Dear MHC Academy Family and Friends,

Happy New Year Everyone!  

Our efforts to bring the Beauty of our motto Beauty, Truth, and Joy, to the campus continues, even in the winter! Did you know that this property was originally the Muhs estate and the sisters purchased it in 1921? When you come onto campus and you see ahead of you a staircase leading to the fountain, imagine a large white house beyond that. That was the original house which then became the sisters' convent. On either side of the staircase you will see there is a stone wall that has been in need of some attention for a couple of years. In a desire to preserve some of our history and beautify our campus, restoration of the wall began last week. I think this is a significant blend of the old and the new. Parts of our campus can date back to almost 100 year, like Don Bosco Hall with its cornerstone dating 1929. The entry gates, the staircases, and this wall date back even further. When we think of the rich history that has been around us we can see that while much has changed, the important things remain the same - the importance of faith, family and education. We can trace through the decades the desire for the education of young women to find the Beauty, Truth, and Joy that lies within them.  

Sincerely,

GINGERBREAD HOUSE CONTEST

Student Council hosted a festive Christmas party on Friday, December 22nd. There were donuts and hot cocoa as well as an intense gingerbread building contest! In the end, the seniors were deemed the winner with their tidy, well structured gingerbread house!

TOY DROP OFF

Members of MHC Academy's campus ministry were able to give out the toys and clothes raised by the school for the Father English Center. Over 400 families benefited from the generosity of all our students and families. Despite the cold weather, the hours spent outside were filled with warm hearts and Christmas cheer! We were also able to drop off a check from the proceeds of our Intramurals Penny Wars. Great job everyone!

BISHOP'S PODCAST - BEYOND THE BEACON

Two of our Blue Jays, senior Caitlin Farley and junior Emily Dymkowski, along with Sr. Christina Chong were guests on the Bishop's podcast "Beyond the Beacon" to talk about teenagers and social media. They discussed which social media apps they use and what they see as the positives and negatives of these networks. Click here to watch the video, or visit the podcast website. Great job representing the school, ladies!

SEMI-FORMAL

MHC Academy's Annual Semi-Formal took place on Sunday, January 14th at Macaluso's in Hawthorne, NJ. It was a wonderful night of dancing, socializing and celebrating being together!

LESSONS AND CAROLS

On Tuesday, December 19th, MHC Academy's Music Department, joined by music students from Don Bosco Prep, led the Festival of Lessons and Carols, an Advent/Christmas tradition of Scripture and Song. Lessons and Carols provided a respite from the busyness of the season by providing a prayerful setting of readings, prayer, and song.

Our Winter Sports seasons are well underway with 5 athletics teams this year, including Basketball, Bowling, Competition Cheer, Dance Team, Swim and an individual wrestler. 

BASKETBALL

This year’s basketball program consists of 2 Seniors, 4 Juniors, 3 Sophomores and 8 freshmen for both of our Varsity and JV programs. Senior, Giulia Russo, leads the varsity program in points and steals for the season. Senior, Shelby Gomez, leads the varsity program in blocks, as well as rebounds, followed closely by Junior, Janelle Martinez in rebounds. 

Varsity Basketball hosted their first HOME game of the season on Thursday, January 18th, defeating their opponents 39-17, and with that victory 4 of our varsity players were recognized on nj.com as State Stat Leaders: Senior Shelby Gomez, 4th in the state for Blocks and 5th in the state for rebounds, also acknowledged were Senior Giulia Russo (points leader), Junior Janelle Martinez (rebounds) and Junior Sophia Cueva (assists).

Basketball is 1/3 of the way through their season, with 7 Home Games coming up in the next 4 weeks, including Senior Night on Monday, February 12th vs Manchester Regional. All home game will be live-streamed on MHC’s YouTube page. 

DANCE TEAM

Our Dance Team performs at our Home basketball games, as well as Don Bosco’s Varsity Home Basketball Games. This year the dance team consists of 1 Senior, 2 Juniors, 2 Sophomores and 4 Freshmen. 

SWIM TEAM

So far this season our swim team has competed in 6 meets, two independent with our brother school Don Bosco Prep, and 4 conference meets, racking up 25 1st place race finishes and 23 2nd place race finishes. Some of our top swimmers’ stats include Kelly Hinnigan, with four 1st place finishes (3-IM, 1-BACK), Madison Oh, with four 1st place finishes (3-50FREE, 1-200Free), Yuumi Matsuda with one 1st place finish and four 2nd place finishes (3-BREAST, 1-FLY, 1-FREE) & Lesley Leiva with one 1st place finish and two 2nd place finishes (100 FREE), and Vivian Li with six 1st place finishes (4-FLY, 2-Back), Kayla Perrone with one 1st place finish and three 2nd place finishes (200 FREE) and Emma Oliveira with one 1st place finish (100 FREE). Our relay teams also had six 1st place finishes and nine 2nd place finishes. 

Our swim team is 1/2 way through their season with 5 more meets to go, including 3 conference meets, the Passaic County Champions Tournament on Saturday, January 20th and the Conference Championships on Saturday, February 3rd. 

BOWLING

This year’s Bowling Team consists of 1 junior, 3 sophomores and 5 freshmen for both Varsity and JV. Our bowlers have competed in 7 conference matches so far this season, including the Passaic County Bowling Tournament on Friday, January 12th, held at Parkway Lanes in Elmwood Park. Stat leaders for the team include Aislynn Oliveira, who leads the team in both TOP AVERAGE and HIGH GAME. Oliveira is followed in HIGH GAME by Freshmen Alana Muniz, Patricia Tregidgo and Hailey Christie and TOP AVERAGES Christie, Tregidgo and Muniz. The team has 9 upcoming conference matches in the next 4 weeks, including the NJIC Championship on Tuesday, February 13th, at Parkway Lanes. 

COMPETITION CHEER

This year’s Competition Cheer Team consists of 5 Seniors, 4 Juniors, 3 sophomores and 4 Freshmen. The team will compete at local competitions over the next few weeks in the Varsity Cheer/Dance category. February competitions include Raider Rumble at Ramapo High School on Saturday, February 4th and the Brooke Costanzo Saddle Brook HS Competition on Saturday, February 17th. 

WRESTLING

This year we have one wrestler competing individually this season representing MHC. Freshman, Kayla Coletta, has competed in 3 tournaments so far this season including, Parsippany Hills Lady Vikings Jamboree - 1st Place, Rumble in the Pines - 7th place and Lady Patriots Tournament - 8th place. Kayla currently has a record of 7-4, all 7 victories by pin. She has three more upcoming events scheduled, two jamborees and the Girls Creek Classic 2/4. Kayla also plans to compete in the Regional and State Tournaments in February. 

JUNIOR CLASS RETREAT

The MHC Academy juniors journeyed to the Marian Shrine in Stony Point, NY for their class retreat to the theme "Be Not Afraid." Students experienced fun moments of recreation, fellowship, and even toured a replica of Don Bosco's childhood home led by Sr. Denise Sickinger. Hearts were filled when encountering one another through scripture, small group discussions, and Jesus Christ in the Eucharist during adoration. MHC Academy juniors were empowered to know that they are not alone on their journey, that together and with Christ they can overcome struggles, doubts, and rejoice in their own story with gratitude.