Viking Society Newsletter

July 2022

On behalf of everyone at Archbishop Wood High School, we would like to give you a Star Spangled Thank You!!!

Thank you to our Viking alumni, parents, families, benefactors and friends for your faithful support during the 2021-2022 fiscal year.

It is because of YOU that Archbishop Wood High School is able to continue to build upon its Tradition of Excellence for the Leaders of Tomorrow.

We want to take this moment to wish you all a very happy and healthy rest of your summer!

God bless!

The AWHS Elves are back in the workshop constructing one of a kind Santas for the Gerri Garofalo Scholarship! Just think of what an awesome keepsake they would make for a recent graduate!!!

Santas are $30 each and 100% of the proceeds go directly to the scholarship fund benefitting a current 11th grade Wood student going into 12th grade.

Santas are crafted out of the current AWHS school uniform, similar to the fabric of the jumpers from the 80's. The Garofalo sisters will happily take orders for Santas to be made out of other high school or grade school uniforms as well, you will just need to request that in your email order and donate a uniform to be used.

Hand crafted School Santa's that have been designed up to this point include: Nativity of Our Lord, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St. Joseph St Robert, Mary Mother the Redeemer, St. Basil's, Conwell Egan, Lansdale Catholic and much more!

Have uniforms to donate and/or wish to purchase a Santa?! Please contact Gabrielle Garofalo Snyder via email at [email protected] and put "Wood Santas" in the subject line of your email!

SUMMER IS HERE!

Don't forget to show your Viking Pride all summer long by ordering an Archbishop Wood House and/or Garden Flag to hang at home and/or your vacation property! Check out the Kimble Family's flag in Sea Isle City, NJ!

Flags also make a great gift for Wood grads to hang in their dorm rooms and/or have a piece of Wood with them at home!

Click here to order your flag online!

Questions on placing an order, please contact [email protected]

YOU + EITC = GRATEFUL AWHS FAMILIES

Did you know that you can redirect your PA Taxes to Archbishop Wood to help families in need of tuition assistance?! It's as easy as filling out the form seen above!

Do you have two minutes to spare? Watch this quick video that breaks down how it works OR participate in one of the upcoming webinars listed above.

Questions?! Please contact Trish Decker [email protected], 215-672-5050 extension 227. Thank you!

AWHS loves hearing from our alumni, no matter how new they are to the alumni community.

We recently received a heartwarming email from Amanda Morelli, Class of 2022. In her message, Amanda shared that as a result of all the exciting events like Baccalaureate and Commencement she was able to see a lot of her family.

She shared a photo with us that includes her mom, sister, cousins, and aunts - representing 45 years of Archbishop Wood!!! She loved that the photo demonstrated how much love, family, and tradition comes with belonging to the Archbishop Wood community.

Thank you Amanda for sharing this with us! Once a Viking, Always a Viking!

From left to right: Juliann Rostelli Kent, ‘81, Lisa Rostelli Visco, ‘86, Patti Rostelli Morelli, ‘88, Angela Rostelli Yost, ‘05, Sophia Kent, ‘17, Emma Morelli, ‘18, Annalisa Visco, ‘19, and Amanda Morelli, ‘22.

Congratulations to Cullen Hussey (Class of 2022) who alongside teammate Owen Quimby, placed second in the 2022 SkillsUSA National Competition in Atlanta, Georgia for digital cinema production!

We've had the privilege to witness Cullen and his many talents the past four years as he hit the stage with our Performing Arts Program, sung with the AWHS Choir, was involved with the TV Studio and Multimedia Club and much more!

Before graduation, Cullen told us his goal was to pursue a career in film and it is evident that he is already well on his way! We could not be more proud of him for chasing after his dreams and we can't wait to see all that he accomplishes! We'll be cheering for you every step of the way Cullen!

The Saint Thomas More Program held its annual Summer Camp mid-June where students were engaged in various project-based learning activities.

Each group worked hard and had fun all week getting to know each other better and spending time with each other.

Five generations of the Saint Thomas More Program are represented here, including some recent graduates who came back to help run the program.

Archbishop Wood Junior, Dan Romano, was recently recognized at the 5th Annual National Community Service Awards for his extensive involvement in community service. Dan is not only a National Award earner, but he serves as an inspiration for other students to get involved in their communities.

Dan currently serves the following programs and organizations as a volunteer...

He is a Mail Call Volunteer where he has written personalized letters to Medal of Honor recipients as part of the Medal of Honor Museum Mail Call Program.
He serves on a Teen Advisory Group with FARE for Food Advocacy.
Dan also works as a Quality Assurance Volunteer with Learning Ally, which is an organization that serves those with learning and visual challenges like dyslexia and blindness. In this program, Dan quality control checks audio recordings for books and textbooks and makes recommended changes.
Dan also serves as a "Comforteer" with Lisa's Army in Philadelphia where he writes service cards for cancer patients.

Additionally, there are a number of other organizations and programs that Dan has served for the past few years, such as the National Archives Catalog as a Citizen Archivist, where he crowd sources tagging and transcribing historical documents - Native American Photograph Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and African American History transcription on Voting Rights Acts & Slave Ships.

We commend Mr. Romano for his continued hard work and involvement in his community. Dan is a shining example of Archbishop Wood's Tradition of Excellence for the Leaders of Tomorrow.

Way to go Dan!!!

Last week was the first week of Executive Functioning Camp with Ms. Ghisu, the AWHS Learning Support Specialist.

This camp specializes in supporting students when it comes to managing the "new-to-them" academic demands that happen in the high school setting. With these increased complexes, comes the importance of discipline and planning. That is where Ms. Ghisu shines!

Our incoming freshman not only learned how, but they learned about the importance of goal setting, planning and prioritizing, organization, Memory, flexible problem solving, self-monitoring, self-regulation and much more!

Archbishop Wood

Warminster, PA

www.archwood.org