Delbarton Today Spring/Summer 2021

today

SPRING/SUMMER 2021

DELBARTON

Take a Tour of St. Benedict Hall!

today

DELBARTON

Spring/Summer 2021

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Delbarton.org

1 From the Headmaster 2 St. Benedict Hall Transforms the Delbarton Experience

By Jessica Fiddes

10 Peregrinatio Alterius Pauli: Sabbatical Travels

By Jessica Fiddes

15 The Future of Travel

By Dan Pieraccini

22 Around Delbarton 38 A Banner Year for AP Artists 48 Why I Teach

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By John Thompson

51 Parent Organization News 53 Abbey Notes

By Br. Finnbar McEvoy, OSB

58 Sports Shorts

By Jared Lowy

76 Why I Give: Bernie D’Andrea ‘57 68 Alumni News 82 Delbarton Yesterday

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By Kent Manno

Cover Photographer: Jessica Fiddes All photographs in this issue of Delbarton Today were taken by Jessica Fiddes, Jared Lowy or J. Craig Paris unless otherwise indicated.

Rt. Rev. Richard Cronin, OSB, Abbot, St. Mary’s Abbey President, Delbarton School Fr. Michael Tidd, OSB, Headmaster J. Craig Paris ’82, Assistant Headmaster for Advancement Jessica Vermylen Fiddes, Editor, Director of Marketing & Communcations The views expressed in Delbarton Today are solely those of the editors, authors and contributors to this magazine and do not necessarily represent those of the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey, Inc., St. Mary’s Abbey and/or Delbarton School Design: Sahlman Art Studio, Charlotte, NC Printing: J.S. McCarthy Printers, Augusta, ME

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From the Headmaster Dear Friends of Delbarton,

The opening of St. Benedict Hall was a peak moment in this school year marked by the COVID pandemic. This new building is, above all, a sign of hope, a sign of Delbarton’s faith in God’s providence, a sign that we believe our mission of Benedictine Catholic education endures in its meaning and impact for our students, our families, our alumni, and our wider community. Our generous benefactors who made St. Benedict Hall possible clearly share that faith in Delbarton’s future, and we are incredibly grateful to them for what they have enabled us to do for our students.

While the COVID pandemic has shaped so much of our lives this past year, you’ll be happy to see in these pages of Delbarton Today that much of what makes Delbarton special continued during this year. This year, as we did in the last third of 2019-20, we used technology extensively to give our students opportunities to engage with each other and with the wider community. Consider our annual AP Studio Art Show, for example. We couldn’t stage our usual in-person exhibit this year. So, we used Adobe Spark to create beautiful online exhibits for each AP Studio Art senior, and the featured each student individually on the delbarton.org web site. These incredibly gifted students were thus able to reach a far larger audience online than they would have had the exhibit only been in person.

In this issue, you’ll also see some beautiful photographs of Brother Paul Diveny’s sabbatical after he retired as

Maureen Nowak P’12,’14,’18/MGN Photography

I think it’s fair to say that high school seniors are difficult to impress. They have had long practice in the art of lowkey responses to all manner of experiences. Yet when our seniors first walked into St. Benedict Hall, our new library and guidance center building, on Tuesday, April 13, the looks on their faces made it clear that they were wowed.

Underclassmen were similarly awestruck. Immediately, students from all grades took possession of the group study rooms, quiet reading areas, quiet study room with study carrels, and have been using them intensively ever since. After 13 months of construction, Delbarton’s first new academic building since the Fine Arts Center opened in 2006 was alive with Delbarton’s crackling energy.

Headmaster in June 2018. The fruits of Brother Paul’s keen photographic eye have often graced Delbarton Today, and this issue will be no exception. Finally, we are very pleased to share with you the advent of our Alumni Teaching Fellows Program. Next fall, three alumni from the Delbarton Class of 2017 will join our faculty as Teaching Fellows. They will teach a class, coach or moderate a sport or activity, tutor in our new Academic Resource Centers, and learn firsthand about the art and science of teaching. Boarding schools have had such programs for many years, and this year Delbarton’s Administrative Team felt that the time had come for us to have our own version of an immersive volunteer experience for young graduates that will benefit them, and our students, in equal measure.

As our campus returned to life this spring, signs of hope multiplied. Despite the struggles of this year, our faculty, staff and students have remained committed to our mission and to the work we have been called to do at Delbarton. We clearly have much for which to rejoice, and to be grateful.

Yours in Christ and St. Benedict,

Fr. Michael Tidd, O.S.B. Headmaster

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St. Benedict Hall Transforms the Delbarton Experience

By Jessica Fiddes

O

n March 2, 2020, as the glObal pandeMic struck the united states,

delbarton took a step few institutions in 2020 would dare to contemplate. We broke ground on a 19,953 square foot addition to trinity hall, a bold leap of faith during an unprecedently challenging time. thirteen months later, on april 13, 2021, the first students strolled from trinity hall into st. benedict hall, the most transformative space on delbarton campus since the 2006 opening of the Fine arts center. the building reflects the vision and aspirations of two delbarton headmasters, br. paul diveny and our current leader Fr. Michael tidd. included in its sleek structural package are functional, flexible spaces packed with modern technology that offer a world of possibilities for collaboration, conversation,

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In April, before faculty, staff and students moved in, Delbarton shared a video tour of St. Benedict Hall led by Fr. Michael Tidd.

group gatherings and teleconferencing. Special spaces designed for quiet reading and individual work are also part of the master plan, and the basement level includes a spacious Archives office.

Gone is the old Valentine Library with its towering book stacks and heavy oak furniture. The previous library space has been converted into a Student Commons with comfortable seating where boys can take breaks between classes and grab snacks from vending machines throughout the day. Not since Delbarton’s boarding school days, with the Tack Room in Old Main basement, have students had a designated place to socialize on campus.

A pathway now joins the Fine Arts Center with the front entrance of St. Benedict Hall.

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We’re giving young men options to develop, in a structured “ environment, the skills of time management and executive decisionmaking that are so critical to success in college and in the professional world. And it all starts here in the new library in St. Benedict Hall.

”

— Fr. Michael Tidd The Tour Begins…

Exiting the Student Commons, we pass the new Learning Resources Center, with separate rooms for Math and Writing Resource Centers. Delbarton has always offered this extra help but, beginning in fall semester 2021, these Centers will be open from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm for extra help guided by teachers and student volunteers.

Now, let’s enter St. Benedict Hall on the first floor. Note that the building, which includes an elevator, is directly accessible on two levels from Trinity Hall and from exterior doors to the east and west. The hallway leading from Trinity to St. Benedict Hall displays student art that was previously exhibited in random places on campus. Seeing the work of talented Delbarton students exhibited together is another unexpected treat.

In 2019, the administration surveyed Delbarton students for their wish list of suggestions for the new library. Most boys expressed a preference for two kinds of rooms: small group study spaces, and places to where they could work undisturbed. Thus, the Library design provides areas for conversation and collaboration, and quiet areas for personal, focused work.

The Library measures 9,422 square feet – twice that of the old library -- with 12 foot ceilings that give the main reading room an expansive feel. With open sight lines in all directions, even on the cloudiest day the room is filled with natural light.

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Jon Kelly ‘99 previously culled the Delbarton book collection from 22,000 books to 7,000. Now, to an impressive menu of online content and resources he adds published content and curates a growing collection of books, all contained in widely spaced three-shelf stacks.

Comfortable seating in vividly colored washable vinyl is arranged throughout, and students have ready access to charging stations.

Perimeter spaces are particularly impactful to facilitate student collaboration. On one side is the Media Lab, a production space and Library classroom that offers four laser-guided Epson boards, with a projector and flexible seating for project work. Closets disguised as white boards make this the perfect room for tasks that require ‘stuff.’

For example, members of the Middle School Robotics Club can work on their Lego-style robotics projects, then store them until the next meeting.

Next, the Quiet Reading Room is a handsome alcove offering a place to sit and read undisturbed (snoring may be a problem given the comfort level of the seating). This is the one Library area with 5-shelf stacks, giving the space a more traditional old-school ambiance.

The next two Library walls are lined with 1/2” glass panels. These transparent, sound-reduction surfaces define five 6-person group study rooms that are dramatically impacting collaborative work at Delbarton.

The Spada Commons, a multi-purpose room on the Library level, has sweeping views of the Fine Arts Center, the Formal Garden and Trinity Hall.

This Library corner shows a typical seating arrangement, including mobile charging pods. Two of five collaborative work spaces are pictured in the background.

The old Valentine Library has been repurposed as a Student Commons. We look forward to a postCOVID world where unmasked boys can congregate together in this social space.

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What was once a dim Trinity Hall corridor is now flooded with light – and populated with student art–thanks to the integration of Trinity Hall with St. Benedict Hall.

The new Media Lab on the Library level is a production space and Library classroom offering four laser-guided Epson boards, with a projector and flexible seating for project work.

Previously, students needing to work together met in empty classrooms or even in hallways. Now, boys have access to five bright spaces with smartboards and tables and chairs for six. “We think they’re going to be extraordinarily popular,” says Fr. Michael. These rooms are available daily from 7:30am to 6:00pm and reserved via an online booking form.

Students seeking a quiet place to do homework need look no further than the new Quiet Study with its 26 private study carrells to facilitate individual work.

Again, glass walls make this a bright, tranquil space – and an easy one to supervise too.

The final asset on this first floor is Spada Commons with its 16’8” ceiling and sweeping views of the Fine Arts Center,

Director of Guidance Dr. Matt D’Urso ’96 leads his team from this office in our new Guidance suite on the second floor of St. Benedict Hall.

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Formal Garden and Trinity Hall. A new pathway leads from the FAC and Trinity Hall plaza, and St. Benedict Hall effectively completes the Delbarton quadrangle that the Fine Arts Center opening suggested was possible. White steel beams on the front entrance of St. Benedict Hall mimic the FAC façade and add a modern yet classic aesthetic to the confluence of buildings with the Garden.

Accommodating up to 125 people, Spada Commons combines many functions in one grand space. With a superb sound system and acoustics, projector and screen, video conferencing capabilities and flexible seating, this is the perfect room for parent, alumni and board meetings.

The College Guidance team is now reunited with the underclassmen guidance staff, and each Delbarton guidance counselor now has a private office.

Small groups have access to five private glass-walled spaces along the Library perimeter with smartboards and a table and chairs for six.

Onward and Upward to the Second Floor Let’s make our way upstairs to the second floor. It’s interesting to note that on this level the connection between Trinity and St. Benedict Hall has effectively flooded once dark corridors in Trinity with natural light. In fact, by design the St. Benedict Hall addition generally makes Trinity Hall feel larger and more open, and the two buildings have been beautifully integrated into one cohesive whole.

With open sight lines and book stacks capped at three shelves, the new Library is a light-filled space.

Old Main said farewell to the last classes at Delbarton after a continuous run of 82 years, another milestone in the School’s history.

The second floor of St. Benedict Hall is also home to the new Delbarton Guidance Center, a space that Fr. Michael says is “one of the most important changes at Delbarton in the last 60 years.”

This second level of St. Benedict Hall includes three new classrooms, the same size as renovated Trinity Hall classrooms yet that feel more spacious thanks to HVAC duct work tucked away in the ceilings. All three feature closets, white boards, and an Epson board, and will accommodate classes that previously met in Old Main. In fact, on April 12, 2021

Previously, Delbarton Guidance offices were scattered in several campus buildings, with College Guidance in Old Main, and underclassmen guidance in two separate areas of Trinity Hall.

Guidance Director Dr. Matt D’Urso ’96 worked in a temporary office that is now part of the new Resource Center. This fractured footprint was especially challenging for College Guidance, where four counselors led by Senior Guidance

A centrally located break room on the second floor keeps the guidance team connected.

Students looking for a quiet place to do homework can use the new Quiet Study with its 26-private study carrells.

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The Hayes Room on the second floor of St. Benedict Hall is a multipurpose room dedicated to the memory of Abbot Giles Hayes.

Director Mike Rosenhaus ’80, shared large communal spaces, entailing constant shuffling to enable private conversations with boys and parents. Now, each Delbarton guidance counselor from grades 7 through 12 has a spacious private office suitable for individual and small group meetings. A break room was included in the Guidance floor plan, an invitation for the guidance team to connect informally throughout the day.

As payback for his temporary digs, Dr. D’Urso now enjoys a spacious office with one of the best views on campus.

Another development in the Guidance Department is the addition of a Learning Specialist, a position filled by English teacher and former Technology Integration Specialist Rob Flynn. Flynn will work with students who have mild to moderate learning disabilities or who are challenged academically. With Flynn’s help, these boys will have ready access to all the services that Delbarton provides its students to adapt and flourish in our academic program.

The last space on the second floor is The Hayes Room, a multi-purpose room adjacent to the guidance offices dedicated to the memory of Abbot Giles Hayes. Among his many roles that included Delbarton alumnus, monk, teacher, headmaster and abbot, perhaps his most significant was serving for many years as head of college guidance. The attractive multi-purpose space offers

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flexible seating for thirty to forty people with white boards, a smart board, a podium and video conferencing capabilities, perfect for Council of Senior and Academic Council meetings, and a place where college reps can meet with groups of Delbarton students. The glasswalled room faces the Garden and offers beautiful campus views. Somewhere, Abbot Giles is smiling.

Giving Young Men the Tools to Succeed The design of St. Benedict Hall, and specifically the Library level, was inspired by an aspirational mission: to prepare Delbarton students for the future by teaching them important collaborative and time management skills. “Using this transformative building, Delbarton students can gradually learn as they approach senior year and go to college, how to manage their time,” says Fr. Michael. “We’re giving young men options to develop, in a structured environment, the skills of time management and executive decisionmaking that are so critical to success in college and in the professional world.

And it all starts here in the new library in St. Benedict Hall.”

We thank the many benefactors who contributed to the construction of St. Benedict Hall, the new, transformational asset on Delbarton campus. Many were in attendance at the official Dedication that took place on May 15, 2021.

Construction During COVID The St. Benedict Hall project was originally scheduled to take 18 months.

Delbarton broke ground in March 2020, at the height of the pandemic, which turned out to be a blessing and a curse according to Director of Buildings & Grounds Michel Rimpel. “None of us had ever heard of COVID and it was quite a challenge to get contractors in the habit of washing hands, wearing masks and socially distance. The Township inspectors were nervous and quite a few subcontractors got sick or knew someone who suddenly ended up in the hospital.”

In New Jersey, construction workers were deemed essential employees and this behavior evolved quickly, helped by CDC guidelines and consistently applied safety measures. The construction team entered the new world of Zoom meetings, another adaptation that kept the project on schedule.

On December 14, Fr. Michael welcomed several members of the Board of Regents Buildings & Grounds Committee to witness the formal integration of Trinity Hall and St. Benedict Hall. From left are Buildings & Grounds (B&G) Committee Regent John Harrington P'18, Headmaster Fr. Michael Tidd, OSB, B&G committee advisor Edward Dwyer '64, Delbarton Director of B&G Michel Rimpel, Delbarton Chief Financial & Operations Officer Matt Davis P'22, and B&G Committee Regents Elisa Charters P'22 and Andrew Anselmi '83, P'16.

Rimpel credits Fr. Michael for his leadership throughout the construction saying, “Fortunately, our headmaster is quite tenacious and his ambition to see this project through was instrumental to its success.” Rimpel’s most pressing concerns were maintaining a healthy environment while dealing with potential supply chain issues, and he managed to do both.

Despite these hurdles, the St. Benedict Hall project was completed nearly 6 months early and on budget, a stellar accomplishment in light of the global pandemic.

Buildings & Grounds Director Michel Rimpel credits Headmaster Fr. Michael Tidd for his leadership during the building’s construction. “Fortunately, our headmaster is quite tenacious and his ambition to see this project through was instrumental to its success,” says Rimpel.

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r g inatio Alte Pauli e r e P r s i u The Sabbatical Global Delbarton Traveler

Travels of Former Headmaster Br. Paul Diveny, OSB

By Jessica Fiddes

A

fter his ten-year tenure as Delbarton headmaster ended on June 30, 2018, Br. Paul Diveny, OSB enjoyed the gift of a six-month sabbatical of travel from June 2018 to November 2018.

A talented photographer and committed blogger, Br. Paul documented his various trips with stunning photography (all images were captured on an iPhone 8 Plus) and an online blog. In December, he shared a digital Spark presentation – with assistance from Delbarton art teacher Dom Rodi – of his sabbatical travels with link to his blog.

Here are some favorite photographs from Br. Paul’s journey.

Photos by Br. Paul Diveny, OSB

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In June, 2018, Br. Paul began his travels in Sydney, Australia where he was still on the clock as Delbarton headmaster, representing the School at an International Boys School Coalition (IBSC) conference and visiting our Global Delbarton exchange partner, Rosebank College. In Sydney, Br. Paul photographed this schoolgirl modeling a gown of recyclables...

Then it was on to Ireland. The Benedictine Glenstal Abbey School, another Delbarton global exchange partner, was to be his European home base for several months. In Limerick, he took this photo of the lush Irish countryside...

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Next, it was on to Scandinavia. In Copenhagen (a new favorite city) Br. Paul photographed this collection of Roman busts…

Back to Dublin, where a friendly taxi driver advised him on the best places to indulge in a pint of lager…

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Br. Paul continued to enjoy documenting and sharing his experiences with his loyal blog readers. His next stop was the Italian countryside where, among other rural Italian destinations, Br. Paul and his family gathered for 8 days in a rented Umbrian villa.

Here, Castiglione del Lago appears to rise out of the waters of Lake Trasimeno.

Onto Rome, a city that Br. Paul (the former Prior of the Benedictine Collegio Sant’ Anselmo) was deeply familiar with, yet still found new places to explore. One day, he spontaneously wandered into this courtyard of the Palazzo Mattei...

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Br. Paul ended his sabbatical in Vienna, Austria where he visited this Christmas market.

After many legs of travel by planes, trains, buses and taxis, here is the view from a terminal window in November, 2018 as Br. Paul prepared to board his flight back from Austria to Newark Airport.

We thank Br. Paul Diveny, OSB for sharing his sabbatical travels with us.

His images and words inspire us to look forward to a post-COVID world where compelling global destinations will once again be open for all to experience and explore!

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Brooklyn, NY

The Future of Travel Reinvented in a PostPandemic World

By Dan Pieraccini, Director of Global Programs and Exchanges

Dan Pieraccini’s goal was to visit 100 countries before turning 40 but, despite pandemic travel restrictions, the man who put the ‘global’ in #GlobalDelbarton isn’t giving up. While we eagerly await the return of international travel, he sees promise in the new middle-class migratory patterns… Boise or bust!

Spring/Summer 2021 John Arano

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“I’m going to Miami!”

“Hey, good for you!” I smile encouragingly. “And the tickets were how much? That’s amazing.”

That’s the fourth time today.

But…Miami? Am I missing something here? Perhaps a pilgrimage of post-pandemic pampering? A soft-reopening of the soul? A socially distanced photo with a palm tree in front of Margaritaville?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not Florida-shaming here. St. Augustine is more my jam, but I’ve got nothing against the Alligator State. After all, I’m supposed to be the travel guy— the guy who wanted to visit 100 countries before turning 40. The guy who last March begrudgingly left country number 82 with a boarding-pass-sized hole in his heart… and a pit in his stomach.

State Capitol Dome: Austin, Texas 16

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Laura Gomez

Mike Lewinski

Jon Tyson

Alden Skeie

Boise, Idaho

Author Dan Pieraccini

Truth be told, when Delbarton went virtual last year, I thought the time for my All-American Chautauqua had come. I could drive my Fiat Spider across the country, stopping only to fill up on 93 Octane, Waffle House, and rest stop Wi-Fi. Instead, I took up backyard gardening.

Woefully, the most traveling I’ve done is cross the Hudson occasionally to New York City. It’s not a far trek

from where I live in Jersey City. My partner is going through a Lucite phase, and Facebook Marketplace is her passport to collecting spectral pieces of furniture.

"Ghost town" didn't quite capture the feeling of Gotham during COVID. I’d liken it to an aged relative after they’ve been let out of the ICU. New York was gaunt, cadaverous, and half-naked, clad in ill-fitting, unfamiliar tatters.

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Amanda Murphy

Stillness in the streets, punctuated by the tumbleweed of two-ply disposable masks; gaping windows announcing defeat with “For Rent” signs; strangers’ eyes avoiding yours while they cautiously sidestep you.

You just sort of stood there looking around—something New Yorkers would never actually permit—and then you wondered, “Where’s the Times Square Naked Cowboy?”

Was this the new tableau that will meet us in foreign lands? I don’t want to see that. That’s not what travel was for me, and if it’s this desolation that awaits us, countries 83 to 100 on my list can stay right where they are. I don’t like visiting ruins.

And I’m not going to Miami.

"So, what's left to do?", a friend asks me while I help him renovate his home. Yeah, I know—the symbolism isn’t lost on me either. Anyway, he flippantly proposes, “Go somewhere random, off the grid, like...uh…” It takes him a second to pluck a real gem of obscurity. “...BOISE, IDAHO?”

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“Funny you should mention Boise, Idaho,” I counter. In truth, New York, San Francisco, and even my own Jersey City, have experienced a blood-letting exodus of population. The great liberator of Work from Home, the dissolution of company workspaces, and the phenomenon of urbanites taking up—of all thing gardening—has catalyzed new middle-class migratory patterns.

So, where’d everybody go?

That’s right—Boise, Idaho.

Will it be like every other resettling fad we’ve seen over the recent years: Portland, Austin, Asheville, Williamsburg? Jersey City?

Strange things happen when folks pick up their roots and cross-pollinate. New ideas. Fresh music. Fusion food trucks. Things start to get interesting. And some of America’s most alluring places like it that way.

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Arns Civray

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Karsten Winegeart

Thomas Jarrand

Daniel Norris

Eric Tompkins

View of Manhattan Zac Ong

Stephanie Klepacki

Biltmore Estate, Ashville, North Carolina

Austin skyline

Megan Markham

To preserve the originality of their Art Deco downtown, early Asheville banned well-known franchises and chain restaurants, hedging the golden arches and Mobilmarts at the highway rest stops where they belong.

Lone Star State transplants and consummate Texans all know the mantra “Keep Austin Weird.”

And the rent alone in Williamsburg keeps it…well, fairly insular, I’d say.

The authenticity of these places, the new crops of new inhabitants, the affordable living available to people of color, the pockets of immigrant communities, and the chance to try something new—the spirit of America incarnate grows well in that kind of soil.

Nick Dunlap

Must be all that gardening I’ve been doing.

But I think that’s what I want to see. The Boise, Idahoes and their sister city equivalents across the globe. I want to see what the new house looks like, after the for-sale signs have been taken down and the rebuilding is complete. I want to see what the garden yields after the sweat of the summer is wiped from our communal brows. Nascent strains of American culture born of true cross pollination. Innovation and revitalization, a germination that springs from the tremendous rain we’ve had.

And I can’t wait to see the smiles that come when people can step towards one another, and meet for the first time.

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faculty update

World Languages Chairperson Dr. Rachel Carlson and DEI CoModerator Jenna Gomez are taking part in NJAIS’s Institute for Female Leaders in Education that promotes personal and professional growth for current and aspiring female school leaders.

With facilitation by veteran school leaders, consultants, and other women in leadership, participants navigate a five-part series of topics that challenge women on a path to leadership roles in schools.

The Journal of the American Revolution recently published the second article by history teacher Kevin Conn, this one on famous (or infamous) New Jersey Loyalist James Moody. The Journal also published the interview they did with Kevin concerning the article on their podcast, Dispatches. In January 2020, the Journal published his article on the Lenape in Pontiac’s War. Assistant Headmaster for Academic Affairs Josh Hartle again will serve as Table Leader (TL) for the AP Calculus Reading (grading). For the second year in a row, this will be performed remotely. As a TL, he will complete training on the scoring guidelines and then mentor and monitor up to 15 Readers’ progress in training and grading to ensure their alignment with the scoring guidelines. He will also score (continued on page 24)

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Delbarton Forensics Achieves at Tournament of Champions

The Tournament of Champions (TOC) is one of the most challenging and prestigious championships in the country, a national high school speech and debate tournament held annually each April at the University of Kentucky. During the 2020-2021 school year, all high school speech and debate competitions took place virtually, including the TOC. In order to participate in the TOC, participants must earn qualifying bids by reaching late playoff rounds at national invitationals during the regular season. This April, our Delbarton TOC competitors earned 11 silver and gold bids, with Alex Sun ’22 and Eric Moldoveanu ’22 and Connor Teehan ’21 and Will

Li ’21 qualifying to the gold division and Lex Banker ’22 and Matt Sebastian ’22, and Alex Calder ’24 and Jack Grbic ’24 qualifying to silver.

Our top result was the duo of Banker and Sebastian finishing with a 5-2 preliminary round record, and the pair finished in elimination rounds in double octo-finals (17th out 296 teams) in the silver division. Forensics Society Assistant Director Noah Mengisteab, who assists Forensics Society Director Mary Gormley, reports, “It’s the first time in eight years that Delbarton had a team reach elimination rounds at the Tournament of Champions in either division.”

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Business & Economics Club Grows and Diversifies Delbarton Investment Club, a subgroup of the Business and Economics Club, dramatically increased student membership and involvement during this challenging year of market turbulence, posting solid returns year-todate. Student leaders Christian Lalin ’21 and Garrett Larson ’21 oversaw management of a stock, bond, cash, mutual fund, and ETF portfolio valued in excess of $35,000 and the Club has hosted guest speakers, like Mr. Don Carey P’22,’24 on right in photo below, who visited the Ryan Crane ’95 Business Center to teach the boys how to improve their Bloomberg navigation skills. The Club also lent over $2,000 to small business owners through Kiva.org, the global microlending platform. Students identified small business owners in need of funding and distributed funds in Senegal, Paraguay, the Philippines, and Tajikistan assisting borrowers like Ironwood, pictured here, a group of Guatemalan carpenters that used a Delbarton loan to buy machines and supplies to expand and offer more employment opportunities.

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A Faculty Memory

(continued from page 22 many exams from students across the country.

In April 2020, Delbarton Director of Library Services Jon Kelly ’99 posted the message on left on his Facebook account. When it cropped up as a memory this April, he shared it with Director of Admissions Dr. David Donovan in an email with the words, “Thank you, Dave – for everything you taught me about history and philosophy, and how to be an effective and wellrounded student of the world. It’s been a pleasure working with you these past four years and I’m looking forward to many more.”

This year, Director of Campus Logistics Alecia Ho-Sang completed an Essential Leadership certificate program at Cornell University.

Kent Manno attended “Accidents and Disaster in the U.S. and the World” facilitated by Rutgers High School Teachers Institute. In addition, he attended “The First World War in Perspective” given by the University of Oxford. A 1982 graduate of Washington & Jefferson College, Manno has accepted a volunteer position as an Alumni Ambassador - Office of Admission Accepted Student Program.

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Colin Rhodes/Lorraine Petrolino

In August, Math and Spanish teacher Joseph LaLiberte begins a graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania in its one-year Independent School Leadership program. Additionally, he is completing a 240-hour internship component at Delbarton, under the guidance of Father Michael, while continuing his teaching, coaching and advising roles. LaLiberte says, “I am super excited to get started in August, and looking forward to a challenging yet very rewarding year!”

Tidings Math teacher Courtney Barnes and her husband Timothy Barnes celebrated the birth of their son, Tanner Roy Barnes on April 3, 2021.

Faculty member Yaiza Dominguez and her husband Ryan welcomed their son Noah on May 23, 2021.

Associate Director of Marketing & Communications Jared Lowy and his wife Heather welcomed their second son, Dustin Stewart Lowy, on March 11. Dustin joins older brother Lance, age 8.

Congratulations to faculty member Tiffany Luludis and her husband Robert on the birth of their daughter Millie who was born on December 31, 2020.

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Delbarton Incubator Turns to e-Commerce

Delbarton Admissions Remains Strong Well, it’s official. This year was one for the record books. Delbarton saw an unprecedented number of applications in the 2020-21 admissions season with over 400 total applications to the school. We are so excited to welcome our 36 new 7th grade and 114 new 9th grade students and their families along with an excellent incoming 10th and 11th grade transfer cohort.

Incoming parents were greeted at our New Parents Coffee on May 24.

Our Entrepreneurial Studies course – aka the Delbarton Incubator – faced interesting challenges when in-person classes resumed this fall and responded to COVID modifications with a major retooling.

Teaching three sections of the popular senior elective, faculty member Dave Martin focused on ecommerce, designing a unit that motivated students to develop, source, market and introduce a new product for sale on ecommerce, specifically, the Delbarton Shop website. Students first connected with factories in China through Alibaba and mastered online selling platforms like Amazon.

The first of three class products, the Shaker Bottle – debuted on delbartonshop.org in January.

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The Spirit of Giving Continues Pandemic or not, the Delbarton impetus to help others continues. Both major holiday service projects were impacted by COVID, but we accomplished each and helped many families and children.

Thanksgiving Food Drive

Erin Manahan P’19

On January 22 after several postponements, we filled bags of pantry staples and delivered them to MEND NJ in Essex County, NJ. Thank you to DMG volunteers who partnered with our Mission & Ministry department to organize our COVID-impacted 2020-2021 food and gift drives. At Delbarton, cancelling these community-wide service events was not an option!

Michael Fialcowitz ‘24 Wins Freshman Debate Tournament

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This year, Delbarton offered a Freshman Debate Tournament led by teacher Adam Carlisle. The debate process included the participation of sixty-three freshmen and, after the finals in Spada Commons on May 26, Michael Fialcowitz ‘24 came out on top. Each participant debated the merits of his choice for history’s most influential person. In the finals, Michael (who selected Alexander the Great) faced Logan Brooks ‘24 (Augustus Caesar) before a panel of nine faculty judges and the winner of last year’s tourney, Jack Wells ‘23. Classmates also attended to support the debaters. After opening remarks and several timed crossfires, Michael was announced as the champion. He enjoyed an impressive run during this internal Delbarton debate season, winning the debate 9 ballots to 0. He also won 90.8% of his ballots this year, posting a 69-7 record across all six of his debates. In the picture Michael, on left, stands with his worthy opponent Logan Brooks.

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Christmas Gift Drive, COVID-style Christmas arrived early at Delbarton on December 9. Thanks to the generosity of our families and alumni, the Delbarton community partnered with Catholic Charities in Paterson and collected toys for 800 youngsters in Paterson, NJ. COVID restrictions meant no inperson delivery, so Delbarton mothers, led by the intrepid DMG Campus Ministry team of Diane Brady, Kathy Hager, Elizabeth Dooley and Julie O’Brien (aka ‘the DMG God Squad’), set up tables in the Senior Garden where deanery groups delivered unwrapped toys.

Christmas carols filled the air and spirits were high as all worked together on this annual effort. Many boys and teachers were dressed in Christmas attire on this official Dress Down Day to raise funds for the Drive. Delbarton also invested in art kits for each family, in addition to the big red Santa sacks.

mothers would get busy filling Santa sacks, guided by pages (preferably dry) that listed the genders and ages of the children in 300+ Paterson families. The overstuffed bags would then be loaded onto an 18-wheeler parked in front of Old Main, courtesy of the Harrington Companies of Chester, NJ. During this already disrupted pandemic year, Mother Nature chose to throw a frozen curveball at our parent volunteers. Virtually the moment that the last student returned to Trinity Hall, a swift-

moving powdery cloud arrived from the north and, for the next two-andhalf hours, a heavy snow fell steadily and...stuck. Tents were quickly erected to protect the toys, and Delbarton parents toiled on, filling bags during a near-whiteout.

Looking for a solution to world peace...a cure for cancer...a massive COVID vaccination rollout? Call the DMG. Thank you to all students, faculty, parents and alumni who helped us execute a truly memorable day during this crazily unforgettable year at Delbarton School for Resilience and Generosity.

In theory, after all gifts were deposited on tables in the Garden,

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French Club Hosts Virtual King Cake Baking Class This has not been easy year for French Club organizers. The popular club typically features a variety of events and activities throughout the year, many of which naturallement feature food. As moderator Maureen Pearsall points out, “Club members have a particular affinity for eating and doing so together is impossible with a mask.” But you can’t keep a good club moderator down. In honor of Mardi Gras, Pearsall decided to get creative and on the President’s Day holiday, hosted a King Cake baking session via Zoom, posting the recipe and ingredients in advance, then leading students through the baking process until each had created an impressively attractive and eminently edible cake.

Will Li ’21 Selected as Coca Cola Scholar In March, Will Li’21 was selected as one of 150 2021 Coca-Cola Scholars from a pool of 99,403 high school senior applicants. Scholars were chosen based on their academic excellence, leadership and service demonstrated in school and community activities. Will has been an exceptional student leader and mentor at Delbarton. As a co-founder of the Research in Science Club, he was instrumental in producing last spring’s COVID-friendly Delbarton Virtual Science Fair and this year’s hybrid Fair on April 16. Awarded a $20,000 college scholarship, Will now joins the family of 6,300 Coca-Cola Scholar alumni across the world, and will attend the Coca Cola Scholar Leadership Development Institute this June.

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8th Grade Public Forum Debators Take Finn Leamy ’23 5th in National Tournament Wins Fall Green Wave Stock In May, the Middle School team of Suhaas Valiveti ‘25, on left, and Exchange Title Zeke Ehrenberg ‘25 earned 5th place in the Middle School Division of the Tournament of Champions (TOC). Competing against 252 middle school teams from around the country, the duo finally bowed out in the quarterfinals to the eventual tournament champions.

Zeke and Suhaas are only the 4th Delbarton Public Forum Debate team ever to reach elimination rounds in either division of the tournament.

Later in May, undefeated in the NJ Middle School Forensics Tournament, Suhaas and Zeke were named New Jersey State Champions.

Joseph Artiglere ‘21 Wins Middle School Spirit Award On May 10, Delbarton Middle School athletes celebrated their sports achievements at the annual Middle School Sports Banquet. The winner of the 2021 Middle School Spirit Award “whose enthusiasm for and participation in Middle School Athletics has been a tribute to his teammates and his classmates at Delbarton School” is Joseph Artiglere ‘25 who plays football and lacrosse. Joe is pictured here with Owen Hand ’21, a graduating ‘lifer’ who was invited to speak to his younger brothers about his Delbarton Experience.

Nearly one hundred Delbarton students participated in the Green Wave Stock Exchange (GWSE) during the fall term, and Sophomore Finn Leamy ’23 won the competition with an outstanding 42% return with savvy trading, largely based on technical analysis, included charting trends and analyzing relative strength indicators. Finn donated his $100 prize to the Christmas Toy Drive.

GWSE heated up again during winter term with Finn prepared to defend his title.

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Matthew Pasko ’23 is Eagle Scout On October 3, Matthew Pasko ’23 earned his Eagle Scout Rank at Troop 8’s Court of Honor in Chatham Borough. He also received five Eagle Palms for earning 46 merit badges. Matthew began his scouting career in Cub Scout Pack 6 and earned the Arrow of Light Award. For his Eagle Project, Matthew led a team of scouts and adults to build planter boxes and benches for a new park in Chatham Borough. Matthew has been an active member of the Delbarton community since 7th grade. He is a member of the CrossCountry team, Track team, The Courier, Business and Economics Club, Delbarton Economic Education Program, Euro Challenge, Interfaith Food Pantry and serves as a Student Ambassador.

Snow Sculpture Throw-Down On February 2, a slow-moving storm dumped 18 to 24plus inches of snow in Morris County, perfect conditions for Freshman Advisors to challenge the Class of 2024 to a snow sculpture contest. Each advisory group, eight in all, selected its top entry, and the winners went on to compete in the finals with the entire student body voting on the favorite. With a conclusive 58% of the vote, the winning submission came from Kear O’Malley ’24 for his Aztec Ruins and his advisory group, led by Mr. Andrew Sherwood, later enjoyed the grand prize: a mid-morning snack of egg & cheese sandwiches, donuts, and juice.

Delbarton Hosts Virtual Solidarity Sleepout On Saturday night, March 20, Delbarton hosted a Solidarity Sleep Out to support the important work of Covenant House. This year’s Delbarton Sleep Out was virtual – which meant families could participate by sleeping outside at home. Pictured here are Connor Teehan ’21 and his dad Ed Teehan P’14,’21 who slept outdoors at home in Franklin Lakes, NJ. Thank you to all who helped Delbarton raise over $100,000 for Covenant House.

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39th Annual Blood Drive Delbarton’s 39th Annual Blood Drive on April 15 was hosted on campus using a COVID-friendly appointmentonly process. Thank you to all the students, teachers, parents and alumni who donated blood, or their volunteer time and/or refreshments.

Delbarton ultimately collected 136 units (86 whole blood and 50 ALYX units) helping to save over 400 lives.

The EverAdaptable Ben As Delbarton navigated through a challenging winter of in-person classes with the occasional need to revert to Virtual Delbarton, our mascot Ben – pictured here with his keeper Fr. Michael – learned to adapt to changing circumstances. No doubt about it – Ben’s spirits were highest when surrounded by students and a bustling campus!

Celebrating Earth Day with Solar Energy As Delbarton celebrated Earth Day on April 22, solar panels were installed to building rooftops throughout campus, including five solar photovoltaic (PV) systems capable of delivering 1,105,160 kWh of electricity in year one. All are connected to the utility grid and metered against existing electricity usage, so each facility contributes an economic benefit in electricity cost savings. Over the life of the system 11,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) will be eliminated from our footprint, equivalent to displacing CO2 emissions from the annual electric use of 1,935 homes. Delbarton’s solar power system also provides students with a hands-on renewable energy experience, supplementing their understanding in chemistry, physics, engineering and environmental studies.

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Peter Gibbons ’21 Receives 2021 Cerasia Award

Juniors Selected for Summer Programs Jack Finning

Anand Majmudar

Two Delbarton juniors have been selected from very talented pools of applicants for two prestigious summer programs. Jack Finning ’22 was chosen to participate in this summer’s Governor’s School of Engineering & Technology hosted by the Rutgers University School of Engineering. Anand Majmudar ’22 was selected for this summer’s New Jersey Scholars Program, Mind and Body: The Future of Being Human.

On March 26, Senior Peter Gibbons ’21 was the 2021 recipient of the Cerasia Award, presented to a student who exhibited persistence and resilience during his years at Delbarton. Peter received the award during a Morning Meeting that seniors attended in the FAC while underclassmen accessed the event via livestream. The Cerasia Award is dedicated to the memory of the late Michael C. Cerasia, a member of the class of 1994 who died tragically with his older brother in a boating accident during the summer following his freshman year.

Michael’s parents, Robert and Carole Cerasia P’94 of North Caldwell, attended via Zoom call and congratulated Peter from the big screen. Peter faced his own set of unique challenges which included having to attend class virtually this year due to the COVID pandemic.

Despite missing the in-person experience that Delbarton worked so hard to provide, he still persevered and produced impressive work. His fellow seniors in the Class of 2021 rose in unison to give him a rousing standing ovation when he accepted his plaque. He is pictured here with his parents, Susan and Dave Gibbons ’88, P’21,’23.

WSJ Reporter Peter Loftus Speaks About Frontline COVID Reporting On April 22, Peter Loftus, a Wall Street Journal reporter, presented to the Delbarton community via a Zoom call about his reporting on the COVID pandemic. Seniors watched the presentation in the FAC, while underclassmen accessed it in classrooms. Loftus has served as a lead WSJ reporter on the COVID pandemic and government and private sector pandemic response.

Loftus is a 1992 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he majored in History and English, and was a Lasalle High School classmate and friend of Headmaster Fr. Michael Tidd.

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The Class of 2021 Endures

photos by Erin Manahan P’19

This was a rough winter for Delbarton, but hardest on the Class of 2021 whose last year on campus was even more impacted than last year’s senior class. COVID contagion and an unusually snowy winter led to more Virtual Delbarton distance learning. COVID concerns meant Spirit Week was postponed until April, and the always-appreciated opportunity to let off steam was sorely missed. As we all looked forward to spring break and a successful spring term on campus, seniors were celebrated. One week it was a cocoa bomb nestled in big ceramic mugs (‘Seniors are the Bomb’) and the next, Succisa Virescit t-shirts were handed out. On March 24, Fr. Michael presented each senior with a special gift box to celebrate his final term at Delbarton.

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Delbarton Wins 2nd Place Design Award in First Tech Challenge

By Jack Finning ’22, Zach Vincent ’21 and Alex Van Den Hende ’21

E

njoy this First Tech Challenge recap from three student engineers. The team’s mentors Bob Bitler, Greg Devine and Brian Theroux, were proud of the team’s creativity, problem-solving skills, and perseverance this year.

From October of 2020 to mid-April 2021, the three of us–Jack Finning ‘22, Zach Vincent ‘21, and Alex Van Den Hende ‘21–have cataloged hundreds of hours building a robot for the First Tech Challenge, an international competition involving thousands of teams around the world.

This year’s competition revolved around two main objectives: shooting foam rings into a tiered goal from a distance of around 5 feet and transporting a tall unbalanced object called a wobble goal.

As a result of COVID, our team competed virtually, but we’re hoping to participate in in-person competitions in the near future. This time around, we were happy to win the 2nd Place Design Award for the tournament we just completed.

You’re probably wondering WHY we all dedicated so much time to our robot.

Obviously, we wanted to win, but more importantly, the three of us love engineering and the process of turning our ideas into reality. Our robot began as just a fuzzy image in our heads that slowly cleared after much brainstorming, arguing, and prototyping. And, while this image formed in our heads, we began to bring it into the physical world with our hands. After months of slow and continuous work, we found a fully realized creation before us–but it’s probably not as pretty as you think.

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Looking at the tangle of wires and mess of aluminum pieces, I wouldn’t be surprised if you asked us how we had even begun to plan and build it.

What nobody ever tells you is that everyone starts at ground zero–the sooner anyone embraces the idea that the first prototype is never the last, the sooner they free themselves from the restraints and fears of failure. Engineering is all about failure, and without this willingness to encounter failure head-on, our robot could never have progressed to a competition-worthy state. Many of our robot’s components are the results of failed prototypes. Our forklift, for example, began as a geardriven claw mechanism that wasted one of only eight allowed motors and took up half of our robot’s max size.

The fine-tuned aspects of our robot, such as the speed of our motors, the height and length of our ring collection ramp, and the spacing for our flywheel in our ring shooter are all products of a multitude of failures.

We spent many frustrating weeks finding an optimized solution that worked!

Overall, robotics has been an extremely rewarding experience for

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all of us. It’s mesmerizing to see the metal and parts become a fully functioning robot that can shoot rings 30 feet and pick things up.

Seeing something come to life from a poorly drawn sketch on a whiteboard produces gratification like nothing

else. Another aspect to the competition is that each robot is unique from one another with an infinite number of designs that could complete the course. This ambiguity in robotic design fuels the drive to constantly want to innovate.

Delbarton students, if you have any interest in engineering or robotics, love attacking problems and failure head-on, or are curious to learn more, join the Robotics Club next year!

Hybrid Science Fair is a Success

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n April 16, Delbarton hosted its third annual Science Fair in St. Benedict Hall (SBH) and the FAC. COVID necessitated some adjustments, but the Fair proved that scientific research and the unending quest for knowledge are alive and well at Delbarton.

Delbarton middle schoolers presented original research via poster presentations in SBH. Later, after a welcome from Headmaster Fr. Michael Tidd that emphasized the significant value Delbarton places on science, technology and original research, awards were distributed, reflecting the

Fr. Michael with Research in Science Club officers, from left, 2021 President Will Li ’21, VP Jack Maurer ’21, and 2021-2022 Co-Presidents Jack Finning ’22 and Travis Ehrenberg ’22.

Fr. Michael with Science Fair keynote speaker Dr. Alan Rigby P’20.

(continued on page 36)

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Hybrid Science Fair is a Success (continued from page 35)

Research in Science Club co-moderators Bob Bitler P’06,’09 and Brian Theroux.

work of Delbarton student researchers and 35 students from eleven other area schools who submitted their research for the juried Delbarton Science Fair (winners received $50 gift cards).

Next, Delbarton parent Dr. Alan Rigby P’20, a research scientist, oncologist, and businessman delivered a keynote address on the life of a scientific research which includes regular doses of failure and requires persistence. Dr.

Finally, Research in Science Club co-moderator – (with Brian Theroux) – Bob Bitler saluted Club cofounder Will Li ’21 for his exemplary work as a student leader. After describing Li as ‘driven, smart, able, humble, kind and funny’, he lauded Li

The DeLBARTon SChooL ALumni T e AC h i n g F e L LoWS h i P P Ro g R A m

Delbarton Introduces

is a one-year opportunity open to Delbarton alumni currently in their senior year of college. The term is from August to May of their post-graduate year, and the Program is designed to give alumni considering a career in education an opportunity to experience life in the school environment, as well as serve as a gap year for alumni embarking on a post-graduate degree program or career. Up to three Teaching Fellows will be selected annually.

We are pleased to present our inaugural Alumni Teaching Fellows:

Teacher Fellows are responsible for managing the Delbarton Alumni Mentor Program, an after-school program open to all students that offers time management, organizational, and test preparation skills. Each mentor also will assist in an extracurricular activity or sport and shadow a faculty member during the academic year. Alumni mentor team diversity is important, so our Alumni Teacher Fellows will offer a variety of skill sets, passions, and expertise to the school. Teacher Fellows are compensated for their time, and offered free housing in a School-owned group home in Morristown. They will also assist occasionally in Admissions and Marketing & Communications events or projects.

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Rigby has over 20 years of experience in everything from teaching at Harvard Medical School to founding the biotechnology company HiberCell.

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Roggi Chuquimarca ’17 is a recent graduate of Rutgers University where he majored in Theater Arts and minored in Human Resource Management.

Born in Ecuador, Roggi and his family moved to Newark in 2002. At Delbarton, Roggi was very involved in playing soccer, was an integral member of DAP, held leadership positions in the French club, sang in multiple music groups, and most notably, participated in the theater productions. He starred in numerous Abbey Player, and community and regional productions. He credits his success in the theater community to his experiences right here in the FAC at Delbarton. His future plans include going to graduate school for his acting MFA and continuing to audition for professional projects.

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At the Science Fair, eighth grader Donovan Perry '25 describes his science project to Fr. Michael.

for inspiring so many others to get involved in this popular club. When he graduates this June 6, Will Li ’21 leaves behind a legacy of intellectual curiosity and scientific research that is sure to continue to attract young men to Delbarton, where they will find a home for their inquisitive minds. In his honor, the Will Li ’21 Award will be presented each year to the boy who most exemplifies Li’s intellectual attributes and persistent pursuit of knowledge.

As a final fitting gesture for this year’s very successful hybrid Delbarton Science Fair, Li presented the first annual Will Li ’21 Award to his Research in Science Clubmate and friend Travis Ehrenberg ’22.

The Delbarton community commends Will Li ’21 for his many contributions during his years on campus and salutes all who made our third annual Science Fair a resounding success.

Alumni Teaching Fellowship Program Andrew Gannon ’17 is from Madison, NJ and enjoyed attending Delbarton with his two brothers, Liam Gannon ’16 and Finn Gannon ’19. At Delbarton, Andrew managed the Varsity Soccer and Baseball teams, performed in Schola Cantorum, was a member of Stage Crew, and was active in the Spring OneAct Festival. He also served as a tour guide and retreat coordinator. He is a 2021 graduate of the University of Notre Dame where he majored in Economics and minored in History and Irish Studies. Through Notre Dame, he studied the Irish language and in 2019 spent a semester abroad at Trinity College Dublin. He is the recipient of the 2021 Donald and Marilyn Keough Award for Excellence in Irish Studies.

Jordan Hubbard ’17 was born and raised in Newark, NJ, and lives in North Plainfield, NJ. He is a recent graduate of Drew University with a major degree in Psychology and a minor degree in Sociology. At Delbarton, he was an avid member of Diversity Among Peers (DAP), and served as DAP president during his senior year. He also competed on the Track & Field team in the discus and shotput events, was student coordinator for the Interfaith Food Pantry and a freshman/sophomore retreat leader. At Drew, he was a Resident Advisor and on the executive board of the Black Student Union. He is excited to be selected for the 2021 Delbarton Alumni Teaching Fellowship Program and says, “I am extremely blessed and excited for this opportunity, and grateful to be returning to a place that I call home.”

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NEWS

A Banner Year for AP Artists In yet another of the many COVID pivots, in 2021 the Delbarton Art Department replaced the traditional AP Art Exhibit & Reception with an online presentation of digital Sustained Investigation Portfolios created by seventeen members of the 2021 AP Studio Art Class. We are proud to highlight each artist with his senior portrait, a quotation from his artist’s statement, and a sample of his art. Access each artist’s complete digital portfolio on Delbarton.org.

Photos by Peter Wallburg Studios

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Alexander Vandenhende ’21

Jack Benitez ’21

“Through my art, I want to explore light.

Light itself seems intuitive: we are born able to observe it, we instinctively understand how it moves, and we can control it through technology. Yet, from a physics standpoint, light is extremely complex. It is both a particle and a wave, is massless yet can exert force, and scatters when intercepted by a prism.

Yet, I had to ask myself; how can I best explore light through art? I concluded that glass, a transparent catalyst for light, would be my best choice of medium. In my sustained investigation works, I draw glass, especially cut glass, on matte board with white charcoal to explore the intricateness and complexity of light. Shadows, reflections, distortion, glass gives me the opportunity to draw and understand light. I hope that you have a better appreciation of light as a result of my drawings.”

“Towards the end of my Junior year, in collaboration with Mr. Rodi, a decision was made regarding the best medium for me to use for my Sustained Investigation project. My visual study was to be based on various wild plant life found within Jockey Hollow, and my medium would be dry-point etching, a technique I loved as a result of an etching project based upon statues at the Met.”

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Gabriel Benz ’21

Morgan Cecil ’21

“During my junior year, I learned that I wanted to create some sort of abstract artworks, but also wanted things to flow and be controlled. I looked toward nature to help me with my inquiry because of its seemingly chaotic yet organized systems and structures. When studying my nature references, I realized that a lot of the shapes and forms that I found in nature were similar to the parts of the human body. Through my artwork I’ve been able to explore that relationship. By finding similarities within these two unlikely forms, I have truly discovered that we are all connected in some form or other.”

“Benedictine and Catholic values recognize the importance of art as a means of expressing personal and religious ideas in images. Only through art can a person begin to capture the beauty and love of God. At Delbarton, our mission is rooted in Benedictine values, yielding a renowned and impressive studio art program. My introduction to this program during my sophomore year sparked my interest in art at Delbarton. As one of the greatest inventions of all time, the light bulb has had a profound impact across the globe in the physical world as well as in literature and art. In the arts, light bulbs symbolize life, innovation, and intelligence. Each bulb has a unique and complex, yet very simple, structure which is meaningful to me because of its symbolic connection to my personal life. In my sustained investigation, I will depict this ordinary, everyday object in a new aesthetic to illuminate its complex metaphorical and physical significance.”

Jack Alexy ’21 “... This enjoyment has led me to my Sustained Investigation focusing on guitars. Inspired by Picasso and the Cubism movement, my work reflects different aspects of how I view the sculptural forms of guitars. Color, shapes (both exterior and within), texture and perspective, every angle is looked at and is personal to me. I hope that you, as the viewer, can also find your viewpoint in my work.”

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Ben Davis ’21 “I’m continuously captivated by the freedom and expression that art holds and use that to fuel my artistic energy. Art is an outlet for me. Whether it is simple doodles in a notebook or complex drawings in different mediums, art is a way for me to reflect and express my feelings. For my Sustained Investigation, I merged the two things that are incredibly important to me that I do on a daily basis - rowing and studio art. My images detail a day in the life of a rower and the beautiful complexity of the sport. I have illustrated several aspects of the sport such as the equipment, the athletes, and the different motions of the boat. Each image is developed through various techniques and processes involving mixed media.”

Tony Fajardo ’21 “My Sustained Investigation focuses on the night view of urban settings. Most importantly, I wanted to structure a narrative, a journey, through these settings to capture one’s visual experience. I decided to use scratchboard as an effective medium to achieve the effects of contrasting lights and darks. In particular, streets and buildings provided me with forms that carry the viewer’s eye through linear perspective. There’s something special about the nighttime that expresses fascination, wonder and bewilderment within the city that cannot be replicated in the daytime. The large buildings and streets can be overwhelming for some, but my Sustained Investigation has allowed me to reveal a glimpse into a small world that only lasts for a few hours.”

Andrew Rasmussen ’21 “Photography is quite different from any other art form, especially photojournalism.

There is no eraser, no technique to cover over mistakes. Just a shutter button and my subject. Time flies by in a blink of an eye. And a miss of click can never be replicated. Through the viewfinder, I gradually learned that I was capturing others’ emotions, attitudes, and mannerisms. A lesson I eventually learned through photojournalism is that I have no influence over my work. My personal emotions do not matter. While the angle, lighting, and technique used to take the shot is dependent on myself, the work itself is expressed solely by my subject. Good photojournalism is a narrative in its own right. I hope that in viewing my images, these stories can be related to you.”

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Owen Hand ’21

Ethan Low ’21

“I’ve lived on a farm for over a decade now, but I often find myself not appreciating my beautiful surroundings. Most days, I drive by cows, sheep, donkeys, pigs, and chickens without giving them much attention. Through my sustained investigation, my vision has changed. I now look at my farm animals with a new perspective– seeing them as if I am viewing them for the first time. My development as an artist and the acquiring of different techniques has enabled me to represent the characteristics of farm animals, or at least my perspective of them.

With this in mind, I began investigating animal portraiture. After starting with stoic, formal representations, I turned to a fauvist palette that further reflects the wide variations of my animals’ characteristics.”

“My Sustained Investigation focuses around electronic components.

Keeping with my love of pencil drawings, I sought to portray electronics in a different, more abstract way. By magnifying complex arrangements of geometric form and design, I approached my images in such a way as to bring out beauty in those things that we otherwise take for granted.

This year, AP Studio Art has been a time for me to create art that I want to create. It’s a time where I can take a break from the stresses of everyday life to just draw. Now, I have the discipline to sit down, to create, and discover the fact that doing art brings me a different type of joy— the joy of something coming alive on the piece of paper in front of me.”

Declan Maseker ’21 “I have always been intrigued by the history of humankind—namely evolution—and the ties to nature it has embedded into our identity.

However, in an age of rapid technological advancement, I fear for humanity’s loss of it’s intimate connection to nature. Thus, I have decided to concentrate on portraying this profound relationship in my series of works. Rather than standing by as high-tech innovation disconnects humans from the natural world, I employ the fruits of our rapid technological growth (Photoshop) to emphasize the link that humans have with nature, and the individual subjectivity to experiencing natural environments.”

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Matthew Morfogen ’21

Charlie Smith ’21 “Now, I construct my own library of work, filled with entries of which now mostly consist of my sustained investigation. In my current work, my goal is to elicit the theme of consumerism through the linear arrangement of mass-produced candies; additionally, stark highlights increase the animation and journey the eye throughout. At its inception, I portrayed the subject realistically and in a hyper-detailed manner, but as I enter the experimentation phase, I am working to evoke the impression of my investigation’s theme rather than clear delineation of the concept.”

Colin Sutter ’21 “My Sustained Investigation focuses on the concept of the “recipe box,” a collection of handwritten recipe cards that hold some of the most essential dishes integral to my family’s traditions.

From Christmas Eve Bouillabaisse to birthday Hungarian Cabbage Rolls, I deconstructed these recipes, showcasing the individual ingredients. These forms are carefully orchestrated to transcend the generic table still life – although they are reminiscent of an OldMaster style, I sought to inject familiar elements that transform the seemingly random collection of ingredients into what they represent: a family recipe.”

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“It was during my junior year studio art class that I was introduced to the medium of oil pastels, and it was that experience that prompted me to utilize that technique to render my images for my xsustained investigation. I begin my process by referencing my own photographs before advancing to a print stage. What has followed since is a development of my technique based upon how I surmise the action I wish to be fully revealed. It has been a wonderful visual journey on both photographic as well as artistic fronts. Experimentation of techniques and mediums, studying colors, perspective viewpoints through this entire process I have had to solve the challenges thrown at me. And what pleasure it has brought me, together with a lot of hard work. I am forever grateful, that I was able to enjoy my travels as one half of a two-man scull… thank you Ms. Lopez, like a good member of the crew you gave as much as I did!”

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Thomas Stauder ’21

Joseph Udina ’21

“In my Sustained Investigation, I have chosen to focus on chalk pastel drawings of still-lifes. In these still-lifes, I assembled assortments of fruits and vegetables against patterned backgrounds. Within these compositions, I have attempted to reveal the distinction between complementary color, the interplay of different patterns and shapes, and the effect of light upon various surfaces. In a similar fashion to artist Janet Fish’s work, elevated views dramatize the compositional elements of my still-lifes. I invite you to explore my visual feasts.”

“During this, my final year, I chose as my sustained investigation to focus on capturing the stylistic beauties of fishing lures, all stemming from my passion for fishing of any kind. In the course of my visual studies, I responded to a multitude of lures that featured varied geometric patterns, vivid colors and creative and dynamic shapes, both within and without.

The works of Surrealist artist, Joan Miro, was a catalyst to the direction I wanted to take. Miro’s art is all about interpretation, and I hope that my works reflect that statement. Miro once said: “I try to apply colors like words that shape poems.” In many ways, I feel as though I’m trying to do the same. I invite you to reflect upon that as you view my own particular interpretations.”

Ed Conte ’21 “My Sustained Investigation is one where I want to express an individual’s personal hidden narrative, whether it is through the subtlety of an individual’s expression or through their body language. In referencing my images, I found it important to understand what my model is feeling or thinking before attempting to embody those feelings through the manner of my technique or through high contrasts between light and dark. My use of scratchboard, allows me the ability to achieve those goals, mirroring and dramatizing the emotions and expressions of the people I chose.”

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Delbarton Performing Arts During COVID Music Director David Blazier says, “It’s amazing to look back at this year and all that we were able to accomplish, even given our COVID hurdles.” Musicians and directors adjusted vocal, instrumental, or theater rehearsals and performances.

Instrumentalists performed wearing specially designed slitted masks enabling playing while masked.

Fall and spring concerts took place in the FAC with limited seating and were livestreamed on Youtube to reach a wider audience at home. For our annual Christmas concert, each ensemble pre-recorded its Christmas selections for a well-received streamed performance.

In our Theater program, Abbey Players leveraged streaming and recording technology to share the fall drama and winter musical performances with as many people as possible and create a product that all our students could be proud of.

Blazier says, “It was important to our music directors, our students, and our families to get the boys back in the rehearsal spaces and doing what they love to do. We could not be happier that we had so many opportunities to stay active in the arts at Delbarton this year.”

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arts DELBARTON

NEWS

2021 One Acts Festival The Delbarton Arts One Acts Festival also experienced a unique COVID twist – all four student-produced one act plays were made available as radio dramas on a podcast platform.

After school on April 14, we found teams of writers/producers and actors making great use of the five new Group Study spaces in St. Benedict Hall using the rooms’ technology to create audio versions of the original plays. The production teams include...

New York State of Mind - written and directed by Patrick Smart ’21, sound design and editing assistance

by Gina Marasco ’21 (Morristown High School). After the tragic death of their father, the Budd Family is greeted by an unexpected Thanksgiving visitor who reminds them that sticking together as a family is more important

than their differences.

Run, Robert, Run - written and directed by Gina Marasco ’21 (Morristown High School), sound design and editing assistance

by Wan Virtudazo ’23. While under his brother Brady’s care, the Glennbrook family’s golden child mysteriously vanishes and Brady turns to a quirky true crime podcast to try to make it right and reunite his family.

Nos in Diem Vivimus - written and directed by Hayden Kim ’22, sound design and editing assistance by Tony Fajardo ’21. A determined

President, his fierce Press Secretary, and the rest of his White House staff are faced with a terrorist attack on the Golden Gate Bridge, causing intrigue and anxieties at home and abroad.

The Fish-Off - written and directed

by Jack Tobin ’22, sound design and editing assistance by Trevor Ritchie ’21. The Merrills are having a family fishing trip, but when the overlycompetitive oldest son Johnny proposes a kids vs. parents fishing contest, bonds are tested.

‘Working’ it at Delbarton After months of hard work, from March 19 to March 21 the Delbarton Abbey Players – a group of dedicated student actors and visiting thespians from area schools – streamed its filmed production of Working to virtual audiences. With COVID causing Delbarton to revert to virtual classes several times this winter, the production staff led by Director Matt Corica brainstormed and switched from offering live performances to something different: a professionally staged and filmed version of the dynamic musical. It was a bold and successful move. Bravo to all involved for growing back stronger and having the courage and tenacity to try something new.

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around DELBARTON

English Teacher Mike Carr ’01 Pursues Twin Passions: Fishing and Journalism

I

n 2019, English teacher Mike Carr ’01 was awarded a Delbarton sabbatical grant that covered travel and expenses to support his twin passions for fishing and writing. His goal? To become a published journalist writing about a sport that he loves.

Since then, the professional development grant from Delbarton has enabled Carr to write sixteen articles published in four publications, including On the Water, Fly Tyer, Anglers Journal, and In the Loop. Recently, his latest piece, a compelling profile of Montauk premier fly-fishing captain Paul Dixon, was featured in Anglers Journal.

Carr is a proud alumnus from the Class of 2001 who wears many hats at Delbarton as English teacher, Summer Camp Co-Director, Deanery Advisor, Junior Class Moderator, Film Club Moderator and Ice Hockey Coach. He

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also shares his interest in fishing with members of the School’s very popular Delbarton Anglers Club.

Carr is grateful that Delbarton helped him focus on fishing and writing and says, “Without Delbarton’s support, I never would have been able to pursue this. I am also able to bring a lot more shared knowledge of creative writing and fishing into my classes and the Angler’s Club.” The Delbarton community salutes Mike Carr ’01 for his many contributions to the

School and – with planning, determination and persistence – for navigating his way to a second career as a published journalist.

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Dr. Hajduk Steps Down from Mission & Ministry

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s of July 1, 2021, Director of Mission & Ministry Dr. David Hajduk will hand over leadership of Mission & Ministry at Delbarton to his Assistant Director Matthew White.

The Campus Ministry program acts as the heartbeat of Delbarton life, providing opportunities for students to encounter God and His love and to respond to that love by leading lives of faith and service.

Hajduk has led the program with enthusiasm since 2002. In 1998, he was hired as a Religious Studies (now Theology) teacher and a faculty assistant in Campus Ministry. He also held several other roles during the first years, including coaching Middle School Baseball and serving as Middle School Moderator. Nineteen years ago, he assumed the role of Director of Campus Ministry (now Mission & Ministry), the first nonmonk to serve as Director. He says, “I had many years of experience in parish youth ministry at the time, and there were no monks available for the job!”

In 2019, teacher Matthew White took on the job as Assistant Director and has helped Hajduk expand the retreat program and run Delbarton’s robust community service program.

Prior to White joining his team, Hajduk single-handedly directed all service programs, retreats and days of recollection with assistance from faculty members. This included six

This fall, Dr. David Hajduk, on left, returns to fulltime teaching at Delbarton when Matthew White becomes Director of Mission & Ministry.

weekend retreats — three for freshman and three for sophomores in the retreat center and days of recollection for middle schoolers, juniors, and seniors, along with the KAIROS retreat that was added as a voluntary experience for juniors and seniors. He also organized class level brunches on Sundays for Delbarton students and their families.

In May, 2016, Hajduk successfully defended his doctoral dissertation at the Maryvale Institute in Birmingham, England to earn his PhD from the only Higher Institute of Religious Sciences under the Holy See in the English-speaking world.

Dr. Hajduk and his wife Shannon are the proud parents of eleven children.

He says, “It’s interesting to think about the number of nights I slept in that retreat center — perhaps more

than any person other than those who actually lived there! ” This fall, Hajduk moves to a full-time teaching position in the Delbarton Theology Department.

Matthew White is eager to accept the challenge of maintaining and building upon the foundation of Hajduk’s comprehensive vision for Mission & Ministry consistent with the School’s mission and says, “No one will ever be able to replace Dr. Hajduk. He has done so much for the school, much of which will go unrecognized. It is an honor to fill the position that he has occupied for so long. Thank you, David, for all that you have done for Delbarton. God has greatly blessed us through your work.”

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around DELBARTON

Why I Teach

By John Thompson History Department Chairman Mr. John Thompson has taught and coached at Delbarton for 31 years. His legendary AP European History course prepares underclassmen for college-level coursework and he takes a similar approach to his roles as Head Coach of the varsity tennis team and Assistant Coach of the soccer team.

A

s a shy high school student, I never imagined I would one day spend my life speaking in front of classes, teams, and other faculty members.

An annual tradition in Thompson’s AP European History class is a reenactment of the Trial of Louis XVI, costumes, wigs and all.

Occasionally, when the defense team is particularly effective, Louis escapes with his head.

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As a child, I loved to read about history and learn about the life and times of my family. I was fascinated by my father’s experiences as a marine in the Pacific during World War II, and my grandfather’s life as a submarine commander during two World Wars, and I was fascinated by the American Civil War and World War II. Unsure of what I wanted to do, I knew if I could find a career that combined my passion for history and sports, I would be happy for life. After college, intending to earn a PHD in history and having completed my Master’s Degree, four more years of graduate work did not appeal to me.

Instead, I decided to try teaching.

around DELBARTON

“People will forget what you said, people will

forget what you did, people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Maya Angelou My first job was at my elementary school alma mater in Amherst, Massachusetts. Next, I was offered a job at Trinity Pawling School in Pawling, NY where for two years I worked 16-hour days and loved it. In 1990, I moved on to Delbarton where I found my new home and career at this very special school.

Once teaching, I quickly realized that my new profession was more of a calling than a job. I love to share my interest in history with students and help them develop a life-long love of history and of learning itself. For me, the best moments are when students leave my classroom arguing over topics we discussed in class.

My AP European History course isn’t easy and I’m a fairly demanding coach. I challenge my students in the classroom, and I push my athletes on the field and tennis courts. I have the chance to make the biggest difference in students’ lives as a tennis and soccer coach. While sports teach valuable life lessons, championships don’t mean a thing unless we conduct ourselves with respect and professionalism throughout the season.

Students may not remember details on the War of Jenkin’s Ear* but, in my classroom, they become better writers, public speakers and more thoughtful

During Paideia discussions, Thompson uses a Socratic method that encourages boys to listen closely to others, think critically for themselves and articulate their thoughts and responses to others. Yes, there are grades, but the process itself is the real lesson.

citizens. I am constantly amazed by what my students say during discussions on controversial historical questions, and I learn more from them each day. I push them to immerse themselves in assignments not merely for a grade, but for the love of learning. Watching my students reenact the trial of Louis XVI in costumes, conduct a paidea discussion on Sir Thomas More’s Utopia, or post on our presidential debate blog…these are moments where I see intellectual curiosity eclipse the tyranny of grades.

* A teaching moment: The War of Jenkins’ Ear was a controversy between Great Britain and Spain from 1739 to 1748 in New Granada and the West Indies, and historian Thomas Carlyle coined the name over a century later.

The conflict began when Robert Jenkins, a British merchant ship captain, had his ear cut off by Spanish sailors boarding his ship during peacetime. Stories later circulated that Jenkins’ severed ear was exhibited in British Parliament, but there is no evidence to support the claim.

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around DELBARTON

Finally, I teach to help others make a difference.

Educators are role models, and students closely watch what we do. I urge my students to do the hard thing, whether in their studies or their personal lives.

An acquaintance once remarked that what I did for a living was not especially important because I worked at an affluent prep school, and not helping those less fortunate. I disagree. I believe that I positively impact my students at Delbarton, and that what they learn affects hundreds if not thousands of people as these young men embark upon their careers, and accept leadership roles in society.

Tennis Head Coach Thompson stands with the 2008 state-title winning Green Wave Tennis team.

Brian Fleury, our late Athletic Director and baseball head coach, always told boys never to be embarrassed about caring deeply about what they do. He urged them to go above and beyond what was expected each day and to take pride in their efforts. I live by those words, and teach our students to follow Brian’s excellent advice.

Some say what I do is ‘fun’ and ‘not a real job at all’. They are right. Teaching is not simply a job, it is a calling. I invest long hours at Delbarton not for financial benefit or recognition but for the benefit of my students and athletes. I never want to let them down. We do have fun every day and I certainly never dread going to work. I look forward to being here every day. What a gift.

When a former student tells me at Homecoming that I had made a difference in his life, his words mean more to me than financial compensation ever could. These special moments are the real reasons why I teach.

Throughout my journey as a teacher, coach, and administrator many things have remained constant: my passion for history, my love of learning, and my desire to try to make a difference in young men’s lives.

Coach Thompson and team captains Nicolas Gritz ’21, on left, and Christian Lalin ’21 after winning the Westfield ‘Blue Devil’ Invitational Tournament on April 24, 2021 for the first time in Green Wave Tennis history.

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dpga

DELBARTON Parent Organizations

W

hile COVID concerns continued to alter so many in-person events, Delbarton parents managed to plan and attend many social and celebratory moments with the steady guidance of Parent Liaison Erin Manahan P’19 and a major assist from Delbarton Housekeeping Grounds & Maintenance staff.

From a magnificent Christkindlmarkt campus light show and a successful ‘Starry Night’ Gala, that took place with both in-person and virtual components, to an Asian, Pacific Islander and Middle Eastern Celebration and an impressive Faculty and a Staff Appreciation Day, we found ways to be together and even raise funds to support financial aid at Delbarton. The Delbarton Shop enjoyed record-breaking sales, and Delbarton fathers enjoyed a Golf Outing and strung lights in the Garden for the Prom. Next year, we look forward to the resumption of Delbarton Parent of Graduates (DPGA) events as we welcome a postCOVID world! (continued on page 56)

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DELBARTON

(continued from page 55) This winter and spring, parents hosted and attended the following events…

• Christkindlmarkt • DMG ‘Starry Night’ Gala, virtual and in-person • Spring Track End of Season Event • Raising Hope Awareness Walk • Tennis Season Kick Off and End of Season Events • Faculty Appreciation Day Event • Middle School Parent’s Social • Hockey End of Season Celebration • Swim Team End of Season Celebration • Sophomore Parents Social • Fathers and Friends Welcome Back to Campus • Middle School Athletics Dinner • Wrestling End of Season Celebration • St. Benedict Hall Dedication • DAP End of Year Banquet • Ski Team Celebration • Senior Prom • Freshman Baseball Team Event • JV Baseball Team Event • Lacrosse End of Season Celebration • Baseball End of Season Celebration • Current 7th and 9th Grade Moms Welcome Back to Campus Coffee • New 2020-2021 Moms Welcome to Campus Coffee • Asian, Pacific Islander and Middle Eastern Celebration • Fathers & Friends Golf Outing

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abbey NOTES

By Br. Finnbar McEvoy, OSB

Vows for Br. Finnbar McEvoy and Br. William McMillan

In March, the Abbey community celebrated a first profession of vows as well as a renewal of vows. Br. Finnbar McEvoy made his first profession of vows in the presence of Abbot Richard, the monks of St. Mary’s Abbey, and the students and

faculty of Delbarton School on Monday, March 22. Br. Finnbar is now a junior monk and has already begun teaching physics at Delbarton. Br. William McMillan, who made his first profession in 2018, renewed his vows when they expired on March

21. Br. William has renewed his vows for one year as he continues to discern his call to monastic life. Br. William has been teaching English and coaching middle school baseball.

Welcome to the Church During the Easter Vigil, Hayden Kim ’22 and John Hager ’23 received their sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist). They had been prepared for the sacraments by Delbarton Director of Mission and Ministry Dr. David Hajduk, and Assistant Director, Mr. Matt White. From left are Dr. Hajduk, Hayden Kim ’22, Abbot Richard Cronin, OSB, John Hager ’23, and Mr. White. We welcome Hayden and John to the Church!

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abbey NOTES

Rest in Peace Abbot Gerard Parker Lair, O.S.B. November 7, 1933 - March 6, 2021

Richard Parker Lair was born in Newark, NJ, on November 7, 1933, to George Lair, and Agnes (nee Crummy). Abbot Gerard was one of four children in the Lair family. His siblings were George, Jayne and Robert. Abbot Gerard is predeceased by his parents and his brother George.

Parker, as he was called by his family, was baptized in his home parish of St. Peter’s Church, Newark.

He attended St. Peter’s Grammar School, and matriculated to St. Benedict’s Preparatory School, also in Newark, graduating in 1951. It was there where the Benedictine monks of St. Mary’s Abbey fostered his vocation. Upon his graduation from St. Benedict’s Prep, Parker was enrolled in St. Meinrad Minor Seminary, St. Meinrad, IN, with “a slight pretense of joining St. Meinrad’s Abbey,” he wrote in 1952 to Fr. Matthew Hoehn, the thenprior at St. Mary’s Abbey. However, Parker discerned it was best to pursue what he called “my original plan,” i.e. joining St. Mary’s Abbey, where “my earlier thoughts were born and where my vocation was delicately nurtured by my education there.” So began Parker Lair’s life as a monk at St. Mary’s Abbey, then based in Newark.

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During his youth, Parker was an avid baseball player, and was an outfielder in with a local amateur team named the Shamrocks, playing alongside a slightly older Hugh Clarke and his brother Jim. Hugh Clarke would eventually become Abbot Brian Clarke, whom Abbot Gerard succeeded as abbot of St. Mary’s Abbey! It was there, in his native Newark, and in the outfield with the Shamrocks, where Abbot Gerard’s life-long love of baseball was born and cultivated.

Later in life, Abbot Gerard would passionately attend Yankee games, for example, and always preferred to sit high in the stadium. There he could see the entire field and all the players, watching all the players strategizing their next moves, and knowing when the pitcher would be swapped out. When watching a ball game on TV, Abbot Gerard usually muted the sound, as he had no patience for the distracting chatter.

;

Through the spring of 1953, Parker Lair pursued college studies at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pa., completing his first year of undergraduate studies with a strong academic record. In the summer of 1953, Parker was clothed with the monastic habit, given the name Gerard, and began his novitiate at St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, Ks. The following year, on the Feast of St. Benedict, July 11, 1954, Frater Gerard professed triennial vows in the presence of Abbot Cuthbert McDonald at St. Benedict’s Abbey.

Professing vows with him were classmates, Fraters Karl Roesch and Regis Wallace, who both predeceased Abbot Gerard. He would remain close to Frs. Karl and Regis until their deaths. Solemn vows followed on July 13, 1957, in Morristown, in the presence of Abbot Patrick O’Brien.2 Between 1954 and 1956, Frater Gerard completed college at St. Vincent Seminary, Latrobe, Pa., earning a Bachelor of Arts with high marks. Theological studies followed at St. Mary’s School of Theology, Morristown. In 1957, Frater Gerard took summer courses in English at Seton Hall University, in preparation for a Master’s degree in English, pursued at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN.

abbey NOTES

Bee Update

Movie Night

At the end of February 2020, we received the sad news that the bees in our hives had not survived the winter. This was bad news, because honeybees are important pollinators for the fruit trees in the abbey’s orchard. The abbey’s beehives had been located adjacent to the north side of the orchard, where they had been there for more than fifty years.

According to our beekeeper, Janet Katz, the area had become too shady for bees to prosper. After some discussion, the decision was reached to move the hives at the upper corner of the abbey orchard. There, the bees will enjoy full sunshine.

In January, the monastic community watched the first episode of The Chosen series.

The Chosen is the first multi-season series depicting the life of Christ and the first disciples. The series is made to foster an encounter with Jesus, especially when paired with reading the Gospels.

On May 28, 1960, Fr. Gerard was ordained priest at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, NJ,

by Bishop James McNulty, of Paterson. Beginning in 1956 as a cleric (as monks studying for ordination were called then), Fr. Gerard had already begun a distinguished teaching career at Delbarton School in Morristown.

During these fruitful years, Fr. Gerard planted in his students the seeds of a love for literature and the mother tongue.

In 1975, when the community elected Fr. Brian Clarke to be its seventh abbot, Fr. Gerard was

appointed headmaster. This was to mark a turning point in the life of Delbarton School. Simultaneously, there were several external factors affecting Delbarton School: New Jersey was experiencing a migration westward. There was increased development of real estate in Morris and Somerset Counties, and other areas beyond areas traditionally attracting students. Additionally, New Jersey roads were improving and expanding, making Morristown increasingly more accessible. The need for boarding was declining, as more and more students were withindriving distance to the school. Fr. Gerard accepted Abbot

Brian’s appointment, and was clear that he believed boarding should be phased out. By the early 1980s, it was. To his credit, more and more students were willing and able to attend Delbarton as day students.

Today, students travel each day to and from ten of New Jersey’s counties, New York, and Pennsylvania!

Fr. Gerard also envisioned different, more horizonal structures in the school administration. He also believed in “discipline by conversation,” and created faculty moderators for each class, who would address any infraction by a (continued on page 56)

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abbey NOTES

(continued from page 55) student. As in the Rule of Benedict, Fr. Gerard felt strongly that a reasonable exchange between a mentor and student would yield more positive results. Fr. Gerard believed a punitive approach to discipline was to be a last resort.

More than four decades later, Fr. Gerard’s vision continues to animate life at Delbarton.

Following his five years as headmaster, Fr. Gerard spent a sabbatical year at Oxford University, residing at the Benedictine residence, St. Benet’s Hall. Fr. Gerard returned to mentor students at Delbarton School until 1988, when he was appointed parochial vicar at Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel Parish, then staffed by the monks of St. Mary’s Abbey. He would minister there alongside his classmate, Fr Regis Wallace, the pastor. Fr. Gerard became well-known for his insightful homilies, the fruits of his increased and intense love and study of Sacred Scripture.

In June 1995, the monastic chapter elected Fr. Gerard to succeed Abbot Brian as its eighth abbot.

Immediately, Abbot Gerard set out with the same determination as he did twenty years earlier when he was appointed headmaster. With a host of appointments and initiatives, it was clear there was a new abbot at St. Mary’s Abbey!

Abbot Gerard promoted greater collaboration and collegiality in

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decision-making, and involved more of the brethren. He questioned community practices, perhaps, in part to force the community to evaluated their value.

After a quick three-year tenure, Abbot Gerard submitted his resignation to the Abbot President, believing younger and more sustained leadership was needed.

Upon his retirement, Abbot Gerard took up residence at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish, Flanders, and undertook parochial ministry, Bible studies, and other parish activities, with his usual energy and determination. He also organized, under Abbot Thomas Confroy’s leadership, continuing education for the monastic community. Eventually, Abbot Gerard returned to the abbey, and began to serve on weekends at St. Joseph Church, High Bridge, where he continued to be known and beloved for his tight, well-wrought and powerful homilies.

The last few years, it was becoming apparent that Abbot Gerard’s health was no longer robust, and he curtailed much of his activities. He soon took up residence in the newly-renovated west wing with its assisted living suites, but it became clear he required increasingly intense nursing care in the infirmary. Anticipating the renovations of Vincent House, where he lived for many years on the top floor, his thousands of

books had to be sorted. It is no exaggeration to say he likely read every one of them, and remembered what he read!

Sadly, the well-traveled man of great study, knowledge, with many friends far and near, was a shadow of his formerly dominant self. Abbot Gerard struggled to maintain his preferred independence, but his poor health made that increasingly impossible. In early March 2021, it was apparent he needed to be admitted to the hospital, where he was quickly given comfort care.

Death followed soon thereafter.

At the time of his abbatial election, expressing his gratitude to all gathered for the festive liturgy, Abbot Gerard, begrudgingly wearing a mitre for the first time, quintessentially quoted the Bard, from Henry VI, Part 3: My crown is in my heart, not on my head; Not deck’d with diamonds and Indian stones, Nor to be seen.

My crown is call’d content, A crown it is that seldom kings enjoy.

[III.1] We pray our confrere is now enjoying a crown of glory and has found contentment, after a life well lived, of fruitful ministry in this vineyard.

abbey NOTES

Hybrid Abbot’s Table is Great Success Abbot’s Table 2021 was hosted on campus April 13, a COVIDfriendly hybrid event that included a virtual text-to-pledge component. A wonderful half hour video expertly directed by Steve Block ’71 featured the evening’s honorees: Betty Gilfillan, mother of five alumni and grandmother of several more alumni, Peter and Sharon Cocoziello, parents of three alumni and abbey benefactors, and Abbot Gerard Lair, who died in March. Tess and David Lewis ’78, chaired the Abbot’s Table committee, and welcomed one hundred guests and monks who enjoyed the lovely April evening together. CNBC personality and father of two Delbarton alumni Guy

Let Us Remember

Adami served as the very entertaining emcee.

During the event, Prior Edward Seton Fittin conferred the Abbey Medal on Abbot Richard Cronin in memory of Abbot Gerard, and Abbot Richard conferred the Medals on Betty Gilfillan and Peter Cocoziello (both are pictured here). Honorees offered words of gratitude for the recognition, expressing their love for

the monks of St. Mary’s Abbey.

A buffet dinner was served in the Library, followed by coffee and desserts, and the celebration continued well after the sunset. Prior Edward Seton Fittin says, “The monks of St. Mary’s Abbey are forever grateful and pledge their prayers for all benefactors, especially for abbey endowment and needed capital improvements.”

“If we believe that Jesus died and rose, God will bring forth with Him from the dead those who also have fallen asleep believing in Him.” 1 Thessalonians 4:14

Louis Auricchio, Jr. ’76

Lynn Marie Mantone, wife of Mickey Mantone ’79

Julian Bonifacio ’95

Brian McDonnell ’84

Rosalie Chambers, mother of James E. Chambers ’86, John H. Chambers ’83, Daniel J. Chambers ’81 and Michael R. Chambers ’80; grandmother of Peter G. Chambers ’11 and John C. Chambers ’17

Anita McKeon, grandmother of A.J. McKeon '14 and Matt McKeon '17

Craig Collins ’73 Connie Ferrara, mother of Vin Ferrara ’91 and Damon Ferrara ’94 John Hayes, father of Sean Hayes ’94 and Brendan Hayes ’95 Ingrid Kelly, mother of John Kelly ’83 and Rob Kelly ’86 Vincenzo ‘Vincent’ Loia, father of Robert A. Loia ’85; grandfather of Anthony J. Loia ’22

Perry Neilson, father of Kevin Neilson ’13 Dan Nugent ’72, father of Dan Nugent ’05; brother of Jim Nugent ’69+, Tony Nugent ’74, and Chris Nugent ’83; uncle of Jamie Nugent ’13, Anthony Nugent’15, Jeremy Nugent’18 and Conall Nugent ’20; brother-in-law of Bob McGovern ’69; cousin of John Magnier ’82 Don Mangione, father of Antonio Mangione ’03; father-in-law of John Cumming ’88; grandfather of John Cumming III ’18

Joseph Ortolani, grandfather of Joseph Crotty ’00 and Ned Crotty ’05; great grandfather of Jack Ross ’25 Ray Ramadhar, Buildings and Grounds Department staff member, husband of Anita Ramadhar, Abbey Infirmary Head Nurse Donna Lou Musselman Ritter, mother of Ian Musselman ’95 Andrew M. Pearson ’09, brother of Morgan C. Pearson ’11, John P. Pearson ’14 and Trevor S. Pearson ’14 Pat Traynor, mother of John Traynor ’79, Tom Traynor ’87 and Rich Traynor ’90; grandmother of Declan Traynor ’21 and Finn Traynor ’23 Matt Valvano ’76

Paul Muir, father of Paul Muir ’94 Carol Muir, mother of Paul Muir ’94

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Basketball

sport

SHORTS

By Jared Lowy

Green Wave Basketball, coached by Dan Whalen, experienced up and downs of a COVID-shortened season, finishing with an impressive 8-3 record and winning eight straight games to finish the season after a challenging 0-3 start. Players competed with intensity all season, experiencing multiple schedule changes and a two-week shutdown due to COVID. The Green Wave played hard each and every game, and it showed.

After tough early losses against Sparta, West Morris and Mendham, the Green Wave began an impressive run of eight-straight wins. The boys defeated Sparta and Roxbury before winning back-to-back games against rival Chatham. A close win over Pope John on February 24 set the boys up for their toughest game of the season, a home-game content against undefeated West Morris. In the closest game played this season, Delbarton defeated West Morris 5654 in Abbot Brian Clarke Gym, the biggest program win in many a season. The boys went on to win two more games against Newton and Randolph before COVID cut the season short.

Leading the team this season was Alex Paulius ‘21, who averaged a team best 14.7 points per game. Senior Rohin Bobba ‘21 was a threat from three this season, averaging 10.1 points per game, with many of his points coming from behind the arc.

Senior guard Gary Lewis ‘21 was the floor general, leading the Green Wave possessions especially in crunch time.

Delbarton Basketball also saw consistent contributions from Maximus Cresti ‘21, Skyler Venezia ‘22, Derek Lagios ‘22 and Charlie Smith’22.

Jim King

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Hockey

The Green Wave hockey team, coached

by Bruce Shatel, continues to rebuild and fought hard all season long, finishing with a 3-5-1 record and earning quality wins along the way.

The COVID-affected season began on January 21 with a home win over Chatham. Delbarton peppered the Chatham goalie all game long, sending 61 shots on goal in the win. Trip Pendy ‘24 scored two goals in the win and senior goal Brett Cleaves ‘21 made 12 saves to earn his first shutout

of the season. A COVID shutdown caused the team to take a two-week hiatus, and the boys returned ready to play. Delbarton came back strong, defeating previously #1 ranked CBA 3-2 at Jersey Shore Arena. Delbarton played hard all game long, getting goals from Nick Faccone ‘23, Kayetan Berezniak ‘22 and a game winning power-play goal from Pendy with 1:48 left in the game. Cleaves was solid in net once again in the upset win, making 22 saves in the victory.

sport

SHORTS

W I N T E R W AV E

After dropping a game against Seton Hall Prep, Delbarton won its third game of the year, 5-1 over St. Peter’s Prep, the final victory of the season for Delbarton. After a 3-3 tie vs. St. Joe’s Montvale, the Green Wave would drop its final three regular season games, and its season ended on February 25 in a 4-1 loss to Don Bosco Prep in the opening round of the Gordon Cup playoffs. The future looks bright for Coach Shatel and the Green Wave Hockey program with some young talent coming up the ranks.

Ron Benitz P’21, ’23

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Winter Track

sport

SHORTS

Delbarton Indoor Track and Field, coached by Andrew Sherwood, competed in a short two meet schedule this winter, but still made the most of their opportunity to run.

The season was considered a ‘Polar Bear’ season, rather than indoor track, since the meets were contested in outdoor conditions and on outdoor tracks. There was no team score, but nearly every team member logged personal bests in each of their races, setting the team up for a short turnaround to the spring track season.

Delbarton shone in the 1600m with first place finishes for sophomore Brian Boler ’23 whose time in the second Polar Bear race was the fastest run by a sophomore in New Jersey this year, ranking as the 15th overall time across all grades in the state. His brother, Collin Boler ‘23, placed 5th in a quick 4:34.05, the 7th fastest sophomore time in the state. In the 55m hurdle race, senior Ethan Cho ‘21 thoroughly impressed with a first-place time in the first Polar Bear race.

Congratulations to the boys on a successful winter season, as short as it was, and we look forward to seeing many of our young stars back on the track next winter.

Deborah McChesney P’21

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Bowling

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While this was not a normal season, coach Kacy Kane and Green Wave Bowling have held their heads high, and welcomed their sessions at the bowling alley each day. With a delayed start to the season and an unexpected 2-week break and snow cancellations, the boys still bowled 13 matches this season while facing some of the state’s top competition.

While the 2-11 record may not be what they hoped for, the team competed in some close matches, including two wins over Morristown High School.

Anthony Reale ‘23 and Rafael Muniz ‘21 were consistent bowlers this season for the Green Wave. Muniz bowled a season best 221 against Morristown on February 23, giving him a 600 series. Reale bowled his best game against Chatham with a high game of 225 for a 591 series. Delbarton lost to Chatham, #2 in the district, with a team high for the match 782.

Muniz ultimately earned second team, all-conference honors along with Reale, while Hayden Erikson ‘22 and Robbie Maffucci ‘23 earned honorable mentions.

Squash

Heather Muniz P’21

Despite COVID interruptions, the Varsity Squash team, coached by Craig Paris, managed to play four squash matches. With limited teams to compete against due to the ban on out-of-state travel, the Varsity team was able to play Pingry and Princeton Day School. Despite going 0-4, the boys played hard and improved throughout the season led by seniors Tripp Robinson ‘21, Chase Millar ‘21, Declan Maseker ‘21 and Jack Winant ‘21. Junior Christian Carbeau ‘22 played consistently and freshman newcomers Charlie Hepp ‘24 and Colin Pryma ‘24 played strong in the three and four spots for the Green Wave. Number one player junior Anand Majmudar ‘22 continued to display outstanding skills and was also selected US Squash Scholar Athlete this year.

Lisa Mita

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Swimming

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Eduard Moldoveanu P’22

The Delbarton Swim team, coached

by Pat Savidge, started its season unusually late but the timing did nothing to thwart our swimmers who finished with a 9-1 record and an NJAC Southern II Division title. In another COVID pivot, many of the meets took place during designated practice sessions where the competing schools ran official races and reported the times to decide the winning team.

With no tournament this season, our athletes swam 10 matches, earning big wins over Morristown, Parsippany

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Hills, Mendham, Madison, West Morris, Parsippany, Hanover Park and Morristown Beard. The team dropped a close meet 92-78 against St. Peter’s Prep but came back strong the next week, narrowly defeating a previously undefeated Chatham team 86-84 in the final meet of the season. With Delbarton trailing 8076, Delbarton needed a first-place finish with their “A” relay and either second or third with the “B” relay.

Delbarton finished first and third, giving the Green Wave a narrow twopoint victory over Chatham.

Leading the Green Wave this season were Cal commit Jack Alexy ’21, Rob Alexy ‘23, Mike Fialcowitz ’24 and Ethan Low ‘21. Jack Alexy earned First Team All-State honors and first team all-conference honors for the 50-yard freestyle while the Medley relay and 400m free relay teams earned first team-all conference honors. Jack’s younger brother Rob earned first team all-conference for the 200m freestyle. Fialcowitz earned second team, all-conference for the 500 freestyle and the 200 free relay team earned second team allconference honors as well.

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W I N T E R W AV E

The Delbarton Ski team (16-2), coached by Kevin Malkin, had quite the season in Vernon, NJ this winter, winning the Slalom and Giant Slalom State Titles and finishing the season with a Race of Champions NJAC North Championship.

After second place finishes in the slalom race 1 and 2, the Green Wave earned 1st place at Slalom 3. The season was then put on hold as cancellations due to weather and COVID resulted in many one-to-twoweek-long breaks. After nearly a month off the slopes, our skiers returned for the Slalom and Giant Slalom States, earning first place overall in both events. The team of Thomas Johnson ‘21, Evan Dolan ‘22, Louis Friedrich ‘24 and Ryan Johnson ‘22 anchored Delbarton to victory, defeating second place Pingry by just over three seconds.

Individually, Thomas Johnson led Delbarton’s skiers with a 5th place overall time of 1:12.35.

Dolan earned 8th and Friedrich was right behind him in 9th place overall.

At the Slalom States on February 15, Delbarton took home first place honors as well, winning by 16

seconds over the second-place school and over 29 seconds overall.

The Delbarton Ski team capped off its season at the Race of Champions.

The Green Wave once again came out victorious, taking home the 2021 NJAC North Ski Racing Championship. Delbarton earned first place overall in the North

division, defeating #2 Vernon and #3 Morristown Beard en route to an NJAC title. Thomas Johnson, Dolan and Friedrich each earned First Team, North Division post-season honors. Congratulations to Green Wave Ski on its historic title-winning ski season.

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Heather Muniz P’21

Skiing

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Wrestling

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Chris Toohey

Delbarton Wrestling, coached by Bryan Stoll, entered the season with high expectations, despite the unconventional March opening of the season. Traditionally a winter sport, the Green Wave did not launch its season until March 16 due to a shift in winter sports due to COVID protocols.

Green Wave wrestlers did not skip a beat, going undefeated 7-0 during the regular season while staying true to its #1 ranking by NJ.com. The team earned big wins over Mt. Olive, West Morris, Mendham, Montville, Pope John and Don Bosco. Its biggest win of the season came on April 1 when Delbarton defeated

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public school powerhouse Kingsway 29-24.

Delbarton opened with an early lead against Kingsway with major decision wins by Nico Nardone ’21, Joe Davi ’23 and Simon Ruiz ’23.

Kingsway fought back but wins by Nick Olivieri ‘22 and PJ Casale’22 gave Delbarton a one-point lead before Thomas Fischer ’21 won a 15-5 major decision at 120lbs, giving Delbarton a lead that the team would not relinquish. Cross Wasilewski ’23 finished up the match with a 1-0 win, giving Delbarton a 29-24 win over Kingsway.

At the District 2 North tournament, Delbarton sent 11 wrestlers to Union High School and all eleven qualified for the NJ State Tournament. Over the two-day tournament, Delbarton had seven first place finishers along with a second (Louis Cerchio ’24), third (Thomas Fischer ’21) and two fourth place finishers (Joe Davi ’23 and Nick Olivieri ’22). Taking first place were Daniel Jones ‘24 (106lbs), Tyler Vazquez ’23 (120lbs), Cross Wasilewski (126lbs), Nico Nardone ’22 (132lbs), Simon Ruiz ‘23 (145lbs), Andy Troczynski ‘22 (152lbs) and Colin Calvetti ‘22 (170lbs).

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Delbarton Wrestling Produces Two State Champions Over the weekend of April 24-25, Delbarton Wrestling sent 11 wrestlers to the NJ State Wrestling Championships in Phillipsburg, NJ. By the end of the weekend, two Green Wave wrestlers came out on top, winning the 106lb and 152lb division.

For Daniel Jones ’24, it was a very up and down season for the freshman.

Having never wrestled for the Green Wave, Jones was excited to join the #1 ranked Green Wave this season.

Unfortunately, due to COVID contact tracing, Jones missed half of his freshman season. Leading up to the Regional tournament, Jones only wrestled three times, losing his first ever high school match. Not deterred, he remained in shape, practicing at home and with his club team. Jones went on to win at Regions, earning a #4 ranking at the state tournament.

In the State tournament, Jones opened the first round and quarter finals with 5-0 and 6-0 decisions before a showdown with #1 seed Nico Calello of St. Joe’s. Tied 2-2, neither wrestler got a takedown or escape in rideouts in sudden victory, so the match went to ultimate tiebreaker. Jones was able to ride out Calello to win the match and advance to the final. In his first ever state championship match, Jones faced a familiar foe whom he had wrestled in club meets before, winning by 10-0 major decision.

“After the final whistle, I felt great,” says Jones. “All the hard work and the training paid off.”

When day one was finally finished, Jones left the gym for the final time this season, and immediately sought what he’d been yearning for all season…a Chic-Fil-A meal!

For Andrew Troczynski ’22, this season was all about getting rid of the feeling of defeat from last year’s 8-5 loss in the state final. Troczynski returned this season as a man on a mission, and on April 25, that mission was achieved.

Andy had an outstanding season for the Green Wave despite a thumb injury he sustained early on. At Regions, Troczynski proved his #1 ranking, winning three of his four matches by pin, including a pin at 1:22 in the final against Cole Carroll of Seton Hall Prep. At the state tournament, Troczynski, the #2 seed, opened with pins in the first and

quarterfinal round, before taking on a familiar foe in Nathaniel Camiscioli of Bergen Catholic. Andy held on for a 3-2 win, sending him to the final against Matt Hoelke. In an interesting twist, both Troczynski and Hoelke met for the first time while training together afew weeks prior in South Jersey, and faced each other in the final for the first time. Troczynski took an early lead, and finished his season with an 8-5 decision over Hoelke, earning Troczynski his first state title. “It was an awesome feeling right off the bat,” said Troczynski. “I was full of emotion, but 20 minutes later, I realized that the pain of losing is much worse than the thrill of winning. The losing stays with you much longer. I’m happy to come out on the winning side this year!”

After a long second day of wrestling, Andy sat down to a nice Sunday dinner of chicken parm and pasta!

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10th Annual Run It Out 5K

On April 25, Delbarton launched the 10th Annual Run it Out 5K (Run to Remember Brian) in a new hybrid format with on-site and virtual participants. Over 150 people showed up at Morris County Central Park while 92 people participated virtually, all across the country, including Chicago, California and even one participant, Sloan Kulper '99, in China. The race was a great success, and raised $30,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in memory of Delbarton Athletic Director Brian Fleury P’19.

Congratulations to the winners, Ricky Lenz ’17, a virtual runner in Washington DC, and Molly Parker, an on-site runner from Bedminster, NJ.

The Hunt family, Taylor ’22, Stephen Hunt P’22,’24 and Ryan ’24, made Run It Out a family affair.

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Run It Out 5K male winner Ricky Lenz,’17, a Georgetown student, was a virtual participant who shared screenshots of his progress via a running app.

Our RIO 5K female winner was Molly Parker, an on-site runner from Bedminster, NJ.

The Alumni Association Chicago Chapter fielded a virtual group of RIO runners including, from left, Kevin Robinson ’01, John Rossellini ’03, Tucker McDermott ’93, Tim McAnally ’99 and John Glynn ’90..

Delbarton Class of 2019 alumni at Notre Dame participated virtually. From left are Kevin Gilfillan ’19, Eddie Walsh ’9, Tommy Catapano ’19, J.P. Nolan ’19, Andrew Coffey ’19, Will Collins ’10 and Brendan McEnroe ’19.

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NCAA Letter Signings

In another 2020 curve ball, our in-person National Signing Day in December was converted to a Virtual Delbarton day due to an impending snow storm. Luckily, our boys don't settle and, from the comfort of their homes, four Green Wave Football team members signed their NCAA Letters of Intent to play collegiate football next fall.

The four Class of 2021 athletes and their colleges of choice are: Cole Freeman – Northwestern University Elijah Hills – State University of New York - Albany (SUNY) Jake Jarmolowich – College of the Holy Cross Patrick Ryan – Georgetown University Congratulations to these four Green Wave Football athletes on their outstanding achievements.

All American PJ Casale in World Wrestling Cadet Nationals

PJ Casale ’22 participated in the United World Wrestling (UWW) Cadet Nationals, a qualifying event to represent team USA at International Events, on April 24 and 25 in Wisconsin Dells, WI. Due to a schedule conflict with the NJ State Wrestling Championships, it was a tough decision to give up the opportunity to defend his state title, but PJ wanted to step outside his comfort zone and challenge himself on the mat in a larger arena. This event is a freestyle and Greco Roman style of wrestling, which is a different from the folkstyle wrestled in high school. Having to cut weight for the first time ever, PJ went from 92KG (202.8 lbs) and had to make hard weight all three days of competition.

Casale finished as an All-American in both styles, making the finals in freestyle.

Although he came up a little short of his ultimate goal, PJ was the overall winner between Freestyle and Greco-Roman and will represent Team USA at the UWW Cadet Pan-American Championships in Mexico City, on June 9-13. Says Casale, “I’m really excited to be representing the greatest country in the world, and although I will be wearing the team USA gear everywhere I go, I make sure people know I’m representing the Green Wave too.” Congratulations to PJ on this wonderful achievement and Go Team USA!

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Alumni News The COVID pandemic continued to impact our ability to host in-person alumni events during winter and spring, 2021 so it was time to get creative with outdoor paddle reunions, and virtual events using Zoom and other platforms…

Three Alumni Paddle Reunions On December 6, thirty-two alumni from across the decades met for the Fourth Annual Platform Tennis Reunion, hosted this year at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, NJ. Congratulations to tourney winners Jose Rionda ‘84 and Matt Schillings ‘07. Bob Farrell ’64, Alumni Association reunions organizer, assisted in putting together the event.

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Alumni News

We decided to add several more paddle events this winter since they were among the few permissible pandemic-friendly social events. On February 9, a sellout group of 25 players gathered for our second Alumni Paddle event at Canoe Brook CC in Summit, NJ, a great opportunity to get outside, compete and socialize on the courts. The event was hosted by Mike Curi ’88 and Jerome Antenen ’96.

The third and final Alumni Paddle event of the 2020-21 season took place at Springbrook Country Club on Sunday night, March 21 when two dozen alumni players participated. Ted Lawless ‘03 served as our host at Springbrook.

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Alumni News

DAP Alumni Networking Events On January 7, students and alumni converged online for an conversation during an Alumni Networking event via Zoom sponsored by the Delbarton Diversity Among Peers (DAP) group. DAP also invited alumni of color back on campus in February to speak with current students during Black History Month. See Making Waves for more.

Class Notes: 1962 Walter McDonough just completed his 8th year of substitute teaching in The Collier County School System and says, "Not bad for a retired banker!"

Commercial Real Estate Zoom Call 2001 On January 13, Dan Miggins ’08 (pictured here), Bryan Donohoe ’96, Robert Verrone P’19, Tom Traynor ’87 and Alumni Association President Chris Bury ’91 hosted an interesting Zoom conversation about commercial real estate during the COVID pandemic.

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Grant Hewit and his wife Clara welcomed their daughter Willa Hewit into the world on March 17, 2021.

Dan Tyrrell married to Erin Ward on October 1, 2016. On April 3, 2021 they welcomed their daughter Riley Elise Tyrrell.

Alumni News

Alumni Reps Meet Online 60-plus Delbarton Alumni Class Reps met online for the January 26 Alumni Reps Zoom call where we heard live reports from Headmaster Fr. Michael Tidd and Admissions Director David Donovan. During the meeting, Dan Miggins ‘08 received the Joseph R. McDonough ‘68 Award in acknowledgment of his leadership and initiative this year.

NYC Reception in a Virtual Garden On February 18, in yet another COVID adjustment after our annual NYC Reception at New York Athletic Club was cancelled, Delbarton alumni met in a virtual Formal Garden on gather.com, an entertaining online platform that allowed us to turn our traditional Manhattan meet-up into a global event.

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Alumni News

Rev. Giles Hayes ’56 Shooting Classic

This year’s High Team was the foursome of Carl Badenhausen ’78, Bob Courtemanche ’76, P’01,’05, Greg Ackerson and Jack Snyder who came hungry for the win. George Parsells P’17 took home the High Shot award for the highest score with a 92.

Trevor Jones, Peter Cocoziello Jr. ’02, Dan Cocoziello ’04 and Peter Cocoziello Sr. P’02,’04,’05.

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On May 4, alumni met at Hudson Farm Club in Sparta, NJ for the 2021 Abbot Giles P. Hayes ’56 Shooting Classic. The sell-out event was augmented with an Audubon Society guided hike through the beautiful Hudson Farm property followed by dinner at the Club. This annual event in memory of Abbot Giles raises funds for the Delbarton School Endowment Fund.

Alumni

David Hickey P’18, Patrick Ramsey ’86, P’18, Peter Lazor ’87, P’24,’25, Dean of Admissions Dr. David Donovan and Hudson Farm’s Les Carpenter.

Warren Estey P’24, Sarah Gore P’26 and Jeff Paguirigan P’24.

Dr. David Donovan, Dean of Admissions and Director of Financial Aid, spoke to dinner guests about the direct benefits of Shooting Classic proceeds that support the Delbarton financial aid program.

Hudson Farms’ new Crow’s Nest and firepit were popular with Delbarton Shooting Classic guests.

From left, Headmaster Fr. Michael Tidd, OSB, who set off the traditional opening cannon, with John Traynor ’79 and Alumni Association President Chris Bury ’91, P’19, ’20, ’23.

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Alumni News

Green Wave Athletics Panel Discussion On April 27, three dozen alumni joined Delbarton coaches online for a Green Wave Athletics Panel Discussion. During the Zoom call they heard from coaches Brian Bowers (football), David Donovan (soccer), Matt Kovachik (lacrosse), Pat Savidge (swimming), Andrew Sherwood, (track), Bryan Stoll (wrestling) and Athletic Director Dan Whalen (basketball) about the challenges of running the dynamic Green Wave sports program during the COVID pandemic.

The Wedding Album

On April 24, Charles Orzetti ’10 and Diana Baker were married in Harwich, MA at a service officiated by Headmaster Fr. Michael Tidd with the reception at Wequassett Resort and Golf Club. From left are Tom Pesce ’10, Andrew DeRenzi ’10, Charles Orzetti ’10, Fr. Michael and Connor Feeley ’12.

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The Wedding Album

Mark Snyder ’08 and Erica Bertuzzi were married at the Park Savoy Estate in Florham Park, NJ on September 5, 2020. COVID mandates reduced the guest list, but a great group of Mark’s classmates was present.

Pictured here from left are Matt Campbell ’08, Jon Mattern ’08, Mark and Erica Snyder, Tim McHale ’08, Matt VanOrden ’08, Tim Soulas ’08 and Mike Eschmann ’08.

(Missing from photo: Mike Passaro ’08)

John Ferramosca ’05 and Angela Licciardello were married on May 8, 2021 in the Conservatory at The Madison Hotel with many Delbarton alumni present. From left are EJ DaCosta ’10, Andrew DeLaney ’05, Pat Hulsy ’95, Paul Butler ’05, Christopher Hayes ’05, John Ferramosca ’05, Angela Ferramosca, Craig Paris ’82, Ryan Walsh ’05, Michael Somerville ’90, Andrew Hall ’15, Andres Callejas ’05, Patrick Torney ’05, Andy Grabis ’95 and Joe Ferraro ’95.

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Alumni News

Why I Give Bernie D’Andrea ’57

I

n 1964, after graduating from Fordham University in 1961 where he served as Student Council President, Bernie D’Andrea ’57 married the love of his life, his wife Kathleen, and the couple has been blessed with four children and eleven grandchildren.

Bernie is the Director and Chairman of the Elite Beverage International Corporation and recently selected as Top Professional of the Year in Hospitality by the international Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP). From 1977 to 1985, he worked with investment and insurance companies

on Wall Street, and in 1998, received both the Businessman of the Year Award and the Wharton School of Business Award for the best business plan for a family run business.

In 1950, he arrived at Delbarton as a seventh grader, a decision influenced by his parents’ relationship with Fr. Stephen Findlay and his family from the Oranges. “Because of that respect for Fr. Stephen, my parents decided to entrust my education to him.” Bernie threw himself into life at Delbarton and participated football and swimming, student government, glee club and many clubs. He also wrote articles for the Courier.

Bernie recalls a much simpler campus that included Old Main, a dorm house (known as the Brothers House), the Abbey, a chem lab in the woods, and a working dairy farm. “Old Main was our center of life. We ate, slept and went to classes there. We boarders were only 99 guys who knew everyone in the school by name.”

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Alumni News He has witnessed the many campus improvements since then. “Now there are first rate sports facilities. We used the boiler room to change in and had one locker room to share. To say the new campus is a dream come to life is an understatement.”

He credits the monks of St. Mary’s Abbey for their impact on his life, and appreciates his Delbarton education as building a foundation that lasts until today. Football Coach Bill Regan was a major influence, pushing Bernie to go the extra mile and be the best he could be and says, “It was a privilege to be part of his programs.”

D’Andrea has many fond memories of Delbarton life and his classmates and teammates. “We are still to this day a family

and very close to those of us who are still alive. We lost some good men but they are still remembered.” He donates to the School each year to acknowledge what Delbarton gave to him. “To me, it is supporting my family and helping others to experience what I had.

If they embrace it the way I did, young men will benefit from an education that remains with them forever.”

To his fellow alumni thinking of supporting Delbarton financially, he says, “You could not make a better investment. The school has an educated so many men who have made such great contributions to others in all walks of life.

They all make a difference to benefit this world.”

Photos courtesy of Delbarton Archives

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Making Waves Jack Schaeffer ’18 Wins Brown University Venture Prize Each year, Brown University sponsors an entrepreneurial competition for the Brown Venture Prize, a program and competition that identifies and supports student startups at Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design that have the potential to create ‘impact at scale’.

This year, the pharmaceutical redistribution company MediCircle co-founded by Delbarton alumnus Jack Schaeffer ’18 was the big winner, claiming the $25,000 first place prize, and mentorship and networking opportunities. Virtual event viewers also voted MediCircle the fan favorite.

Eight finalists were selected for the pitch night, an event that attracted more than 500 registrants. Founded by Schaeffer and fellow Brown junior Eliza Sternlicht, MediCircle repurposes unused cancer medication to address healthcare disparities by collecting leftover oral chemotherapeutics pills. MediCircle ensures medical quality, then redistributes the drugs to those in need.

“Patients need our medication since cancer costs are

ENS Austin Westfield 17 Receives Oath of Office from LCDR Mark Van Orden ’06 Austin Westfield graduated magna cum laude from the University of Maine, Orono, on May 8, 2021, with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He also graduated with high honors from the University of Maine Honors College. On the same date, he received his commission as an officer in the United States Navy. ENS Westfield has been accepted into the Naval Aviation community and will be starting flight school in Pensacola, FL later this year.

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often unaffordable,” said Schaeffer during his pitch. “Forty-six percent of all American cancer patients are forced to make difficult decisions between life-saving medication and everyday essentials, and this makes sense when the average cost of cancer care is $150,000.”

MediCircle’s model allows patients to return unused medication to pharmacies that donate the drugs to MediCircle while earning tax credits. Schaeffer said the company’s lower-cost model will allow MediCircle to sell the medications to insurance companies for lower prices, while still being able to scale effectively and run profitably. Medical redistribution is legal in 39 states, and legislation is currently in progress to make it legal in the remaining U.S. states. Schaeffer estimates the company has a total addressable market of roughly $51 billion. MediCircle plans to use its Brown Venture Prize winnings to help pay for a pilot program that will ultimately redistribute needed medication to charitable clinics.

The Delbarton community salutes Jack Schaeffer ’18 and co-founder Eliza Sternlicht on their award-winning entrepreneurial pharmaceutical redistribution concept.

Delbarton Alumnus Among First to be Vaccinated In mid-December, Dr. Mark Conroy ’98, an emergency medicine physician and medical director of the Ohio State University Hospital emergency department, was one of the first in Ohio to receive the vaccine and his photo appeared in a New York Times story about the vaccine rollout.

The Delbarton community commends Dr. Conroy and other Delbarton frontline workers for their hard work and many sacrifices during the pandemic.

Keeping it Light During a Pandemic Kevin Hubschmann ’09 (pictured here), founder of Laugh.Events, and Jake McIntrye ’09, owner of WineKey, teamed up over the 2020 holiday season to promote their collaboration Virtual Wine Tasting paired with Laughter. What’s better than two Delbarton Alumni partnering together...let's make it three!

Michael Somerville’ 90 worked with Kevin and Laugh.Events as one of the platform’s featured comedians who performed stand-up comedy after the virtual wine tasting.

Alumnus Donates Toys to Goryeb Children’s Hospital On December 18, Alumnus Joe Albarelli ’01 and his company Amloid delivered a truckload of toys at Morristown Medical Center Goryeb Children’s Hospital. He was joined by fellow Delbarton alums including, from left, Assistant Headmaster for Advancement Craig Paris ’82, Alumni Association President Chris Bury ’91, Joe Albarelli ’01, Tom Graziano ’97 and Reade Seigmann ’04. Amloid is also remarkably generous to the School’s Gift Drive each year. We thank Amloid and the Albarelli family for their generosity, both to Delbarton and to Goryeb Children’s Hospital.

Brendan Brown ’88 Answers Ten Questions DelbartonAthletics.com periodically features a series of ten question interviews with current student athletes and, occasionally, an alumnus. On March 23, in a new 10 Questions article, Knicks Radio Analyst Brendan Brown ’88 spoke about his love of Delbarton, his game play-byplay preparation, and his favorite cities. Access his 10 Questions interview online at delbartonathletics.org.

West Point Cadet Teryon Lowery ’15 Returns to Delbarton On February 26, West Point cadet Teryon Lowery ’15 returned to share his experiences with his younger brothers at Delbarton. Motivated by his desire to serve, Teryon moved from US Army enlisted soldier/nurse to the physical, academic and military challenges at West Point.

History Department Chair John Thompson later said, “The boys were particularly fascinated by his journey to being in the service. Teryon freely admitted that this was not part of any original master plan but that now he had found a true calling.”

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Making Waves

Oscar James ’99 Speaks in Freshman English Classes

In February, Oscar James ’99 helped Delbarton celebrate Black History Month by speaking in six Delbarton freshman English classes about his experiences with brotherhood at Delbarton, and his years studying at Peck School and Villanova. In 2006, James was elected Newark City Councilman, becoming the youngest elected official in the city’s 170-year history. Currently a licensed broker for a commercial real estate firm, next year he plans to run for elective office in Newark.

Chuck Smith ’63 Speaks Virtually to Senior Leadership Class

Jordan Hubbard ’17 is Guest Speaker in Senior Psychology Class On February 10, in Rick Cimino’s Psychology class, Jordan Hubbard ’17 spoke to Delbarton seniors about his experiences and aspirations. Jordan is in his final year at Drew University where he majors in Psychology. The event was part of a DAP initiative to bring more grads of color back to Delbarton. Hubbard returns to Delbarton during the 2021-2022 school year as one of three Alumni Teaching Fellows.

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On February 18, Chuck Ruebling 79, P’10’s Leadership class, which is a required course for Delbarton seniors, heard from Chuck Smith ’63 who spoke about his leadership style. Reputedly the first black student (Jamaican heritage) at Delbarton, Chuck emphasized how warmly he was welcomed at the School. He spoke to the caliber of the education, the intellect of the faculty (mostly monks in the 1960s), the leadership of Fr. Stephen Findlay and the influence that Coach Bill Regan had on him as an athlete and young man. His love and gratitude for Delbarton was evident in his class presentation, and Ruebling was grateful to him for taking the time to share his guidance with members of the Class of 2021

Myles Tintle

Two Delbarton Alumni Drafted in 2021 Premier Lacrosse League On April 26, two Delbarton alumni were drafted in the first two rounds of the 2021 Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) draft. With the 7th overall pick in the first round, the defending champion Whipsnakes selected Connor Kirst ’15 who currently plays for Rutgers University. Kirst is only the second ever Rutgers men’s lacrosse player to be a first round pick. He joins fellow Delbarton alum TJ Comizio ’15 on the Whipsnakes roster next season. In the second

John Strosacker

round, Jack Kielty ’16 was drafted 9th overall by the Canons. Kielty has been a lockdown defender this season for Notre Dame and one of just 25 men’s players to be named Tewaaraton Nominees this season. With the addition of Kielty and Kirst, Delbarton Lacrosse now has four alums currently playing in the PLL, including Ned Crotty ’05 playing for Chrome LC.

Photo courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics

Vanderbilt’s Jack Leiter ’19 Pitches No Hitter On March 20, Delbarton alumnus and Vanderbilt Baseball recruit Jack Leiter ’19 pitched the University’s first regular season no-hitter since 1971, defeating South Carolina 5-0. Leiter had an almost perfect game, walking his first batter of the game, and shutting down the Gamecocks for the rest of the game, setting down 27 straight South Carolina hitters. Leiter also struck out a career-high 16 batters in the game. Leiter has been one of the top performing pitchers in NCAA Division I baseball this season, and is predicted to be a high draft pick in the MLB draft this summer.

Anthony Volpe ’19 Makes Tampa Tarpons Debut On May 4, Anthony Volpe ’19 opened the 2021 season with the Tampa Tarpons, the Low-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. Volpe, the Yankees first-round pick in 2019, began his first season with the Tarpons leading-off and playing shortstop. In his first five games, Volpe hit .318 with four doubles, a triple, seven runs batted in and four stolen bases. We wish him the best of luck this season as he begins his quest to play in the Bronx one day!

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Delbarton

Yesterday

By Kent Manno, Delbarton Archivist

Delbarton Archives:

A Look into the Past is article reintroduces ‘Delbarton Yesterday’ to Delbarton Today. Until his death in 2018, former Delbarton Archivist Fr. Benet Caffrey was a reliable source of interesting articles and photos. Now, the role of Delbarton Archivist is assumed by longtime faculty member Kent Manno who intends to continue Fr. Benet’s tradition. an institution’s archivist is charged with the job of caring for and promoting its archival collection. is responsibility includes the acquisition, organization, cataloging, processing, care and accessibility of institutional archives.

form of educational opportunities in the archives and to outside researchers as a means of promoting the academic and historical reputation of the School.

anks to the opening in april 2021 of St. benedict Hall, which includes a dedicated archives hub in the building’s lower level, the Delbarton School archives will once again become an integral part of our school community.

Our Archives are the institutional memory of Delbarton School.

e mission of the Delbarton archives is to appraise, collect, organize, describe, preserve and make available Schoolrelated records of permanent administrative, legal, fiscal and historical value in order to support the School’s educational mission. is support is provided to the administration and faculty, to other support departments within the School, to students in the

as part of its overall mission, the archives will continue to serve an extended community. alumni maintain old ties and build new ones with the School through ready access to the materials which document their connections. e archives refresh their knowledge about the history and mission of a place perceived by many as a significant factor in their development. e archives are also important as a constant resource, relatively unchanging in the midst of constant change, that are accessible to anyone with the desire to affirm their memories.

In the quest to capture our institutional history, we rely on textual accounts, and visual and material artifacts. Clearly, institutional details can be too mundane to describe in words. Fortunately, photographs can capture otherwise lost information of our ‘visual culture’ for future generations. e abundance of historical visual data is limited only by the amount of data a human archivist can manually process.

It is my intention that the Delbarton archives will continue to add value to our community by increasing our understanding and appreciation of our past. Delbarton has some great stories to share!

Photos courtesy of Delbarton Archives

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Delbarton TODAY

DELBARTON Yesterday

“Our archives are treasure troves - a testament to many lives lived and the complexity of the way we move forward. ey contain clues to the real concerns of day-to-day life that bring the past alive.”

- Sara Sheridan

today

DELBARTON

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