Cougar Courier

February 4, 2023

Father Joe Narog, O.S.A. to Celebrate Mass Monday

On Monday, Fr. Joseph L. Narog, O.S.A., Vocations Director, Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, will be on campus with Fr. Jeremy Heirs, O.S.A. to celebrate a 10:00 a.m. all-school Mass for the World Day for Consecrated Life. As a reminder, chapel dress is required of all students for the Mass.

Black History Month Programming

Literature by Black authors analyzed in English classes

Austin Prep celebrates Black History Month with a series of educational, extracurricular, and school wide events organized around the school’s yearlong theme of "Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out," (Proverbs 10:9) as is embedded in our Augustinian heritage and Catholic tradition. We look forward to highlighting activities held on campus this month to celebrate Black history.

On Wednesday in Ms. Cassandra Thompson’s Discussion and Debate Honors class, students read and discussed “The Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall. Every week this month, students in Ms. Thompson’s classes will analyze a new poem by a Black author.

First "Alumni Conversations" series event takes place Monday, featuring JT Harold Jr. '05

As part of an overarching program within Mission & Inclusion during both Black History Month and Women's History Month, the Office of Alumni Relations will offer “Alumni Conversations” with influential alumni. Alumni Conversations are open to all students and faculty, and students must pre-register. Students are encouraged to join a conversation with our alumni guests.

• Alumni will briefly share where their journey has taken them beyond Austin Prep.
• They will share some of the highlights and challenges faced as an Austin Prep student.
• They will speak about how service played a part in their Austin Prep experience (service clubs, ambassador programs, peer leaders).
• They will discuss how Austin Prep prepared them for life after graduation.
• They will talk about a teacher/coach who influenced or helped to shape them during their time at Austin Prep.
• They will share advice they would give themselves if they were Austin Prep students now.

The series kicks off Monday at 2:45 p.m. in the Gathering Room with JT Harold ’05, a City of Cambridge Police Officer and 2021 UMass Dartmouth Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee. For those students interested in attending, please fill out the form here.

Next Community Mass is February 12th

We look forward to hosting our next monthly Sunday Community Mass on Sunday, February 12th at 10:00 a.m. in the Chapel of St. Augustine.

We encourage our school families who regularly attend Sunday Mass at their local parish to consider joining us for this monthly Sunday Mass. The Mass will give us an opportunity to meet each other and pray together. We will join for a time of fellowship in the Dining Hall after Mass. To help us with our planning, we would ask families to RSVP by clicking here so we can take an appropriate count for the Coffee and Donut Hour.

Students are required to attend with their parents. We look forward to seeing you on Sunday as we strengthen each other through this act of celebrating Mass together.

Austin Prep Celebrates Catholic Schools Week

This past week, Austin Prep celebrated National Catholic Schools Week (CSW), an annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. Now entering its 49th anniversary year, CSW has traditionally been held the last week in January. Austin Prep kicked off the week with Sunday's Community Mass in the Chapel of St. Augustine, and began each day with a special prayer aligned with the daily themes for Catholic School Week.  You can listen to the prayers below:

To hear some of our students' favorite part of attending a Catholic school, watch this short video.

Austin Prep was also featured in a special Catholic Schools Week edition of The Pilot. The story highlighting Austin Prep's Adeodatus program can be found on Page 5.

Austin Prep Students Attend Girls in STEAM Leadership Summit

Members of the Austin Prep community attended the inaugural Girls in STEAM Leadership Summit on Monday, January 30th at Cushing Academy. The Summit included six different workshops in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. The day included students attending three of the six workshops. Over 75 students from NEPSAC schools around New England were in attendance, including Austin Prep students Casey Ahlin '23, Marissa Gallozzi '23, Katherine Millett '24, Fiona Hyland '25, Elena Oulton '24 and Lauren Neal '24.

Katherine shared that, "We all thought it was amazing to be in an environment surrounded by so many aspiring and accomplished women in science.  It was truly an empowering experience."

In addition to the six students who attended the conference, one of the six workshops was hosted by Assistant Varsity Field Hockey Coach, Jessica Driscoll, who works for Sanofi as a Senior Medical Science Liaison in Hematologic Oncology. Information on the presenters can be found here.

Students Living our Mission

Check this space monthly as we recognize students demonstrating our values on campus.

Unitas is a key component of what distinguishes an Augustinian education from all others. We continue to look forward to working together to strengthen our community in a way that is reflective of our core values of veritas, unitas, and caritas.

As we do so, the Office of Student Life aims to build students of strong character while recognizing exemplary behavior on campus. Students who best display the values that are distinctive to the Austin Prep experience will be acknowledged monthly here in the Cougar Courier and on social media.

This month, we would like to recognize the work of Sommer Bianchi ‘23. Sommer has been providing extra help to other students in Algebra, Precalculus, and writing during Cougar Blocks. Her caring nature and willingness to help others is what we look for in our students. Great job, Sommer!

Model UN Team Takes on Harvard Event

The Austin Prep Model United Nations team participated in the annual Harvard Model United Nations (HMUN)  last week in downtown Boston. At HMUN, delegates gain insight into the workings of the United Nations and the dynamics of international relations by assuming the roles of world leaders and global decision-makers. HMUN is an exciting opportunity for young leaders to debate the most pressing issues of the day and to draft innovative, creative solutions. Participants develop several skills throughout this process, including but not limited to public speaking, negotiation, teamwork, leadership, and policy crafting.

This year's team consisted of 16 members from the Upper School and represented the nation of Antigua and Barbuda. Austin Prep had delegates across eleven committees, from the World Trade Organization to disarmament and international security. Overall, the event culminates approximately two months of extra-curricular preparation and represents immeasurable hard work and dedication by an exceptional group of students.

This years team included Vasu Jetly '23, Anjali Serrano '23, Jordan Wang '23, Jaya Gupta '24, Julianna Iannibelli '24, Avi Mishra '24, Lauren Neal '24, Ryan O’Malley '24, Preet Patel '24, Neve Fitzgerald '25, Isabella Fountain '25, Shae Garofalo '25, Allie Jenks '25, Imogen Moro '25, Alyx Rossi '25, and Chloe Russell '25.

Updates From the Office of College Counseling

Office of College Counseling is hosting several important events in the coming weeks. Save these dates!

College Process Kick Off Night for the Class of 2025

There will be a college meeting for the Class of 2025 and their families on Thursday, March 2nd at 6:00 pm. This is an opportunity to meet the college counseling team and learn about the college timeline and process for the next few years.    

Spring College Fair for the Class of 2024 and 2025

Over 60 colleges and universities have already registered to attend the Austin Prep College Fair on Tuesday, March 7th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in Meelia Hall (snow date is March 8th).  All juniors and sophomores are highly encouraged to attend. This is a perfect way to learn about many different kinds of colleges and connect with the college admissions representatives who read the admissions applications for Austin Prep.  

School Day SAT and ACT for the Class of 2024

All juniors are required to take the School Day SAT on Wednesday, March 22 and the School Day ACT on Tuesday, March 28.  Information about payment and registration was sent to families on January 31.  More detailed information about test day logistics will be sent to families in early March.

College Admissions Decisions

College decisions have continued to roll in for the Class of 2023.  Here are a few more amazing schools where students have been admitted in recent weeks:

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Michigan, University of Maryland, Villanova University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Colorado College.

We're so proud of our seniors, and we look forward to more exciting news in the coming weeks!

Follow @AustinPrepOCC on Twitter for more college admissions decisions and general department information.

Baseball Earns Preseason Recognition

While the current temperatures probably don't have you thinking "spring sports are around the corner," they are! On that front, the Austin Prep Baseball Team recently received some great preseason recognition from Perfect Game USA. Read more here.

Service Club Hosts Vietnam Veteran

Last week, the Service Club hosted during Cougar Block Mr. Paul Cardello who is an Air Force Veteran of the Vietnam Conflict. Mr. Cardello visited to recognize members of the Service Club for writing letters to Veterans in nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities, as well as members of our community who have gone to visit those Veterans and hand out materials. Mr. Cardello presented Austin Prep with a citation from the House of Representatives offered by State Representative David A. Robertson. He also highlighted the unwavering support of Sebastian Guerra '23 who was recognized for his dedication to iPods for Wounded Veterans at fundraiser events held in South Boston, Billerica, and Woburn. 

The iPods for Wounded Veterans organization provides MP3 players, tablets, headphones magazines, letters and more to improve the quality of life for our wounded Veterans. The intensive rehabilitation they require can take months, even years. These materials provide a diversion, easing the boredom and repetition of the rehabilitation and recovery process. The group personally delivers these gifts to Military and Veterans hospitals, where we interact with veterans and their families one-on-one.

Athletic Hall of Fame Committee Announces Class of 2023 Inductees 

The Austin Preparatory School Athletic Hall of Fame recognizes those individuals and teams who have made significant and lasting contributions to Cougar sports, and have achieved a high standard of athletic success.

Through the work of a dedicated committee, the Austin Prep Athletic Hall of Fame preserves records of individuals and teams, and helps to promote the values and tradition of sports as a positive influence on the Austin Prep community.

The nomination process was made public last summer, and we are grateful for the number of qualified nominees that were presented to the committee. We are proud to announce the Austin Prep Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2023 as follows:

The Class will be inducted on Saturday, April 29 at Austin Prep.  Stay tuned for additional details on how to support or attend the event.

Congratulations to the inductees!

Stay Warm, Austin Prep!

Brrr...it's cold outside! We hope everyone is staying warm and safe. Summer will be here before you know it!