Dear Families,
I taught biology for many years at a boarding school. The boarding school environment allowed easy access to my students for experiential science lessons after school hours. In fact, every spring, my class did a unit on maple syrup. The school had quite a few sugar maple trees on campus that we were allowed to tap, and I always found the process fascinating.
The movement of maple sap directly depends upon a specific set of weather conditions. The temperatures must be freezing at night and above freezing during the day. On the days when the conditions were favorable, the students would visit each tree and find a gallon or more of the clear maple sap in the containers that hung on the tree. They would then haul the liquid back to the science classroom so we could begin the boiling process.
It is not a well-known fact, but forty gallons of sap is required to make one gallon of syrup. This means that the biology students needed to boil a lot of sap to produce a quantity of syrup. After boiling a few gallons of sap, the students often commented that "the process would never end!" The key was to be vigilant when the process was at the very end. The bubbling contents needed to be removed at just the right time. If you pulled the boiling sap too early, the result was sugar water. If you waited too late, the contents would thicken and burn. The key to good maple syrup is to be diligent, and patient, and identify the perfect moment when the boiling process is complete. This is the best way to create and enjoy fresh maple syrup.
Converting clear, watery sap to maple syrup takes a lot of energy, time, and patience. It doesn’t happen quickly. This process reminds me of the process God uses to shape us in His image. Though we would like to consider ourselves mature in such things as patience, kindness, self-control, and other fruits of the Spirit, sometimes we require more “boiling” to arrive at our best selves. He is vigilant to provide us opportunities to grow in God’s image. The challenges we face today are shaping us to be the people we need to be for His service.
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
John K. Thornburg
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Monday, April 11
Day 5
Senior Finals A and B
Tuesday, April 12
Day 6
Senior Finals C and D
Wednesday, April 13
Day 7
Grades 9-11 Activity Schedule
Thursday, April 14
Day 1
Holy Thursday Prayer Service - 1:45 PM
Online Gala Auction Opens
Friday, April 15
Good Friday - No School
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Rescheduled for September 2022 - Timothy J. E. Paquette - A Celebration of Life Event |
The schoolwide event to celebrate the life of Tim Paquette '07 has been rescheduled. The event will now be held in September 2022 and a new date will be announced soon.
The event is in honor of Timothy Paquette '07 who passed away from ALS on June 27, 2021. He is the son of Rick & Elizabeth Paquette and brother of James Paquette '02. All Malden Catholic families, alumni and friends are invited to attend.
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Gala Tickets are Selling Out! Online Auction Opens - 4.14 |
Tickets for Malden Catholic's 90th Gala celebration are selling out, so purchase your ticket soon through this link. General admission Gala tickets are $175/person and Malden Catholic families receive a $75 discount by using the coupon code - PARENT90TH.
This Thursday, the MC Online Gala Auction will be open for bidding. Get ready to bid on a host of exciting items including a private fishing charter for six with an overnight stay in Orleans, a Cruise to Nantucket for 5, a set of 5 New England Patriots tickets, Apple AirPods, and more!
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Grade 11 Sign Up For MCLI - 4.15 |
The Malden Catholic Leadership Institute (MCLI), a four-day, three-night retreat at Endicott College in Beverly, will take place from August 4 - 7. This is an immersive, faith-filled, service-oriented opportunity to grow as a class, as a school, and as a Church. Students will hear talks from amazing speakers, participate in group exercises to build trust and communication skills, serve people in need, spend quality time with one another, pray together and grow in fellowship and faith.
MC's Campus Ministry will hold a meeting for parents at Malden Catholic to discuss the MCLI retreat details on Monday, May 2. The cost for MCLI is $350 and a $100 deposit due Friday, April 15. If you have any questions regarding covering the MCLI fee, please reach out to Mr. Casey at [email protected].
All Grade 11 students are invited to attend, but please note that due to limited space, only 130 spots are available for students. All participants must be fully vaccinated. More information regarding MCLI can be found on the MC website through the following link.
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Jesuit Excellence Tour - 4.29 at 12:30 PM |
Malden Catholic will be hosting The Jesuit Excellence Tour (JET) on Friday, April 29 during the school day. JET is a series of recruitment events that allow admission staff from excellent Jesuit colleges and universities to jointly recruit in cities around the country.
Grade 11 students will be able to sign up with MC's School and College Counseling department next week for this exciting event. Colleges in attendance will include:
- Canisius College (Buffalo, NY)
- College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, MA)
- Fairfield University (Fairfield, CT)
- Fordham University (Bronx, NY)
- John Carroll University (Cleveland, OH)
- Le Moyne College (Syracuse, NY)
- Loyola University Chicago (Chicago, IL)
- Loyola University Maryland (Baltimore, MD)
- Loyola University New Orleans (New Orleans, LA)
- Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI)
- Saint Joseph's University (Philadelphia, PA)
- Saint Louis University (St. Louis, MO)
- Santa Clara University (Santa Clara, CA)
- The University of Scranton (Scranton, PA)
- University of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
- Xavier University (Cincinnati, OH)
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Senior Baskets - 4.30 at 10 AM |
The delivery date for delivering Senior Baskets will be held on Saturday, April 30 at 10 AM. Families delivering baskets may join together at the front of the school at 10 AM for a blessing prior to heading out for the delivery.
We are still looking for families to "adopt" Grade 12 students, so if you have not yet signed up to "Adopt" a Senior, please be sure to email Mrs. Jeannine Reardon at [email protected].
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Purchase Senior Recognition Ads and Yearbooks for Underclassmen - 5.12 |
The cost for the 2021 - 2022 yearbook is included in the fees that Seniors paid at the beginning of the school year. Yearbooks will be distributed to Seniors in November 2022. Yearbooks may be purchased for Underclassmen for $75/book. You may purchase a yearbook through the attached link.
Senior parents are encouraged to purchase Student Yearbook Recognition Ads that will be displayed in Malden Catholic's 2021-2022 yearbook. The ads can be customized to feature the individual student and are available in three sizes: full page, half page or quarter page.
If you're interested in purchasing an ad, please create a Jostens account through this link. The deadline to order a MC Student Recognition Ad is May 12. |
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Ongoing Support for Ukraine |
Last week, Dr. Stephen Baccari delivered Malden Catholic's charitable Ukraine donations to Father Yaroslav Nalysnyk at the Christ the King Ukrainian Church who will supervise the distribution. Thank you to everyone who generously donated items! MC will continue to accept donations for much-needed supplies to support the people of Ukraine. |
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Register for MC Summer Camp 2022! |
Register today on the MC website to secure your spot!
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What's Happening Around MC? |
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MC's Jorge Ortiz '22 Featured at the 32nd Annual Catholic Schools Foundation Gala! |
MC was represented at the 32nd Annual Catholic Schools Foundation Gala at the Boston Copley Marriott on Thursday.
MC's Jorge Ortiz '22 was one of three CSF students featured at the Gala to deliver a speech before a room of nearly 1000 people, as well as hundreds of others tuning in from around the world via live stream.
Accompanying Jorge to the event were his sisters, Aileen Ortiz '23 and Clara Ortiz '25. MC Freshman, Destiny Fotabong '25 and Roomy Mondestin '25 were also at the event and were personally selected to represent the Boys and Girls Division of MC as greeters.
Be sure to check out Jorge's video through this link.
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This week, Malden Catholic hosted a Spring College Fair that featured 98 colleges and universities. We would like to thank all of the representatives and families for attending! |
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A great time was had by all at the Grade 11 Prom! |
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Class of 2026 Orientation |
The Class of 2026 began their journey as Lancers at the action-packed new student orientation event last week. We are delighted to welcome the incoming students to Malden Catholic! |
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National Latin Honor Society |
Congratulations to Karina Rahman, Courtney Casaletto, Lily Baglio, Elena Chronopoulos, Emma Pohl, Chi Vu, Amy Nguyen, Aidan Martin, Brandon Wong, Vincent Carbone and Samuel Sanzone who will receive certificates and cords at graduation as the first full class of National Latin Honor Society members! |
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MC celebrated the Seniors' last full week of school with a variety of activities including the distribution of personalized Senior lawn signs, a dress down day encouraging students to wear sweatshirts from the schools they will be attending, a 30 minute video montage where everyone looked back on their historic 4 year journey, and a shared lunch in the cafeteria.
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Malden Catholic has created a SmugMug account (password - maldencatholic99) that will share photos from a variety of school events that take place over the semester. The recent events in the files include National Honor Society Induction, Winter Sports Awards, Semi-Formal, Senior lawn signs and more. The SmugMug photos will be updated each week, so please check back periodically for more photos.
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The Challenge of Easter
I have fun each day teaching a Grade 9 boys Theology class and a Grade 9 girls Theology class. I asked them both today, “What are some words that come to mind when you think of Easter?” I got the replies you might expect: “bunnies, chocolate, candy, jelly beans, eggs, springtime.” Those are probably the “Family Feud” “Survey Says….” responses that would match-up for most of us!
Yet the empty tomb three days after a horrific crucifixion and the subsequent physical appearances of Jesus with his disciples in the weeks following remind us that Easter is so very much more than springtime celebration. What makes Easter THE central feast of the Church is that the Resurrection fulfilled hundreds of years of Old Testament covenant waiting, brought to completion the promises of Jesus during his three years of ministry, and proved Jesus as God.
Jesus turned our world upside down. Most didn’t “get it” in his day, and many don’t today either. But he was upsetting enough to those in power – calling them hypocrites and challenging their authority -- that they had him killed. The Jews then were awaiting a warrior Messiah, a king to free them from oppressive Roman rule. What Jesus gave them was an “upside-down” kingdom. He turned our values upside-down. The king reigned by becoming a suffering servant; one gained honor by serving; one gained true wealth by giving one’s wealth away; rather than return vengeance with vengeance, one returned it with forgiveness. To follow this king, one had to become a servant too. Jesus replaced violence with love; death with life; despair with hope.
B.B. King and U2 famously sing, “When love comes to town, I'm gonna catch that train. When love comes to town, I'm gonna catch that flame.” We may like to think we’re ready to hop on board. It’s not always so easy, though, as they admit in noting that, “I did what I did before love came to town.” There are plenty of ways to transgress, to fall short, before “love comes to town.”
The great challenge of Easter is to make real the hope that is understood in the resurrection of Jesus, to enflesh it, to bring that hope to life in a world that so often seems so unready or unwilling to accept it. Some would say that to be truly Christian is to appear a fool, because the values of someone who “practices the Gospel” are so counter-cultural. Those values would make one appear so seriously out-of-step with most of the rest of the world.
As we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus this Easter, may the love we share help to make real his promise of a world redeemed. Happy Easter to you and yours!
Brother Thomas Puccio, CFX, Ed.D.
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MC '21 Graduate Receives Rugby Scholarship at Notre Dame |
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Congratulations to Thomas Curran '21 who received the U.S. Rugby Foundation's William V. Campbell Memorial Scholarship from Notre Dame! Thomas was a member of MC's Varsity Rugby team and the National Honor Society. Check out the full article here.
Photo credit: ND Rugby
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Kayla Jackson Signs National Letter of Intent to Elms College |
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Congratulations to Kayla Jackson who signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Elms College in the fall. Way to go, Kayla! |
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The MC School Store Is Now Open!
The MC Spring 2022 School Store is open until Sunday, April 17. Many items are customizable with name, number or sport! You may visit the school store through this link.
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Monday, April 11
4:00 PM Boys JV and Varsity Baseball Home vs Boston College High School
4:00 PM Boys Varsity Tennis @ Boston College High School
4:00 PM Girls Varsity Tennis @ Fontbonne Academy
Tuesday, April 12
4:00 PM Boys JV and Varsity Lacrosse Catholic Memorial School
4:00 PM Girls Junior Varsity Softball @ Mount Alvernia HS
4:00 PM Boys Varsity Outdoor Track Home vs Xaverian Brothers High School
Wednesday, April 13
4:00 PM Boys Freshman Baseball @ St. John's High School
4:00 PM Girls JV and Varsity Softball Home vs Fontbonne Academy
4:00 PM Girls Varsity Tennis @ Notre Dame Academy (Worcester)
4:00 PM Boys JV and Varsity Baseball Home vs St. John's High School
4:00 PM Boys Varsity Tennis Home vs St. John's High School
4:00/5:30 PM Girls JV and Varsity Lacrosse @ Georgetown MS/HS
4:00 PM Girls Varsity 0utdoor Track @ Notre Dame Academy--Hingham
Thursday, April 14
4:30/6:00pm Girls Varsity and JV Lacrosse @ Dracut High School
4:00 PM Girls JV and Varsity Softball Home vs Ursuline Academy
4:00 PM Boys Varsity Tennis Home vs Waltham HS
4:00/5:30 PM Boys Varsity and JV Lacrosse Home vs Xaverian Brothers High School
5:30 PM Boys Varsity Rugby @ Braintree High School
Friday, April 15
Good Friday
Saturday, April 16
11:00 AM JV and Varsity Baseball Home vs Oxford
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