Marching Forward, Looking Back

Senior Aldrin Wilson talks to sixth graders about his McQuaid journey in the Wegman Center atrium.

Marching Forward, Looking Back By Adam Baber

One weekend last March stands out in my mind. It began on a Friday evening, when our varsity football team opened its long-awaited season with a steadfast defensive stand in the second half to defeat Aquinas. The following afternoon, I sat in the sun on Carriero Commons to watch a streamed performance of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown," our feel-good spring musical. That evening, I had the privilege of delivering dinner to a group of families who had gathered to view our virtual BASH event and celebrate our school community. The next morning, we welcomed many of our seniors and their fathers to campus for Mass, food trucks, and to watch Loyola Chicago take on Illinois in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

Gee, I remember thinking (after six months of pandemic school), this feels almost normal. (Certainly defeating Aquinas in football is starting to feel normal.)

In the Fall 2020 issue of the Cauldron, we noted that McQuaid stood as one of very few schools in the area to offer students in-person learning five days a week while also enabling students to opt into full-time remote learning at any time. The path of the pandemic in those months remained unknown, especially with winter looming. However, since September we have maintained this offer while weathering the ebb and flow of COVID-19 cases, contact tracing, testing, and countless inconveniences and interruptions.

It has been challenging for teachers to adjust to a new schedule with longer periods; to modify assessments and lesson plans; to work with remote learners; and to administer student health screenings each morning. These are just a few of the reasons that I am grateful every day for my colleagues' perseverance and creativity. We were fortunate that our investments in educational technology, including introducing our first-ever online learning management system and issuing students their own iPads, were already in place, particularly since at any point during the school year, between 40 and 100 Knights were learning from home.

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The football team retained the McQuaid/Aquinas Challenge Trophy for a second straight year after defeating the Lil Irish in March during the "Fall II" season.

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The following are some reflections on what the year has been like, in the students' and teachers' own words.

Sixth grader Talin Parks knew that adjusting to a new school and its high expectations would be challenging even in a "normal" year, but the pandemic created even more hurdles. Nonetheless, "Comparing myself to other kids who are currently in a hybrid model, [I think] it has been easier to come five days a week," he says." "The absence of in-school learning truly took a piece out of my high school friendships, so it was great to return to ‘modified' school and reconnect with my classmates in the fall," says junior Elliott Aguirre. "I hope that in my senior year, we as a community can return to normalcy. No more masks, no more two per table lunches, and no more COVID-19."

Sophomore Collin Petruzzelli, who transferred to McQuaid this year from his local public school, says, "The education here is on a completely different level. All of my teachers made classes interesting even though we couldn't do as many hands-on activities. I was a little intimidated about how I would fit in socially and meet new people, especially with everyone wearing masks and social distancing. But I soon learned that the brotherhood here is truly remarkable."

Freshman John Harding says, "After experiencing distance learning last fall I've come to better appreciate how the traditional way of school helps you, because you are in the classroom every day and you spend much more time with your classmates."

Freshman Fritz Jeff missed "not being able to hang out with friends in close proximity, not having homeroom, and not having lunch in the cafeteria and at our normal times." Sophomore Ramon Gibson says, "This year has taught me how to manage my time better when it comes to schoolwork while still taking care of my mental and physical health."

Learning from home worked for senior Nicholas Schaeffer, who found it easier "to stay energetic and helped with understanding material. I could stand up and move around if I needed to think, I could take notes online, and I could rapidly look up auxiliary sources to help with understanding."

Junior Rohan Vyas said, "The online infrastructure was robust and there were frequent check-ins by teachers to make sure that I was on the right track." Rohan is especially grateful that McQuaid extended co-curricular activities to remote learners. Rohan and several friends even managed to start a new club this year, the Indian Interest Club.

Even during a pandemic, junior Rohan Vyas and several classmates were able to start an Indian Interest Club and have in-person meetings. Sixth-grader James Malvaso works on a science experiment at his desk.

As the school year nears its end, some degree of reflection is appropriate. English teacher Tracey Bors remembers having to purge her room of everything that was non-essential to maximize room for students and ensure desks were spread six feet apart.

"It really made me question: What is essential?" she recalls. "What am I holding on to that I no longer need? This physical practice led to a mental one. How do I make more room for my boys in my class? Their ideas, their expression, their passions. Making room, and knowing that every moment that we have shared together over the last seven months in that room has been grace, has defined this year for me."

The cast of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" performed in front of a limited audience in March.

The Shows Must Go On

By Jeff Siuda

The 2019-20 school year was shaping up to be a banner year for the McQuaid Jesuit drama program. The fall production, Ken Ludwig's hilarious comedy, "Shakespeare in Hollywood," had been a rousing success, and, come March, anticipation was building for the spring musical, the beloved "My Fair Lady." Then, everything changed. As rumors of a potent new "flu-like" virus began to spread, small gatherings of people were first discouraged and then banned. Soon, that number of individuals allowed to congregate as groups changed to 50 people or fewer, followed quickly by the cancellation of all after-school activities, including the final two performances of "My Fair Lady." Ultimately, the McQuaid Jesuit campus shut down and distance-learning-protocols began. COVID-19 had indeed arrived.

When the 2020-21 school year began and the decision was made to return to in-person classes, questions abounded, none more prominent in my mind than — would the McQuaid drama program be able to produce live theatre in the age of masks and social distancing? And if so, what would these productions even look like? What was immediately clear was that neither the adults nor the students involved in the program were willing to go down without a fight, that a year without productions was quite simply an untenable proposition. After all, according to senior Sammy Goodwin, who appeared in both of this year's shows, moving forward in some fashion "gives that feeling of constancy, and it's something that allows for a light in the darkness and something to hold on to." Fortunately, the McQuaid administration agreed, and the team got to work.

First up was the fall play. After quickly realizing that the title I had originally chosen, "Peter and Starcatcher," a light-hearted adventure with a large cast and stuffed with sword fights and physical comedy, would never work under COVID-19 restrictions, I instead turned to the Tony-award-winning comedy, "Art." Its small cast of three characters, all male, made it an ideal choice, and even with the decision to double-cast the show so that six students, along with a minimal stage crew, could be involved with the production, the health and safety of everyone involved could still be easily managed.

Auditions were held, parts cast, and rehearsals begun — but one question still loomed large: Would the show be staged in front of a live audience? Unfortunately, as early September quickly turned into late October and infection rates throughout Monroe County held steady, it became readily apparent that a live performance would be an impossibility. At that point, the show's technical director and fine arts teacher, Kevin Karnisky, and I decided that the show would be filmed for online release. We recruited 2013 alumnus Steve DiFiore to help record the production. Now, instead of a live audience, the actors, both miked and masked, would be performing to a camera, and all the students involved, both backstage and on, received a crash course in the art of filmmaking. (Continued on page 12)

From left: Owen Denker, '21; Gabriel Cote, '21; and Trevor Patel, '24 were one of two casts who performed the fall play, "Art."

With only a three-person cast, "Art" was a logical choice to ensure proper social distancing was maintained.

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A similar recalibration occurred for the spring musical. Realizing that her original plan to stage the recent Broadway smash, "Something Rotten," could not come to fruition, retired faculty member Pamela Stoffel, who remains as a director also quickly pivoted to another title, the much smaller musical, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown," a show that she came to realize was actually perfect for our current world of quarantines and lockdowns. "If anybody's like me," Pam states, "I'm tired of being confined...This show seemed like it was built for this situation...I mean, the final song is titled, ‘Happiness.'" Appropriateness aside, the task was still a daunting one: everything from singing to choreography to the number and positioning of the musicians in the orchestra had to be viewed through the lens of health and safety. Once again, the actors would be masked, this time wearing special "singer masks" that allowed them to still project while singing, and the show would be filmed and released online. Fortunately, due to falling COVID-19 rates in March, small audiences of family and friends were invited to the tapings, providing the performers a source of energy and encouragement that was missing in the fall. In addition, the show was recorded using three cameras instead of one, allowing Steve and his crew of student cameramen to capture the more panoramic feel that a musical requires.

Overall, I believe I speak for everyone involved in the McQuaid Jesuit drama program, adults and students alike, in saying how proud I am of the way we rose to the challenges this year has presented to us and the work that we produced. And while we are all certainly eager to return to the magic of live theatre, we will never forget the lessons learned along the way, especially, in the words of Kevin, in regards to the resiliency of the students: "What I've learned is that the kids' love for doing productions has surpassed all of what we had to do to make it happen...They wanted to be here and they were willing to make it all work in spite of what we had to do…That's a great feeling."

A great feeling, indeed, perhaps…happiness.

In addition to McQuaid students, students from Our Lady of Mercy joined the cast for the spring production of, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."

Three Seasons, Four Sports:

How pandemic gave Nick Wood, '21 the chance to excel all year long

As last summer came to a close and fall approached, McQuaid's student-athletes anxiously awaited decisions from New York State, Monroe County, and Section V regarding competition. Would all sports be allowed? Would some? Would any? Little by little, decisions were made and crew, cross-country, and soccer moved forward with delayed starts and abbreviated seasons. Football and volleyball had an abbreviated "Fall II" season, which began March 1, 2021 and wrapped up at the end of April. The decision to postpone football and play an abbreviated season offered senior Nick Wood a rare opportunity. As a junior, Nick had traded shin guards for shoulder pads, joining the varsity football team as a placekicker and punter after two years of playing junior varsity soccer.

Now that they were in different seasons, he could play both. Additionally, Nick, a gifted runner who also competes in indoor and outdoor track during the winter and spring seasons, now had the opportunity to become a four-sport athlete. So Nick happily rejoined his soccer teammates as the backup goalie.

"Sports have always been a big part of my life," says Nick, who has played a sport every season since arriving at McQuaid as a freshman. "I couldn't see myself going a season without playing something competitively."

Nick spent the fall practicing and competing with the soccer team while also attending football conditioning sessions three times a week. He acknowledges that the overlap of the abbreviated seasons presented some challenges, but found that the benefits outweighed the cons. Even with practices consuming five afternoons each week, Nick still served on the 2020-21 Executive Council and completed his Capstone project, which was spearheading McQuaid's participation in the Great Ignatian Challenge, a friendly food drive competition among nine Jesuit schools to fill local food banks, pantries, and community centers with much-needed provisions.

"I have lost some time that could be spent doing other things," he says of participating in four sports. "But being part of multiple teams and making lasting connections with more of my classmates was well worth the sacrifices." Of the sports Nick competed in this year, he says indoor track was affected the most. Teams didn't run on actual tracks, but on indoor turf; and, as a result, some times were relatively slow compared to prior years. In addition, some of Nick's events, such as the long jump, were not allowed. And while Sectionals were almost canceled, they did end up taking place and the Knights repeated as champions. Nick played a major role in the team's win, winning the individual title in the 55-meter hurdles.

Another anomaly has been playing football in the spring, which Nick equates to a reversed fall season.

"Instead of dealing with the cold at the end of the season, we had to deal with it early on," he says. This included 50 mph winds and sideways snow during the team's first practice March 1. Once football wraps up, Nick will complete his four-sport year on the outdoor track, where he and his teammates will look to defend their 2019 Sectional title.

Photo courtesy of Norm Strehle

Photo courtesy of Tina MacIntyre Yee Democrat & Chronicle

Members of McQuaid's Social Justice Clubs visited the Susan B. Anthony House earlier this year to learn more about her life and legacy as a champion for women's rights.

Positive Steps:

becoming a more welcoming community

by Christian Verghese, S.J., '11

"Racism remains pervasive. It is not out there but part of me. There are conversations that I need to have and, more importantly, listening that I need to do."

These words are from Fr. Phil Judge's homily during last September's Mass of the Holy Spirit – a Mass that inaugurated his term as president and set the tone for the upcoming school year at McQuaid Jesuit. Fr. Judge identified three areas of focus for the school community: COVID-19, environmental justice, and racial justice, with the last item being perhaps the most contentious and pressing in the greater Rochester area. What's required most on the school's behalf, as Fr. Judge said, is listening and respectful dialogue.

In that vein, over the past eight months, members of the McQuaid community have initiated both constructive dialogue and concrete steps to address issues of race, diversity, equity, & inclusion (DEI).

First, a steering committee of moderators of McQuaid's four social justice clubs – Black Student Union (BSU), He For She, Mosaic, and Pride Alliance – were formed to respond to equity and inclusion needs of students and faculty and to ensure that all members of the McQuaid community feel valued, supported, and inspired.

The BSU and Mosaic Clubs provide "safe spaces" for students and have worked to foster change in a variety of ways. The BSU brings together students concerned about the issues that affect Black students in our community and focuses on how to uplift the entire community through education and building empathy. The Mosaic Club is based on the principle of inclusion and encourages the community to see how differences in one another enhance all of our lives.

To celebrate Black History Month, the Mosaic Club hosted "Listen to McQuaid Jesuit Community's Dreams for the Future," during which students shared their dreams for and watched clips of Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Later that month, the BSU hosted Chyna Moorehead, youth director at M.K. Gandhi Institute, who spoke about King's nonviolence theory and restorative justice circles for our students. Students and faculty both participated in weekly Black history trivia, and the BSU sold wristbands and raised over $1000 for the Boys & Girls Club of Rochester.

In December, the He For She Club hosted a Gender Equity Panel in conjunction with Mercy High School's Girl Up Club, and more recently celebrated Women's History Month with trivia and a women's supply drive. Pride Alliance is in its inaugural year and has been hosting roundtable-style meetings to discuss a range of topics including the correct use of pronouns and other language, safe spaces, and more. Members from all social justice clubs recently had the opportunity to visit the Susan B. Anthony House. They learned about her life as a social justice advocate and were left inspired with her words "Failure is impossible!"

Mission and Ministry set its March Lenten theme, "Open Wide Our Hearts," adopted from the Bishops' Pastoral Letter on Race in America.

Each week during Lent, administrators, staff, and teachers offered Sunday Gospel reflections integrating the themes of self-reflection, conversion, and racism and its effects on our personal and communal life. Teachers shared videos of these reflections to begin first-period classes each Monday during Lent.

The "Open Wide Our Hearts" document also inspired the school's 2021 Ignatian Study Day. The presenter and facilitator for the day was Dr. Donna Andrade, dean of Mission and Ministry at Fairfield College Preparatory School and recent appointee to the newly formed Commission on the Roles & Responsibilities of Women in the Society of Jesus. Dr. Andrade led faculty and staff in professional development to help engage the community in reflection on the barriers and challenges to the mission of this Jesuit school, especially racial injustices.

Last among the recent major initiatives of DEI work was selecting Shane Wiegand as the 2021 Xavier Day keynote speaker in March. Wiegand, a fourth-grade teacher in the Rush-Henrietta School District, discussed the history of segregation and racist policy in Greater Rochester. Due to COVID-19 concerns, Wiegand presented to an audience of class officers and Social Justice Club members in the auditorium while being broadcast to every classroom on YouTube. After sharing his research on this topic, Wiegand left students with a moving and challenging quotation from American novelist James Baldwin: "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." Indeed, racial justice is one issue that has been and must be faced by the community head on.

Shane showed the McQuaid community the very meaning of Fr. Judge's words from his September homily. Racism is not something outside of us, but instead is deeply embedded in our economic structures, our social interactions, and our internal dispositions. Responding to racism moves McQuaid toward becoming more reconciled, more unified, and more welcoming for every member of the community. These positive steps forward in racial justice efforts are at the heart of a Catholic and Jesuit school's mission – forming men who are loving, religious, intellectually competent, open to growth, and committed to justice.

Freshman Corinthian Reed shared his dreams at January's "Dreams for the Future." event hosted by the Mosaic Club.

To celebrate the diversity of cultures in our Catholic tradition and to honor Saint Ignatius' vision to set the world on fire and Saint Francis Xavier, patron saint of the missions, the Mission and Ministry Office recently acquired contemporary Catholic artwork to celebrate the great diversity of God among us. Below are some of the pieces now displayed throughout the school.

Top left: A painting by New York artist Janet McKenzie titled "The Holy Family."

Top right: A depiction St. Benedict the Black, also known as Benedict the Moor, is the patron saint of African missions and of persons of African descent.

Bottom left: "Mother of the Streets" painted by Br. Robert Lentz, OFM, depicts the Mother of God as the mother of those on the streets. Her garments, and those of her Son, are covered with jewels and gold decoration, making manifest the hidden worth and dignity of street people, who are living icons of God.