With the new school year just around the corner, sixteen (mostly) new faces have gathered at Prep this week, for orientation as the newest members of our faculty and staff. Some began work over the summer, and others might be familiar already to some in the Prep community. Please join us in welcoming them to Grand & Warren!
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Left to right, front row:
Back row, with Mr. Jim DeAngelo, '85, Principal:
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Prep Football has arrived in Ireland, where they will kick off the 2016 season vs. Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Georgia), as part of the American Football Showcase in Dublin. If you don't think you'll be making the trip across the pond in time for kickoff, though, don't fret: the showcase organizers are providing a live video stream! Game time is 9 a.m. Eastern on Friday, September 2. Please note that the stream requires you to log in and pay a fee, so if you plan to watch, be sure to get those steps out of the way in advance, so you don't miss any of the action!
The streaming service requires a $9.95 fee to watch the game. When you create your account you will be given the option to direct a part of this fee to support Saint Peter's Prep. If you choose to do so, please know that your support is appreciated.
The Prep community reminds us that we are "Prep for Life." So many Prep alumni have been blessed with good health, professional success, and above all, the love and support of family, friends, and colleagues. Unfortunately, struggles are a part of life, and ill health, the loss of a loved one, addiction, and other issues can make us feel isolated. That's why the Alumni Spirituality Committee would like to use our talents and gifts to be of service to fellow Prep alumni in need.
Tentatively, the committee plans to have members available on the first Tuesday of each month to provide professional and personal support to fellow alumni in need. These would include a doctor or nurse, a social worker, a lawyer, a professional counselor, a financial planner, and other members of the spirituality committee ready to see how we can help. All meetings will be confidential. We would meet at Prep or another designated place in the evening at about 6:30.
We hope in this way to continue our mission of Prep for Life and cura personalis or care of the person. Pope Francis asks us to enter the ups and downs of the lives of people, and we hope to answer this call. If you would like to volunteer, or are in need of a helping hand, please contact Fr. Azzarto, S.J., Alumni Chaplain, at AzzartoA@spprep.org or 201-547-6412.
On Sunday, September 25, the Alumni Spirituality Committee will host an Alumni Family Picnic on campus. Bring the whole family, and join us for Mass at 11 a.m., followed by a picnic lunch in the courtyard!
For more information, please contact Fr. Tony Azzarto, S.J. at 201-547-6412 or AzzartoA@spprep.org
From the very beginning of Jesuit education, in Messina, Sicily, in 1458, Jesuit schools throughout the world have begun each academic year by asking the blessings of the Holy Spirit for the many challenges and experiences that lie ahead. Prep continued this tradition on Thursday, as the school community came together for the first time in the new school year, to celebrate the Mass of the Holy Spirit.
The Mass also provided an opportunity to pause and remember the late Jeff Hoens, '17. Jeff's parents, Karym and Thomas Hoens, brought his rugby and hockey jerseys to the altar along with the gifts of bread and wine during Mass, in his memory.
As always, various members of the Prep community received blessings as they embark upon new roles and journeys, including the Class of 2020, several transfer students, the Student Council members, the new members of Prep's faculty and staff, the Campus Ministry Team members, and this year's student and adult Eucharistic Ministers.
A live video stream of the Mass of the Holy Spirit, produced by the Prep TV Studio, can be found below:
Have you or someone you know ever considered a Jesuit vocation? Watch and listen as Jesuits in formation share how Christ has captured their hearts and how they pray, live in community, and serve uniquely Jesuit missions with zeal. Learn more at BeAJesuit.org
The Journey to a Great Life from Jesuit Vocations East on Vimeo.
Registration is open for Jesuit Friends and Alumni Sunday, an opportunity for alumni and friends of Jesuit schools to share our common bonds through the celebration of liturgy, followed by a reception highlighting opportunities for continuing spiritual growth and service to the local and global community. Masses will be celebrated at churches up and down the East Coast – including Saint Aedan's in Jersey City, and Loyola and Xavier parishes in Manhattan – ready to welcome you.
The first Prep Class Chairs meeting of the year will take place on Wednesday, September 28, at 6:30 pm in the Hammer Heritage Room. If you're a Class Chair, or are interested in becoming a Class Chair, be sure to join us. Each Class Chair will take home a truly classy Class Chairman beach chair as a token of our thanks!
Class chairs serve as a representatives of their class in the planning and promotion of alumni events, reunions, and fundraisers. Along with that, each chair also supports the nurturing of their class’ network by sharing classmates’ significant life events and with moderating their class’ social networking groups.
Each class can have one chair, or multiple chairs, but we'd love to see each class of alumni have at least one. We want YOU to feel free to represent Saint Peter’s Prep to your classmates! We encourage you to come to our meeting, learn more about what we do, hear about our upcoming events, and receive your very own Class Chairs Chair!
If you have any questions or want to sign up as a Class Chair, please contact Kate Lillis-Magnus, Director of Annual Giving LlillisK@spprep.org) or Mike Murcia, '08, Director of Alumni Relations (MurciaM@spprep.org).
After a three-month summer break, Prep on the Road kicks off its fourth season, as we gather in Weehawken on Saturday, September 24. Join our hosts, Sarah and Jack Raslowsky, '79, for Mass, light refreshments, and fellowship with the Prep community in your community! Mass will begin at 6 p.m. Prep's former principal, now the president of Xavier High School, looks forward to welcoming the Prep community!
The address is 31 Bonn Place in Weehawken.
For more information, please contact Fr. Azzarto at AzzartoA@spprep.org or 201-547-6412.
Prep's annual Spanish Exchange is underway for the third time, as 15 students and two teachers from Col-legi Sant Ignasi in Barcelona arrived in the U.S. last weekend. The group have been attending classes on campus since Monday, while being hosted by their Prep partners' families. They will be with us through next Friday, September 30.
Off-campus events thus far have included a visit to the One World Observatory at the World Trade Center, and excursions to the Statue of Liberty and the American Museum of Natural History are still to come. The Prep students will pay a return visit to Barcelona in the spring.
Six Prep seniors have been named Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship Program for 2017, based on their performance on the PSAT/NMSQT during junior year. Only about 50,000 students – the top 3% of the approximately 1.5 million students who participate in the National Merit program each year – attain Commended Student status or better.
Please join us in congratulating the following members of the Class of 2017 for achieving this honor:
The Class of 1966 returned to Prep last weekend to celebrate 50 years as Prep alumni. Reunion weekend events included campus tours, a happy hour at Greene Hook, a tailgate and Prep Football game at Caven Point, and a Saturday evening Mass and dinner back on campus.
Special thanks to class chairs Lou Castelli, '66 and Jim Ryan, '66 for their assistance in organizing this gathering, half a century in the making! View the full photo gallery from Friday and Saturday evening here. Photos from Saturday's football game are coming soon.
Registration is now open for the 2016 PPA Fashion Show: Express Yourself, coming to Mayfair Farms on Sunday, November 13! Get your table together, and get ready for a day packed with fun and fashion! Click here for online registration, or visit spprep.org/FashionShow for full details!
Following is a message from Prep's princpal, Mr. Jim DeAngelo, '85, regarding the impact of this morning's accident at Hoboken Terminal on travel to and from Prep. Please note that Prep will follow an Assembly-1 bell schedule on Friday, September 30, with classes beginning at 9:55 am.
Dear Prep Parents and Guardians,
As we keep the safety of all present in Hoboken Terminal this morning in our prayers, and express gratitude for the brave work of the first responders, we can report that all Prep students were accounted for within one hour of this morning’s accident.
With the suspension of NJ Transit, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, and PATH service to/from Hoboken, many students will find their usual mode of transportation disrupted.
For this afternoon and evening, students and families are encouraged to consult the websites of NJ Transit and PATH to find alternate routes home. Students may also wait in O’Keefe Commons this afternoon until travel plans are secured.
We provide the following overviews as suggestions; please consult transit websites and personnel in stations for specific information, as the situation continues to evolve.
To reach stations on Montclair-Boonton or Morristown lines (including the Gladstone Branch):
To reach stations on the Pascack Valley or Main/Bergen lines:
On Friday, September 30, 2016, Prep will follow an Assembly-1 bell schedule to allow additional time for students and staff to arrive. Period 1 will begin at 9:55am. Later today, we will share a Google doc with all students to facilitate carpooling for Friday’s travel to and from Prep.
We will reevaluate the situation over the weekend regarding Monday’s commute. Sunday’s Open House will proceed as scheduled from 1:00-4:00pm.
Any further updates will be posted to the Prep website, www.spprep.org.
Sincerely,
James C. DeAngelo
Principal
Prep dedicated its first all-new building in more than half a century during a ceremony last Thursday evening, and by Friday afternoon, the first students were already making good use of the William O. Perkins III, '86 Athletic Center. The 15,000 square-foot facility, named for lead project benefactor and Prep Football alumnus Bill "Guy" Perkins, '86, stands alongside Keenan Field, and will serve the needs of the numerous Prep athletic teams that make use of the field.
Click here to browse the photo gallery
Features of the Perkins Center include an expansive weight room, video and conference facilities, offices for coaches, locker and shower facilities, and a third-floor practice space that will be used by wrestling in the winter and baseball in the spring, when batting cages will take the place of the mats. Construction began in January, following a ceremonial groundbreaking, and progressed rapidly throughout 2016.
During the month of November, we remember those who have gone before us in faith. They remind us of the love that connects us with one another, and the bonds that connect us with God. Saint Peter’s Prep will celebrate the bonds that hold us all together in Jesus our Lord, beginning with the Mass of Remembrance on Sunday, November 6, the first Sunday after the Feast of All Souls.
We hope you can join us, but even if you cannot, we will keep your intentions in our prayers. Please use the form below to list your intentions, and we will remember them at Mass throughout November.
Just two weeks after kicking off a new season, Prep on the Road is back in action, crossing the mighty Hackensack River as we roll into Rutherford. Join our hosts, Joan Marie and Gerry Bellotti, P'88, this Saturday for Mass, fellowship, and light refreshments, starting at 5 p.m.
The address is 253 Carmita Avenue in Rutherford. For more information, please contact Fr. Azzarto at azzartoa@spprep.org or 201-547-6412.
Kakuyon Mataeh, '19 was selected to receive a Governor Brendan Byrne Scholarship, through the Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children, in conjunction with the Smith Infectious Diseases Foundation. Each year, the program recognizes two students for their work in writing essays about infectious disease.
Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors attending Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of Newark are invited to participate each year, with the award recipients being honored at the Smith Foundation's Legends of Medicine dinner in the fall. Kakuyon follows in the footsteps of another Byrne Scholar from Prep – last year's winner was Alec Kelly, '15.
Prep's annual Activities Fair took place Thursday morning, during community period. This annual celebration of the variety of clubs that enrich student life at Grand & Warren is also a great opportunity for students – especially freshmen – to get involved. From Model U.N. to Wild (an outdoor adventure club), from the Petrean celebrating 95 years of Prep's yearbook to the brand-new Ping Pong Club, there was something on offer for everyone!
In all, students and moderators representing 34 clubs and activities manned the tables and collected sign-ups from new members throughout the period.
 | Each year, Prep's Thanksgiving Food Drive provides the school community with the opportunity to share our blessings with the broader Jersey City community, by collecting non-perishable food items for distribution through the Prep Food Pantry. This year, we will join the four Jesuit high schools of New York City in The Great Ignatian Challenge, a friendly competition designed to make the impact of each school's food drive even greater. |
Inspired by the existing Thanksgiving food drive efforts at the area's Jesuit schools – including Prep, as well as Fordham Prep, Loyola, Regis, and Xavier – an anonymous donor has challenged the schools to work together to see which school can collect the most food items per student, with the ultimate goal of increasing the total collection. The donor has pledged up to $250,000 for tuition assistance to the five participating schools, to be divided among the schools based on the amount of food collected per student.
Prep's goal is to collect a minimum of five cans per student between now and November 18. Cans are being collected in math classes this year, in order to give students multiple opportunities per week to drop off their donations. Each class has been assigned a category of food items to collect.
Click here to learn more about the Great Ignatian Challenge (pdf)