Cougar Courier

March 28th, 2020

Austin Prep Offering Virtual Mass this Sunday

We would like to thank all the members of the Austin Prep Community who joined Fr. Patrick Armano virtually for the Friday morning prayer service in St. Augustine Chapel on campus. 

With the suspension of masses at your local churches we would like to provide you the opportunity to share in a virtual Sunday mass with Fr. Armano this Sunday, March 29th. Worship will begin at 10:00 a.m. and you can access the mass by clicking here. You will be prompted for your name and email, and we encourage you to arrive a little before 10:00 a.m.

In these difficult times it is important to be as close as possible to family and friends. As a community gathered in the Name of the Lord Jesus and under the patronage of St. Augustine let us strengthen each other through this act of celebrating mass together.

Academic Schedule Next Week

Yesterday, March 27th, marked the close of the third quarter. To provide students and faculty with an opportunity to recharge and reset, we will be following a modified schedule on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday next week. Students can access next week’s schedule here. We hope that the delayed start on Monday and early release on Wednesday will provide students the opportunity to step away from screens and schoolwork.

We are also excited to launch several initiatives from the Dean of Students’ Office to facilitate students socializing and connecting with their much-missed friends (see below). As one example, this Tuesday students will have a Cougar Block with clubs and activities. If you have questions regarding clubs, please contact Student Activities Coordinator, Mr. Patrick Costello. We hope you all have a great weekend!

Student Activities Coming Next Week

Starting on Monday, March 30th, Student Activities will be offering different daily challenges to test your knowledge on various subjects. An email with more information will be forthcoming. Here's a brief summary of the fun challenges that will be available: 

• “Mashup Mondays” will challenge you to identify multiple songs by listening to only a few seconds of each tune

• “Trivia Tuesdays” will test your knowledge on various educational and fun subjects

• “Where’s Cubby Wednesdays” will invite you to identify the place where Cubby is pictured

• “Throwback Thursdays” will require you to recognize a dated picture of a person or place of interest 

• “Figure It Out Fridays” will provoke you to look at some graphics and determine the word or phrase it represents

These challenges will be accessible through the Veracross Home Page. To participate, you can submit a Google form each day for the respective challenge. 

There will be a $5 Bagel World or Dunkin Donut gift card for three winners each day (one Middle School, one for Upper School, and one for Faculty/Staff). We will send the gift cards to winner or hold for pick up once we return to school.

We look forward to your participation and hope you enjoy these upcoming activities. 

College Admissions Online Panel

The Austin Prep College Counseling Office aims to provide students with as many tools as possible as they progress in the college search and selection process. We are excited to present an expert online panel on Thursday, April 2nd at 7:00 p.m., featuring college admissions professionals who will offer advice for seniors looking to make college decisions at a time when college visits are not possible, and for juniors and sophomores looking to ramp up the process. The panelists are:

Host: 
Brian Ford, Director of College Counseling, Austin Preparatory School

Panelists:
Susan Ardizzoni P'19, Senior Director of Admissions, Tufts University (MA)
Karen Gerrior-Mariani, Associate Director of Regional Admissions, High Point University (NC)
Ken Sawada, Associate Director of Admissions, Syracuse University (NY)

To ensure that we are making the most of this opportunity, please take the time to fill out this question request form prior to the event. We will spend time grouping the questions together to make sure ample information is shared.

To log into the webinar, please click here.

Remote Teaching and Learning Program Highlighted on WHDH 7News

On Friday's evening news, WHDH 7News  profiled the recently launched Austin Prep remote teaching and learning program. The news story and broadcast can be viewed here. The story focused on the program's success in bringing a sense of normalcy to the lives of our students during the statewide school closure, and the efforts made by our faculty in educating themselves in a new way of teaching. Father Patrick Armano, School Chaplain and Dr. James Hickey P'22, '23, '24 were prominently featured, as was Ms. Elizabeth Farrell and Reporter John Cuoco '04. Ms. Farrell had Mr. Cuoco in her class when he was an Austin Prep student, and shared this fun virtual exchange. 

Missing Campus?

We all are. But check out this great video put together by our Office of Admissions.  It gives prospective families a feel for what our campus is like, even though we currently can't be there. We hope you enjoy the video!

The Middle School Blog is Back

This week the Middle School Blog makes it return. Click here to read as Mr. Michael McLaughlin, Head of Middle School, draws parallels between the recent efforts of our Middle School Faculty and the Royal Navy as both entities commit to "do their duty." Enjoy!

Students Use Video Technology to Teach, Too

Before Austin Prep faculty were using video technology to teach classes, students in Mrs. Natalie Petrillo’s P’10 Advanced Math Topics class made videos of themselves teaching the famous Differential Equations math problem. Above are screenshots of Ava Carbone’s ’20 and Devon Robinson’s ’20 presentation. Do you know the answer?

“One day it started snowing in the morning at a heavy and steady rate. A snowplow started out at noon, going 2 miles in the first hour and 1 mile in the second hour. What time did it start snowing?”

Athletic Complex Construction Continues

Work on the lower fields athletic complex continues and the facility is really starting to take shape. On the baseball field this week, significant progress was made on the installation of bleachers, dugouts, bullpens, the turf surface and press box. 

Women's History Month

The month of March is Women's History Month. Here at Austin Prep, we are so lucky to be surrounded by amazing faculty and staff. We honor and empower all women during Women’s History Month and beyond.

More Gratitude

We have been overwhelmed by the support and well wishes members of our community have been submitting thanking faculty and staff for their efforts in launching a remote teaching and learning program. There is still an opportunity to share your thoughts by filling out this simple form. Your appreciation will be posted here on Austin Prep’s website for the whole community to see. We are grateful to be a part of such an outstanding community.