet blue-collar neighborhoods, not unlike parts of Malden – three white guys feeling a little bit out of place.
To this day I could not tell you the social “climate” of the neighborhood, but I did wonder now and then whether I should feel unsafe. I don’t typically feel unsafe, even when I’m the only white face on the “A” train rumbling toward lower Manhattan from the Bronx’s Washington Heights. Why should I? I’m male … and white. I am an heir of unearned white privilege never experienced, never enjoyed, by those who would have once heard Reverend King from the pulpit of the Ebenezer. That status gently embarrasses me on occasion, because I believe that we are brothers and sisters through a God who loves us equally.
Well, when we finally made it to the site, I spent a good 40 minutes in the Church. The National Park Service that supervises the Church regularly plays recordings of full sermons of Dr. King. His voice crackles across the empty wooden walls, and one can sit in the pews, close one’s eyes, and imagine the dreams inspired there, the solace of hopes offered there, the power of “unarmed truth and unconditional love.” The words brought me chills and tears.
Prophets take the long view. They look beyond current conditions to what can be, what ought to be. So Dr. King, so deeply immersed in the present, could also peacefully await the “final word” and acknowledge that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” He knew, however, it does not bend by itself!
Brother Thomas Puccio
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Return to Winter Athletics - Spectator Policy |
Please review the Winter Athletics Spectator Policy on
No spectators are permitted at any MC Home events from 1/18 - 1/25. One spectator per athlete may attend Boys and Girls Basketball games after 1/25 with a lanyard. Due to facility restrictions, no spectators will be permitted at any Hockey or Swim meets during this current phase. These policies will be adjusted as restrictions change.
If you are interested in watching the teams play live, please consider the following streaming opportunities which require service subscriptions.
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Introducing the Girls Varsity Hockey Team |
Malden Catholic is excited to announce that our first MC Girls Varsity Hockey Team is ready to compete on the ice this season. For more information, see the attached HNIB News article. |
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Mass. Girls HS Hockey - Independents: Malden Catholic...
Four programs will play the season as Independents this winter, including a new varsity program at Malden Catholic. Latin Academy is no longer in a co-op deal with Fontbonne, but will roster a handful of Fontbonne players this season.
Read more
www.hnibnews.com
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Boston Herald EMass Top 25 girls basketball rankings,...
Here is a look at what our preseason Boston Herald EMass Top 25 girls basketball rankings would have looked like. Since many schools are playing reduced schedules, these will be the only rankings the Herald will run this winter. In addition to...
Read more
www.bostonherald.com
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Malden Catholic Girls Varsity Basketball is a Team to Watch |
MC Girls Varsity Basketball is a "team to watch" according to the Boston Herald. To read the article, click here.
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Malden Catholic Boys Basketball Preview |
The Boston Herald previews Malden Catholic's Boys Varsity Basketball team. Way to go Lancers!
See The Boston Herald article link here.
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High school boys basketball preview: Division 1-2
The $64,000 question in Division 1 North isn't as much who is playing as much as who isn't due to the pandemic. Lynn English and Lawrence are still awaiting approval to get on the court. Ditto for teams like Lynn Classical and Chelsea, both of...
Read more
www.bostonherald.com
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