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St. AnSelm’S Abbey School • WAShington, D.c. • Spring 2013 • Vol. 21 no. 2

corbie chronicle

St. AnSelm’S Abbey School4501 South Dakota Avenue, NEWashington, DC 20017202-269-2350www.saintanselms.org

The Corbie Chronicle is published two times a year by the Communications Office of St. Anselm’s Abbey School.

We welcome correspondence and submissions from the St. Anselm’s Abbey School community. Please direct letters, class notes and other communication to James Leathers, ’04, at the School or via email at jleathers@saintanselms.org.

Photography in this publication has been provided by the St. Anselm’s Abbey School yearbook and newspaper staffs, as well as by David W. Powell and school faculty and staff. Special thanks to Yakntoro Udoumoh, ’13 and Constantin Miranda, ’16.

We apologize in advance for any errors and/or omissions.

Design and layout: James Leathers, ’04production and printing: Camera Ready Graphics

on the cover: The altar of the Abbey Church is bathed in sunlight. Photo courtesy of Fr. Peter Weigand, OSB.

The Corbie ChronicleSpring 2013 • Volume 21, Number 2

A Message from the President 3 Fr. Peter Weigand, OSB

Reflections from the Headmaster 5 Mr. Bill Crittenberger

Campus News 6

Panther Sports 10

Spring Break 2013: Ecuador & Galapagos 14

All-Alumni Reunion Weekend 16

Class Notes 17

In Memoriam 18

Above: The Middle School “A” basketball team celebrates after winning the Potomac Valley Athletic Conference championship game on February 14.

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A Message from the President

Saint Benedict found the world, physical and social, in ruins, and his mission was to restore it in the way, not of science, but of nature, not as if setting about to do it, not professing to do it by any set time or by any rare specific or by any series of strokes, but so quietly, patiently, gradually, that often, till the work was done, it was not known to be doing.

Cardinal John Newman, 1801-1890

Dear Friends of St. Anselm’s Abbey and School:

There are many exciting happenings and up-to-the-minute events to report in this issue of the Corbie Chronicle. Mr. Bill Crittenberger, our new headmaster, continues to lead the school with enthusiasm and much dedication. We are blessed to have him as our head of school. Abbot James continues to lead the abbey forward with three novices and two new candidates. The abbey held an “Open House” on April 21st at which time Abbot James dedicated the Fr. Hugh Monmonier Wing, our newly renovated senior living space. The next day, we celebrated the Feast of Saint Anselm of Canterbury—the monks, faculty, and students attended a full school Mass officiated by Abbot James in the Devine Theater commemorating our patron. Fr. Michael preached a provocative homily on the history of the abbey and school and the impact Saint Anselm should have in the lives of our students.

As I have said before, Saint Anselm’s dictum—Fides Quaerens Intellectum (faith seeking understanding)—elicits a balance between faith and understanding, which is mirrored in the school’s motto—Pax in Sapientia—guiding our students through the storms and tribulations of our world. Likewise, Saint Benedict’s dictum—Ora et Labora (prayer and work)—piloting (quietly, patiently, and gradually) down the centuries monastic institutions through the raging seas and turmoil of their times.

For 89 years, our abbey has been a House of Prayer. And for the past 71 years, I am convinced that St. Anselm’s Abbey School also has been a sacred place, a place where academic excellence is a social responsibility as well as a moral obligation. All knowledge is a means to find God, a searching for His truth. It is here that the monks and faculty welcome young men from all faiths and from many different backgrounds and bring them together into one family of peace and understanding. In this spirit of family, I hope all our readers of this Corbie can abide in the peaceful wisdom of God’s presence through the duration of this fruitful year.

I am very pleased to tell you that the enrollment figures for next year are very high. At the time of writing, we have enrolled nearly 70 new students for next fall, one of the largest contingents of new students we have ever had. Likewise, college placements have been outstanding, and the scholarship money granted to the Class of 2013 from colleges and universities is very high: alleluia, alleluia.

On the development side of things for the school, we are also rejoicing. The Fall Scholarship Gala raised nearly $212,000, and so far the Annual Fund has raised $146,575 (in cash) for Overall School Budget, $85,000 for Current Scholarship, $37,593 for Monastic Needs, and $17,659 for the Renovation of the Chemistry Lab. And the parents have raised $28,000 for refurbishing the 1994 tennis courts. In addition to this, the brian Devine ’59

Family trust presented to the school a $1 million grant for the permanently restricted Scholarship Endowment.

As I write this letter, $1,875,000 from all sources has passed through the Development Office. Without the Devine gift, the school has raised over $814,000, but our goal to be reached by June 30th is $1,000,000, so we are a little short. (Conveniently, there is an Annual Fund envelope in this issue of the Corbie. All our readers have until June 30th to contribute, or anyone can increase their gift, if it is possible for you to give again, so that we can perhaps even surpass our goal.)

So far in 2013, I have enjoyed two regional alumni gatherings. On January 24th, Mr. Crittenberger and I went to New York City for an alumni gathering at the Princeton Club. Brad Willett, ’91, and James Lucier, ’82, co-sponsored this event, which was attended by 17 other alumni. On the 25th of January, I flew to St. Louis for a board meeting at the Priory School. While there, I met with Dr. Nicholas Kessides, ’01, along with Solomon Brown, ’10, Brendan Ziebarth, ’11, Daniel Magee, ’12, and Matt Brooks, ’01.

This year, Lent entered our lives on the 13th of February with an all-school Ash Wednesday Mass celebrated by Fr. Michael in the Devine Theater. Then on Sunday, February 17th, Form Vii Forever parents had a Lenten Mass followed by a brunch in the Commons.

Fr. Peter, right, chats with Br. Samuel Springuel, ’98 and other alumni at the Alumni Banquet on April 27. For more photos from the Reunion Weekend, see page 16.

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On Saturday, February 25th, the Alumni Affairs office, under the leadership of Mr. Lawrence Hamm, ’68, organized an Alumni Day of recollection in the abbey. At 10:00 a.m., twenty-some alumni and spouses began with Mass in the Abbey Church at which I preached a homily. Shortly after Mass, Abbot James gave the first conference, entitled: Cultivating Peace in One’s Own Life and in Society. At noon, all gathered in the chapel for Midday Prayer, which was followed by a light luncheon in the calefactory. Around 2:00 p.m., Fr. Michael Hall gave the second conference—Benedictine Spirituality for Everyone. Videos of these talks can be viewed on our alumni website.

The weekend of March 1st through the 3rd saw our 66th Annual St. Anselm’s invitational basketball tournament take place on the Brian Murphy Basketball Court. The Panthers played very well throughout their games but lost the championship banner by a single point in the last second. And then on the weekend of the 15th through 16th, the priory players, under the direction of Mrs. Catherine Diggle, performed Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. The memory-challenging and tongue-twisting dialogue tested our actors to the hilt. Thus, transposed and exaggerated, Shakespearean life goes on.

On Sunday April 14th, Mr. Michael McCarthy organized our traditional Form Vi mother/Son communion breakfast. Fr. Michael was celebrant and preached the homily. Gathering in the Commons after Mass, Mr. Crittenberger greeted everyone. The Purple Onion caterers once again prepared and served a scrumptious brunch.

On April 20th, the school’s Spring concert took place. Mr. Michael Lodico and Dr. Charles Downey led our Middle School Choruses. Later, the Abbey Singers were joined by the young ladies of the Academy of the Holy Cross—this was done with much poise and grace. The second half of the concert was under the baton of Maestro Marcel Maican, directing our instrumental ensembles. The Abbey Orchestra performed Handel’s Sarabande and Bourée with precision, much to my delight. Needless to say, the Abbey Jazz Band, as usual, raised the roof of the Devine Theater. We shall miss Sixth Former Andrew Fois—his original

compositions, It’s Only Funk and New Funk, were enthusiastically received.

Our art teacher, Ms. Hadley Rowland, organized an exhibit of student work displayed in the Commons that ran simultaneous during the concert’s intermission and reception—outstanding work from our Middle School boys and some very professional work from our older students.

Then on the weekend of April 26th through the 28th, the school hosted its fifth Annual All Alumni Weekend. Continuing our tradition, a distinguished member of the 50th anniversary class started the festivities with a lecture to the whole school. This year, Fr. Patrick Madigan, SJ, ’63 spoke about Expressive Individualism, the Cult of the Artist as Genius and the Depiction of Lucifer in Milton's Paradise Lost. Later in the afternoon, we adjourned to front of the main school building merriment at the Alumni-Faculty Welcome back cocktail party renewing old friendships while making new ones.

At 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning, the peter Samp,’ 08, memorial 5K race took place under beautiful spring skies with students and alumni, current and past parents, faculty and monks running the course around the peaceful abbey grounds. This was topped off by a barbeque luncheon. At 6:00 p.m., alumni and wives attended Vespers in the Abbey Church, followed by a reception and an Alumni Banquet in the Commons.

Remember that the monks pray for you and your needs every day in our monastic chapel during Divine Office. Please enjoy the rest of the articles and pictures in this spring issue of the Corbie Chronicle.

Pax in Sapientia,

Fr. peter Weigand, oSbPresident

The Upper School Men’s Chorus, directed by Mr. Michael Lodico, far left, collaborated this semester with the madrigal singers of the Academy of the Holy Cross. The young ladies from Holy Cross joined the Men’s Chorus at the Spring Concert on April 20 in the Devine Performing Arts Center.

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reflections from the Headmaster

The 2012-2013 school year has seen many successes and a great deal of happiness.

Dear St. Anselm’s Community,

My first year as headmaster has been an exciting, uplifting, and stimulating ride (and blur!), and I have found the fit at St. Anselm’s to be a good one, as anticipated. What a nice, kind, and thoughtful community, and what a peaceful, stimulating, and nurturing place for a youngster to land and to set roots. Led by the indelible presence of the monks, the committed faculty and staff, and a terribly enthusiastic and talented senior class, the 2012-2013 school year has seen many successes and a great deal of happiness.

I am thrilled to report that we expect to open school in late August with an enrollment of 240-plus students, up 10 percent from this year’s 220. This sizeable jump is all the more noteworthy given that we will be graduating 43 seniors (the largest in school history) this year. Numerous factors, tangible and intangible, contributed to this marked upswing, but nothing like what we accomplished would have been possible without the leadership and dedication of our admissions officers and the joyful commitment made by hundreds of community members in throwing themselves into the admissions mix—at an Open Houses, an information session, or a prospective-student breakfast—with gusto to help get the word out about the best school in the metropolitan area. Our recently completed public relations and branding audit, as inclusive as it was comprehensive, should help in identifying additional ways to make this sparkling gem of ours better known and closer to the beaten path.

Heading into next year, St. Anselm’s course of studies will be even broader and more interesting, as four courses have been added to the curriculum: 1) Arabic (alongside Spanish and French) will be offered at the Form II introductory level; 2) AP Psychology will be available as an elective to interested juniors and seniors; 3) Robotics II will be an option for students who have completed Robotics I; and 4) AP Environmental Science will be offered as an upper level elective. In addition, the Form I History course has been entirely revamped so that seventh-graders will be exposed to the history and culture of the classical period—beginning with ancient Greece and Rome and moving on to other key non-western civilizations—during the very same year that they are introduced to Latin. The classical liberal arts are alive and well at the Abbey!

In addition to building the curriculum, significant building of the material kind has been underway, as the elegant but simple senior wing of the monastery was completed about a month ago; the tennis courts—long in need of repair—are being upgraded as I write this; and the chemistry lab will be re-fitted and modernized over the summer. Even as a lot is going on at St. Anselm’s, I can assure you that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

I look skyward daily to thank God for His love, compassion, and guidance, and for the chance to serve and mentor these amazing Abbey Boys! What a school this is, and what a “pinch-me” enclave the grounds are for each and every one of us.

I trust that your spring has been filled with hope and a spirit of rebirth, and that fun, relaxation, and reflection are in store for you this summer.

Pax in Sapientia,

bill crittenbergerHeadmaster

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Campus News

For the second year in a row, the St. Anselm’s Latin Club coordinated a Lenten communi-ty service project to provide Easter baskets to underprivileged youth in the District of Columbia. Following last year’s successful project in conjunction with Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Columbia Heights, the Latin Club expanded their efforts this year and worked with six charitable organizations from across the city. With the help of Ms. Sheila Merritt and Ella’s Kids Ministries, the Latin Club provided more than 200 baskets to Cataada House, Efforts, Susie Crowder Owens Community Food Bank, Family Healing Headquarters Community Outreach Services, Hope Apartments Fam-ily Shelter. Longtime Latin Club modera-tor Ms. Delora Pelosi spearheaded this ef-fort along with the help of art teacher Ms. Hadley Rowland and Mr. David Fenton, father of Solomon Fenton (Form II), who assisted with the organization and pick-up arrangements. Currently, Latin Club along with Campus Ministry here at St. Anselm’s is assisting the Susie Crowder Owens Com-munity Food Bank with a food drive, with Fr. Michael and Ms. Pelosi are spearheading the joint project. Latin Club will continue in its effort to help our local community in any way they can.

Top: Ms. Pelosi and Latin Club members greet representatives from a variety of local social ser-vice organizations. Right: Latin Club mem-bers Alexander Atienza and Michael Senerchia (Form VI) help pack boxes with Easter baskets for underprivileged young people.

latin club Spreads easter cheer

poetry out louD 2013

Junior Places Third at DC FinalsFifth Former Sam Girardot won the Upper School-wide “Poetry Out Loud” competition at St. Anselm’s the afternoon of February 20 in the Devine Theater. Now in its fifth year, this national project sponsored by the Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts aims to bring poetry recitation into high-school English classrooms across the U.S. Sam advanced to the DC competition at the National Portrait Gallery, which featured public, charter, and independent school winners from around the city. Sam placed third for his recitations of “Snow Day” by Billy Collins, “I Felt a Funeral in my Brain” by Emily Dickinson and “War Widow” by Chris Abani. Right: Sam performs at the city finals. Photo: DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities

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Campus News

moDel uniteD nAtionS

charlie paquette

This year, I had the pleasure of spending what would normally have been just another cold dreary weekend in February at the Washington Hilton in Dupont Circle at NAIMUN (North American Invitational Model United Nations) with my close friends and the rest of the St. Anselm’s Model United Nations delegation. It was an incredibly fun and educational weekend. For me, personally, the real fun began on Friday … when we were able to leave school after only one class period. A few Metro stops later we found ourselves immersed in an insightful lecture of five or so speakers at the “Social Justice Roundtable”. The discussion was fascinating. I have thought about working oversees in an organization like the Peace Corps, but this round table brought new organizations including offices of the UN and NGO’s that work in close collaboration to my attention. Thanks to this round table, I now have a better idea of what it is like to work in an international organization. My interest in working in this field has grown tremendously!

Besides the obvious educational benefits, another reason I would encourage any and all Abbey Boys to join Model UN is because it is simply a great way to have fun and make new friends. Over the course of the weekend, not only did I meet friends from all over the country, but the whole world. I had the benefit of befriending kids from New York City, Mexico City, and Jordan. Between fun-filled sessions of debate, resolution-writing, politicking, and socializing, one of the best things about Model UN is the freedom you are entrusted with to explore the city around you.

Living in Gaithersburg Maryland, it is not every day that I can walk to a Sweetgreen with six other students, four of whom are not from this country, then to a bookstore that triples as a coffee shop and restaurant, all the while having a conversation ranging from the Syrian civil war to the newest episode of Game of Thrones to the odd experiences we’ve all had flying into Reagan National Airport. By the end of the weekend, which had gone by far too fast, I had made friends that I likely would not see until next year, or at the very least until the summer. With all of these new friends and the enlightening debates that I had over the weekend, I think it goes without saying that I am counting down the days until February 2014, where I can partake in an even more exciting weekend—which will be referred to in the history books as NAIMUN LI.

Stephen Kpundeh

My personal favorite part of the NAIMUN weekend was the presentation by the guest speaker David J. Kramer at the opening ceremonies. Mr. Kramer is the president of the non-governmental organization Freedom House. Freedom House was founded in October of 1941 and promotes democracy, human rights, and political freedom. In an effort to continue to promote this political freedom, Freedom House every year publishes a “Freedom in the World Report,” which highlights each country’s degree of political freedom and civil liberties given to their citizens. [Ed. Note: St. Anselm’s alumnus Daniel Calingaert, ’82, is the executive vice president at Freedom House.]

While on this topic, Mr. Kramer was going down a list of major countries and the efforts of their respective governments in providing certain liberties to their people. When he arrived at China, he stirred up controversy in the room by saying that the attacking the lack of freedom given to the Chinese people by their government. I felt that although this speech did not sit well with the Chinese delegates, it definitely set the stage for the impassionate debate which took place during the duration of the weekend.

In my committee, the British House of Commons, our topics were the modernization of the British Monarchy as well as the impending financial crisis in England. I particularly enjoyed discussing the latter topic as I have an interest in economics; moreover, the British House of Commons gave me insight into the international economy of England, which I found fascinating. Model United Nations is more than a venue for honing one’s debate skills—it is a worldwide organization that educates high school students in the field of international relations. Conferences such as NAIMUN exemplify the full intent of the club. The conference brought together thousands of high school students from different nationalities not only to debate complex international issues, but also to build lifelong friendships between individuals regardless of race or religion. This is an achievement that I find truly remarkable, and it inspires me to take on an even greater role in Model United Nations in my final two years of high school.

Abbey Delegates, In Their Own WordsFor the past six years, I’ve been writing articles for the Corbie Chronicle on Model United Nations here at the Abbey. This year (and I should have done this long ago) I thought it would be best if you heard about the program from the boys themselves. So, largely unedited (they are pretty good writers!), here are the reflections from two Form IV students on their recent experience at Georgetown’s Model UN conference.

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Faculty Notes

Campus News

Physics and math teacher bryan taylor and his wife, Kerry O’Brien, welcomed their first child on March 3. Miles Francis Taylor was born at 8:00 p.m., coming in at 8 lbs. Congratulations!

In December, chemistry teacher Dr. Ani-ta chernovitz passed the ABRSM Level 6 piano performance exam with merit. The exam is devised by the London-based Royal Schools of Music and administered worldwide, providing music qualifications for individual musicians and composers. She hopes to take the Level 7 exam in 2014.

Longtime English teacher nancy cholis will be taking a year off from teaching dur-ing the 2013-2014 academic year. After 18 years at St. Anselm’s, she will take next year to spend more time with her grow-ing family, including her newest grand-child who was born March 1 in Vienna, Austria. We look forward to welcoming Mrs. Cholis back in the fall of 2014!

From March 7-9, Jeff harwood, As-sociate Director of College Counseling, traveled to Washington University in St. Louis. He was a guest of the University along with many high school college counselors from throughout the nation and from several foreign countries. He was able to meet with our two Danforth Scholars there—Dan Magee, ’12 and Brendan Ziebarth, ’11. They both are en-joying Washington University immensely. Mr. Harwood was also able to meet the director of the Danforth Scholars pro-gram, and she spoke very highly of our two young men. She also fondly recalled her days as a teacher at St. Louis Priory School, where Fr. Peter is a board mem-ber. A third St. Anselm’s student at Wash-ington University, Solomon Brown, ’10, is an Ervin Scholar there, and a represen-tative of that program also spoke highly of Solomon to Mr. Harwood.

Abbot James Wiseman, oSb took twen-ty of the sixth-form students in his world religions course on a field trip in mid-March to the Tifereth Israel Synagogue on 16th Street, NW. During the morn-

ing, the rabbi gave a fine presentation on the nature of the Talmud, which is a lengthy explanation and interpretation of important passages in the Hebrew Bible. Afterwards, the layman who is in charge of continuing education at the synagogue brought one of their precious Torah scrolls from its locked case and allowed the students to examine it up close. Some of the students were later able to use in-sights from that field trip when answer-ing essay questions for a test on religions studied during the previous five weeks.

Abbot James also had two articles pub-lished recently. One of them was a com-parison of St. Bonaventure’s great work, The Soul’s Journey into God, with a Hin-du text that had been written in the same spirit; this article appeared in the Jour-nal of Vaishnava Studies (Spring 2012). The other was a paper originally given at a conference at Portsmouth Abbey in Rhode Island; entitled “A New Heaven and a New Earth: Christian Eschatology in Dialogue with Modern Science,” this article appeared in the Portsmouth Re-view, vol. 4 (2013). He also gave a talk in early April on ways of meditation to some students in the Catholic University Hon-ors Program, and in mid-May he spoke on “Miracles and Science” at St. Stephen, Martyr parish in downtown Washington.

On March 17th Dr. herb Wood accom-panied his son Captain Chris Wood, an Army nurse, to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to participate in the 24th Annual hike to commemorate the Bataan Death March. Just before World War II President Roosevelt acti-vated the New Mexico National Guard and sent them to the Philippine Islands to reinforce the garrison there. The New Mexico unit was chosen because so many members of the Guard were Span-ish speakers. They were overrun by the Japanese at Bataan and force to march for three days to a POW camp. Many died or were killed along the way. The Hike was originated to commemorate the members of the Guard unit. Chris had organized a group of Wounded Warriors to do the hike. Most of them completed the eight

miles of the level part of the hike. He and Dr. Wood assisted two of the Warriors who had been wounded in Afghanistan. One was a soldier in his thirties who had had a stroke on his second deployment and the other was a 19 year old who had been concussed by a mortar round and had suffered head wounds which had caused a partial loss of sight, speaking ability, the use of one leg and the ability to balance himself. After helping the Warriors com-plete their part of the course, Dr. Wood and his son completed the 18 miles in the mountainous part of the course. While in the mountains they met a Warrior who had lost a foot in Iraq who remembered Chris as his nurse in Mosul at the time he was wounded. The hike was also impor-tant because an uncle of Dr. Wood’s wife, a Marine, was also captured at Bataan.

St. Anselm’s AbbeyA Poem by hal DelucaDirector of College Counseling

complineNight gathers about my shoulders.Folds across my arms.Shadows shift along walls.

Silence is broken with breathing.The heat hissing in thudding pipes can’t be heardfor the quiet.

Above all,the crucifix suspended,Jesus watching over us.

laudsIn the chill morning,haze lifting from the lower fields.

A goose stands at attentionon the hill steps, his command base,a trumpeter to the flock honking at regular intervals,orders to the others,as his subordinates fuss about the fieldand gather in formation.

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Campus News

ActiVitieS & AccompliShmentS

Form II student noah Fuller won the Middle School-wide geographic bee on January 8 in the Devine Theater. After winning the St. Anselm’s school Bee, he qualified for the D.C. Geographic Bee on April 5 at the Charles Sumner School and Museum in downtown D.C. Noah placed third out of over 30 contestants from public and private middle schools across the city, narrowly missing the city championship. Congratulations to Noah and geography teacher Jeff Harwood for this strong showing!

Students in Dr. Wood’s Ap physics class gave a series of presentations in late April in which they explained the math and thought processes that led to critical turning points in the history of physics. Presentation topics included “The Kepler Problem: Newton’s Derivation of the Orbits of the Planets, Moons and Comets,” “Einstein’s General Relativistic Correction to the Orbit of Mercury,” “The Reduced Equations of State for the van der Waals and Dieterici Gases,” and more.

the priory players presented the classic existentialist tragicomedy “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” the weekend of March 15-17 in the Devine Performing Arts Center. The weekend of May 10-11, the Middle School Players produced

the 20th century American comedy “The Mouse That Roared.” Both productions were well-received and featured large casts of new and experienced actors. Congratulations to director Mrs. Catherine Diggle and the casts and crews on a job well done!

Sixth Former Francis mccarthy officially reached the rank of Eagle Scout on April

26. Francis’s Eagle Court of Honor made him the 121st young man to earn that designation from Washington, DC Troop 100, which is the area’s oldest Boy Scout troop. A number of fellow scouts from St. Anselm’s were in attendance, including Winfield Miller, Patrick Merkle, Marcus Swentkofske, and Nico Bell. Congratulations!

Second Former Noah Fuller poses with his medal after winning the school’s Geographic Bee on January 8.

Sixth Former Francis McCarthy, right, received his Eagle Scout designation at a ceremony in Washington on April 26.

Third Form StudentReaches Out in El SalvadorThird Former Clay Rosica traveled to the town of Zaragoza, El Salvador the week of December 17 - 24 as part of an outreach trip with the Leadership Training Program (LTP). Clay and other LTP students collected new and lightly used soccer cleats, balls, and athletic shoes in their schools and local communities, including at St. Anselm’s, to distribute to needy children in Zaragoza and surrounding villages. LTP is a Bethesda-based organization that promotes leadership development and faith formation among young men, now with nearly 20 chapters worldwide.

At right, Clay poses with some of the young people he had the opportunity to meet during his trip.

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Panther Sports

On Thursday, May 9, the athletic department hosted a ceremony in the school’s Stafford Library honoring the four members of the Class of 2013 who have committed to play NCAA athletics as college freshmen next year: Aidan Craver, who will play basketball at Goucher College; Geri Dunnelari, who will wrestle at Gettysburg College; Robert Hankins, who will wrestle at New York University; and Matthias Pecoraro, who will play soccer at the U.S. Naval Academy. These young men, who come from a class of 43 graduating seniors, represent the largest group of college-level athletes to come out of St. Anselm’s in recent memory.

At the ceremony, the student-athletes were joined by their families, coaches, and school administrators. Each student got a chance to speak about their athletic careers at St. Anselm’s and beyond, and all four expressed gratitude to their families and coaches for many years of support.

Four Seniors commit to play in ncAACollege-Bound Athletes from Class of ’13 Honored at Ceremony

NCAA-bound student-athletes from the Class of 2013 were honored at a ceremony May 9. From left: Matthias Pecoraro (Soccer - US Naval Academy); Robert Hankins (Wrestling - New York University); Aidan Craver (Basketball - Goucher College); Geri Dunellari (Wrestling - Gettysburg College).

middle School panthers capture hoops titlePVAC Championship Is First Since 2003 for St. Anselm’s

The Middle School basketball “A” team captured the 2013 Potomac Valley Athletic Conference championship the night of February 14, beating previously undefeated league rivals Grace Brethren, 39-37. The game took place on a neutral court at Sandy Spring Friends School.

The upset win capped an exciting season for Coach Paul Commins’s Panthers, whose only league loss of the season came on December 10 to the same Grace Brethren squad. This was the first Middle School basketball title for St. Anselm’s since 2003.

Left: The Middle School basketball “A” team celebrates after their championship win.

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Panther Sports

VArSity bASKetbAll

The 2012 Varsity basketball team was led by head coach Paul Grenaldo and assistants Jack Leathers, ’06, Scott Salandy-Defour, ’06, Cameron Jacobs, ’08, and Michael Manglitz, ’00. Kneeling, left to right: Maurin Mwombela (Form VI) and Mark Yde (V). Stand-ing, left to right: Ayinde Grimes (V), G. Brian Murphy III (V), Dorian Niu (VI), Devan Abercrombie (V), Ellis Berns (V), Jack Anninos (VI), T.J. Duckett (V), John Recchia (VI), Aidan Craver (VI), and Coach Grenaldo.

Form A bASKetbAll

Front row, left to right: Alex Foley, Isaiah Wright, Matthew Noone, Michael Gerrety, Jimmy Duke. Back row, left to right: Austine LeVan, Declan Friel, Kyle Whitlock, Nathan Alakija, Folajimi Olopade, and coach Malcolm Tyson.

J.V. bASKetbAll

Left to right: Coach Scott Salandy-Defour, ’06, Evan Binkley (Form III), Thomas Bui (IV), Nino Suffoletta (IV), Avram Conerly (III), Demetrius Robinson (IV), Ross Young (III), Stephen Kpundeh (IV), Ken Mutamba (V), Ray Brown (III), Josh Cooper (III), Cameron Underwood (III), Daniel Maldonado (V), Longwei Zheng (V), Daniel Winston (III), and coach Jack Leathers, ’06.

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Panther Sports

The Abbey wrestling season officially ended in late February with the conclusion of the National Prep Championships. The wrestlers did exceedingly well this season, both individually and collectively. Overall their record was 13-6, with a 7-1 record in the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling League (MAWL).

The boys placed second in the MAWL tournament, with three league champions (Diego Torres, Kody Low, and Rob Hankins), four second-place finishers (Nathan Dangle, Mark Sullivan, Chang-Wu Mungai, and Matt Jones), and two fourth-place finishers (Ryan Dalbec and Charlie Paquette). Our wrestlers also put in impressive perfmrances at some of the area’s premier tournaments. At the Sidwell Friends tournament, which included two of the top 10 teams in the country, the Abbey had two champions (Diego Torres and Matt Dangle), two second place finishers (Ryan Dalbec and Rob Hankins) and two fourth place finishers (Charlie Paquette and Matt Jones). At the St. Albans tournament, which included four of the top 12 teams in the country, the Abbey had the most place winners in school history,

with Rob Hankins taking fifth place and Diego Torres taking eighth. The D.C. City Championships ended with the Abbey having one champion (Rob Hankins), a second place finisher (Diego Torres), a third place finisher (Matt Dangle) and two fourth place finishers (Chang-Wu Mungai and Matt Jones).

Rob Hankins, by virtue of winning D.C., was invited to the National Prep Championships at Lehigh University, where he defeated a wrestler from Episcopal Academy (Penn.) and lost to wrestlers from St. Mark’s School (Tex.) and Liberty Christian (Va.), both by just two points. Rob ended his season as one of the top 24 wrestlers in the country in his weight class, and St. Anselm’s ended the season ranked 109th in the country. This speaks to a job well done by all our boys, as the place finishers can only be as good as the team they practice with. We’re already looking forward to next year, when we hope to have more young men come out for the sport and help us improve on this year’s outstanding finishes.

- Coach Steve Roush

Abbey Wrestlers build on SuccessTeam Achieves National Ranking for Second Straight Year

The 2012-2013 Varsity wrestling team celebrates after a strong showing at the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling League championship tournament. Left to right: Clay Rosica (Form III), Matt Jones (V), Sam Sherman (V), Sam Girardot (V), Kody Low (V), Diego Jones (VI), Robert Hankins (VI), Chang-Wu Mungai (VI), Mark Sullivan (V), Matt Dangle (VI), Nathan Dangle (III), Ryan Dalbec (IV), Alexander Grimaldi (V), Charlie Paquette (IV), head coach Steve Roush, assistant coach Ethan Atwood.

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Register today! Visit us at www.abbeyadventures.org

Full-day programs start at just $225 per week!Robert Alspaugh, Camp Director - 202-269-2351 - ralspaugh@saintanselms.org

Summer at St. Anselm’s Abbey School

Abbey Adventures

June 10 - August 2

Summer Programs for Boys & GirlsAcademics: Engineering, Latin Enrichment, Algebra, Study Skills, English, and more!

Sports: Basketball, Soccer, Tennis, Karate Featuring experienced coaches and guest speakers!

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On a snowy Monday morning in March, fourteen Abbey Boys and their chaperones met at the Delta Airlines counter at Dulles Airport to begin this year’s Spring Break adventure. For the first time ever, we would be traveling to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. We had a full group of 14 students from Forms IV, V, and V, and the chaperones were Spanish teachers Fr. Javier Castro and Sra. Hajnalka Enzel.

Because there are no direct flights from Washington to Ecuador, we had to change planes in Atlanta. We had several hours to kill so our boys indulged in one of their favorite pastimes: eating. If you have never been to Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, let me assure you that it is a fast food Mecca. The boys proceeded to sample the delicacies of Five Guys (chaperones included), Panda Express, McDonald’s (ice cream) and other places that included frozen yogurt and smoothies.

The flight to Quito was uneventful (and uncomfortable, since airlines seem

to design their seats to accommodate small twelve year old girls). Fortunately, the flight was relatively short, and after a little over five hours we arrived in Quito. Situated at 9252 feet above sea level, Ecuador’s capital is a sprawling city of some two million inhabitants spread out over 30 square kilometers. We were told it would take about an hour to our hotel, so the boys stocked up on snacks at the coffee shop in the airport. A comfortable bus and a very nice guide met us and proceeded to (literally) drive over hill and dale and then some until we reached our hotel.

On every Spring Break trip, my second question to the guide (the first is to ask his name) is if by chance there is a soccer game being played while we are in town. For the second time in our travels over the last seven years, the answer was affirmative. Not only was there a game, but it was a World Cup qualifier. Ecuador would play Paraguay the next day. When I mentioned that we would all like to go, he said that

the game was sold out. As you well know, there is no such thing. I asked if he could find us tickets, perhaps even priced above face value, and he said would let me know in the morning. The next morning, we had 16 tickets and we would be going to the game that afternoon.

Since the objective of our trip to Quito was not football but culture, we proceeded to visit an amazing statue of the Virgin Mary that overlooks the capital. This is the only Virgin Mary that I have ever seen with angel wings. We drove down to the old quarter to visit the truly beautiful church of San Francisco built in 1535. Our next stop was the church of the Jesuits the inside of which is completely covered in gold leaf. We saw the President’s palace on the very pretty main square. The gothic Basilica was next, and then it was time for lunch.

After lunch we had to buy proper attire for the football game. We found some vendors who sold us appropriate jerseys and we went inside the stadium. Small by

Spring breAK 2013: ecuADor & the gAlApAgoS iSlAnDS

upper Schoolers Find Adventureby Sra. hajnalka enzel

modern language Department chair

Fourteen Upper School students traveled to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands during Spring Break in late March. Seated, left to right: Michael Laskowski (Form V), Robert Verstraete (V), Mark Sullivan (V), Fr. Javier Castro, Mark Yde (V). Standing, left to right: Sra. Hajnalka Enzel, Matthew Huerta (IV), Joe Nahra (VI), John Recchia (VI), Adam Calkins (VI), John Pera (V), Joseph St. Pierre (IV), Alexander Grimaldi (V), Alex Turner (VI), Rory Coffin (V), Ryan Dalbec (IV).

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World Cup standards, it was filled with a sea of people dressed in the colors of Ecuador. Each country, and each stadium for that matter, has different customs. Besides selling unidentifiable local food, the Quito stadium observes the custom of spilling beer on the people around you from large plastic cups each time the home team scores a goal. Fortunately, we all wore rain jackets over our team jerseys, because Ecuador won, 4-1. From the stadium we went to dinner at a somewhat fancy restaurant with an ancient trio singing hits from the last century.

The next day, we set out for the most famous indigenous market town in South America, Otavalo. We stopped to take pictures just before town and a young woman dressed as an Otavlena joined us on the bus. She talked to us about her pretty outfit and then sang some songs in quiche, a local dialect of quechua. After roaming the market, we headed for the original “Middle of the Earth” monument on the equator, where we all had pictures taken with one foot in each hemisphere. Mark Sullivan managed to balance a fresh egg on the head of a nail and earned a certificate to prove it!

The next morning we flew to Baltra on Santa Cruz Island, the main airport in the Galapagos Islands, and boarded a bus to our boat landing. In the distance was the yacht Darwin, which would be our home for the next four nights. A dinghy came to pick us up and we boarded. We were shown our cabins, which each featured two bunk beds, a bathroom with shower, and air conditioning. After lunch on board, we got in the dinghy and visited the isle of Las Bachas.

We landed in a small cove with volcanic rock outcroppings and a lovely white sandy beach. Dozens of red crabs were sunning themselves on the lava rocks. Black iguanas scurried about and everywhere we saw amazing cacti. One furry specimen was especially intriguing: a pink flamingo. After admiring the wildlife, it was time for the boys to practice scuba diving off the nearby rocks while frigate birds soared above.

We had a first class chef prepare our meals, an outstanding dinghy driver to ferry us about and a well- trained, naturalist guide to show us amazing things. After a beautiful sunset we went to sleep. We awoke at another magic island to begin another special day.

Santa Fe Island is 20 kilometers south of Santa Cruz. We were greeted by more colorful crabs, iguanas found only on this island, sea lions and strange cacti. Back on board, we sailed for Plazas Island to visit more sea lions, saw some really beautiful sea gulls and the stunning red-billed frigate birds. After snorkeling in the dark blue waters, we called it a night. After a seven-hour sail over some choppy waters, morning found us on the most beautiful island yet, known as Espanola.

We visited Gardner Bay to say hello to more sea lions and to do some snorkeling and swimming. In the afternoon we landed and hiked toward Punto Suarez. Once off the boat, we headed inland on a path covered with unusually shaped lava boulders. Grass on either side was knee high. Once inland, it got warm, which came as no surprise given our proximity to the equator. We saw strangely shaped rocks worn down by sea lions rubbing against them for centuries. Black and gold iguanas greeted us and we encountered many sea lions lounging in the sun. The animals in Galapagos are not afraid of humans, they just don’t want us to get near them. One curious Abbey Boy got too close to one sea lion and he barked at him. Yes, the boy jumped since he was not expecting this.

Punto Suarez is a bird habitat with amazing cliffs, and huge waves, and even a blow hole. Birds and seals stared at us as much as we stared at them. Here we saw the Nazca booby, booby chicks covered in what appeared to be cotton fluff, beautiful doves, swallow tailed gulls and even a mockingbird. In the distance we saw a hawk gazing back at us. A small Darwin finch stopped on a branch and waited for us to take his picture. More strange cactus trees, golden iguanas and sea lions welcomed us when we returned to the beach to board our dinghy.

After sailing for some five hours over the dark blue Pacific, we arrived at Floriana Island on Easter Sunday. At six in the morning, we left Darwin for the beach. We set up a small altar and formed a circle. Our guide and our dinghy driver joined us. We celebrated our very own sunrise service on a small deserted beach. I cannot remember a more beautiful Mass. We returned to our boat for breakfast. The crew challenged our boys to a soccer game on the beach, which ended with the score tied.

We pulled anchor and sailed to another part of Floriana to visit Post Office Bay where 18th century whalers put mail in a barrel to be delivered by whoever happened to pass by. We looked through the mail, took some postcards to deliver and left a few of our own. Then we went back on board and sailed to the Devil’s Crown. Our guide felt that most of the boys were good enough snorkelers to swim around this ragged outcropping off Floriana. There was a whirlpool to play in and interesting sea creatures to see. After about an hour, the boys swam back to the boat, happy, maybe a little sunburned, and ready to relax on deck. We had a five hour sail for our final trip back to Santa Cruz Island.

We landed at Ayora at sunset. On the southern shore of the island, this is the only town in the Galapagos. We went on shore, found some ice cream and returned back to spend our final night on Darwin. Bright and early we left our bags on the ship and got in the dinghy for the last time. We visited the giant turtles being bred at the Charles Darwin Research Station. Lonesome George is no longer with us, but there are many giant tortoises left. At the Station we boarded pickup trucks, the only taxis on these islands, and headed north to the airport. At the end of Santa Cruz Island, we boarded a ferry, our luggage on the roof of the boat, and crossed a wide inlet to Seymore Island. We fought our way on board the public bus that was to take us on our final lap to the airport. We flew back to Quito and on the way to our hotel we stopped for our very last errand: some of us would not leave Ecuador without purchasing a proper Panama hat.

We retraced our steps to Atlanta and the epicurean delights of Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. At Dulles, a very happy group of parents waited for our return. It was a great trip. Abbey Boys are great traveling companions (as long as they are supplied with food at reasonable intervals). Next year we will climb a little higher, travel a little farther: Lima, Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca await.

Senior Joe Nahra gets up close and personal with Galapagos wildlife.

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Fifth Annual All-Alumni

reunion Weekend

Now in its fifth year, the All-Alumni reunion Weekend has become a staple of the spring cal-endar at St. Anselm’s. This year’s event was again a success, with over 200 alumni and friends returning to campus for one or more of the weekend’s events.

The weekend kicked off with the Distinguished Alumnus Lecture, which for the last three years has brought an alumnus from an an-niversary class to campus to speak to the current student body. This year’s lecturer was Fr. Patrick Madi-gan, SJ, ’63. The lecture was fol-lowed by a welcome reception for alumni and faculty in front of the school building.

Saturday morning, the third an-nual Peter Samp, ’08 Memorial 5K, organized by the school with help from the Alumni Association and the

Parents Association, attracted more than 150 participants—students and alumni, current and past parents, faculty, staff, and even a few monks. The race was followed by a delicious family barbeque lunch hosted by the Alumni Association.

The weekend’s main event, the Alumni Banquet—attended by over 100 alumni, spouses and friends—featured the presentation of the Ab-bot Alban Boultwood, OSB Alumni Award for service to the alumni com-munity. This year, the award went to John Corrigan, ’83 (see Class Notes, opposite, for more details).

We thank all who worked to make this year’s Reunion Weekend a success, and look forward to wel-coming more alumni back to St. Anselm’s next April 25-27 for the 2014 event.

Greg Smith, ’68 catches up with Michael Roseleigh and other ’68 classmates at a cocktail reception before the Alumni Banquet.

Top: Headmaster Bill Crittenberger welcomes guests at the Alumni Banquet on Saturday evening. Above: Andrew Hamm, ’08 heads into his second lap during the Peter Samp ’08 Memorial 5K.

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Class Notes1978Fr. Anthony giampietro was named Academic Dean and Executive Vice President of St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park, Calif. Currently, he serves as associate professor and chair of the philosophy department at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Tex., where he has been since 2002. Fr. Giampietro will take up his new post at St. Patrick’s on July 1.

1981peter casarella, currently professor of Catholic studies and director of the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology at DePaul University, recently accepted a position in the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. He and his family will move from Chicago to South Bend this summer.

1983John corrigan was the recipient of the 2013 Abbot Alban Boultwood Alumni Award, given for outstanding service to the St. Anselm’s alumni community. Over the past 20-plus years, John has served two stints as President of the Alumni Association and continues to serve on the Association’s Board of Directors. He also chairs the school’s Mathematics Department. Congratulations!

2005brent Drummond will matriculate at Harvard Law School this fall. Brent has been living in D.C. and working on Capitol Hill for the past year after a stint in the Peace Corps in Senegal.

Alumni and friends from the Classes of 2004 and 2005 enjoy themselves at the Banquet.

Fr. Peter and Mr. Crittenberger pose with Fr. Patrick Madigan, SJ, ’63, prior to Friday afternoon’s Distinguished Alumnus Lecture in the Devine Theater.

Fr. Peter presented the golden anniversary medals to members of the Class of 1963, who celebrated the 50th anniversary of their graduation.

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We Extend Our Deepest Sympathy to the Families of Those in Our Community Who Have Died

In Memoriam

Jonathan newell AchillesBrother of teacher Henry Achilles

elizabeth Ann blickMother of Dr. Samuel Blick, ’74, and John Blick, non-grad ’77

marjorie Wiley brittonMother of Matthew Britton, ’84

William D. commins, ph. D.Class of 1948Father of faculty member Paul Commins and Director of Finance Mark Commins

lona hurtAunt of Robert Haggerty, ’61

mary Joan KirchnerMother of John Kirchner, ’67; Robert Kirchner, ’69, Paul Kirchner, ’71; Ted Kirchner, ’72; and Bruce Kirchner, non-grad ’74

James lee murphy iiClass of 1949

mahlon myersFather of Fr. Gabriel Myers, OSB

patricia pearsonMother of Ronald Clark Pearson, ’98

Kenneth W. SissonBrother of Plant Manager Dennis Sisson

Dr. André taymansFather of Laurent Taymans, ’88, Jean-Marc Taymans, non-grad ’87, Francois Taymans, non-grad ’85, and Benoit Taymans, non-grad ’84

Kathie WaltersSister of David Walters, ’88

bruce WarringClass of 1950

e`va Korynei WintersWife of John D. Winters, ’48

The St. Anselm’s Experience Needs Your Support!

Make Your Gift to the Annual Fund

Demand for scholarship aid has never been higher.make your tax-deductible gift by June 30 and show your support

for our outstanding students and faculty!

Learn more and donate securely online at saintanselms.org/support.

cFc/national capital Area Agency code: 90387 • united Way code: 8967

Photo: Yakntoro Udoumoh, ’13