Xavier Today Winter 2013

Chinese Delegation Visits Xavier

Page 2

Ryken Award Honors Principal Donohue

Page 3

Three-Peat Perfection for Falcon Football

Page 4

“…this dispenser

is from Brother

Thomas Fahey’s

office, and Mike

explained it as

being a symbol

of openness and

availability…”

Dear Members of the Xavier Community,

I thought I had my ideas together on what I was going to write to you, and then it all changed. Every year about this time there is a retreat offered for six or so juniors and a senior leader from each of the thirteen Xaverian sponsored schools in the United States. Last night was the opening of the retreat, and those of us not there had the opportunity to participate in the opening prayer service via YouTube. As part of the prayer the senior from each school was asked to present and explain a symbol describ-ing their school, and I think ours was quite unique. Senior Michael Massaro presented a large M&M dispenser! Some of you may know from visiting at Xavier that this dispenser is from Brother Thomas Fahey’s office, and Mike explained it as being a symbol of openness and availability as students could drop into Brother’s office, take some M&Ms and stay and talk. My hope is that all of our students sense that openness and availability throughout our school from all of us who work with them each day. What a wonderful welcoming example that is of what a school should be!

I was also reflecting during that prayer service about how all of our Xaverian schools, although very different in some ways, share in the same values. We all share at the core of our mission five values we stress with our students: humility, compassion, simplicity, trust, and zeal. We all hope that for each of our students these are more than just words, but rather become part of the fabric of their lives long after they leave us. We hope all of our students have the humility to truly recognize their God-given talents, use them wisely, and be humble enough to recognize and encourage the talents of others. We hope they carry with them compassion for others as modeled by Jesus in his own ministry to the people of his time. We hope that simplicity encourages them to see more in life than the consumerism and materialism in society as they use this world’s goods wisely, always keeping in mind the needs of others less fortunate than themselves. May they always have the zeal to do everything they undertake to the fullest, and the zeal to be living examples of the Gospel message to others. And finally may they always have trust in God who created them and loves each of them unconditionally at all times.

Humility, compassion, simplicity, trust and zeal. As you read through the various articles in this issue of Xavier Today I leave it to you to see these five values in the people and activities featured here. Whether it be an article about service opportunities, academic successes, athletic victories, or faculty and alumni accomplishments, I am confident you will find these values underlying them all, for they are a vital part of who we are at Xavier.

Thank you as always for all you do for our school. Please keep us in your prayers and know that you are always in ours.

Sincerely in Christ,

Brother Brian Davis, C.F.X.Headmaster

eadmaster

a message from the

H

What’s Inside

Board of Directors 2012-2013Dr. Perry Sangalli, Chair

Attorney Christopher Smith `76, Vice Chair

Chief J. Edward Brymer (Ret.)

Mr. Carl Bulgini III `84

Attorney Christopher Carrozzella

Mr. Michael D’Aquila `83

Brother Brian Davis, C.F.X., Headmaster

Mr. Brendan Donohue, Principal

Sr. Patricia Ells, C.N.D.

Mr. Peter Etzel `71

Rev. Gregoire Fluet

Mr. Robert Guere `81

Dr. Edward Hardiman

Mr. Brian Hetherington `81

Brother Raymond Hoyt, C.F.X.

Mrs. Rosemary Kilpatrick

Mr. Dennis LaVette

Mr. David Leone `73

Mr. Neil Mitchill `93

Brother Timothy Paul, C.F.X.

Dr. Edward Shine

Mrs. Robin Taillie

Mrs. Susan Tarrant

Mr. Guy Tommasi `75

Mr. William Wrang III `75

Mr. James Parmelee `84, Advisor

Mr. Michael Picard `83, Advisor

Mr. Christopher Shane, Advisor

AdministrationBrother Brian Davis, C.F.X., Headmaster

Mr. Brendan Donohue, Principal

Mr. Nicholas Cerreta, Dean of Students

Mr. Andrew T. Gargano, Academic Dean (Grades 10-12)

Mr. David Sizemore, Academic Dean (Grade 9)

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Page 11 Page 4

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The Magazine for Xavier High School

Winter, 2013

John GuerinEditor, “Xavier Today”

Director of Communications

Margaret GaleanoDesigner

Office Of AdvAnceMent

Matthew Strekel ’99Director of Advancement

Greg BrinnAssistant Director of

Annual and Planned Giving

erin BysiewiczAssistant Director for Alumni Relations

Karen BrownResearch Associate

Meredith dreskoAdvancement Associate

Xavier Today,the Xavier High School magazine,

is published three times a year by Xavier High School.

Editorial offices are located in:

Xavier High SchoolOffice of Advancement

181 Randolph RoadMiddletown, CT 06457

(860) 347-6079www.xavierhighschool.org

LetterS tO the editOr:

Send to above address or by email to:

[email protected]

or by fax: (860) 346-6859

PhOtO creditS:

Karen Brown

John Guerin

Matthew Haywood `04

Middletown Press

New Haven Register

Bill O’Brien

Snapshot Photography

Br. John Sullivan

Xavier Yearbooks

Others as available and noted

Xavier Today

Check the Xavier calendar regularly at:www.xavierhighschool.org

2 Xavier Today

On November 14th, Xavier

was honored to host the

Basic Education Delegation from

China. This particular delegation

included two commissioners from

provinces and a large number

of superintendents of very, very

large municipalities in China. The

delegation is sponsored by the

China Education Association for

International Exchange, Ministry of

Education, P.R. China.

Headmaster Brother Brian

Davis, C.F.X. provided a welcome

and overview of Xavier. He

was joined by Principal Brendan

Donohue, Academic Deans Andrew

T. Gargano and David Sizemore

`86, Dean of Students Nicholas

Cerreta `01 and Chinese teacher

Ms. Chung-Mei Melanie D’Attilio.

Five of our students who are

studying Chinese — Spencer

Beaulieu `13 (Portland), Jacob

Lensing-Sharp `13 (Middletown),

John Reidy `13 (Northford), Jordan

Shropshire `13 (Westbrook) and

Aiden Colasanto `15 (Southington)

— spoke to the delegates and

Basic Education Delegation from China Visits Xavier

Ni hăoxié xié

following the introductory session

served as “school guides.”

Two of the delegates were

provincial commissioners.

Liaoning is the province where the

famous seaport of Dalian is located

and Guangdong is the province

where China’s first development

zone was created (Shenzhen, next

to Hong Kong) and where Rong

Hong, China’s first graduate from

a western university (Yale) came

from (Zuhai). In addition to the 21

members of the delegation, there

were two interpreters.

Daniel W. Gregg, Director

of International Programs for

the Connecticut Association of

Schools, who helped to arrange

the visit, told us, “I can say from

personal experience over the

years that this kind of exchange

is much more significant than

you can imagine in building

relationships and understanding

between educators in China and

the United States.” Mr. Gregg is a

former Social Studies Consultant

and Connecticut State Department

of Education Ambassador of

Friendship, Shandong Province.

Among the delegation visits

during the week were Berlin High

School, Daisy Ingraham Elementary

School in Westbrook, Metropolitan

Learning Center in Bloomfield and

Vinal Technical High School, also in

Middletown. X

Xavier Today 3

During the Feast of St. Francis

Xavier school assembly,

Mike Massaro `13 explained that

the Xaverian Brothers Sponsored

Schools (XBSS) Junior Retreat is a

five-day-long retreat incorporating

students from each of the 13

Xaverian Brothers Sponsored

Schools in the USA. Attendees

participate in small-group

discussions, prayer, games, and

hear speeches from students and

guest speakers. This is designed to

instill a stronger affinity for service,

strengthen their faith, and increase

their leadership abilities. Upon

returning to Xavier, attendees will

design pledges which focus on

service.

The students selected to attend

the retreat are chosen for their

2013 XBSS Junior Retreat TeamSix students commissioned to use their gifts and leadership abilities…

ability to exemplify the five values

of the Xaverian Charism (simplicity,

humility, compassion, zeal, and

trust), their exemplary leadership

ability and their dedication to

service in the Xavier community.

Mr. James Tyrol, Religion

Department Chair, Moderator

of the Ryken Service Society

and Freshman Class Moderator

conducted the XBSS Junior Retreat

Commissioning by calling forward

junior class members: Jeff Place

(South Glastonbury), Max Tulimieri

(Portland), Joe Braun (Durham), Sal

Nesci (Middletown), Jonah Cremin-

Endes (Durham) and Ryan Gadea

(Berlin).

Senior Mike Massaro and the

others from last year’s team,

John Reidy (Northford), Amar

Ojha (Rocky Hill), Carlos Mesquita

(Wallingford), Dan Drabinski

(Madison), Mario Chris (Storrs)

stood behind the students to

extend a hand of fellowship to the

newly commissioned group. X


Davis, C.F.X. addressed the

full school assembly in the Kohs

Gymnasium on December 3rd as

the school celebrated the Feast

of St. Francis Xavier and the

beginning of Founders Week. At

the conclusion of the assembly

Brother Brian announced, “Each

year in Xaverian schools it has

become the custom to honor one

member of the faculty or staff with

the Ryken Award, chosen by co-

workers as an exemplary model of

Christian dedication.

Our past reward recipients

include Mrs. Linda Charpentier,

Brother Thomas Fahey, Mrs.

Andrea Hoisl, Brother Robert

Houlihan, Mr. Tony Jaskot `69,

Mr. Richard Magner `69, Brother

Thomas Ryan, Ms. Jayne Vitale,

Brother James Boyle, Mrs. Joan

Tomasiello, Mr. Andrew T. Gargano

and Ms. Kathryn Lee.

The Ryken Award is named

after Theodore James Ryken, the

Ryken Award & Founders Week 2012Xavier High School Presents Award to Principal Brendan Donohue

founder of the Xaverian Brothers.

When asked for nominations,

faculty and staff are to include

explanations for their selection.

This year’s comments included:

• Unconditionalloveofand

dedication to Xavier

• LivestheGospelmessageand

encourages others to do the

same, an excellent role model

• Livesthefivevalues,especially

humility, seeks no recognition,

never looking for the spotlight

• Holdsstudentstohigh

standards, works to know them

and listens to their needs

• Committedtoacademic

excellence, encourages all to do

their best

• Easytoworkwith,asteady

calm demeanor and positive

attitude

• Apersonofintegrity,acaring,

trustworthy leader

It is my great honor to present

this year’s Ryken Award to Principal

Brendan Donohue.”

Mr. Donohue was appointed

Principal in 2010 and has served

at Xavier for the past ten years,

arriving in 2002 as a member of

our social studies department,

and becoming academic dean for

grades nine and ten in 2004. He

continues to teach AP U.S. History.

Amar Ojha `13 told the

assembly, “This week celebrates

the foundation of the Xaverian

Brothers and how we can

now best live out the vision of

Theodore James Ryken (Founder

of the Xaverian Brothers) by

strengthening within ourselves

and the Xavier community the five

spiritual values of the Xaverian

Charism: simplicity, humility,

compassion, zeal, and trust.”

Each day of Founders Week

carries the theme of one of the

five values: Monday - simplicity,

Tuesday - humility, Wednesday -

compassion, Thursday - zeal, and

Friday - trust.

In the closing prayer of the

assembly, Mario Chris `13 said,

“Ryken’s vision was unique. He

intended to form a community of

laymen who as religious brothers

would be sent as missionaries to

the world. As vowed members

of the people of God, sealed in

baptism and confirmed by the Holy

Spirit, they would participate in the

Church’s mission of evangelization

through a life of gospel service

lived in solidarity and availability

among the people.” X

Mr. Brendan Donohue with Br. Brian Davis, C.F.X.

4 Xavier Today

Before classes on December 13th,

all students, faculty and staff were

called to the gymnasium for a rally to

congratulate our varsity football team

on its unprecedented third consecutive Class LL

State Championship. Headmaster Brother Brian

Davis, C.F.X. opened the assembly with a prayer

and introduced Athletic Director Tony Jaskot

`69 for welcoming remarks. Tony pointed

out how difficult a task it was for this team to

repeat the championships earned in the two

previous seasons. He recounted what he called

“the miracle in New Haven” referring to the

team’s monumental comeback when it looked

as though the team might suffer a 2nd loss on

the season to always tough Hillhouse. “But I

saw coaches continuing to coach and players

continuing to play, never giving up and coming

away with a win,” said Tony.

After offering his personal thanks to all those

involved in the season. Tony introduced Head

Football Coach Sean Marinan `80 who came

forward to a standing ovation while the Xavier

pep band played the “Theme from Rocky.” In

his remarks Coach Marinan thanked the band

for “supporting the team and helping provide

an atmosphere of excitement and

success.” He then extended that same

thanks to all the student body and

all the fans who supported the team

through the season.

The coach introduced all the senior

members of the team: James Sullivan

WR/CB, Tim Boyle QB, Mark Bucior QB/

FS, Max Tylki TE/OLB, Charlton Ortega

WR/ILB, Casey Blank WR, DeAngelo

Berry RB/CB, Kristopher Luster WR/CB,

Austin Guptel WR/CB, Justin Fitzpatrick

WR/CB, Jake Rocamora RB/ILB, Braxton

Obi Etuka WR/CB, McNeil Finnegan WR/

FS, Rider Doolittle G/ILB, Matt Manzione

G/MLB, John Corraccio G/ILB, Zackery

Championship Three-PeatFootball team congratulated at morning assembly…

Xavier Today 5

# NAME POS GR

1 Andrew Meoli RB/FS 11 2 Joseph Carbone QB/SS 11 3 James Sullivan WR/CB 12 4 Nathan Gonzalez WR/FS 11 5 Michael Scherer QB/OLB 10 6 Ricky Murphy WR/CB 10 7 Tim Boyle QB 12 8 Mark Bucior QB/FS 12 8 Mark DelVecchio QB/FS 10 9 Nicholas Bisio WR/CB 11 10 Max Tylki TE/OLB 12 11 Charlton Ortega WR/ILB 12 12 Vincent Neri WR/CB 11 13 Joseph Felton WR/SS 11 14 Jacob Dobos WR/CB 10 15 Paul Garrity WR/SS 10 16 Ricky Verre K 11 17 Noah Palo WR/FS 11 18 Casey Blank WR 12 19 Christian Sienko WR/CB 10 20 Kevin Tobias TE/ILB 11 21 DeAngelo Berry RB/CB 12 22 Kristopher Luster WR/CB 12 23 Austin Guptel WR/CB 12 24 Bobby Rose WR/CB 11 25 Justin Fitzpatrick WR/CB 12 26 Ted Duarte RB/ILB 10 27 Connor Kuziak WR/CB 10 27 Jake Rocamora RB/ILB 12 28 Christopher Anderson RB/ILB 11 29 Michael Epright RB/ILB 11 30 Cyle Jones WR/FS 10 31 Braxton Obi Etuka WR/CB 12 32 Edwin Luster WR/CB 10 33 Ian Scott WR/CB 10 34 Eric Lee TE/OLB 10 35 Garrett Fernstorm RB/OLB 11 36 Tim Pearson WR/CB 11 37 Jacob Corrone WR/FS 10 38 Troy Christian WR/CB 10 40 Brian Watson TE/ILB 11 41 Andrew Verre WR/K 10 42 Cole Thorburn WR/CB 10 43 Jesse Bonner WR/SS 10 44 McNeil Finnegan WR/FS 12 44 Colin Morris TE/MLB 10 45 John Almquist RB/DB 10 46 Matthew Blanchard TE/OLB 10 48 Robert Baldo RB/ILB 10 49 John Sullivan WR/FS 10 50 Kyle Wesner G/DE 11 51 Matthew Murphy C/ILB 10 52 Colin Cunningham C/ILB 11 53 Joseph Prefitera TE/ILB 10 54 Rider Doolittle G/ILB 12 55 Derek Jones G/ILB 11 56 Matt Manzione G/MLB 12 57 John Corraccio G/ILB 12 58 William Garrity G/ILB 11 59 Thomas Vanacore T/DE 11 60 Joe Depaolo-Boisvert T/DE 10 60 David Field G/NG 11 62 Zackery Creeron G/NG 12 62 Domenic DeDomenico G/NG 10 65 Julian Pereira T/DE 10 66 Paul Marinan G/MLB 10 67 Kevin Dean G/DE 12 67 Earle Dupuis C/NG 11 68 Andrew Griglun G/NG 10 69 Michael O’Rourke T/DE 10 70 Shorney Douet G/DE 10 71 Riley Byrne T/DE 11 72 Chidiebere Broderick T/DE 10 73 Jordan Delsesto T/DE 12 74 Cooper Clarkin T/DE 11 75 Max Schumann C/DE 12 76 Miguel dos Santos T/DT 12 77 Benjamin Lisle T/NG 12 77 Anthony Plochocki T/NG 10 78 Tanner Kern T/DE 10 79 Jonah Dorsey T/DE 12 80 Peter Dovidaitis TE/SS 11 82 Cole Bruni TE/OLB 10 84 David Horvath WR/CB 11 85 Andrew Masse TE/OLB 12 86 Daniel Drabinski TE/OLB 12 86 Anthony Parcesepe WR/CB 10 88 Mitchell Rodd WR/CB 10

Middletown City Council Commends Champions

February 4th the Common Council of the City of Middletown publicly recognized the

achievements of the 2012 Class LL State Championship Football Team. The first item on the

agenda was the resolution submitted by Councilman Gerald E. Daley `70 on behalf of Mayor

Dan Drew and the rest of the Common Council and presented to Coach Sean Marinan `80 and

team members.

There will be a Championship Banquet honoring the team on March 24th at the Aqua Turf in

Plantsville, CT. The team’s special awards will be announced at that time. X

Creeron G/NG, Kevin Dean G/DE, Jordan Delsesto

T/DE, Max Schumann C/DE, Miguel dos Santos

T/DT, Benjamin Lisle T/NG, Jonah Dorsey T/DE,

Andrew Masse TE/OLB and Daniel Drabinski TE/

OLB. He also asked assistant coaches Greg Jaskot

`00 and Kyle St. George to come forward and

then asked all the team players to stand while the

whole assembly gave them a tremendous round

of applause.

Team captains Tim Boyle and Kris Luster

added their words of congratulations to the team

and thanks to their coaches, teammates, teachers

and fans.

Principal Brendan Donohue added his

congratulations and urged the players and

everyone in the audience to carry this enthusiasm

and commitment to excellence into every aspect

of their lives. The band then sent everyone off to

their classes with one final upbeat number. X

2012 Football Roster

6 Xavier Today

The February Winter Break was used by a

team of Xavier students and teachers to

join in a service trip to Guatemala. The

Campus Ministry Office arranged the trip through

International Samaritan. International Samaritan

“mission trips are conducted in the spirit of the

Good Samaritan, but represent the universal

humanitarian characteristic of helping one’s

neighbor.”

The trip was listed this way, “Seventy percent

of the residents in the Guatemala City garbage

dump suffer from illiteracy. Help change that

statistic by working with students at the I.S.

schools and nurseries, building classrooms,

teaching English and health, or serving on a

medical brigade.”

The participating students were Shane Baker

`13 (Southington), Jacob Corrone `15 (Clinton),

Emmett Coughlin `13 (Portland), Kevin Iott `16

(North Haven), Nicholas Iott `13 (North Haven),

Mark Kennedy `13 (North Haven), Kevin Lewis

`15 (Hamden), Joseph Murphy `16 (Portland),

Matthew Naarden `15 (Clinton), Brian Watson

`14 (Essex). Participating teachers were Matthew

Haywood `04 and David Applegate `98.

The trip began boarding a 6am flight at

Bradley Airport on Saturday morning taking

them to Chicago, Miami and finally arriving at

the retreat center in Guatemala City about 10pm

(local time). The Sunday and Monday schedule

prepared to acclimate the group to the needs

and tasks that they would encounter during their

service trip. Tuesday through Friday were geared

toward the actual volunteer projects at Francisco

Coll School and Santa Clara Nursery.

In two brief messages from Mr. Haywood

during that week we were told: “We visited the

two schools again, and we started clearing the

land where we will be building two bathrooms

for the school.”

“We went back to the two schools and

went to the classrooms with the children in the

morning. In the afternoon we scraped paint off

of a wall that we will be painting tomorrow.”

On Saturday it was a 6am wake up call to

begin the trip home via Dallas/Fort Worth with

a scheduled arrival after 11pm. X

GuatemalaStudents choose to serve during their February vacation

Xavier Today 7

The Xavier community reacted to the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook

Elementary School in prayer and a school-wide expression of

sympathy and condolences.

Principal Donohue announced, “any student who is in need of

any counseling simply needs to ask his teacher. The guidance office,

campus ministry office and all the administrators will be available for

them if needed at any time moving forward.”

A display was also posted in our main hallway remembering the

deceased. Beneath the heart which said “You are in our Prayers,” there

was a string bearing little angels and below that another string that

simply said “Newtown Angels.”

The morning prayerO Jesus, protector of little children, hear our prayer this day for all

of us who are devastated by the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary

School.

To Your merciful keeping we commit all who have died; for in You

there is life for all eternity.

To Your kind embrace we especially commend the parents and

families of those children whose voices are now stilled; hold them in

Your loving arms.

Remember the injured and grant them, according to Your kind will,

healing and restoration.

Remember all who have been traumatized by what they witnessed,

the students and the teachers and the staff, all whose world has been

shattered; comfort them in the midst of tears.

Remember the police and medical workers and all who seek to

bring order after chaos; help them to continue to serve in this dark

hour with courage, wisdom and compassion.

Remember the community of Newtown which will never be the

same again; bring to it the peace that can come alone from You.

O Mighty One, we know that You have come that we might have

life and have it abundantly. Help your Church at this time to shine the

light of Your compassion and truth into the darkness and despair. Help

Your people to proclaim, even with tears, that hatred and death will

not be the end of this world; for You will come to bring a Kingdom of

light and joy and peace. We ask it in Your name.

Amen X

Prayers for NewtownReminders throughout the school...

M ario Chris `13 (Storrs), John Reidy `13 (Northford) and Jeff

Witz `13 (New Britain) have been selected as Finalists for the

International Conrad Awards.

Team Xavier Falcons developed an “adaptive leading edge droop

mechanism for increased flight safety and fuel efficiency on private

aircraft.” The project was entered in the challenge area of Aerospace

& Aviation. They were one of 20 high school teams from around

the world invited to compete at the 2013 Innovation Summit, April

10-13, in Houston, Texas for the chance to win one of four $10,000

prizes. Only five teams in each of the four categories can advance

to the 2013 Innovation Summit. Earlier this school year Team

Xavier Falcons was named as one of the 130 semi-finalists in the

competition.

You can help the team in the People’s Choice Award. “Before the

2013 Innovation Summit, the Team Xavier Falcons has one more

hurdle to jump — the People’s Choice video contest. From March

18-29, the public is invited to review the profiles of the 20 finalist

teams, view their product videos and cast a vote for their favorite

video. CT-area residents are encouraged to vote for their hometown

team by visiting http://www.conradawards.org/groups. One vote is

allowed per person in each challenge category. Public votes provide

valuable points in each team’s overall score.”

The students also presented their work at the American Institute

of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Young Professional,

Student, and Education (YPSE-12) Conference held at Johns Hopkins

University, MD in November 2012. X

Int’l. Conrad AwardsSenior finalists are Mario Chris, John Reidy and Jeff Witz...

Mario Chris John Reidy Jeff Witz

$1,414 for Lung Cancer AllianceHeadmaster Brother Brian Davis, C.F.X. and Principal Mr. Brendan

Donohue presented a check for $1,414 to Nicholas Sowa `14 and Ryan

Sowa `13. The money was raised during November as part of Lung

Cancer Awareness Month. The brothers from Middletown initiated the idea

and Nick explained that, “During the month of November the students

wore white shirts, ties, and could wear white socks for a dollar. Every

dollar donated can help save a life!” X

8 Xavier Today

Men: Team Rankings 15 Events Scored

1) Xavier 70

2) Amity Regional 69

3) Branford 42

4) Fairfield Prep 38

5) Daniel Hand 34

5) Sheehan 34

Boys 55 Meter Dash

3) DeAngelo Berry `13

Boys 300 Meter Dash

3) Luke Velez `14

Boys 600 Meter Run

3) Sabastion Herrera `13

Boys 1000 Meter Run

3) Mitchell Brown `13

Boys 1600 Meter Run

2) Zachary Williams `14

3) Peter Strom `13

Boys 3200 Meter Run

3) Zachary Williams `14


Indoor Track Wins SCC Title

Xavier’s Indoor Track

team followed up on

their SCC Western Sectionals

Win by capturing the overall

SCC title edging out Amity

Regional 70-69 at the Floyd

Little Athletic Center.

Mike Pucci wrote an

article “INDOOR TRACK:

By a nose, Xavier wins SCC

title; Mercy finishes 8th”

which appeared in the New Haven Register and in the Middletown

Press. Melanie Stengel of the Register snapped this photo “SCC Track

Championships. Harold Cooper (L) of Hillhouse, and DeAngelo Berry

of Xavier” which was featured in the article.

5) Peter Strom `13

6) John O’Hara `15

Boys 4x400 Meter Relay

2) Xavier


2) Owen Wrinn `14

3) Casey Blank `13

4) Luke Velez `14

5) Ethan Rodrigues `15

6) Matt Welch `14

Boys 4x800 Meter Relay

2) Xavier


2) Matt Pias `13

3) Dan Hergott `15

4) Peter Strom `13

5) John O’Hara `15


Boys High Jump

5) Jacob Dobos `15

Boys Shot Put

6) Matt Manzione `13

Xavier highlights from the official results:

Schmaling scores Assistant Coach of the Year

Director of Athletics Tony Jaskot

`69 told us recently that “Roy

Schmaling, who coaches Mercy

High School’s JV soccer team, was

named ‘Assistant Coach of the Year’

by the Connecticut Girls Soccer

Coaches Association. Roy was

presented the award at the Girls All

State Soccer Banquet on Sunday,

January 13th at the Aqua Turf. ”

In the photo, Mr. Schmaling is standing between Mercy’s Director

of Athletics Tim Kohs `85 (on left) and Marcus Harley, the Soccer Head

Coach at Mercy. Mr. Schmaling told us that “The team’s record was 12-

0-1. They scored 52 goals and allowed only 5.” Mr. Schmaling is a Social

Studies teacher here and serves as a Moderator for Xavier’s Debate Club

and Model United Nations Club while also serving as the Assistant Soccer

Coach at Mercy High School. X

As we were sending this

edition to press we

heard that “Xavier’s Elliot

Antler (170) completes

dominating tournament

with 9-1 win in New England

finals #ctwr.” We re-tweeted

that announcement from

CTWrestling Online. Just

one week after the Xavier

senior was named the Connecticut State Open Wrestling Championship’s

outstanding wrestler and captured the state title in the 170 lb weight

class, Elliot continued his winning season with a great performance at the

New England Finals in Providence.

The Hartford Courant and The New Haven Register both included

announcements that Antler claimed a New England title by defeating

Jared Jensen of Brunswick, Maine, 9-1. The win capped a perfect season

for Elliot and was the culmination of a year of hard work following a third-

place finish in the New England’s as a junior. “I just busted my butt all

season to get to this point; it all paid off,” Antler said.

The highlight of the CT State Open Wrestling

Championship for Xavier was the Championship in the

170 lb weight class by senior Elliot Antler of Hebron.

Elliot was named the tournament’s outstanding

wrestler. The following is from a story by Gerry

deSimas, Jr. for Connecticut Wrestling Online:

The top three finishers (in the 170 lb weight class)

from last year’s State Open each returned this year, including defending

champion Chris Chorzepa from Newington, runnerup Joe Murphy of Avon

and third place finisher Elliot Antler of Xavier. Chorzepa rolled through the

first three bouts. Antler beat Murphy in the semifinals by pin in 5:23.

In the final, Antler earned a 6-5 win and the Open championship

and was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler, as voted by the

coaches. X

Elliot Antler `13 Named Outstanding WrestlerAnd Wins New England Title

Xavier Today 9

One of Xavier’s newest club activities, the Robotics Club, is

gathering a lot of interest, support and already seeing early

successes as team competitions are underway. They won a

major and highly competitive $6,500 sponsorship grant from NASA and a

$5,000 grant from UTC.

The team will compete in the Regionals at WPI March 7-9.

The team is made up of 20 students (9 seniors, 4 juniors, 2

sophomores and 5 freshmen) and 14 adult mentors and advisors. Mr.

Stephen Ambrogio, Xavier Mathematics & Computers teacher, is the

faculty club moderator. Several other faculty, staff, parents and students

have come out to volunteer and support the team.

Mrs. Shannon Kief, one of the Parent Mentors, told us “The team

competes in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) and our Regional

event is the first week of March. We have built a robot that meets

both challenges: throwing frisbees into targets and doing pull ups on a

pyramid. This being our first year, it was amazing to see the excitement

of both the kids and the adults who have been working so hard as they

watched it all pay off in a successful scrimmage last Saturday. Teams who

have been around for years repeatedly complimented our mentors and

kids on the sturdy and elegant design they came up with.

Our robot performance is actually only about a third of the items for

which we are judged in competition. We are also judged on our gracious

professionalism/team spirit and, finally, on our outreach and marketing

efforts. We get points for successfully submitting pictures, for getting

articles in the newspaper and for generally spreading the word about

FIRST and Xavier’s team.”

Robotics Earn Rookie All-Star AwardFullMetal Falcons are on their way to success

Fullmetal Falcons First Robotics Team #4557

STUDENTS:Alan Harrington `13 ( East Hampton) Project Manager, Tushar Vig `13 (Durham)

Assoc. Project Manager, Christian Cannata `13 (Cromwell), Miles Mortali `13 (Old

Saybrook), Ethan Damuck `13 (East Haddam), Nicholas Iott `13 (North Haven),

Stephen Olis `13 (New Britain), Jonathan O’Brien `13 (East Hampton), Daniel

Colavecchio `14 (Colchester), Mark Kennedy `13 (North Haven), Abhishek Gupta

`16 (Rocky Hill), Ruban Hussain `14 (Higganum), Zach Radel `15 (Middletown)

Safety Officer, Liam Iorio `15 (East Hampton), Sean Morrissey `16 (Southington),

Colin Brady `14 (Wallingford), Alec Gilarde `14 (Cobalt), Jameson Kief `16

(Plantsville), Connor LoPresti `16 (Middletown), Daniel Van Kirk `16 (Southington)

TEAChERS:Mr. Steve Ambrogio (Mathematics/Computers & Robotics Club Moderator /FIRST

Contact), Mr. Mike Ricciuti (Mathematics/Science), Mr. Ivan Bailey (Computers/

Director of Technology)

MENTORS:Technical Mentors: Mr. Lee Bouldin (UTC), Mr. Rhea Goodrich (UTC), Ms. Ellen

McIsaac (UTC). Parent Technical Mentors: Mr. Mike O’Brien, Mr. Damon Radel, Mr.

Daniel Colavecchio. Business Mentors: Mr. Jeffrey Marino `79 (Alternate FIRST

Contact, Parent Mentor Mercy TechTigers), Mr. John Esposito `94 (Home Depot),

Mr. Andrew O’Bright (Stop & Shop), Parent Business Mentors: Mrs. Mary Carol

Morrissey, Mrs. Shannon Kief

The following note from one of the team’s mentors Mr. Jeffrey

Marino `79 is an excellent summary of where they are at this time:

Aces’ High Five to the FullMetal Falcons!

Congratulations to the Xavier FullMetal Falcons successful entry

into the fray at the Suffield Shakedown 2013 on Saturday,

February 16, 2013. The Suffield Shakedown, Aces High’s 12th

annual FIRST Robotic Scrimmage at Suffield High School, Suffield,

CT — this pre-ship date scrimmage is an informal and exciting event

giving teams the opportunity to practice their driving skills, test

their robot and observe other teams on the official FIRST playing

field. This event is designed to showcase the talents of our teams,

practice and have fun!

The FullMetal Falcons were awarded the Rookie All-Star AwardThe FullMetal Falcons also placed first (had the most points) in

the seeding for the playoffs, which allowed them to have first picks

of an Alliance Team. An Alliance is made up of three robotics teams

working together on the playing field. Their Alliance was eliminated

after a valiant first round effort where the FullMetal Falcons scored

the majority of its Alliance Team’s points.

You should all be proud of how far you have come in such a

short time! Keep up the great work and carry on to the WPI FIRST

Regional Competition. X

10 Xavier Today

At the final school-wide assembly of calendar year 2012, Xavier’s

students, faculty and staff came together for an Advent/Christmas

prayer service. As is their tradition, the student peer ministers prepared

“The Christmas Story” to help everyone remember the true meaning of

Christmas. This year they introduced us to a variety of characters who

expressed their feelings and emotions about the holidays in a scene

described as “Christmas Eve as people packed the super store Walmart.”

The main character in the story was the store greeter.

“We saw one man, the Walmart man, who, through his uncanny

knowledge of the bible, helped the other characters cope with their

issues and see the good in life and in Christmas.” In his closing words the

Walmart man “Jay” said, “I’m glad you two finally understand my life.

The Christmas StoryNow go and have a Merry Christmas.” The two final characters said, “Did

he say... my? As in his life?” and “The cashier did say his birthday was

tomorrow.”

In closing remarks to the Xavier community, Headmaster Brother

Brian Davis, C.F.X. said, “I would like to thank Mrs. Hoisl and our peer

ministers for their fine job in preparing this prayer service for all of us.

Special recognition to senior Jay Schaff who wrote the entire script for this

service.”

“As you go on your vacation, may God’s blessing go with each of

you. May your time away be blessed with a spirit of peace and of joyous

celebration. And may the blessings of this holy season continue into your

new year. Thank you. God bless you, and Merry Christmas.” X

Xavier’s Italian Club spent Saturday December 1st enjoying New

York City at the height of the Christmas season.

Sixteen students and six adults boarded a bus at Xavier. The

students were: Michael Criscuolo `15, Anthony Franco `16, Noah

Goff `16, Dan Keleher `16, Andrew Lombardo `14, Henry Manuel

`15, Connor Milone `14, Massimo Montanaro `16, Gabriella

Montanaro (Mercy `14), Sal Nesci `14 (President of the Italian Club),

Justin Oliveri `16, Cesar Rivera `16, Michael Santostefano `16,

Michael Saraceno `16, Ben Sodergren `15 and Joey Ternullo `16.

They were accompanied by club moderator Ms. Jayne Vitale, Mr.

David Sizemore, Mrs. Nada Sizemore, Br. John Sullivan, C.F.X., Mr. Sal

Nesci and Mrs. Tina Montanaro.

They visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rockefeller Center,

St. Patrick’s Cathedral and checked out the windows on Fifth Avenue.

Being the Italian Club, the next stop was Little Italy. They arrived

at Mulberry Street and went to Café Napoli for dinner. There were

visits to pastry shops to bring home some treats to the family. X

Italian Club in NYCExperiencing the Christmas season

A Christmas PresentEarly in December the Senior Peer Ministry Team offered an early

Christmas present to Faculty and Staff with children.

They provided “Babysitting for an evening so that you can go Santa

shopping or just have some time to yourself.”

There was pizza, juice and snacks along with some adult supervision

by the Community Life Council. A variety of activities were organized

in the Xavier Gym for toddlers and older children and they were even

prepared for infants and babies in the faculty dining room.

It was a well-received gift by a number of families who appreciated the

sentiment offered in the Spirit of the Season.

By all accounts it was fun for everyone!

The peer ministers simply signed their invitation: Shane, Jim, Michael,

Zac, Gavin, Andrew, Bob, Emmett, Corey, Mike, Anthony, Matt, Jay, Peter,

Dan, Matt, Liam, Mike, Carlos, Alan, Shane. X

Xavier Today 11

January 23rd we were in the

midst of our January deep

freeze, but the welcome mat was

out as Xavier greeted members of

the Class of 2017 who have been

accepted into the Br. James Kelly

Honors Program. A large number

of these 8th graders and their

parents gathered with faculty, staff

and administrators to celebrate

their accomplishment.

Director of Admissions, Brother

Thomas Fahey, C.F.X. led the

gathering in an opening prayer. All

then dined on a meal prepared and

served by the Navin Brothers Food

Service.

Following dinner, Principal

Mr. Brendan Donohue gave an

explanation of the Br. James Kelly

Honors Program saying, “The

Honors Program that you are now

part of has been around for many

years at Xavier High School and

we are extremely proud of the

accomplishments of our honors

students. Students coming out of

this program are being accepted

into the most prestigious colleges

and universities in the country.

They are going on to receive

advanced degrees. They are

entering exciting and rewarding

fields and making a difference

in their communities and in the

world. We have christened this

program the Br. James Kelly

Honors Program. Brother Kelly

worked at Xavier from 1974-1991

and served as principal from 1982-

1991. Brother devoted his life to

serving young men like you who

walked the halls of Xavier and of

several other Xaverian schools.

Brother recently passed away

after a heroic battle with cancer.

Throughout his life and even in

his last days he stood as a model

for us all of what it means to be

a Catholic educator and a man of

faith. His legacy lives on in all of us

who call Xavier our second home.

You now share in that legacy and

become recipients of Br. Kelly’s

Class of 2017 honors Program8th graders welcomed into the Br. James Kelly Honors Program

wisdom, his charisma and his faith.

Do him honor by doing your best

here at Xavier and by living out our

motto to ‘Be a Man,’ just as he did.”

Principal Donohue then

introduced a member of the

Xavier class of 2009, Dan McGrath

(pictured below). Dan is a senior

at Fairfield University, majoring in

Political Science and International

Studies with an Environmental

Studies Minor.

At Xavier Dan was Student

Council president and captain of

the football team among his many

activities. He received the two

highest honors that Xavier awards

to a graduating senior: the Loyalty

and Service Award and the Falcon

Achievement Award. Principal

Donohue said “this was the only

time in the history of the school

that these awards have been

presented to the same student.”

Dan is applying to several law

schools, in addition to considering

job opportunities at GE energy and

a few different law firms. He hopes

to one day complete a dual JD/

MBA program and begin working

in the renewable energy industry.

Next on the agenda was the

distribution of Honors Certificates

to all of the students in attendance.

The evening concluded

with the announcement of

those students who had earned

academic scholarships as part of

the new Ryken Scholars Program.

Any student who scored 95 or

higher on the Entrance Exam is

offered a scholarship to attend

Xavier and are known as the

Ryken Scholars. Only students

who take the initial Entrance

Exam in November are eligible

to receive these scholarships.

Pictured are students who were

present and received a certificate

acknowledging their achievement.

Alumni Honors Memorial

Scholarship, a $1,000 scholarship

given to students who score 95%:

Patrick Hocking and Jeremy Fleig.

Brother David Eddy, C.F.X.

Honors Memorial Scholarship,

a $1,500 scholarship given to

students who score 96%: David

Monti, Sean Watson, Thomas

Blanchard and Ryan Weis.

Thomas Aiello Honors

Memorial Scholarship, a $2,000

scholarship given to students who

score 97%: Peter Goggins and

Trevor Morris.

Bishop Vincent Hines Honors

Memorial Scholarship, a $5,000

scholarship given to students

who score 99%: Neil Patel, Brett

Myskowski, Justin Brady, Ryan

McNeil, Joseph Mascaro and

Dylan McCarthy. Brother Robert

C.F.X. Honors Scholarship, a

full tuition scholarship given

to the top Entrance Exam test

taker Calvin Colby. Principal

Donohue said, “Being in the Br.

James Kelly Honors Program is

a notable distinction and a great

accomplishment. Tonight we

recognize you for achieving that

honor just as we recognize all

of our students when they

succeed.” X

“To this day one of my strongest memories of Xavier was receiving my

first letter in the mail, like all of you recently received at Christmas and

being notified of my acceptance into the Honors Program. I could not fully

realize at the time the impact that the Xavier Honors Program would have upon

my academic and personal development. I can honestly say to you that the

acceptance letter may have been one of the most important letters I have ever

received. Even in my first week in the program I noticed my teachers urged us

all to not only commit ourselves to academic excellence and growth, but to also

pursue multiple extracurricular activities, so that a steady balance of in-class and

out-of-class commitments could be found.” — Dan McGrath `09

12 Xavier Today

We received the following note of thanks for the part that a group

of our students played in helping a prominent civic organization.

Ensemble director Mr. Erik Elligers was particularly pleased with the

term “professionalism” being applied to our students.

Middletown Rotary Club held its first Holiday Wine Tasting &

Auction at the Crowne Plaza in Cromwell on Friday, November 30,

where guests enjoyed jazz music by the Xavier High School Jazz

Ensemble. Six young men performed with flawless professionalism

at the event in order to fulfill their community service graduation

requirements.

Beverages for tasting were generously donated and organized by

The Wine Cellar of Middletown, owned and operated by Nella & Mario

Mazzotta. (Note: Mario is a 1985 graduate of Xavier)

Jazz Ensemble Performs at Rotary FundraiserA note of thanks…

The event was organized to raise money and awareness for the

local programs that are supported by the Middletown Rotary Club.

We wish to extend gratitude to the Xavier High School Jazz

Ensemble, The Wine Cellar of Middletown,the Crowne Plaza and all

our guests for making its first Holiday Wine Tasting & Auction such a

successful event. X

If you shop at Stop & Shop, Price Chopper or Big Y food stores and

present your store card when making purchases, you could help

Xavier without spending anything extra. If you register your card with

their special programs (see below), Xavier will receive direct benefits that

these stores have set up in support of education.

We have registered with all three programs and are pleased to

announce that through the purchases of registered shoppers, Xavier has

received over $2,000 from the Stop & Shop A+ Bonus Bucks Program, and

Office supplies (in-Kind donation) valued at hundreds of dollars from both

the Price Chopper “Tools for Schools” and the Big Y Education Express

programs.

Here is information on the programs:

Stop and Shop: A+ School Rewards Program!

After you register your card, each shopping trip

at any Stop & Shop using your STOP & SHOP

CARD earns CASH for our school! Xavier will receive

a check at the end of the program. The money can

be used for any of our school’s educational needs.

Remember, even if you registered your card last

year, you must re-register this year for our school

to receive credit. Attending to this simple process

makes a HUGE difference to our school. We need your support.

http://www.stopandshop.com/aplus

Our ID for the Stop & Shop Program is #06359

Price Chopper: Tools for Schools

Help Your School Get Its share of FREE Equipment! Each school year,

our Tools for Schools program lets you earn points to help your

school get needed equipment FREE. This

year, you’ll earn Tools for Schools points

on everything you purchase from July

29, 2012 through March 30, 2013. You

can use the link we’ve listed to register

your card or check if your card is already

registered. Supporters who enrolled their

card last year, do not need to re-enroll this year.

http://www.pricechopper.com/savings/tools-for-schools

School Code 49811 (XAVIER HIGH SCHOOL)

The Big Y Education Express Program

This program is an easy way to help Xavier

by doing something you do everyday —

grocery shop. Just look for items marked with

the Education Express school bus logo at your

local Big Y World Class Market. When you purchase these items using your

Big Y Express Savings Club — or Silver Savings Club — card you’ll earn

points for the school. Xavier can redeem them for FREE supplies such as:

Computers, Art Supplies, Sports Equipment, Musical Instruments, Books

and much more!

It’s that simple! You can even track your individual point contribution

on bigy.com/educationexpress and on Facebook at facebook.com/

bigyworldclassmarket! Please help us raise dollars in educational supplies

for Xavier. “Together we can help inspire a child with every purchase, so

please participate.”

Sign up at http://www.bigy.com/EducationExpress or at the service

desk at your local store.

Xavier’s school ID# is 5400. X

Attention Food ShoppersSupport Xavier without an extra out-of-pocket expense

Xavier Today 13

The Xavier Engineering

Team participated in

the Real World Design

Challenge (RWDC) for

the fifth year in a row. The team

of six seniors and one junior

competed against seven other

teams and was chosen as the State

Champions at the state competition

held at the US Coast Guard

Academy in New London. In this

design competition, teams compete

with the hope to be chosen to

represent the state at the national

competition in Washington, DC

to be held in April. This will be

Xavier’s fourth consecutive year

representing Connecticut. In 2011

Xavier won the National Aviation

Challenge.

Principal Brendan Donohue

announced the victory and

congratulated all the team

members. Xavier’s 2012-13

Aviation Engineering Team

members are: Mario Chris `13

(Storrs), Tyler Cusack `13 (Clinton),

Zach Ziobrowski `13 (Cheshire),

Jeff Witz `13 (New Britain), John

Reidy `13 (Northford), Mark Breault

`13 (Ivoryton), Brian Wilcox `14

(Marlborough) and team moderator

Michael Humphreys `04 who also

teaches Mathematics and Science

at Xavier. The team is pictured just

inside the Xavier foyer with Mario

holding the Governor’s Cup which

will remain with the school for

another year.

The State Challenge was to

design a small Unmanned Aircraft

System (sUAS), which includes one

or more fixed-wing Unmanned

Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and to

develop a business plan in support

of commercial applications based

on the following mission scenario.

Mission Scenario: Search for a

missing, injured and immobilized

child with a blue jacket during the

day at the Philmont Ranch in a

designated 2-mile radius circular

search area. This area is sized to

allow line-of-sight contact between

the operator and aircraft to be

maintained, per FAA guidelines.

Teams should refine the vehicle

design, sensor payload selection,

search pattern, best altitudes for

the selected sensor payload, and

associated ground equipment to

find the child in the minimum time

while also minimizing cost. X

M ario Chris `13 (Storrs) and Jacob Lensing-Sharp `13

(Middletown) have been named as National Merit Finalists in

this nationwide program. Headmaster Brother Brian Davis C.F.X and

Principal Mr. Brendan Donohue called them to the administrative

offices where they congratulated them and showed them the

certificates that will be officially awarded to them during graduation

ceremonies in May. Mr Donohue said, “Congratulations to Mario

and Jacob. I am very proud of their many accomplishments and am

happy that they have received recognition from the National Merit

Scholarship Corporation. They have worked extremely hard over the

years and this recognition is well-deserved. I am sure their parents are

very proud as is the entire Xavier community.” X

National Merit Scholarship Finalists

Engineering Four-Peat Engineers capture fourth

consecutive state win at Real World Design Challenge

14 Xavier Today

Student/Athletes Commit to College TeamsSix seniors announce college plans

MAx TyLKI

(Wethersfield)

Brown (Ivy League,

NCAA Division I)

Max was All-SCC, CHSCA

All-CT Team, Walter

Camp All-CT Team, New

Haven Register All-State,

CHSCA Class LL All-State

Albanese Signs with Bryant

In November, Matt Albanese `13 (East Haddam)

arrived early with his family to meet with

administrators and coaches to commit formerly to

playing baseball for Bryant University.

As a junior last year, pitcher/outfielder Matt

Albanese was named to the second team 2012 New

Haven Register All-State Baseball Team. Matt was the

sole Xavier player named to the 2012 NH Register All-

State team. He was named to the Southern Connecticut

Conference All-Quinnipiac Division Team and received

the award for Highest Batting Average on Xavier’s Varsity. Besides excelling on the ball

field, Matt has been a top student. He has been a consistent honor roll student and is a

member of the National and Spanish Honor Societies. X

February 6, 2013

was the first day of

the regular signing

period for students to be

able to complete a National

Letter of Intent to Division

I or II NCAA colleges. The

Galluzzo Media Center,

the school library, was the

scene for this year’s event

honoring five student/

athletes who have been

accepted to college and

have committed to playing

for the school’s athletic

teams. Principal Brendan

Donohue, on behalf of


Davis, C.F.X. and Director

of Athletics Tony Jaskot

`69, welcomed the

families of the honorees

as well as the coaches and

other faculty and staff and

members of the media

who were in attendance.

He congratulated

the seniors for their

achievements and wished

them well as they commit

themselves to future

challenges.

After their individual

announcements and

signing, each student

was joined by his family,

Headmaster Brother

Brian Davis, C.F.X.,

TIM BOyLE

(Middlefield)

Quarterback – UConn

(Division I, Big East

Conference)

Tim was a 3-year starter

and senior co-captain.

Tim was All-SCC, CHSCA

All-CT Team, Walter Camp

All-CT Team, New Haven

Register All-State,

WELI Player of the Year,

CHSCA Player of the Year

JONAH DORSEy

(Newington)

Central Connecticut

State University

(Division I, Northeast

Conference)

KRIS LuSTER

(Meriden)

Wesleyan (Division III, New

England Small College

Athletic Conference)

a senior co-captain

Kris was All-SCC, CHSCA

All-CT Team, Walter Camp


Register All-State, Hartford

Courant All-State

MAx SCHuMANN

(Old Saybrook)

University of Chicago

(Division III, University

Athletic Association)

Max was CHSCA All-CT

Team, Walter Camp


Register All-State, Hartford

Courant All-State

Principal Donohue, Coach

Marinan and Assistant

Coach Greg Jaskot `00

for photographs. In the

photo above, John Holt

of channel 3 and John

Pierson of Channel 8 are

interviewing Tim Holt and

Coach Marinan. All the

student athletes had time

to meet the members of the

media who were present.

Congratulations to all of

these student athletes. We

will announce any future

similar commitments to

college athletic programs as

we receive them between

now and graduation in

May. X

Xavier Today 15

BOyS CROSS COuNTRy

ALL-CONFERENCE

Mitchell Brown `13

Peter Strom `13

Zachary Williams `14

ALL-QuINNIPIAC

Mitchell Brown `13

Peter Strom `13

Zachary Williams `14

Sabastion Herrera `13

ANDREW COBuRN `13

(Middletown)

2012 CSCA All-State

The Connecticut Soccer Coaches

Association (CSCA) honored

Andrew at their All-State Banquet

at the Aqua Turf in Plantsville, CT.

MATT LyONS `13

(Old Saybrook)

Matt was named Sports

Person of the Week for

the Harbor News/New

London Day

Students Take a Stand for LifeStudents For Life Join 40th Annual March For Life

January 25th a group of our students and adults made a 24-hour

pilgrimage to Washington, DC to join in the 40th Annual March for

Life. Members of Xavier’s Students For Life and others boarded a

bus at around midnight on Thursday and returned in the wee hours of

Saturday. In DC they joined hundreds of thousands who came from as far

as Kansas, Maine and Florida to let their voices be heard. Above is a group

picture of our students outside the White House.

At noon on Friday, there was an open rally with prayer on the National

Mall organized by U.S. and Roman Catholic and Orthodox Bishops

followed by a march to Capitol Hill and the Supreme Court.

The March for Life organization said, “This year in particular we aim

to raise awareness in the minds of all Americans of the 40th Anniversary

Southern Connecticut Conference 2012 Fall Sports All-Conference

More Student/Athlete Honors

FOOTBALL

DIVISION I OFFENSE

OL: Zack Creeron `13

WR: Kris Luster `13

RB: DeAngelo Berry `13

QB: Tim Boyle `13

FOOTBALL

DIVISION I DEFENSE

LB: Max Tylki `13

BOyS SOCCER

All-Quinnipiac

Andrew Coburn `13

Ken Callahan `14

Continued on page 20 >

16 Xavier Today

Freshmen Grandparents DayA little Christmas cheer and an optional tour of the school...

In December over 170 grandparents of Xavier’s freshmen came

to Xavier for a little Christmas cheer and to see the school their

grandsons have chosen. The grandparents were offered an

optional tour of the school. Members of Xavier’s Ambassadors Club*

(sophomores: Seve Burgos, Connor Marsalek, Mike O’Rourke, Andrew

Watson and juniors: Noah Palo and Tom Vanacore) conducted the tours

and answered questions.

The grandparents were escorted to the Arthur M. Kohs Gymnasium

where they and the entire student body were treated to a Christmas

concert presented by Xavier’s Fine Arts Department. The brass, jazz and

string ensembles, chorus, jazz and concert bands all presented songs of

the season. This mini concert was a preview of the full Christmas concert

that was shared with the public that night.

The final event of the afternoon took place in the St. Joseph Hall dining

room where the grandparents were joined by their grandsons at the close

of the school day. Ambassador Club member Tom Vanacore `14 offered

a prayer before the group partook of Christmas cookies, coffee, tea and

punch. Director of Advancement Matt Strekel `99 offered his thanks to

Big Falcon/Little Falcon Social

I t had already been over three months since the Class of 2016 was

welcomed officially to Xavier at Falcon Blast when our senior big falcons

joined together with the freshmen little falcons for a Christmas Social in

the Dining Hall.

After an opening prayer by Director of Admissions Br. Thomas Fahey,

C.F.X., Academic Dean for Freshmen Mr. David Sizemore `86 had the Big

Falcons and Little Falcons enter into a brief discussion based on the theme:

‘Christmas Past, Christmas Present, Christmas Future.’ They spent several

minuteswhileenjoyingmilkandcookiesontheReflectionQuestions:•

Since the start of the New Year, how have you become an active member

oftheXaviercommunity?Explainwhatyouhavedone.•Inwhatways

canyoubeanAmbassadorforChristinyourpresentlife?•Whatareyour

goals for the New Year? They also spent a little time hearing a review of

School Seal Symbols (Torch, Heart, Flower, Entwined Rings) before being

dismissed to the school-wide Advent/Christmas assembly. X

Xavier Today 17

NhS Christmas Drive and Teddy Bear CollectionThank you to all that participated

We would like to thank

everyone in the Xavier

Community who supported us

once again with the National

Honor Society Annual Christmas

Drive. We collected $1300 for the

“Make A Wish” Foundation. Thank

you to those people who were

exceptionally generous and went

out of their way to help with this

special collection. The “Make A

Wish” Foundation does wonderful

things for children suffering with

extreme illness. This is the third

year that we have been able to

support this worthy charity.

We also conducted our second

teddy bear collection. Fifty stuffed

bears were delivered to the St.

Raphael Campus of the Yale New

Haven Hospital. They were very

appreciative of our efforts and

the bears will be well-received by

patients in the children’ ward. We

delivered 65 bears to the Children’s

Hospital in Hartford.

Xavier’s chapter of the National

Honor Society seeks each year

to conduct a school-wide service

project. It is through the continued

support and generosity of the

entire school-community that this

is possible.

Thank you again to all of you

that help us with these worthy

causes for it is your kindness that

makes Xavier the very special and

blessed school that it is.

A special thank you to the

National Honor Society officers and

members of NHS who orchestrated

our Christmas Drive! X

the grandparents for being with us and their family involvement with

their grandsons. Director of Communications John Guerin acted as

emcee for the event and he introduced the other members of the Office

of Advancement who had made the afternoon possible: Mr. Greg Brinn,

Asst. Dir. for Annual and Planned Giving, Ms. Erin Bysiewicz, Asst. Dir. for

Alumni Relations, Mrs. Karen Brown, Advancement Research Associate

and Mrs. Meredith Dresko, Advancement Associate.

*The Ambassadors Club under the direction of Brother Thomas Fahey,

Director of Admissions and Mr. David Sizemore `86, Academic Dean for

Freshmen assists the Admissions Department in representing Xavier High

School in recruitment and marketing events such as this, Open House and

grade school visits. A Xavier Ambassador must be prepared to speak in front

of student and parent groups, demonstrate excellent leadership skills, and

possess strong school spirit. X

18 Xavier Today

Homecoming 2012 was

celebrated at a variety

of events during the

extended Thanksgiving weekend

and all indications are that its

activities were enjoyed by many.

The weather cooperated and

there were good turnouts, from

the 2012 Yearbook reception

on Tuesday through the alumni

athletic events and reunions.

The Class of 2012 kicked off

the festivities with a Yearbook

Reception at Xavier. Almost 60

members of the Class were able

to come by and pick up their

yearbooks in St Joseph Hall.

Many of them roamed through

the building to meet their former

teachers. A number of teachers,

administrators and staff members

also joined them in the dining hall

to talk about changes in their lives

since graduation in May.

Director of Advancement Matt

Strekel `99 captured the photo of

the group who came to Xavier for

Alumni Soccer game held at Xavier

and posted it on class notes in our

Alumni App.

homecoming

A large group of former Cross

Country runners came for the

Alumni XC Meet @ Xavier. All

former Xavier harriers were invited

to race with the current team.

For the Class of 1978,

Homecoming included their 35th

Reunion which they celebrated at

the Middletown Elks Club. Their

committee members (Tom Koba,

Terry O’Brien, Steven Johnson,

Bob Lawson, Jeff Del Favero)

posed for a picture.

We look forward to telling

you more about Homecoming

weekends in the future. If you

have something you want to

share, alumni can post it on our

App (available for iPhone, iPad

or android devices - just search

for the app under Xavier alumni)

or you can email: webmaster@

xavierhighschool.org. X

Xavier Today 19

CAS Awards Winners AnnouncedThree Xavier Seniors Honored for Excellence

Seniors Joshua Gosselin (Wethersfield)

and Neil Krupa (Essex) will receive

Fine Arts Awards from the Connecticut

Association of Schools (CAS) on Monday

April 1st at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville.

Neil will receive the Visual Arts Award and

Joshua the Performing Arts Award. Both

will receive plaques for excellence and

distinguished service to Xavier. They will

be treated to dinner as guests of CAS and

Jostens (the awards program co-sponsor).

The Connecticut High School Fine Arts

Awards annually honors two outstanding

seniors from each of the CAS member

schools in Connecticut who excel in the

performing or visual arts. They must possess

the qualities of scholarship and leadership.

Excelling in the performing or visual arts

is of primary importance in the selection.

Scholarship and Leadership are also

supporting criteria.

Senior Matthew Pias (Higganum) will

receive the Scholar-Athlete Award from the

Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS)

on Sunday May 5th at the Aqua Turf Club in

Plantsville. Among Matt’s accomplishments

in Sports, he has been a captain this year on

both the Cross Country and Indoor Track & Field

teams. Academically, Matt has been recognized

as National Merit Commended Student, AP

Scholar, a member of the National and Spanish

Honor Societies and has received Xavier’s

prestigious Brother Celestine Award.

The Scholar-Athlete Program annually

recognizes one high school senior from Xavier,

as a CAS member high school, whose academic

and athletic careers have been exemplary,

whose personal standards and achievements are

a model to others, and who possess high levels

of integrity, self-discipline and courage. X

Xavier Alumnus Rob Novak `92

who died in an auto accident

in 2008 was remembered on

December 12th, by family, friends,

and another Xavier Alumnus

who had a very special reason for

attending the event. Tom Jolie `78

and his wife Allison drove down

from Maine to be part of the event

at the Deep River Town Hall. The

event was to decorate a floragraph

of Rob Novak that appeared on

the Donate Life Rose Parade

Float in Pasadena, California on

January 1st. Tom and Allison lost

their 18 year old daughter Erika

in a 2010 car accident. Her organs

were donated as was Rob’s tissue

following his death.

Cryolife, the sponsor for Rob’s

Remembering Rob NovakA Whirlwind of Emotions

floragraph, flew a representative

from Atlanta to attend. Rob’s wife

Sage (Van Dyke, Mercy `92) told us,

“Cryolife is the facility that stored

and distributed Rob’s donations to

the three baby boys and one man

that Rob helped.” Donate Life CT

and the New England Organ Bank

were also in attendance.

Sage said, “Yesterday was the

9th anniversary of our daughter

Grace’s heart surgery. I chose to

have Rob donate his heart tissue/

valves in honor of Grace and the

fact that this event falls on the

anniversary of her surgery is a very

nice coincidence.”

Rob’s brother Greg Novak

`95 was also there and we were

able to capture a picture of him

with the Jolie’s and Sage with the

decorated floragraph. Tom and

Allison presented Sage with three

roses one for her and each of Rob

and her daughters, Grace (9) and

Natalie (6). X

Joshua Gosselin `13, Performing Arts Award winner Neil Krupa `13, Visual Arts Award winner

Matthew Pias `13, Scholar-Athlete Award winner

20 Xavier Today

This has been an absolutely incredible

academic year to date at Xavier. As

you see in this edition of “Xavier

Today,” our students have accomplished

so much to garner both state and national

recognition and accolades. The most obvious

may be our “three-peat” Class LL Connecticut

State Champion Football team. A banquet is

planned for March 24th at the Aqua Turf to

celebrate the accomplishments of not only these student-athletes but

also those coaches who support and mentor them in so many ways in

and out of season. A special note should be made to recognize Head

Coach Sean Marinan `80, P`12, P`15 who not only does a stellar job

on the field but also works with his players on guiding them to the right

colleges and programs after Xavier.

Perhaps not so obvious is the success of our rookie Robotics Team,

our Conrad Award Finalists, the Knights of Columbus essay winners, and

the Real World Design Challenge winners. It is just testament to the fact

that Xavier educates and sustains the whole young man. From brains to

brawn, we do it all and do it well. Sustaining excellence at Xavier is the

key to our future success, and we couldn’t do it all without the support

of our donors.

This edition of the magazine includes a wonderful piece featuring

Roger Madero `83. Roger’s story highlights the importance of a place

like Xavier, and the lasting influence that it can have on a man’s life. I

want to personally thank Roger for his dedication and support of Xavier

over recent years and for his service on the Alumni Association Executive

Committee as well. Roger’s Xavier story is not yet finished, and we all look

forward to seeing and hearing about what he accomplishes in the future.

In recent months I have also been working with members of the Class of

1986 in establishing an endowed scholarship in memory of their classmate

Peter Gelinas `86. Peter was a victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks on

the twin towers. I never had the chance to meet Peter, but I feel like I know

him through working with his classmates. Peter was one of those Xavier

guys who was friends with everyone. From the smallest freshman to the

biggest senior, Peter supported each Xavier man in whatever endeavors

they were pursuing. Beginning next year, a current student will benefit from

the class’s generosity in Peter’s memory and will carry on Peter’s legacy, in

some small way.

Peter’s and Roger’s stories are different, but similar. Here are the

stories of two Xavier men who made the most of their Xavier experience

and wanted to take advantage of all that they learned here. Both found

success after Xavier, but never forgot what they learned here and carried

it forward to all parts of their lives. These stories are pervasive throughout

our community, and I would love to hear yours. What does Xavier mean to

you as an alumnus, a parent, a friend of our community? How has Xavier

influenced your or your son’s life? My hope is that we can begin collecting

these stories as we move toward celebrating our 50th anniversary in 2013.

Have a wonderful spring!

Matthew L. Strekel `99

Director of Advancement

A Message from the Director of Advancement

Students For Life Join 40th Annual March For Life

and the toll this has taken on these

United States. Our theme includes

an equation 40=55M, to signify

that in the forty years since Roe

v. Wade, 55 million of our fellow

human beings have lost their lives

to abortion. Fifty-five million is

nearly the population of California

and New York combined. Clearly,

abortion truly is the human rights

abuse of today and our theme this

year reflects this reality.

From a global perspective,

“These marches for life that are

taking place across the United

States are very important, not only

for the country, but for the whole

world,” Bishop Carrasco de Paula,

head of the Pontifical Academy

for Life, told EWTN News Jan.

23. “These events which favor

human life without limits, from

conception until the end, have

become a very important historical

reference for all other Catholic

countries worldwide,” he added.

Continued from page 15

“And if we talk about the Vatican

as another face of the Church, then

we can say the Church supports

these marches in the whole world

because the participants are the

Church themselves.” X

Xavier Today 21

Alumni Presentations at Career NightJanuary 30th, members of

the Junior Class came back

to school to gather information

on career requirements and

opportunities at an updated version

of our Annual Career Night. The

changes to the evening’s format

were made to create a true Career

Fair environment. As in past

years, it is required for Juniors to

attend. But this year, we invited

any Seniors and Sophomores

who might be interested. In the

future we will also be inviting our

younger alumni; our Graduates of

the Last Decade alums, in order to

encourage additional networking

among our alumni.

Each student was asked to

visit at least five of the career

presentations. Many visited six

or seven and a few made it to

eight, nine or even ten during the

evening.

While the Career Night was

in full swing, the Junior Parents

gathered in St. Joseph Hall

where our guidance department

presented information on the

college search process, the SAT’s

and concluded with an overview

on financing college.

Student volunteers assisted

members of the Office of

Advancement in welcoming

presenters and helping them get

settled in their various presentation

Xavier’s Career Center and Career Networking

For members of our Online Community, we are offering our

Career Center and Career Networking features. While most of

the Xavier website is completely open to the public, these features

are reserved for “logged in” members of the community only

(Alumni, Present Parents, Present Grandparents, Faculty/Staff and

students). If you have never completed the “first time login” please

read about the Online Community first on our website.

Through our Online Community we have partnered with

LinkedIn and made available the power of this

professional network “to help accelerate your

career!” The announcement of the Career Center

and Career Networking can be found on our

website main page under “Announcements.” X

rooms. The volunteers also helped

register all of the students who

participated in the evening.

A hearty Thank You to all the

presenters and volunteers for

helping to make the evening a

success and to student volunteers:

Mario Chris, Jack Woods, Jonathan

Cyr, Nick Zoccoli, James Biega,

Zac Camner, Alec Guzauckas and

Jonathan Zoccoli. X

Career Presentations:Accounting

Steven DeMartino `87

Jeffrey Muzio `84

Architect

David Wenchell `93

Banking

Garrett Birdsey `99

Brenda Woods

Broadcasting

David Fisch `96

Dennis House (xBHS `81)

Business

Peter Mondani `75

Chef

Luke Murphy

Clergy

Gregory Galvin

James Tanguay

Construction

Brian T. Kronenberger `75

DEA Agent

Mark Kaczynski

Dentist

Mark P. Catania `85

Engineering

Chris Holden

Darren Taillie `07

Entrepreneur

Joseph D’Ambrose `04

Ian Boccaccio `94

FBI Agent

Kenneth Callahan, P`14

Firefighter

Albert Santostefano `69

Fitness and Sports Management

Paul Bruni `82

Illustrator

William Thomson, P`14

Information Technology

Phyllis Winters, P`16

Insurance

Melissa O’Hara, P`15

Lawyer

Vincent Cervoni `86

David Tycz `94

Creative Marketing

Communications

David Kroha, P`06

Musician

Matthew Campisi `07

Oncologist

Miklos Fogarasi, P`12, `13

Otolaryngologist

Timothy O’Brien `97

Pharmacist

John Gadea, P`14

Scott Stoppa `78

Tara Ogle

Physical Therapy

Kathleen Kane, P`16

Plastic Surgeon

Zeno Chicarilli, P`93, `98

Plumber

Michael Masselli `86

Politics/Government

Sebastian N. Giuliano, Esq. `70

Police Officer

Michael Hassett `88

Michael Perruccio `92

Private Investigator

Richard Siena

Sales

Dennis Tulimieri, P`14, `15

Careers in Science

Joseph Biega `83

Brian O’Neill, PhD. `74

Teacher

James Royce `99

US Army

Sergeant Jose Gomez

US Navy

Domenic Guiliano, NC1

Veterinarian

Neil Marrinan, P`13

22 Xavier Today

playoffs, 22-6 to Fairfield Prep at

Bowen Field in New Haven in the

Class L championship game. He

was Honorable Mention All-State

and was named to the Hartford

County Conference All-Star team.

He had offers from Boston College,

the University of Rhode Island,

the University of Connecticut,

Louisville, the University of New

Hampshire and Syracuse. He also

starred in track at Xavier, setting

the school record in the discus in

his sophomore year. He proceeded

to break that record in each of the

next two seasons.

At Boston College, he was

a four-year letterman. In his

freshman year he made the travel

squad and played on special

teams. He played in the Mitsubishi

Mirage Bowl against Temple in

Japan on Dec. 10, 1978. He started

On January 31st, the Xavier

representation at this year’s

Middletown Sports Hall of Fame

Induction ceremony was even

larger than usual. One of the

reasons was the induction of the

Undefeated 1971 Football Team.

Along with Hall of Fame Coach

Larry McHugh and Assistant

Coaches Pete Golarski and Frank

Rudini, the team and their families

celebrated the occasion. The team

gathered before the dinner for a

group photo.

After the inductions we were

able to get our three individual

inductees: Joe Ferraro `78, Mike

Muraca `89 and Jason Schuberth

`92 together for a photo.

The Class of 2013 Middletown

Sports Hall of Fame Inductees

and team were read into the Hall

by either Jim Bransfield, “Voice

of Middletown Sports,” or the

evening’s MC Rich Coppola of

FoxCT Sports. The videos may

also seen on our YouTube page.

http://www.youtube.com/user/

XHSCTWebmaster

Joe Ferraro was a football star

at Xavier and at Boston College.

He was the middle guard on

Xavier’s 10-1 1977 team which was

undefeated in the regular season,

then lost in the first-ever football

Sports hall of Fame Inductees

at middle guard in his sophomore

year, but an injury sidelined him

for parts of that and the next

season. As a senior, he started at

defensive tackle and was named

first team All-New England and

won the ESPN Vitalis Award for

his outstanding play against Texas

A&M on Sept. 5, 1981. He signed

a professional contract with the

Denver Broncos and after tryouts

with the Broncos, also had tryouts

with the Cleveland Browns and

the Tampa Bay Bucs. A knee injury

suffered against New Orleans in a

pre-season game effectively ended

his career and he retired from

football in 1984.

Mike Muraca was a star football

player at Xavier High and Wesleyan

University. A 1989 alumnus of

Xavier, Muraca starred at running

back, gaining nearly 1,000 yards

as a sophomore. After an injury-

plagued junior season, he gained

1,033 yards on 141 carries good

for 11 touchdowns as a senior.

He was named to the Middletown

Press All-County football team

and to the second team of the All-

Connecticut Conference team.

At Wesleyan, Muraca was

moved from running back to

receiver and as a freshman, he

had 16 catches for 342 yards. In

his sophomore year, he became

a go-to receiver and twice had

games with 14 receptions. In his

junior year, he had 55 catches

for 631 yards. In his final season,

this time under new coach Frank

Hauser, Muraca went back to his

running back position. He had 15

touchdowns in the eight-game

season and twice scored five TDs

in one game. He finished with

617 yards on 115 carries and also

caught 31 passes for 368 yards.

In 1990 he was named to

the New England Small College

Athletic Conference’s All-Star First

Team. In 1991, he was named

first team All-NESCAC and second

team All-ECAC return specialist. In

1992, he was named the NESCAC

Offensive Player of the Year. When

he graduated from Wesleyan, he

left holding 11 offensive records.

(Left to right) Joe Ferraro `78, Jason Schuberth `92 and Mike Muraca `89

Many thanks to Jim Bransfield, Middletown Press correspondent

for the article “Hickeys one of Middletown’s irreplaceable sports

families.”

The article was prompted by the fact that youngest daughter

Christine Hickey Fritz was inducted into the Middletown Sports Hall of

Fame in January.

Her brothers, Jay and Charles, are both Xavier Alumni; Jay is class

of 1976 and Charles, 1982. Their mother and father, Barbara and the

late J. Paul Hickey were inducted into Xavier’s Hall of Honors in 2007.

The article is excellent and one that we hope you’ll take a

few moments to read it. It can be found online http://www.

middletownpress.com. Just search for the article title.

Thanks Jim for recognizing the Hickeys and Catherine Avalone

and the Middletown Press for the photo of Barbara Hickey holding the

family portrait. X

Hickey Family Lauded

Continued >

Xavier Today 23

Jason Schuberth was a pitcher

who excelled at the Little League,

Intermediate League, High School,

Legion and collegiate level. In Little

League he pitched the Exchange

Club team to the city championship

as a 10-year old. In the Ahern-

Whalen League in 1988, he pitched

Vinci Oil to the Ahern-Whalen Jr.

Division championship striking

out 12. In that same year, he

pitched the team to the Jr. District

9 championship. In 1989, he

pitched the A-W All-Star team, the

Middletown Police, to the District

9 championship beating Madison

8-1. He pitched Middletown to

the state championship beating

Southington 9-4. He then pitched

Middletown over Bristol, R.I. in

the best of three series to advance

to the Eastern Regional and won

a game in the Regional, 8-2 over

Edison, N.J.

At Xavier his was 8-0 in 1992

and beat Notre Dame 2-1 in the

league title game. He was Player

of the Year in the All-Connecticut

Conference and named to the Class

LL All-State team. In his four year

American Legion career, his record

was 22-5. He was named to the

Zone 3 All-Star team in 1992 and

1993.

At Central Connecticut State

University, he had a career pitching

record of 13-15.

1971 xavier Football TeamThe first undefeated football team

in Xavier High School history was

coached by Connecticut High

School Coaches’ Hall of Fame

member Larry McHugh. They won

the Hartford County Conference

Championship and allowed only

24 points in compiling a 9-0 record.

Alan Warzecha, Stan Opalacz,

Greg Woods, Gary Grockowski and

Rusty Dorflinger became members

of the Middletown Sports Hall of

Fame. The team, which was led by

captains Bob Chamberlain and John

Sullivan, was given a CIAC Award of

Merit for outstanding achievement.

President Richard M. Nixon sent

a message to McHugh, who was

honored as Coach of the Year, and

said: “By encouraging excellence

in athletics and a competitive

yet sportsmanlike attitude

among young people, you add

immeasurably to their educational

experience and enrich the entire

fabric of community life.” X

Our old Falcon mascot costume is showing definite

signs of aging. The members of the Senior Class Gift

Committee have decided to raise funds that will provide a

new Falcon mascot costume for the school (pictured). With

everyone’s help, the Class of 2013 will be able to leave a Class

gift that will be visible to new falcons for years to come. Help our

falcon “fly” at Xavier events! If every senior would contribute

$20 we will make our goal.” X

help Our Falcon “Fly” at Xavier Events!

Falcon Talk Passes 1,000

The “Falcon Talk” episodes continue to grace the airways and have

already exceeded 1,000 listens. Reporters interview students,

teachers, coaches, administrators and others presenting news of

interest to the Xavier Community. A link to the current version will be

found on our website’s front page. Previous releases are on the Falcon

Talk page found under News & Events and Students tabs. X

1971 xavier Football Team

Members of the 1971 team who were present for the Hall of Fame induction.

24 Xavier Today

W illiam McKenna `88, Middletown’s Chief of Police, spoke to Mr.

Montini’s Law Enforcement class. Chief McKenna took the class

through his personal journey from Xavier, through college and into

his career in Law Enforcement.

Chief McKenna was back to share some of his life and profession

with a group of Xavier seniors in an informal classroom setting.

He gave them a synopsis of the role of a police officer, the

responsibilities and expectations. He also gave them some insight

about what it takes to become a police officer or someone in a Law

Enforcement related field.

He explained the role of the Middletown Police Department in

terms of its Mission Statement, “To proudly serve in partnership with

the community through a commitment to excellence, professionalism

and integrity.” On several occasions he mentioned how many of

the expectations for himself and those under his command came

from his years here at Xavier, and how our motto “Be A Man,” still

influences him today. The Chief also answered student questions. X

Police Chief William McKenna `88, Addresses Class

Auction Chairperson Mrs. Amy Brough announced,

“Faced with the conditions from the Blizzard

of 2013 (aka Charlotte/Nemo), we are moving

the auction to March 16th. We sincerely apologize for the

inconvenience. But we will work to make the night every

bit as entertaining and exciting as originally planned. The

GREAT NEWS is that our emcee David Fisch, auctioneer Eric

Hummel, ale tasting sponsors Back East Brewery and City

Steam, and signature cocktail sponsor Onyx Spirits Company

can all accommodate this schedule change. And the Jazz

Band will play on, too!!!”

March 16, 2013

Xavier’s21st Annual Auction

CelebrationFeaturing

A Taste of Xavier(Area Restaurants present featured menu items)

Food, Beverages & Silent Auction (6 – 7:30)Live Auction (7:45 – 10 p.m.)

Tickets available onlinewww.xavierhighschool.org/auction2013

$40/person in advance - $50/person at the door

Auction Postponed Until Saturday, March 16th

Register online at www.xavierhighschool.org/auction2013

Dear friends,

For those of you who do not know me, I’m a

member of the graduating class of `99 and a

current social studies teacher here at Xavier High

School. While I have been actively involved with

the Alumni Association for some time now, it

was only a few short months ago that I accepted the position

of Alumni Association President, eager to continue the positive

work that I have been lucky enough to be part of over the past

few years. With the recent successes of the Xavier Alumni App,

the Alumni Executive Committee’s involvement in the annual

XLI summer program for rising seniors and last summer’s

Golf Tournament that honored our association’s founder Rich

Feitel, I am confident that we are heading in a direction of both

engaging our Alumni in the Xavier community and building

strong relationships with our current students on a level that has

never been reached before. In addition to the events previously

listed, the Alumni Association looks forward to a great remainder

of the academic year with upcoming events such as the newly

revamped spring raffle, the annual meeting of the association in

May and a first ever breakfast for all members of the graduating

class hosted by the Alumni Executive Committee. As we look to

the future, I look forward to meeting members of the school’s

family with whom I am not yet acquainted and welcoming you all

in helping to build an ever stronger Xavier community.

Sincerely,

James Royce `99

Xavier Today 25

Xavier HigH ScHool 31St annual Alumni Golf ClAssiCProgram

8:30 am registration begins.

10:00 am Shotgun start. lunch on the course. Play will include prizes for winning teams, longest drive, closest to the pin and there will be an automobile prize for the hole-in-one contest.5:00 pm cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and dinner. awards distribution and raffle will take place after dinner.

spACe is limited to the first 144 pAid Golfers

Xavier HigH ScHool181 Randolph Road

Middletown, CT 06457Phone: 860-347-6079

Email: [email protected]

Xavier HigH ScHool 31St annual Alumni Golf ClAssiC

to benefit tHe StudentSof Xavier HigH ScHool

Portland Golf ClubFriday, June 7, 2013

Ronald Raffele `70, Chair

John Pulaski `70

David O’Brien `70

Joseph Krywinski`70

Robert Fales `74

Donald “DJ” Thompson `75

Roger Madero `83

Scott MacBain `83

Fred Hedberg `84

Charles Carroll `85

XavieR HigH SCHOOl 31ST annual

Alumni Golf ClAssiC

Committee

Company Name __________________________________________________

Individual Name __________________________________________________

Street __________________________________________________________

City __________________________ State ________ Zip __________________

Day Phone ___________________ Cell Phone ________________________

Email __________________________________________________________

I wish to participate in one of the following

sponsorship levels (as described at left):

m Event Sponsor $5,000 $__________

m Event Co-Sponsor $2,500 $__________

m Corporate Sponsor $1,500 $__________

m Cart Sponsor $1,000 $__________

m Putting Green Sponsor $ 500 $__________

m Flag Sponsor $ 250 $__________

m Tee Sponsor $ 150 $__________

m Program Sponsor $ 50 $__________

m Player Fee $ 150 x (#of players) _______ = $__________

m Dinner Only Fee $ 50 x (#of people) _______ = $__________

TOTAL ENCLOSED $__________

To pay by CHeCk: Please make checks payable to “Xavier High School.”

To pay by CrediT Card: Check one: mMaster Card mVisa

mAmerican Express mDiscover

Name ________________________________________________________

(as it appears on credit card)

Credit Card # ____________________________________________________

Signature: _____________________________________ Date: ___________

Exp. Date: ______________________________________________________

regisTer online: www.xavierhighschool.org/31stalumnigolfClassic

The golfers in my foursome are:

Name: ____________________________________ Yr of Graduation _______




Complete and Mail or Fax 860-346-6859 this form to:

alumni golf Classic, Xavier High School

181 Randolph Road, Middletown, CT 06457

www.xavierhighschool.org/31stAlumniGolfClassic


Alumni Golf ClAssiCReGistRAtion

To ensure a position in this year’s golf Classic, payment is required

with this registration form. Space is limited to the FiRST PaiD 144 golfers.

Kindly respond by May 3, 2013.


Alumni Golf ClAssiCPortland golf Club • Friday, June 7, 2013

Event Sponsor (2 Available) ..................... $5,000*

• listing on all event correspondence and promotion

• Signage on lunch Station and on Dinner Tables

• Tournament Banner recognition

• name displayed on course custom Hole Flags

• Corporate signage displayed on course tee

• Program recognition

• lunch, Dinner, golf Cart & greens Fee for 8 golfers

Event Co-Sponsor ........................................$2,500*

• Signage at lunch Station and on Dinner Tables

• Tournament Banner recognition

• name displayed on commemorative custom Hole Flags




Corporate Sponsor .......................................$1,500*

• Signage at lunch station

• name displayed on commemorative custom Hole Flag




Cart Sponsor ................................................. $1,000*

• Signage displayed on all golf carts and on course tee



• lunch, Dinner, golf Cart & greens Fee for 1 golfer

Putting Green Sponsor .................................. $500*

• Signage displayed on Putting green



Flag Sponsor ................................................... $250*



Tee Sponsor ..................................................... $150

• Signage displayed on course tee


Player Fee ..........................................................$150

• lunch, Dinner & Cocktails

• golf Cart & greens Fee

• Commemorative alumni golf gift

Dinner Only Fee .................................................$50

Sponsorships:

www.xavierhighschool.org/2013sponsors

sponsoRship oppoRtunitiesPlease complete registration form at right and submit with payment

*Those who sponsor at this level will receive

a commemorative custom Hole flag.

The Xavier Alumni Association is requesting your help

in supporting our Spring Raffle. The money raised from this raffle directly assists the students of Xavier High School. This year the Alumni Association has made a few changes to the raffle format. An exclusive 2,000 tickets will be sold at a cost of $20 per ticket for a chance at the fabulous prizes listed at right…

Join us for the 31st Xavier High SchoolAlumni Golf Classic

2013 Xavier Spring Raffle Offers High-Stake Prizes!

1st Prize: .98 Carat Round Brilliant Cut Diamond, G Color, VVS Clarity, GIA Certified

2nd Prize: 6000 Watt Generator

3rd Prize: Baseball Package: 4 Boston Red Sox tickets with roundtrip limo transportation

4th Prize: 4 Philadelphia 76ers Floor Seats tickets redeemable at Wells Fargo Arena

5th Prize: $200 Dining Dollars redeemable at Mohegan Sun Casino

Tickets can be purchased February through mid-June by cash or check directly at: Xavier Office of Advancement; 21st Annual Auction & Mardi Gras Celebration; Xavier home sporting events, Connecticut Rental Center in Middletown, CT; Malloves Jewelers in Middletown, CT

All ticket stubs and money must be returned to the Xavier Office of Advancement no later than Friday, June 14, 2013. Checks should be made payable to “Xavier High School.” The drawing will be held on Tuesday, June 18th at 2:00 p.m. at Xavier High School. Participants need not be present to win. For any questions, please call the Office of Advancement at 860-347-6079.

The State of Connecticut requires that all ticket stubs must be filled out completely with an individual’s name, address, and phone number. Please Note: United States Postal Code now requires that we no longer mail raffle tickets through the USPS. All tickets must be sold and purchased in person. We apologize for any inconvenience.

26 Xavier Today

The University of Nevada, Reno has announced that Jim Hofher `75 has joined the ranks of their football coaching staff. In their online biography, they say, “A veteran coach with more than three decades in the collegiate ranks, Jim Hofher is in his first year as Nevada’s assistant head coach. He will also coach the Wolf Pack’s wide receivers. He joined the Wolf Pack staff in January of 2013 and the 2013 season will mark his 33rd year of coaching college football.

1960s Class of 1967:

Francis (Fran) Pawlowski [email protected] (505) 722-5871)

Class of 1968: Gene Nocera [email protected] (505) 722-5871)

Class of 1969: Tom Tokarz [email protected]

1970sClass of 1970:

Gary Giannelli [email protected]

or David W. O’Brien [email protected]

Class of 1971: Peter Etzel [email protected]

or Dr. Robert Jakubiec [email protected]

More Alumni News…Class of 1972:

Paul Morello [email protected]

Class year 1973: Rev. Greg Woods [email protected]

Class year 1974: Carey Hewitt [email protected]

Class year 1975: Thomas Sweeney [email protected]

Class year 1976: Atty. Chris Smith [email protected]

Class year 1977: Atty. Donald Hubbard [email protected]

or Ray Quintin [email protected]

Class year 1978: Jeff Del Favero [email protected]

Class year 1979: Atty. John Wolter [email protected]

Joseph LaBella `79 told us, “My wife Irene and I live in Marlborough. We have twin sons, James and Michael, who are in the Class of ’16 at Xavier. I am an attorney and have practiced primarily in insurance defense through the years, currently with Abbott & La Bella in Farmington. We are also very involved with our community, we coach Future Problem Solving at RHAM Middle School, I have served on our local Board of Selectmen, and we both teach in the Faith Formation Program of our Parish, St. John Fisher.”

1980sClass year 1980:

Thomas J. Byrne [email protected]

Class year 1981: Rich Smith [email protected]

or Atty. Mark Ryan [email protected]

Class year 1982: Erik Robinson [email protected]

Class year 1983: Joe Biega [email protected]

Class year 1984: Jeff Muzio [email protected]

or Sal Pepitone [email protected]

Class year 1985: Scott Wallace [email protected]

Class year 1986: Edward (Ted) Wiegand [email protected]

or Dan Pickett [email protected]

or Dr Chris Coppola [email protected]

Class year 1987: Paul Costello [email protected]

or Kevin Moravek [email protected]

Dr. John Conroy `87 says “I am building a new orthodontic office near the intersection of Randolph Road and Coe Ave (141 Coe Avenue.) I anticipate that we will open at the new facility in late summer 2013! In this economy, I am being bold and building things, supporting our economy.”

Class year 1988: James Truscinski [email protected]

Class year 1989: Mark Mikullitz [email protected]


Gregg Lallier [email protected]

Class year 1992: Joseph Geremia [email protected]

or Matt Dunn [email protected]

Class year 1993: Andy Mule [email protected]

or Stephen Bayley [email protected]

Class year 1994: Rev. Thomas Franks [email protected]

Robert Pascale `94 wrote “After attending Villanova University I lived in California for 12 years working as a business and financial analyst. Four years ago I moved back to Connecticut and took a position as a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones Investments in Wethersfield.”

Class year 1995: Joseph Lane [email protected]

Class year 1996: Will Longo [email protected]

Class year 1997: Christopher Mashia [email protected] or [email protected]

(You may email your news to your Class Contact as listed or email it to [email protected]. Visit our Alumni Class Contacts page on the website under Advancement & Alumni if you would like to be a Class Contact for your graduating class.)

Alumni “iPad Giveaway” Winners

Congratulations to the winners of our Alumni “iPad Giveaway:” Dan Pickett `86 and Joseph Lagosz `02!

Reminder to all our alums, get the alumni app for your mobile device from your Apple or Android store and enjoy some of it’s alumni only capabilities. Just search the store for Xavier Alumni.

Xavier Today 27

What’s New?Winter 2013

Name ___________________________________________________ Class Year ________

Address ___________________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip _____________________________________________________________

Phone # Home _____________________________ Work __________________________

Email _____________________________________________________________________

Employed by _______________________________________________________________

Position ___________________________________________________________________

College/University attending __________________________________________________

Major/Degree ______________________________________________________________

NEWS ____________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Signature __________________________________________ Date __________________

Have you moved, changed jobs, married, earned a degree, had a baby and not

let us know? Well, we’d like to hear from you. Please take a minute to fill out the

form below so that we may update our records and let your fellow alumni know

how (and where) you are.

Mail to: John Guerin, Xavier High School, 181 Randolph Rd., Middletown, CT.

06457. Email: [email protected].

Or call: (860) 347-6079

Nicholas Tosca `97 is now a Lecturer in Earth Sciences at the University of St Andrews in the United Kingdom. Prior

to this he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University and Research Fellow at Churchill College, University of Cambridge. You can see his profile at http://earthsci.st-andrews.ac.uk/profile_njt.aspx.

Class year 1998: David Applegate [email protected]

Class year 1999: Matt Strekel [email protected]


Joe Branciforte [email protected]

Class year 2001: Michael Nichols [email protected]

Class year 2002: Ryan McKinney [email protected]

Class year 2005: Brent Jacobs [email protected]

Class year 2006: Michael Campbell [email protected]

Class year 2007: Matt Fahey [email protected]

Joseph E. Biega IV `08 is the newest member of the news team at KFBB in

Great Falls, Montana. He joined KFBB in January of 2013. Joe graduated from Lyndon State College in Vermont where he

was a news reporter and producer for Channel 7 News. He also hosted regular on the air radio programming at Lyndon state College during his four years in Vermont. Joe was the founder and President of the Anime Club while at Lyndon State.


Mark Mallon [email protected]

Douglas McNeil `12 of Cheshire made the Dean’s List first semester at the University of Pittsburgh with a 4.0 average. Due to his proficiency in the Chinese language, as a freshman he is taking junior level Chinese courses (his major) and has

been selected by the University to represent Pitt at the 2013 Chinese Bridge Competition at Pace University in NYC in March. The competition is the regional finals of competition in knowledge of the Chinese language and culture. Scholarship money & prizes are awarded to the winners, as well as trips to Beijing. Douglas has also been accepted, due to his academic prowess, a year early to a University in China for his sophomore year of studies.

Michael R. Dodenhoff `09 has received his service assignment following graduation this spring from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. In a note to his former guidance counselor Mr. Mark Lambert, Michael wrote “I got my first choice Navy Pilot! Thank you for working with me through high school to help get me here, I truly appreciate it!” Michael is in his senior year and holds the rank of Midshipman in the U.S. Navy.

From an article in the Middletown Press we learned that Justin Termine `00 is the host of a national NBA program called “Off the Dribble” on Sirius 92 XM 208 radio Monday through Friday from noon to 2 p.m. “In high school I did play-by-play

for Xavier basketball games,” he said. “I also did some football play-by-play and some public address announcing. That was all on the local Comcast Cable station.” At Emerson College in Boston “Every Sunday morning I had a radio show on the college station,” he said. “I was able to do play-by-play for the school’s basketball team and I was also able to cover the Patriots in the Super Bowl and I did spring training and covered the Yankees, the Red Sox — all the teams. “I had an internship with WEEI [The Red Sox flagship station]. We covered New England college sports and I did some play-by-play for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League in 2003.” Go to middletownpress.com and search for Justin’s name for the full story.

Matt Lefebvre `02 says, “It’s official! Joe Riffs Music is now Middlesex Music Academy!” After Xavier, Matt went on to Central Connecticut State University. But the call of music and his desire to share that passion led him to work full-time in music and now become a store owner. The Middlesex Music Academy on Main Street in Middletown is multi-faceted. It is a music store, an academy for music lessons and instruction and a musical instrument store.

28 Xavier Today

John J. Galanto, Sr., 92, of Hunting Hill Avenue, Middletown died on November 11, 2012 at his residence surrounded by his family. He was the father of John J. Galanto Jr. `74 and Victor E. Galanto `76. He was also the grandfather of Matthew Galanto `01 and Christopher Galanto `02.Santina Giuliano (Musumeci), 90, of Middletown passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on February 8, 2013. She was the grandmother of Joseph Giuliano `08.Joseph L. Kokoszka, 87, of Middletown passed away at Middlesex Hospital on January 7, 2013 surrounded by his loving family. Joseph was the father of Joseph Kokoszka, Jr. `81 and the grandfather of Andrew Coburn `13.

David Latina `97, age 33, of Middletown died December 28, 2012 due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident. David was employed at Sims Metal Management as a material handler. He was the brother of Marco Latina `94. His love for life was seen in all he did. His passion for soccer, golf and fishing brought joy to everyone around him.

While at Xavier, David was a four year member of the soccer team, participated in Chorus, Peace and Justice Committee and attended the Xavier Leadership Institute. Extending a helping hand to family and friends was just his way.Paul Logiudice, 85, of Middletown, died January 12, 2013 at Middlesex Health Care Center. He was the father of Paul Logiudice `69 and grandfather of Jay Gastler `05 and Patrick Logiudice `06.Eileen (Murphy) Matterazzo, 67, passed away December 4, 2012 at Middlesex Hospital after a courageous Battle with brain cancer. She was the grandmother of Jay Kral `12, Matthew Patterson `05 and Christopher Patterson `09. She never missed her grandson’s football games. Donations in her memory may be made to the Xavier High School Football Program.Daniel W. Maus Jr., 83, also affectionately known as Dan, Danny and Sonny, passed peacefully into the arms of the Lord on early morning of November 30, 2012 at Chestelm Health and Rehab Center in Moodus from complications following a stroke in 2008. Dan was the father of Michael Maus `72.

Joseph Belniak, 92, of Cromwell died January 16, 2013 at his home. He was the father of Daniel Belniak `72.

Richard “Rick” Cianfaglione `80, age 49 of Madison passed away June 23, 2012. After graduating from Xavier, Rick attended Computer Processing Institute (CPI). He was employed by Travelers Insurance, The Hartford Insurance Group, StorageTek, and most recently at IBM. Rick’s priority was to spend all of his free time with his wife and children, and he cherished

time with friends and family. Growing up on the water in Old Saybrook, Conn., Rick’s primary passions were all things that involved the water. As a USCG licensed captain and a member of the New England Saltwater Fishing Club (NWSWF), Rick was an avid fisherman and lobsterman, but first and foremost spent most days on the water with his family. In March 2010, Rick was diagnosed with an extremely rare leukemia, T-Cell prolymphocytic leukemia (TPLL). The treatment plan was three months of chemotherapy followed by a stem cell transplant. After two years, although he was leukemia free, he did not get the opportunity to return to the lifestyle he so loved. Rick lost his heroic and incredible battle to what appears to be an infection that took over his whole body. The whole journey has been captured on www.caringbridge.org/visit/rickc. It’s an incredible website that kept Rick connected to the world that he was forced to disconnect from.Michael Angelo Criscuolo, Sr., 72, of Branford died suddenly January 26, 2013 in Yale New Haven Hospital. He was the grandfather of Michael Criscuolo `15.Arlene R. Daigle, 72, of Middletown passed away on January 25, 2013 at Kensington Village in Meriden. She was the mother of Erik Daigle `89, Chris Daigle `95 and Scott Daigle `98. She was also the grandmother of Matthew Daigle `15John F. Deegan Sr., 80, of South Main St., Middletown passed away peacefully on January 15, 2013 surrounded by his family. He was the father of John Deegan `72 and Patrick Deegan `86. He was also the grandfather of Justin Deegan `00 and Aaron Deegan `12.Jean T. (Forbes) D’Orio, 83, of Middletown died January 5, 2013 at her home. She was the mother of John (Jay) D’Orio `72 and Philip D’Orio `80.Jennie Lee Felton, 80, passed away on December 14, 2012 at St. Raphael’s Hospital after a long and brave battle with cancer. She was the grandmother of Joseph Felton `14.

Harry Dennis McBrien `73, age 57, died on December 20, 2012 in New Britain. He was the brother of Philip McBrien `70. While at Xavier, Harry was a four-year member of the track team. After graduating from Xavier he received an art degree from Middlesex Community College. He resided in Clinton and Portland for many years and had recently moved

to Middletown. Harry was a kind and gentle man who gave generously to many charitable organizations. He was a strong, independent man who bravely faced many challenges.Victoria Marie (Annino) Pitruzzello, 89, of Cromwell,passed away on January 9th at Middlesex Hospital. She was the mother of the late John Pitruzzello `67.

Edward Arthur George Poirier Jr. `68, age 61, of Danbury died February 4, 2011, at Connecticut Hospice, Branford. He was employed as a healthcare worker for the Stonegate School in Durham and Elmcrest in Portland. He loved working with children and it was his passion throughout his career. While at Xavier, he played JV soccer and intramural

basketball. He was an avid Red Sox and UConn basketball fan and spent his leisure time fishing, listening to music and spending time with his family. He was the uncle of Andrew Melien `03, John Melien `06 and Timothy Melien `06.Donald S. Preece, Sr., 70, of Old Saybrook, formerly of Meriden, died unexpectedly on Nov. 26, 2012, at MidState Medical Center after a brief illness. He was the grandfather of Colin Beaudoin `14 and Dylan Beaudoin `15.John “Jack” Riordan, Sr., 87, of Middletown died January 23, 2013 at Middlesex Hospital. He was husband of the late Anne (Coughlin) Riordan who taught chemistry at Xavier from 1970-1972 and at Mercy High School from 1973 to 1993. John was the father of Charles “Chip” Riordan `73, John Riordan, Jr. `76, and Timothy Riordan `82.Lorraine R. Savino, 87, of East Haven died December 1, 2012. She was the grandmother of Marc Savino `10.Ronald Dennis Termine, 61, of Middletown, Connecticut passed away peacefully on February 14, 2013. Ronald was the father of Michael Termine `92 and the brother of Joseph Termine, Jr. `67.

John”Jay” Whipp Jr. `69, age 62, passed away unexpectedly on January 6, 2013 at his home. While at Xavier, he played baseball and basketball; ran cross country and participated in frosh football, glee club, intramurals and softball. After graduating from Xavier, he earned a bachelor’s degree at St. Leo College in Florida where he played football and baseball. He

played semi-professional football for the Bridgeport Jets in the early 1970s. Jay lived most of his life in Bristol where he was an insurance agent. He was involved with community activities in Bristol and was often asked to cook at events. He was a member of the St. Joseph Polish Society in Forestville most recently serving on their Annual Golf Tournament Committee to benefit the Christian Fellowship Store House Food Pantry. Jay enjoyed sports especially golfing and playing softball in his younger years. He also enjoyed dining out and was well known in most local restaurants.Peter Frank Young, 36, of Middletown died unexpectedly on December 14, 2012. He was the father of Eric T. Young `14. In lieu of flowers you may make donations in Peter’s memory to Xavier High School, 181 Randolph Road, Middletown, CT 06457.

Rick Cianfaglione Yearbook Photo

David Latina Yearbook Photo

Jay Whipp Jr. Yearbook Photo

Harry McBrien Yearbook Photo

Ed Poirier Jr. Yearbook Photo

“This is not about me. It’s about my mother.”

Born in a Mercy Hospital, Roger Madero `83

remembers his very early life growing up in various

parts of New York, being cared for by nuns while

his mother worked two or three jobs to provide

for him. He remembers moving around a lot until they finally

came to Connecticut. When it was time for high school, Roger’s

mother felt that Xavier would be the right place for him.

“I wasn’t what you would call a model student.” Roger

recalls having a rebellious attitude and “spending a lot of time

in the Principal’s office.” He mentioned Brother James Boyle

and Mr. Richard Magner as among those whose counsel helped

him stay on the road to graduation. He said his “mom was

always there and I appreciated the values I learned while at

Xavier.”

Roger was a four-year member of the basketball team. He

didn’t engage in many other extra-curricular activities because

he was “always working and didn’t have a car.” He said, “I was

always in need of a ride to and from practice.”

Current head basketball coach Michael Kohs `84 said

“Roger and I played basketball together at Xavier for Coach

Magner in ’82-’83. There are two things that stand out in my

mind about Roger. The first was his unorthodox shooting

technique and the second was the smile that he walked into

the gym with each day. Today I don’t know if his shooting form

has improved at all but I know his smile is still always there.”

Richard Magner `69, Xavier’s Director of Guidance

and head baseball coach, said “Roger came from a

different background than most of our students. I

worried about Roger, not while he was here at school

during the day but when the school day was over. He

had many obstacles to overcome. I am proud of what

Roger has become today both as a terrific son to his

mother, who provided Roger with the opportunity to

come to Xavier, as well as his accomplishments at the

professional level. He has been extremely supportive of

Xavier since his graduation and would like to assist other

students like himself. His generosity is truly appreciated.”

Roger’s mother now lives with him and he relishes “the

opportunity to now take care of her. She is a spiritual person,

forgiving and religious. It is because of her and what I learned

at Xavier that I want to offer some assistance to someone

like her and me. With the help of the Office of Advancement,

I decided to create an endowment in honor of my mother

Consuelo Brainerd. I owe my professional and monetary

success to my mother and Xavier.”

Roger added, “I would like to personally thank the Office of

Advancement for their assistance in helping current students

and am truly excited about the opportunity that Xavier offers

students like myself. I really appreciate Xavier’s support of my

efforts.” X

An EndowmEnt in Honor of ConsuElo BrAinErd

Consuelo Brainerd and Roger Madero `83

Director of Grounds Mr. Michael Schinas, P`08, `10, `14,

clears snow from one of our doors after the Blizzard

of 2013 (a.k.a. Charlotte/Nemo). The storm and the

necessary cleanup kept us and most of Connecticut out

of school for a few days in early February.

Xavier HigH ScHool181 randolph road

Middletown, cT 06457

Phone: 860-347-6079

email: [email protected]

www.xavierhighschool.org

Non profit Org.

U.S. Postage

PAIDPermit #529

Middletown, CT 06457

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