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ST. ANSELM’S ABBEY SCHOOL • WASHINGTON, D.C. • FALL 2015 • VOL. 24 NO. 1

corbie chronicle

Mark Your CalendarsDiscover all that’s happening at St. Anselm’s

this spring. Please join us at the following

events:

Form VII Forever (Past Parents) Feb. 21

Lenten Mass and Brunch

69th Annual Invitational Feb. 26-28

Basketball Tournament

Priory Players’ Production of: Mar. 11-13

“The Strange Case of

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”

Eighth Annual All-Alumni Apr. 22-24

Reunion Weekend

Follow us online for the latest news from the Abbey!

www.saintanselms.orgfacebook.com/saintanselms

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 Kristin Hurd at the School or via email at khurd@saintanselms.org.

Photography in this publication has been provided by the St. Anselm’s Abbey School faculty and staff, our student publications staff, David W. Powell, Yakntoro Udoumoh, ’13, Tom Connelly, and Lisa Jung.

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

Design and Layout: Kristin HurdProduction and Printing: Executive Press Inc.

On the Cover: View overlooking the athletics fields with the surrounding trees coated in ice. Photo courtesy of Br. Isaiah Lord, OSB.

The Corbie ChronicleFall 2015 • Volume 24, Number 1

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

Reflections from the Headmaster 5 Mr. Bill Crittenberger

Fall Scholarship Gala: The Beach Ball 6

Campus News 8

Panther Sports 12

Faculty Notes 14

Class Notes/Alumni News 15

In Memoriam 18

Above: In September, 10 of our students, English teacher Janine Dunne, and Director of Admissions Peter Young, ’01, bid farewell to Pope Francis at Andrews Air Force Base. Classes were suspended on September 23, when the Holy Father celebrated Mass at the nearby Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The Mass was attended by a number of monks, staff and faculty, parents, and students from St. Anselm’s.

How can you support the St. Anselm’s Experience?

Overall School Budget

Care for the Abbey and Aging Monks

Support for Current Year Scholarships

.

THE 2015-2016

ANNUAL FUNDHelping Bright Boys Become Exceptional Men

There’s still time to make your 2015 contribution!

Use the enclosed envelope or or donate securely

online at www.saintanselms.org/support.

You may also donate through the CFC or United Way.

corbie chronicle 3

A Message from the President

“Education cannot be neutral. It is either positive or negative; either it enriches or it impoverishes; either it enables a person to grow or it lessens, even corrupts him. The mission of schools is to develop a sense of truth, of what is good and beautiful.”

Pope Francis

Dear Alumni, Students, Faculty and Staff, Past and Present Parents, Members of the Board of Trustees, Benefactors, and Friends of St. Anselm’s Abbey School:

You may already know that the Gala grossed over $255,000 for current-year financial aid.  Thanks to all of our participants!

On November 1st, the school hosted its Annual Fall Open House.  Over 130 prospective students and their families toured the campus with our student guides.  Admission officers Mr. Pe-ter Young, ’01, and Mr. Blake Hollinger, with the aid of the fac-ulty, truly made vivid the St. Anselm’s Experience.  Our guests’ excitement about and interest in the school’s academic program was recognizable to all.  I hope these visits blossom forth into many new applications.    From November 5th until the 8th, leaders from the Sixth Form guided the students of the Fifth Form through their Kairos Re-treat with guidance from Fr. Michael Hall, ’56.  Again, a most uplifting and spiritual gift to all.  This event remains a highlight for our Fifth Form class each year; it is appropriately referred to as a spiritual oasis flooding our students with grace.  On the weekend of November 20th to 22nd, our Priory Players , with female cast members from area schools, gave a very profes-sional performance of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Again, more “Voices in and voices out, voices singing all about” putting in many “Long Days” as our gifted director, Mr. Philip Dickerson, brought the talents of the actors to even loftier heights as they grew in the “Brotherhood of Man.”

Nearly every day, Pope Francis is calling the whole Church to a life of prayer and renewal—as faithful be-lievers, we must focus on the basics.  The Pope said: “In Christian life, even in the life of the Church, there are ancient structures, transient structures; it is necessary to renew them!”  And even our 1,500-year-old Benedic-tine tradition needs continuous updating and renewal.    A chronicle is a means to review where we are and point to where we are going.  On May 30th, the school graduated its 70th class, and college placements were high.  Besides inspiring bright minds with an outstand-ing education, it is our mission each day to bring the joy of Christ’s Word and Love to each and every individual in our extended community.  It has always been my con-viction that the major problems confronting humanity can only be solved through prayer and education. On September 22nd, St. Anselm’s Abbey officially cele-brated the 91st anniversary of its founding.  The school is now in its 74th year, and in both institutions, our Benedictine dictum of Ora et Labora remains unbroken.    On October 24th, the school held its 33rd Fall Scholarship Gala—The Beach Ball.  Our honorees this year were Mr. Paul Yde and his wife, Ms. Sarah Elder, for their 10 years of unwav-ering support to Catholic education.  Their two sons graduated from the school—Eric in 2011 and Mark in 2014.  Besides the family’s support of the Devine Challenge, Ms. Elder was instru-mental in establishing the Athletic Booster Club, and in 2011 she helped initiate our students’ participation in the Appalachia Service Project.    For over 30 years of service, we recognized Mr. Paul Grenaldo who began at St. Anselm’s in 1981 as an Intramural referee and volunteer Middle School basketball coach. During the next six years, he coached the golf team and both the JV and Varsity basketball teams as an assistant, first to Mr. Mark Dean and then to Mr. Brian Murphy. In 1987, Paul became the JV and assistant Varsity basketball coach.  In 2005, he took on the position of Varsity coach when Brian Murphy became ill.   I want to thank the Gala co-chairs, Kay Kalhorn and Kimber-ly Walhout, all the mothers, fathers, and school staff, and our hard-working students, who labored so hard on the logistics: serving, flowers, tables, and the silent auction.  Let me take this opportunity to once again thank everyone who was able to at-tend this year’s Gala and for sharing in our Benedictine mission of recreating our world through education.   

At the annual Fall Scholarship Gala, basketball coach Paul Grenaldo was hon-ored for his service to the school for over 30 years. He was introduced by Mark Romano, ’86, who was the assistant coach for the Varsity team for several years.

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Then on November 28th, nearly 60 alumni returned for the tra-ditional Thanksgiving Alumni-Varsity basketball game, which was preceded by a Mass to remember all the alumni, monks and lay teachers who have died. The basketball game was won by an enthusiastic 21-player alumni team despite a strong showing by our talented varsity squad. Form VII Forever—our past parents organization—joined us on Saturday, December 5th, for an afternoon concert of choral and instrumental music from all levels of our student body, followed by a holiday reception. I hope that you have all received our Annual Fund appeal lit-erature.  In my November letter, the monks are asking you to contribute to the 2015-2016 Annual Fund; you can choose any or all of the following needs: 1) Support for the Overall School Budget; 2) Support of the Abbey and our Aging Monks; 3) Cur-rent-Year Financial Aid.  

Remember, the Annual Fund runs until June 30, 2016, and you can find a reply envelope in this Corbie Chronicle for your con-venience.  Let me thank, once again, those who have already given, and let me thank in advance those who can help the abbey and school in the future. 

In closing, let me wish you and yours a most Blessed Christ-mas and Happy New Year 2016, as we live our faith day in and day out. The joy of the Incarnation remains a focal point of Christian belief throughout the year. The Incarnation of Christ aims at the restoration of humankind by returning all to their Creator-God.

Mankind seems to have two absolute gratuitous gifts: the gift of life and the gift of an innate orientation to supernatural finality. This is expressed most beautifully in the Magnificat Antiphon for the Octave Day of Christmas, which the monks sing at Ves-pers: “O wonderful exchange. The Creator of mankind, being born of a Virgin, has Himself become a man. And we have been made sharers in the divinity of Christ, who humbled Himself to share in our humanity.” 

Pax in Sapientia,    Fr. Peter Weigand, OSB,President

Past parents Sarah Elder and Paul Yde (front left) were honored at this year’s Gala. Joining them at the table for the celebration were fellow parents of alumni in the same classes as their sons, Eric, ’ 11, and Mark , ’14.

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reflections from the HeadmasterDear St. Anselm’s Community,

We find ourselves in the midst of another excellent school year, marked by a happy and thriving student body, a dedicated and talented faculty and staff, and an amazing and inspiring monastic presence that is the core of what makes this school so wonderful.

It gives me great pleasure to share with you that the School’s 60 new students, an intelligent and hard-working lot with personal-ity to spare, have become Abbey Boys rather quickly this fall and are earning “great fit” reviews from teachers and administrators. Happily, our current-year enrollment of 260 youngsters is where we want it to be, and a year from now, when the enrollment has leveled off at 270, an important long-term institutional goal will have been met.

Allow me to share a handful of goodies from the first half of this stellar year:

• As a kick-off to the School’s two-year drive toward re-accred-itation, St. Anselm’s is in the midst of a year of Self-Study, wherein fully 20 committees are conducting a comprehensive internal review of various segments of the School and school life.

• A truism that I’ve found almost prophetic during my 31 years in independent schools, “as the senior class goes, so goes the school,” is most definitely proving to be true, as we are bless-ed with an amazing senior class, a band of brothers who are talented, invested, kind, thoughtful, and interesting.

• This class—34 strong—is impressively academic, as already 6 of them have posted a perfect score of 800 on one or more section of the SAT and as fully one-third of them have GPAs of 3.75 or higher. One senior, Ryan Montesi, has been named a National Merit Semifinalist and 10 of his classmates have been named National Merit Commended Scholars. Based on their sophomore and junior year performances on the AP Exams, 68% of the class has earned honors for their AP performance: six AP Scholars, six Scholars with Honors, and 11 Scholars with Distinction—numbers that naturally will increase later this school year as each senior sits for 3-5 more AP exams.

• The School’s Arabic program—which for the past two years has been running shoulder-to-shoulder with French and Spanish as a Modern Language choice for Form II students—is in year three of a highly successful four-year roll-out. Our experienced and gifted Arabic teacher, Mr. Abdel Gubartalla, reports that his students are “devouring the material.”

• The Science department is poised to add two upper level electives next year to an already robust program of studies: Biotechnology and The History of Science. Both of these courses will be taught by Mr. Chris Battle, new to St. An-selm’s this year, who currently teaches AP Biology and AP Environmental Studies.

• Courtesy of Ms. Stacey Marnell, School Counselor, and the leadership and drive of the senior class, the Big Brother/Lit-tle Brother program is thriving. Members of the senior class and a few juniors came to school a day early in late August

to meet with their “little brothers” to show the new boys around campus and to offer them a few tips for success. Soon thereaf-ter, the Big Brothers took part in the annual Form A rafting trip, but one of the many activities that allows Abbey Boys of varying ages to spend time together.

• Our student publications have expanded under the discerning and creative eye of English teacher/director of student activities Mr. Mike McCarthy to include Priory Pro-ductions, a video club under moderator Mr. Adam Roush.

• Varsity cross country took third place in the PVAC champi-onship meet for the second year running (pun intended) and two runners, senior Cuatro Johnston and sophomore Matt Laskowski, were named first team All-PVAC. Sophomore Aman Hardie was named to the second team and freshman Peter Clark to the third team All-PVAC.

• Varsity soccer, a unit noted by one and all for its extraor-dinary team chemistry, finished the regular season in third place. Seniors Nate Dangle and Pablo Ruiz were named first team All-PVAC, while classmates Quin McFeeters and Matt Borden were named to the second team and Honorable Mention All-PVAC, respectively. Junior Chris Pierre also was named to the second team.

• I am delighted to serve this year as the president of the High School Principals Association (HSPA), a group of 15 school principals who, alongside their school presidents, head up the majority of the DC metropolitan area’s Catholic high schools. Among its many functions, HSPA works closely with the Archdiocese of Washington. It is particularly mean-ingful to me, then, in this role, to have been able to announce this year’s HSPA Teachers of the Year from St. Anselm’s: Ms. Janine Dunne, who teaches English, and the aforementioned Mr. Gubartalla.

St. Anselm’s finds itself in an exceptionally good place and is flour-ishing, but we can’t rest as there is work to be done, improvement to be made, and wax to be molded. Pray for us, as we will pray for you, as we seek peace in understanding, perspective, stability, fellowship, and strength in doing our best to serve the Lord and our young, impressionable charges.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Pax in Sapientia,

William T. CrittenbergerHeadmaster

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Patrick Caulfield with his mother Patricia and Fr. Peter Weigand, OSB.

The Beach Ball 33rd Annual Fall Scholarship Gala

On October 24th, we hosted the 33rd Annual Fall Scholarship Gala, “The Beach Ball.” The evening was a tremendous success. The 2016 Gala grossed more than $255,000 for current-year financial aid. Past parents Paul Yde and Sarah Elder and basketball coach Paul Grenaldo were inducted into the St. Anselm’s Hall of Honor for their years of service and support of the school.

The Fall Scholarship Gala is an important gathering for the school. In addition to being the second largest fundraiser each year, it is also an opportunity for the St. Anselm’s community to get together socially, away from the hectic weekly schedule, to enjoy a nice dinner and conversation. Our guests are always an interesting mix of past parents, members of the Board of Trustees, the monastic community, faculty, current parents and alumni. This year, we were joined by 66 alumni ranging all the way from the class of 1950 through the class of 2014.

Please watch for more information about next year’s gala, which is scheduled for October 29, 2016.

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Gala Honorees

Paul Yde and Sarah Elder were honored for 10 years of support to Catholic education and their work with the Booster Club and Appalachia Service Project.

Coach Paul Grenaldo was honored for his 30 years as a coach, mentor and friend. Alumni who played basketball under him, ranging from the class of 1981 to the class of 2014, attended to see him honored.

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Campus News

This last summer, I spent six weeks working at the University of Maryland (UMD) Physics and Chemistry Departments learning about the science involved in the particle physics experiments that go on at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. The goal of my work was to bring some of the ideas from high energy physics into the high school chemistry classroom in order to help students become more interested in taking physics courses. During the summer I helped create a web site (http://chemlhc.physics.umd.edu/) with resources for high school chemistry and physics teachers to use that links the utilization of chemistry to high energy physics. One of the exciting parts of this was learning how scintillation is one of the main ways that high energy particles are detected. It is a method of detecting radiation by monitoring the characteristic luminescence spectrum given off by a material that absorbed the energy of the high energy radiation. During the fall semester, I incorporated an introductory fluorescence lab into AP Chemistry in order to teach the student about luminescence.

I visited the Fermi National Accelerator Lab outside of Chicago to talk with scientists there. I had tours of the scintillation lab, the thin films lab, and the silicon detection lab, directed by Marco Verzocchi.

The culminating event of my summer’s work was a workshop on “Chemistry and the Large Hadron Collider” which I co-hosted at St. Anselm’s Abbey School on Saturday, October 17, with Dr. Sarah Eno of the University of Maryland Physics Department and mother of Form IV student Fred Buchanan. The workshop included a presentation by Professor Drew Badin, Physics Department Chair at UMD, on the Large Hadron Collider and about UMD’s outreach program for high school students. He voiced his availability to visit schools to give presentations.

‘State-of-the-Art Science’ in the Classroom

Following were presentations by Dr. Alice Mignerey, from the Deptartment of Chemistry at UMD, Chemistry graduate student Ashley Sexton, Dr. Eno on the detectors used in the LHC, and myself.

The attendees included students and teachers from local high schools. The teachers who attended the workshop were very enthusiastic and they were eager to incorporate state-of-the-art topics into their classrooms.

The teachers also discussed the difficulty of getting students to take physics in high schools where it is not required, though chemistry is always required. Suggestions included integrating new units in chemistry class, such as studying nuclear energy and research sites like CERN, to help entice students to take physics.

Dr. Anita Chernovitz Chemistry Teacher

Dr. Anita Chernovitz presents during a workshop on October 17

Welcome New Faculty/Staff Members

Chris Battle, Science Teacher Previous experience: Mr. Battle is a graduate of St. Albans, where he played football and baseball. His degree in Bi-ology is from Johns Hopkins University. He previously spent 14 years in the field of Alzheimer’s research, including as lead study coordinator at the Innovative Clin-ical Research Center in McLean. He and his wife Susan are co-owners of a needle-point store in Friendship Heights. A wine expert, he occasionally teaches classes for adults. The Battles have a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son.

Highlights from St. Anselm’s: Mr. Battle teaches AP Biology, AP Environ-mental Science, and Anatomy and Physi-ology, as well as coaching Middle School basketball. He says, “I never could have guessed just how supportive and helpful the St. Anselm’s community would be. It is the warmest community I have ever been a part of.”Goals for the future: “I would really like to expand the breadth of science cours-es offered at the Abbey. I am currently dreaming of courses on Biotechnology and the History of Science.”

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Campus News

Students Receive Honors for National Merit, Math, Latin and ArtNational Merit ScholarsEleven of the 34 students in the Class of 2016 have been named Scholars by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Ryan Montesi was named a SemiFinalist, and will be notified in the spring if he reaches Finalist status.

The following students were named National Merit Commended Scholars: Eric Crump, Nathan Dangle, Edward Gifford, Adam Good, Cuatro Johnston, Aaron Lee, Michael Maimone, Constan-tin Miranda, Bryant Raisch, and Adam Wasserman.

UMD Math CompetitionBased on their high scores on Part I of the exam, five Form V and VI students have advanced to the second level of the Uni-versity of Maryland High School Mathe-matics Competition. Noah Fuller, Leon Gong, Mark Nam, Micah Shenk-Evans, and Jonathan Yan took the second, more challenging part of the exam on Decem-ber 2. The top three scorers are offered a scholarship from the university.

Latin Competition TrophiesIn October, several teams of Latin stu-dents placed in their competition of the school year at St. Stephen’s/St Agnes.Our Level I team, Hammat Babin, Jesse Broderick-Sokoi, C.J. Velez, and William Stubner, earned a fourth-place trophy.

Our Advanced Level team, Ben Mirvish, Mark Hornyak, Noah Fuller, and Brendan Kane, finished in sixth place.

Our Level III team, Alex Shipe, Nat Monahan, and Jack Werwinski, earned a fourth-place trophy.

Smithsonian Gallery InternsTwo Form VI students are serving as Ambassadors at two of the Smithsonian art museums. Nick Stewart is in his sec-ond year as a teen ambassador at the Na-tional Museum of African Art, where he has had an opportunity to interview visit-ing artists and give tours to visitors.

Evan Binkley was recently selected as a teen intern at the Freer-Sackler Gallery, where he will provide feedback on how the Gallery can make their exhibits more engaging for young people.

Sylvia Pena, Spanish Teacher Previous experience: Ms. Pena is a native of Venezue-la with Lithuanian roots. She has degrees in Communi-cations and in Foreign Lan-guages. She has over a decade of experience teaching Span-ish at local schools, in addi-tion to experience teaching English as a second language. Prior to becoming a teacher, she worked for the United

Nations Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. She a son who is a freshman in college and a sixth-grade daughter.

Highlights from St. Anselm’s: “I love teaching here. It’s a great community with fabulous colleagues, and the boys and their parents are amazing and supportive.”

Goals for the future: “It’s still ‘in the works,’ but I’d like to provide more opportunities to attend local productions that can increase their exposure to Spanish and Latin American culture—without having to leave the country! There are many venues in the DC area that offer plays, musicals, dance, poetry readings and more for school groups. I’ve done these field trips before and they are a great opportunity for high school students!”

Zack Delgado, Athletic Trainer/MedicPrevious Experience: Mr. Del-gado grew up in Venezuela, where he learned to love both baseball and soccer. He has a degree in Sports Medicine and Athletic Training. After college, he worked for nine years at an orthopedic clinic, including run-ning a concussion management program. During that same time he was a trainer and conditioning coach for DC United’s Youth

Academy. He has a two-year-old son and a new-born daughter.

Highlights from St. Anselm’s: “My impression is that everyone here is doing the best they can for the students. People have been very helpful, caring, and supportive. It’s a totally different environment; people are really willing to help and in turn you are more motivated to keep getting things done.”

Goals for the future: “I hope to improve the resources we can provide to students and their families so they can be as safe as possible in school and participating in athletics. Right now, we’re putting together a concussion management protocol with baseline testing for all students, using the ImPACT best practices for schools.”

Welcome New Faculty/Staff Members

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A Veterans Day Reflection on ServiceThe Rule of St. Benedict Paves Way to Values of Military Service for Alumni

Campus News

Lifelong service to others is a Benedictine way of living that St. Anselm’s Abbey School has always tried to foster in our students. As part of the curriculum for Fifth and Sixth Form students, two years of community service is a requirement for graduation, and it is a perennial topic of discussion among our graduates from five to twenty-five years ago during their Alumni Career Day presentations to current juniors and seniors. In my recollection, not one of the guest or student speakers at our Vespers of Grad-uation has omitted the theme of service to others, in all its many forms, as the foundation for life after St. Anselm’s.

Service comes in many varieties, usually according to one’s tem-perament and disposition. Every Veterans Day, we are called upon to reflect on the selflessness of our men and women in uni-form, past and present, and the sacrifices they have made in the service of our country. This November 11th, it struck me that a number of former St. Anselm’s students from my first years here had embarked on military careers; several are currently deployed abroad and/or finishing a rigorous training program.

Looking back over several decades through our archive of the Corbie Chronicle, I that discovered many more of our graduates had chosen military service than I expected. And I was surprised not just at the number but also the scope of career paths: Army Rangers, doctors and airborne infantry commanders, Pentagon planners, naval submariners and surface sailors, Coast Guard avi-ators and Air Force pilots, Marine intelligence officers. Many of them turned out to be men I had met at alumni functions who in their humility never said one word about their service to our country, even to me, a retired military officer.

And so too members of the monastic community, whose life is defined by obedience, prayer, and work, and their labors per-formed always in service to others, when asked might only men-tion humbly that they “…reluctantly jumped out of airplanes,”

or even flew them in World War II, like our Fr. Joseph Jensen, OSB, who just celebrated his 91st birthday.

Much of what St. Benedict writes in The Rule would be very familiar to anyone in our armed forces. As he explains in the Prologue, it is called a “rule” because it regulates the lives of those who join the monastery. My personal recollection of Basic Training was that the essential rules and regulations were made abundantly clear within the first five minutes of our arrival! The rules and the structure St. Benedict describes are analogous to the regulations and structure that govern military life—obedi-ence, self-sacrifice, communal life, hierarchical authority, and hard work.

In one of the Corbie Chronicles I looked at was a “Lessons Learned” speech by former headmaster and current school chaplain Fr. Michael Hall, OSB, ’15, and his words are as true today as then. “Humble service rooted in the search for truth leads to peace. Such a fused motto is not readily embraced by our society today, but it is the simple message which every truly great school—of which St. Anselm’s is one—has a duty to instill in its students to point them toward a better world.”

So on this Veterans Day, let us honor our St. Anselm’s veterans, those currently in military service, and those who are studying at the service academies. As we reflect on the vast array of roles and means of service to others, it is clear that these same gradu-ates from our monastic school help maintain peace throughout the world. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.”

Kirk Otterson Assistant Headmaster

Army officer John Wildt, ’00, answers questions for Form V and VI students on career day.

Gavan Montegue, ’91, Deputy Legal Counsel to the Chief of Navy Personnell, speaks to students about military careers.

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Campus News

The Priory Players’ Production of

November 20-22, 2015

CastJ. Pierrepont Finch - Evan Schoomaker

Rosemary - Olivia Jung-MossJ.B. Biggley - Anthony PairoBud Frump - Jack Schwartz

Mr. Twimble - George AnninosMiss Jones - Isobel Springer

Hedy LaRue - Danielle LangfordGatch - Mark HornyakBratt- Solomon Fenton

Ovington - Harrison HoweSmitty - Maela Hamilton-Pritchett

Jr. Executive/Wally Womper - Jimmy Duke Jr. Executive/TV Announcer - Max Maimone

Jr. Executive - Patrick MacoJr. Executive - Ryan Fennelly

Secretary/Jr. Executive - Wanyana Njuki Miss Krumholtz - Claire Maco

Jr. Executive/Policeman - Ryan Torpey Secretaries - Antria Howard, Cecilia Hornyak

Staff and Crew

Director - Phil DickersonMusic Director - Emily Risley

Costumes - Kathy CalkinSound and Video - Nishant CarrTechnical Crew - Jack Kalhorn,

Harry Daley-Young, Ryan McFeeters, Chadin Rangel,Yves Eisenberg,

Luke Craver, Rhys Melcher

Photos by Lisa Jung and Nishant Carr

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Panther Sports

Soccer, Cross Country Bring Home ThirdThe Abbey had a very good fall season of sports with the Var-sity cross country team and the Varsity soccer team both plac-ing third in the Potomac Valley Athletic Conference for the second year in a row.

In cross country, St. Anselm’s hosted the PVAC Champion-ship meet on November 3. It was a tight finish between the second and third-place teams, and the Panthers were edged out in a tight finish by the Field School. Cuatro Johnston (Form VI), Matthew Laskowski (Form III), and Aman Hardie (Form IV) all finished in the top 10 in the champi-onship race. Johnston, Laskowski, Hardie and Peter Clark (Form III) were all named to the ALL-PVAC team. The Mid-dle School cross country team had a great showing led by Ian Patzman-Rivard (Form II) and Antoś Wellisz (Form II). The Varsity team was coached again this year by science teach-er Mr. Bryan Taylor and religion teacher Ms. Kailey Gotta. The Middle School runners were coached by English teacher Ms. Janine Dunne.

The Varsity soccer team finished third in the PVAC in another very competitive season. Matt Borden was named Honorable Mention All-PVAC, Chris Pierre and Quin McFeeters were named to the Second Team All-PVAC, and Pablo Ruiz and Nate Dangle were named to the First Team All-PVAC. Only the winning team had more boys named to the all-league team. The Varsity and JV teams were led by coaches Tony Figueroa,

Matt Grosso, ’00, and fine arts teacher Mr. Phil Dickerson.

The Middle School soccer team also finished third in the league with great offense lead by Jack Muoio (Form II) and Luca Smith (Form I) and great defense lead by John Paul Libanati (Form II) and Hayden Dangle (Form I). For the second year, the team was coached by modern languages teacher Mr. Abdel Gubartalla.

Matthew Laskowski (Form III) took sixth place in the PVAC championship meet at St. Anselm’s in November. He was named first team All-PVAC.

Pablo Ruiz (Form VI), Xavier Preston (Form III), and Nathan Dangle (Form VI) compete against Covenant Life School in September. Ruiz and Dangle were both named to the first team All-PVAC.

Cross country team seniors. Back row L-R: Eric Crump, Jonathan Lorentz, Gary Simms, Cuatro Johnston, Clay Rosica, Evan Binkley, Adam Good. Front row L-R: Evan Binkley and Nate Dangle.

Antoś Wellisz and Ian Patzman-Rivard (Form II) take off from the starting line during the Middle School PVAC championship competition.

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Panther Sports

JUNIOR VARSITY / VARSITY SOCCER

Back row L-R: Junior Varsity Coach Matt Grosso, ’00, Xavier Preston (Form III), Patrick Sansone (Form V), Clement Williams (Form V), Tyler Pirovic (Form V), Ryan Montesi (Form VI), Pablo Ruiz (Form VI), Nathan Dangle (Form VI), Quinn McFeeters (Form VI), Cameron Under-wood (Form VI), Aaron Lee (Form VI), and Coach Tony Figueroa. Front row L-R: Aidan Dwyer(Form V), David Donawa (Form V), Michael Libanati (Form V), Chris Pierre (Form V), Nick Sansone (Form III), Harrison Howe (Form VI), Grant Commodore (Form III), Forest Miller (Form III), and Matthew Borden (Form VI).

Back row, L-R: Stephen DeCarlo (Form I), Vinnie Blum (Form I), Nicholas DeCarlo (Form I), Luca Smith (Form I), Hayden Dangle (Form I), Jack Muoio (Form II), John Paul Libanati (Form II), Sharen Perera (Form I), Ian Ogilvie (Form II), Max Hoefling (Form II), Ciaran Dwyer (Form II), Paul Wright (Form II), Nicholas Daniel (Form II), and Coach Abdel Gubartalla. Front row, L-R: Matthew Johnson(Form I), Eric Montesi (Form A), Robert Thompson (Form I), Bjorn Schaefer-Riechert (Form A), Anuj Berry (Form A), Dash Tischler (Form A), Griffin Burchard (Form I), Joseph Lang (Form I), Isaac Smoker (Form I), Peyson Pearce (Form I), Sean Dwyer (Form II), Ken Kaproth (Form II).

MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCCER

Everyone really enjoyed the new outdoor scoreboard purchased by the Parents Associa-tion in Spring 2015. It is used for every home soccer game and as an unofficial cross country running time.

New Scoreboard

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Faculty Notes

2015 HSPA Teachers of the Year Two teachers were honored at the annual HSPA (High School Principal’s Association) professional development day in October:

Veteran Teacher AwardJanine Dunne combines the ded-ication and hard work of an absolute professional with the warmth and intu-ition of a natural teacher. Her students are well aware of her deep concern for them as individuals and that assurance inspires them to reach the high expec-tations she has of their classroom and personal performance. For her English students, as well as the boys she has led in the Appalachian Service Project, Ms. Dunne demonstrates an en-thusiastic commitment to others. That spirit is further reflect-ed in her coaching of Middle School cross country runners

and service as faculty moderator for The Panther, the Middle School newspaper.

Novice Teacher AwardAbdel Gubartalla, in his second year at the Abbey, teaches Arabic at levels I, II, and III and is poised to teach level IV next year. This versatile edu-cator teaches a Modern Middle East elective and French III, and coaches Middle School soccer. A kind, gentle, and perceptive man, Mr. Gubartalla’s teaching and his broad-er presence at St. Anselm's brightly reflect the Benedictine hallmarks of community, hospitality, humility, and love. He enhances his teaching of the Arabic language by integrating into his classroom instruction elements of the Arab world's history, culture, geography, religion, and current events.

work to walk with the rest of the group for part of the way. They regularly stayed overnight in hostels or monasteries and arrived in Santiago with fresh spirits and only a few blisters on their feet. Once there, they were able to attend Mass twice in the cathedral and on other days in the church of the Benedictine nuns of the abbey of San Pelayo just across the plaza from the cathedral.

English teacher Michael McCarthy per-formed the role of the mysterious gangster Meyer Wolfsheim in The Little Theater of Rockville’s production of the Simon Levy adaptation of the great American Classic, The Great Gatsby, which was performed in October at the beautiful F. Scott Fitz-gerald Theater in Rockville, Maryland—just a stone’s throw from the author’s final resting place at Saint Mary’s Church.

On November 20, Registrar Tamara Brown was married to Claude Hill in Wal-dorf, Md. Members of the faculty James Leathers, Tom Mehigan, and Bill Crit-

For the first three weeks in June, Ab-bot James Wiseman, OSB, Br. Ignacio Gonzalez, OSB, Jim Lucier, ’82, Br. Ig-nacio’s father Raúl, and two other friends of the abbey were in northern Spain, pri-marily to walk 180 miles from the city of León to the Cathedral of St. James along the famous pilgrimage route of the Cami-no de Santiago. Before embarking on the pilgrimage itself, they stayed for two days in the city of Burgos and there visited the Carthusian monastery of Miraflores. The founder of our own monastery, Fr. Thomas Verner Moore, transferred to the Carthusians at Miraflores at the age of 70 and lived for a further 21 years, so Ab-bot James and Br. Ignacio received special permission to visit the cemetery and pray at his grave.

From Burgos the six pilgrims took a bus to León and were met there by another alumnus, Kevin Wood, ’80 who lives with his wife and two daughters in Ma-drid and was able to take a few days off

tenberger were in attendance, and Fr. Mi-chael Hall, OSB, ’56, led those gathered in a prayer after the ceremony. They cel-ebrated the happy event at a reception at the home of Ms. Brown’s sister.

School Medic and Athletic Trainer Zack Delgado and his wife Rachael welcomed their daughter, Maia Cecilia, into the world on October 16. The Delgados, es-pecially big brother Matias (age two and a half), are extremely happy with the new addition to the family.

This year in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, science and engineering teacher Dr. Herbert Wood handled a new bal-loon in the parade, the Skylander Erup-tor. This is the 13th year he has been in the parade, and this year three generations of his family were represented: his daugh-ter-in-law Sophie and granddaughter Vic-toria, the daughter of Kevin Wood, ’80, also assisted in handling the balloon.

F. Scott Fitgerald Theater in Rockville, Md.

Cathedral of St. James in Compostela, Spain

Maia Cecilia Delgado, born October 16

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Alumni News

This past summer, 18 enthusiastic Abbey boys  and six adults  (Athletic Director Steve Roush, religion teacher Kailey Gotta, parent Dan Shenk-Evans, Matthew Dangle, ’13, Jack Leathers, ’06, and myself) ventured into the heart of West Virginia for a week of service, shenanigans, and fraternal camaraderie on the annual Appalachia Service Project (ASP). Af-ter stuffing three buses with our sleeping bags, cots, tattered clothes, snacks, and tools, we hopped on the road and  began our journey. A five-hour drive (with more than a couple of stops) we arrived at an abandoned school that had been turned into an area community cen-ter, the home base from which we would leave each day to work on homes for area families lacking resources to do the work themselves. Though the school was certainly no Trump Hotel, it had an unlocked, fully-equipped bas-ketball court and eight giant fans, enough to satisfy most Abbey boys. In an orientation with ASP staff, the boys soon learned that they would be waking up early for the remainder of the week and would be responsible for the completion of various chores around the community center.

The next morning, the boys and leaders were divided into three groups and reloaded their buses with wood, tools, and lunches and headed to our respective worksites. My group, consisting of Leon Gong, Nathan Dangle, Adam Wasserman, George Anni-nos, Evan Binkley, and Tyler Pirovic, with Mr. Roush ‘the Elder’ and me as leaders, was tasked with demolishing and rebuild-ing a family’s back porch. After participating whole-heartedly in the jobs involving a sledgehammer, I realized with the help of Mr. Roush’s wisdom that we had more available hands than jobs. Aided by the talent and high spirits of our group members, Mr. Roush and I stepped back and served as project managers for most of the trip, and the boys finished a tall, beautiful back porch and walkway in under three days.

Nights were spent on the basketball court, out on the base-ball field or by the road, and in the community center, the air filled with jokes and laughter, banjo and rave music, and a lot of

smiles. On the last night, the groups held a bar-becue with their project families. The groups said their goodbyes, and left the next morning with the satisfaction of a job well done. 

My decision to volunteer for the annual Ap-palachian Service Project trip began with nos-talgia. Having grown up at St. Anselm’s, I was already deep into my journey at the Abbey be-fore I began to realize what makes it so special. This trip served as a reminder of what happens when you place talented kids in a tight-knit en-vironment mentored by extraordinary people and guided by a remarkable philosophy. I saw, once again, how at St. Anselm’s young men unconsciously challenge each other as they dis-cuss both the profound and profane.

Rory Coffin, Class of 2014

“This trip served as a reminder of what happens when you

place talented kids in a tight-knit environment

mentored by extraordinary people and guided by a remarkable

philosophy.”

Students, Alumni Leaders Serve in Appalachia

Rory Coffin, ’14, (green shirt) works with his group, “Team Recess,” during the Appalachia Service Project. Their group completed the back deck of a home in just three days.

Form V students George Anninos (on bango) and Evan Schoomacher (on guitar) spent time picking with noted bluegrass musician Harts Paul Ray “Dunk” Farris. at Harts Community Center in Harts, W.V.

We’re looking for alumni leaders for ASP 2016 from June 12-18. As a leader, all fees are paid and you receive a $350 cash stipend. No experience necessary. See our website or call the school office for more information.

Previous Alumni Leaders include: Rory Coffin, ’14, Matt Dangle, ’13, Brendan Durkin, ’08, Alex Edsal, ’10, John Foley, ’76, Jan Gaetjens, ’08, Kamau Grimes, ’08, Jack Leathers, ’06, Matthew Kline, ’08, John Kylis, ’08, Jake Snider, ’07, and Eric Yde, ’11.

16 corbie chronicle

Class Notes1985On April 21, the feast of St. Anselm, Dr. David Antezana, and his wife, Kristen, welcomed a daughter, Ingrid Sofia, to their family. All are happy and healthy.

2004Katie and Matt Lynch welcomed their daughter Kelsey in May. She was baptized in July at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Vienna, Va., with Matt’s classmate Charles Hamm and his wife, Anna, as her godparents.

2005Matthew Longacre married Lauren Campbell in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in October. Classmates Ruben Brown, Phil Calabro, and Xan Vongsathorn were present to celebrate the occasion.

In November, Katie and Andrew McCabe welcomed their first child, Liam Thomas McCabe, in Denver, Colo.

2007Jacob Snider is working on video and interactivity design on the tech team for the Meow Wolf art collective’s project, “House of Eternal Return” in Santa Fe,

N.M. The project, backed by author George R.R. Martin and other investors, is an immersive storytelling art space that allows users to explore different fantasy worlds. It will open permanently in March 2016.

2008Cameron Jacobs left the Sports & Fitness Industry Association and moved to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions to manage their media relations.

In August, Chris Marquette moved to Slidell, La. and has been working as the sports editor for the Picayune Item in Picayune, Miss.

2011Farrell Sheehan graduated from Notre Dame Univeristy in May and married Amanda Taveira on July 11 at St. Mary’s Church in Rockville, Md. Classmates Chris Bragale, Marco Cerritelli, John Hamm, and Malcolm Reed attended. Farrell is working at Deloitte, and Amanda is a Teacher’s Assistant at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Bethesda.

Class Notes is the perfect place to share special announcements with your fellow alumni and the entire St. Anselm’s community. You may send an email to Lawrence Hamm, ’68, Director of Alumni Affairs: lhamm@saintanselms.org. Accompanying photos are always welcome.

Emilia Maria and Ingrid Sofia Antezana

Jacob Snider, ’07, in New Mexico

Alumni Return over Thanksgiving Holiday

Over 40 alumni and current Form V and VI students gathered on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving for the annual “Fourth Day” Kairos Reunion, led by Fr. Michael Hall, OSB. The evening began in the abbey church for Vespers with the monks, and continued in the Fort Augustus Room with pizza and fellowship. Current students gave reflections on the most recent Kairos Retreat in November 2015.

Carlo Pizzano (Form III) faces off against John Recchia, ’13, in the annual Alumni-Varsity game. This year, the victory went to the energetic, 21-member alumni team.

corbie chronicle 17

From working through an equation to maximize efficiency and precision to problem-solving challenges facing doctors in rural Africa, the 14 Abbey alumni who returned to school on September 21 for Career Day challenged the Form V and VI students to imagine life along various career paths. Thank you to this year’s alumni volunteers for offering their time and expertise:

As Pictured, L-R:David Missar, ’83: Psychologist Christian Barry, ’85: Education Coordinator for GE HealthcareMark Roddy, ’92: Emergency Medicine PediatricianJames Lucier, ’82: Energy and Environmental LawyerGavan Montague, ’91: Deputy Legal Counsel, U.S. NavyPaul Domson, ’86: AnesthesiologistGeorge Mattingly, ’56: Mechanical EngineerBill Perdue, ’03: AttorneyBlair O’Connell, ’05: Bank ExecutiveRichard Pera, ’10: Legislative AssistantAdam Matuszeski, ’95: Aerospace EngineerAwenate Cobbina, ’98: AttorneyFalan Yinug, ’92: Statistics and Economic PolicyJohn Wildt, ’00: Officer, U.S. Army

Alumni Career Day

2015Last summer, Ryan Dalbec received the Ar-lington Knights of Columbus Holy Mackeral Swim Team’s Peter Samp Award, which rec-ognizes an “outstanding swimmer committed to the team and driven to succeed in and out of the water.” The award is named in memory of Peter Samp, ’08, and was presented by his father, Rich, with these words: “Peter loved the Holy Mackerels and St. Anselm’s. He talked about the school all the time, as did I to anyone who would listen. I am so proud that someone who followed in his footsteps is being recognized.” Ryan is in his first year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Ryan Dalbec, ’15, with Rich Samp, father of Peter Samp, ’08.

CALLING ALL ALUMNI Registration is now open for the eighth annual All-Alumni Reunion. Reunion Weekend 2016 is set for April 22-24. Visit www.saintanselms.org/reunion for all the details.

Henry Schupp, ’15, a freshman at the University of North Georgia, and James Mwombela, ’10, who is currently working in North Carolina, visit with James Leathers, ’04, while home for Thanksgiving.

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

In Memoriam

Philip N. AdamsClass of 1963Brother of Nelson J. Adams, ’63

Robert David BarryFather of Christian Barry, ’85

Robert C. BeasleyClass of 1991

Sarah Bergen Former faculty member

Barbara H. ColbyMother of Jonathan Colby, ’64, and Paul Colby, ’73

Charles E. Edelin, Jr.Grandfather of Jacques R. Edelin, ’97, Jason E. Edelin, ’99, and Michael E. Edelin, Jr., ’06

Gerald DunneFather of faculty member Janine Dunne

Marguerite M. FoleyMother of Rev. William Foley, ’70, Jonathan Foley, ’76, Carl Procario-Foley, ’79, and grandmother of Luke Foley, ’12, William Foley (non-grad ’14), and Alex Foley,’19

Nicholas R. FriesFather of faculty member Adam Fries

Jane B. HartMother of Walter B. Hart, ’68

James T. HaydenClass of 1954Brother of Joseph D. Hayden, ’50, and Fr. Hilary Hayden, OSB

Austin L. HughesClass of 1966Brother of Dennis D. Hughes, ’69

Elizabeth KehoeMother of Dennis Kehoe, ’73, and Stephen Kehoe, ’76

Mrs. Elena KellyMother of John Kelly, ’08

William B. Kelly, Jr.Father of William A. Kelly, ’80

Olga A. MahaneyMother of Brendan P. Mahaney, ’83 and Mark S. Mahaney, ’83

Mary L. Ugast Mother of Kevin Hudson, ’04, and Kyle Hudson, ’07

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 Kristin Hurd at the School or via email at khurd@saintanselms.org.

Photography in this publication has been provided by the St. Anselm’s Abbey School faculty and staff, our student publications staff, David W. Powell, Yakntoro Udoumoh, ’13, Tom Connelly, and Lisa Jung.

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

Design and Layout: Kristin HurdProduction and Printing: Executive Press Inc.

On the Cover: View overlooking the athletics fields with the surrounding trees coated in ice. Photo courtesy of Br. Isaiah Lord, OSB.

The Corbie ChronicleFall 2015 • Volume 24, Number 1

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

Reflections from the Headmaster 5 Mr. Bill Crittenberger

Fall Scholarship Gala: The Beach Ball 6

Campus News 8

Panther Sports 12

Faculty Notes 14

Class Notes/Alumni News 15

In Memoriam 18

Above: In September, 10 of our students, English teacher Janine Dunne, and Director of Admissions Peter Young, ’01, bid farewell to Pope Francis at Andrews Air Force Base. Classes were suspended on September 23, when the Holy Father celebrated Mass at the nearby Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The Mass was attended by a number of monks, staff and faculty, parents, and students from St. Anselm’s.

How can you support the St. Anselm’s Experience?

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THE 2015-2016

ANNUAL FUNDHelping Bright Boys Become Exceptional Men

There’s still time to make your 2015 contribution!

Use the enclosed envelope or or donate securely

online at www.saintanselms.org/support.

You may also donate through the CFC or United Way.

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ST. ANSELM’S ABBEY SCHOOL • WASHINGTON, D.C. • FALL 2015 • VOL. 24 NO. 1

corbie chronicle

Mark Your CalendarsDiscover all that’s happening at St. Anselm’s

this spring. Please join us at the following

events:

Form VII Forever (Past Parents) Feb. 21

Lenten Mass and Brunch

69th Annual Invitational Feb. 26-28

Basketball Tournament

Priory Players’ Production of: Mar. 11-13

“The Strange Case of

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”

Eighth Annual All-Alumni Apr. 22-24

Reunion Weekend

Follow us online for the latest news from the Abbey!

www.saintanselms.orgfacebook.com/saintanselms