Dear Families,
If you visit the Embankment Tube station (part of the London Underground in Westminster), you may notice a woman sitting quietly. She is not waiting for an underground train (subway). She is waiting to hear a voice. And it is not just any voice. It is the voice of her deceased husband. Margaret McCollum’s husband, Oswald, passed away in 2007. His voice, which was recorded over 45 years ago, tells travelers to “mind the gap” when the train pulls into the station.
For over five years, Margaret would visit the station simply to hear her husband’s voice. She said that when the pain of his passing was too difficult for her to manage, she would go to the platform and listen to him speak. Desite the noise of the hustle and bustle of travelers and trains, this allowed Margaret to reconnect with her dearly loved and missed husband... that is, until the London Underground updated their recording with new voices.
Margaret approached the staff at the Embankment Tube station and asked where the voice had gone. Administrators listened to her request and searched their archives to find the recording. Transport for London not only found the recording but restored its use at the Embarkment Tube staton. Now, the Northern Line out of the Embankment station has a completely different voice telling travelers to “mind the gap” than any other train station and Margaret McCollum can continue to sit quietly and hear her husband’s voice.
Margaret’s love for her husband drove her to seek and find his voice and do whatever was necessary to make it available. Jesus says in John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” We don’t have to travel to the Embankment Tube station or any other location to hear His voice. Our Lord has provided His Word (Bible) that has captured the message of His love and plan for our lives.
This Christmas season, let’s make sure we find quiet moments and quiet spaces that allow us to hear the voice of our Lord - the One we love.
John Thornburg
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Monday, November 28
No School - President's Holiday
Tuesday, November 29
Day D
Delayed Start - 9 AM
Santa Toy Drive Begins
Wednesday, November 30
Day C
Praying of the Rosary - 7:25 AM
Thursday, December 1
Day B
Friday, December 2
Day A
St. Francis Xavier Feast Day Mass - 1:15 PM -
Mass attire
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We will be providing the MC dining menu weekly in the President's Update to make it easier for students to plan lunch throughout the week. The menu is also available through the Malden Catholic Mobile App along with easy access to the online portal for adding money to student lunch accounts. Search for "Malden Catholic" in the app store on your phone. |
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Thanksgiving Break COVID-19 Testing
In homeroom this week, all students received a box of two COVID-19 test kits from iHealth. Before returning to school after Thanksgiving break on either Monday evening or Tuesday morning, we ask that each student take a COVID-19 test. We hope that everyone in our community will test negative for COVID-19, Howver, if your student tests positive, please notify the Malden Catholic School Nurses at [email protected] or by phone at 781-475-5318 or 781-475 5312.
This process will be repeated after Christmas recess to ensure the health and safety of our students. Please note that COVID-19 test kits can be obtained with no copay through your insurance at any pharmacy where you have your prescriptions filled.
Thank you for supporting our efforts to maintain a Culture of Health at MC and we wish you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!
Mrs. Elizabeth Paquette, RN, P'02, '07
Ms. Carol Olive, RN
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Founder's Week - 11.28 to 12.2 |
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MC's XBSS/Lancers United Team, in consultation with MC's Administration, has arranged the following activities for Founder's Week. Over the course of the week, we will thematize one of the Xaverian spiritual values each day either in prayer or in action.
Monday, November 28: Humility
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“Humility” invites us to recognize our talents. Perform humbly for no reward. How might we use our talents in service of others? If not engaged in a specific service activity, try some intentional acts of kindness to others.
Tuesday, November 29: Simplicity
- Morning Prayer: Simplicity
- Activity: Highlighting simplicity in Theology class
Wednesday, November 30: Compassion
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Praying of the Rosary in honor of Theodore James Ryken
- Morning Prayer: Compassion
- Activity: Letters of appreciation to the Xaverian Brothers and to faculty/staff in MC's Campus Ministry Center
- Waffles for students in the cafeteria (Salute to Belgium!)
Thursday December 1: Zeal
- Morning Prayer: Zeal
- MC Spirit Wear Dress Down
- Trivia fun after school with Mr. Casey!
Friday, December 2: Trust
- Morning Prayer: Trust
- Theology class activity related to trust
- St. Francis Xavier Feast Day Mass
- Presentation of the Ryken Award to a Faculty or Staff member
- Recognition of Faculty/Staff Anniversary Years
All Week Event
- Homeroom Xaverian Poster Competition
- Grade 9 Girls: Compassion
- Grade 9 Boys: Humility
- Grade 10: Simplicity
- Grade 11: Zeal
- Grade 12: Trust
- Ice cream treat for the Homeroom with the best poster
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Winter Dress Code - 11.29 to 3.17 |
Malden Catholic hooded sweatshirts will be allowed to be worn by students beginning Tuesday, November 29 through Friday, March 17. Additionally, all girls wearing an MC kilt must wear solid-colored tights or leggings during this time. |
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Delayed Start of School - 11.29 at 9 AM |
Please note that there will be a delayed opening for a Faculty Meeting on Tuesday November 29. School will begin at 9 AM, and LBK transportation will run on its normal schedule.
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Giving Tuesday is celebrated this year on Tuesday, November 29. Please consider giving generously to the Malden Catholic Fund on 11.29 through this link.
Tuition alone does not cover the cost of a Malden Catholic education. Like all independent schools, Malden Catholic relies upon the generosity of our alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends to help close the gap between operating income and expenses. Support for the Malden Catholic Fund this Giving Tuesday and provide MC with these essential unrestricted funds.
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Lancer Santa Toy Drive - 11.29 to 12.16 |
Housing Families, Inc. is an organization that works in the Greater Boston area to provide housing and shelter for families and individuals experiencing homelessness, including emergency shelter and permanent, stable housing. We look forward to continuing our annual Santa Toy Drive this great that supports this cause. The 2022 Lancer Santa Toy Drive will run from Monday, November 28 to Friday, December 16.
Please drop off new, unwrapped toys at the MC Christmas tree in the foyer. The toys will be picked up by Housing Families, Inc. following the Christmas Prayer Service in December.
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St. Andrew Dinner - 11.29 at 6 PM |
MC Boys Division Students are invited for a night of prayer, dinner, discussion, and testimony with Cardinal Sean, the seminarians of the Boston Archdiocese and other local Catholic high school students at St. John's Seminary in Brighton on Tuesday, November 29 from 6 - 8 PM. Students will depart from MC at 4 PM and return at 9 PM. Please fill out the attached permission slip if you would like to attend. Contact Mr. Stanton at [email protected] with any questions.
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MC Parent Club: Wreath Decorating and Bow Making Get-Together - 12.7 at 6:30 PM |
Come join the Christmas festivities on Wednesday, December 7 at 6 PM for a fun Wreath Decorating and Bow Making Get-Together hosted by Nurse Paquette. The group will decorate live evergreen wreaths and learn how to make spectacular bows. Please bring a potluck appetizer. You can register through this link to reserve a spot.
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Senior Yearbook Portraits - 12.10 |
All Seniors must arrange to have their yearbook photograph taken before December 10. Portraits will be taken by Prestige Photography facility in Woburn at 102 Cummings Park Drive.
For those who have had their portraits taken, please remember to select your yearbook portrait through the following directions:
Instructions to Select Senior Portrait Yearbook Image online:
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Go to shop.prestigeportraits.com and create an account, if you have not done so already.
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Enter your specific Session ID & Access Code numbers provided to you on the proof sheet of images, or on the receipt from the photographer. (Check for emails from Prestige as well and if you do not have that information, contact Mrs. Jeannine Reardon for your session ID/access code.
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Once on the home page, select View Portrait Proofs tab (under Get Started Here) to view images and select a yearbook choice. The "Select Your Yearbook Image" will be front and center at the top of the website above the images/proofs.
Please note, after the online pose selection deadline has passed, this option will NO LONGER be available.
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Christmas Concert - 12.15 at 7 PM |
On December 15 at 7 PM, the Malden Catholic Theater Department invites you to attend the annual MC Christmas Concert in the Performing Arts Center. You won't want to miss this exciting performance from the Malden Catholic Choir and the Malden Catholic Dance Company! Seats are limited, so please reserve your spot through this link.
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MC Parent Book Club Christmas Party - 12.15 at 6:30 PM |
The MC Parent Book Club Christmas Party will be held on Thursday, December 15 at 6:30 PM at MC in the Campus Ministry Center. The December MC Book Club will be discussing A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote, a series of five short stories that capture the magical moments of the holidays. Parents are invited to write a paragraph about a Christmas memory of their own that they can share at the meeting if they wish.
Yankee Swap
For those who wish to participate, the theme for the Yankee Swap will be "angels." You may find a unique, angel-related gift for under $10.
Please R.S.V.P. to Vange Egizi at: [email protected] if you can attend, and/or would like to bring one of the following refreshments:
- Something savory
- Something sweet
- Bottle of red wine
- Bottle of white wine
- Sparkling water
- Disposable cups, plates, and napkins
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Each year our 13 Xaverian Brothers Sponsored Schools (XBSS) in the United States celebrate a special week in the history of the Congregation of the Brothers and in the lives of our schools. Called "Founder’s Week," it commemorates the death of the Founder of the Xaverian Brothers, Theodore James Ryken, on November 26, 1871, and culminates with the December 3rd Feast of St. Francis Xavier, the venerated Spanish missionary after-whom Ryken named his Congregation. In practice, the week begins with the Sunday closest to the 26th, this year celebrated from Sunday, November 27, through Saturday, December 3rd.
Founder’s Week gives us opportunity to reflect on how God allowed his grace to work through the life of a willing, though somewhat ordinary, flawed man intent on bringing a vision to life. Ryken, born in Holland, August 30, 1797, was orphaned as a child and was raised by a pious uncle. By trade a shoemaker, he spent his early adulthood as a catechist, and inspired by the religious fervor of the age, he wanted to create a religious institute of men who would carry God’s word to missionary lands. By 1837 he had written a plan for that institute, and in 1839 with Pontifical approval, Ryken founded the Congregation of the Brothers of St. Francis Xavier in Bruges, Belgium. An initial impulse to work with native Americans gave way to the recognition that there were great needs among the local impoverished youth of Europe and among immigrants to the United States.
The Congregation had a slow and shaky start, with financial challenges for the first two decades and nativist bigotry in America, but by the time of his death, Ryken could be pleased that there were 133 Brothers and nine communities working among the poor in Belgium, England, and the United States. In 1860, twenty-one years after he had founded the Congregation, it was clear that his financial management skills could not meet the challenges that beset the community, so Ryken stepped out of the role of Superior General and for the remaining twenty years of his life served humbly as a member of the Congregation he had created and farmed vegetables for the Brothers’ local school.
Through Founder’s Week, we celebrate that we at Malden Catholic are the legacy of Ryken; that each year now over 12,000 students receive a Catholic education in the tradition of the Xaverian Brothers at our 13 Sponsored schools; that Xaverian Brothers ministries are at work in Haiti, Congo, and Kenya. Ryken was a man known for his plodding persistence. His achievements seemed not to derive from extraordinary talents or abilities but from unfailing faith in God, from answering a call, and from a willingness to be a humble instrument of God’s activity through him. Today, too, the Brothers and those who share partnership in their mission try to find God in the common, ordinary, unspectacular flow of everyday living. As heirs of Ryken, let us be bold in allowing our faith and trust in God to guide our steps.
We invoke Ryken in the Malden Catholic Prayer with which we begin many of our school days:
God of all, we ask your blessings on this day.
We pray that we may become men and women of simplicity, humility, compassion, trust, and zeal.
Let our work today and everyday be a reflection of your love.
May all that we do serve to strengthen the Malden Catholic Family and the world.
Lord, help us to imitate the model provided by Theodore James Ryken and the Xaverian Brothers, so that we too may fall in love with serving one another
and in doing so build your kingdom on earth.
All this we ask through the intercession of St. Francis Xavier. Amen.
Brother Thomas Puccio, CFX, Ed.D., H’18
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What's Happening Around MC? |
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Thanksgiving Prayer Service |
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Thanksgiving Food Drive Pick Up |
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Godspell Drama Production
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Malden Catholic Theater Department presented Godspell last weekend in the Thomas '66 and Olivia McDonough Performing Arts Center to three sold-out audiences. Congratulations to the cast, crew and musicians for their hard work and talented performances!
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Winter Senior Athlete Photos
All winter athletes may take their senior athlete photo on Thursday, December 8 at 2:30 PM.
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Boys Basketball
Monday, November 28
Malden Catholic Gymnasium
Freshman/Sophomores - 5:45 PM
Juniors/Seniors - 7:00 PM
Girls Basketball
Monday November 28 - Wednesday, November 30
Malden Catholic Gymnasium
Freshman/JV - 2:45 PM to 4:15 PM
Varsity (all returning varsity players, all juniors, and underclassmen) - 4:15 PM to 5:45 PM
Wrestling
Monday, November 28
50 Crystal St. Athletic Complex
10 - 11:30 AM
Boys Indoor Track
Monday, November 28
Brother Gilbert Stadium
2:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Girls Indoor Track
Monday, November 28
Brother Gilbert Stadium
2:45 - 4:00 PM
Boys Hockey
Monday November 28 - Wednesday, November 30 Malden Forum
Returning Varsity and JVA players - 2:40 PM
Returning JVB Players and new candidates - 3:50 PM
Girls Hockey
Monday, November 28
Malden Forum
4:15 PM
Boys Swimming
Monday, November 28
Mystic Valley Pool
Practice will be from at 3 PM - 4:10 PM
Winter Game Day Cheer
Wednesday, November 30 - Thursday, December 1
50 Crystal St. Athletic Complex
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
- Requirements/expectations: No experience necessary, attendance is mandatory for both days.
- Attire: All Black ex: t-shirt/tank top/shorts/leggings, white sneakers, hair up.
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