Monthly Archives: February 2018

Belles Swim Team Has Strong Showing at State

Competing against some of Arkansas’ best high school swimmers, the Belles finished 11th overall at the 7A/6A Swimming State Championship on Saturday, February 24.

 

Four swimmers from the Belles swim team qualified as a group to compete in the state tournament in the Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay and the Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay. Evelyn Nick ’18, Kate Goldtrap ’21, Olivia Chambers ’21 and Victoria Chan ’21 finished 10th in the 400 free relay with a time of time of 4:11 and 12th in the 200 free relay with a time of time of 1:54.

 

Freshman Kate Goldtrap finished sixth in the state in the 200 Yard Individual Medley with a time of 2:21. Olivia, Kate and Victoria qualified to swim in individual events in the Girls 200 Yard Freestyle, 500 Yard Freestyle, 100 Yard Breaststroke and the 200 Yard Individual Medley.

 

Congratulations to our Belles!

 

 

 

 

MSM Odyssey of the Mind Team Advances to State Competition

The MSM Odyssey of the Mind team is headed to the state competition after a first-place win at the regional tournament on  Saturday, February 24, at Martin Luther King Elementary.  They will advance to the state tournament held April 7, 2018, at George Junior High School in Springdale.

 

Odyssey of the Mind (OM) is an international problem-solving competition designed for pre-school through college-age students. Unlike Quiz Bowl or other like competitions, OM has a creative interpretation element and an interpretive solution to a multi-stage long-term problem.  This year’s problem, called “Mockumentary! Seriously?” requires teams to create a mockumentary-style performance of a piece of classic literature.

 

Since 1999, the Mount St. Mary Odyssey of the Mind teams regularly have been awarded first or second place in regional and state competitions.  The Regional OM competitions lead to state competitions, which lead to national and then the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals.

 
We wish these girls the best as they move on in their OM journey to the state competition!

(Pictured left to right):  Bianca ’18, Isabella ’20, Breanna ’18, Emily ’19, MaryClaire ’18, Abby ’19, Meredith ’18
Not pictured: Audrey ’20 (manager)

 

 

Lenten Reflection with MSM Campus Ministry Invites All

We hope you will join us for an evening of reflection and discussion led by our current students, the members of Liturgy Team. The Mount St. Mary Academy Liturgy Team is comprised of a select group of 11th and 12th grade students of any faith denomination. Their role is to help build a Christ-centered community of faith within the school.

 

Lenten Evening of Reflection
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
MSM Hospitality Room

 

5:30 p.m.   Light supper

6:00 – 7:00 p.m.    Lenten Reflection

 

Cost: $10.00  (There is a small $10 charge to help offset expenses)

 

This year’s Lenten theme is “Faith can move MOUNTains.”  Friday, March 2 is the last day to register: https://tinyurl.com/ydc9hdpu

 

 

 

 

 

2018 Alumnae Career Day celebrates its 4th year

Career Day 2018 welcomed 45 alumnae of the school to visit with our current students about their professional expertise and career paths. Students attended up to two sessions, where they were invited to hear from and ask questions of panels from a variety of different fields, including health care, arts, business, education, finance, law, information technology, and engineering. Careers and ministry in nonprofit, public service and religious life offered additional insight into life choices to help people through service.

 

Thank you to all of our “Mount girls” who volunteered as 2018 panel speakers, traveling from as far away as California and conducting the IT session via Skype. Many of the alumnae shared the same sentiment: Mount St. Mary taught them to give back and they wanted to give back to their alma mater and its current students.

 

Mount St. Mary Career Day is held each February as a collaborative effort of the Counselors and Alumnae Office. Career Day is one way that Mount St. Mary Academy encourages students to explore their interests and passions as an extension of their academic program and in the process better understand themselves, their community and the world.

 

 

 

Six MSM students chosen for All-State Choir

On February 17, six students from Mount St. Mary Academy attended the 2018 Arkansas American Choral Directors Association All-State Clinic in Hot Springs. The students — Lexi Caruthers, Clara Cordell, Anna Kate Manchester, Regan Moss, Leah Paige, and Carol Stover — represented Arkansas’ top vocal performers as part of the All-State Choir.

 

The students spent two days in intense rehearsals with singers from across the state, directed by prestigious choir directors from around the country. On Saturday they performed an incredible concert to showcase the music they learned.

 

“This is such an amazing accomplishment for these girls and a highly rewarding experience for all of their hard work,” said MSM Choral Director Chelsea Frazier.  “It means they are the best of the best in the state!”

 

The Concert Belles will perform at the Choral Performance Assessment later this month. Under the direction of Ms. Frazier, the vocal ensemble has received superior ratings at both the regional and state level for three consecutive years. In 2017 the Concert Belles earned two Best In Class awards — Best Medium Female Chorus and Best Medium Chorus Overall.

 

 

 

 

MSM National Merit Finalist Announced

Mount St. Mary Academy is proud to announce that senior Katie Strickland has been named a National Merit Finalist in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Competition. Katie is among 15,000 high school seniors nationwide who has met all the requirements to advance to Finalist standing and continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships.

 

More than 1.6 million students nationwide entered the Merit Program as juniors by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. High scorers were designated as Semifinalists in the fall by scoring in the top one percent among students taking the PSAT.

 

Congratulations, Katie!
#mustbeamountgirl

 

 

 

2018 Homecoming and Founders Week Celebrations

Mount St. Mary Academy celebrated Founders Week during the first week of February. The week marks 167 years since the school’s founding Sisters of Mercy opened the school on February 5, 1851, at the request of Arkansas’ first Catholic Bishop.

 

Leading up to Founders Week, the school’s Homecoming basketball game took place at the Catholic High School gymnasium, where the Belles played the Central High School Tigers. MSM basketball team member Lona Ceccherini was crowned 2018 Homecoming Queen as the Mount St. Mary Homecoming Court was announced before the game began.

 

On Tuesday, February 6, the student body gathered in the McAuley Center for the Mount St. Mary Academy Founders Day and Sophomore Pin Mass. As students entered the gymnasium, the Angelus Bell rang out 167 times in honor of the school’s 167-year history. The bell was given to the Sisters by Bishop Andrew Byrne at the school’s first location in downtown Little Rock. As part of the Founders Day Mass, the 10th graders in the Class of 2020 received their Mercy pins, which serve as reminders to the sophomores to live the Mercy values in their everyday lives.

 

Founders Week 2018 ended with a new celebration for parents, alumnae and friends of the school. The first-ever Belles Birthday Bingo was held Friday, February 9, in the McAuley Center gymnasium. Parent volunteers served up grilled hot dogs, a chili bar and birthday cake before the bingo games began. Two fifty/fifty “split the pot” games rewarded two lucky winners, alumnae Debbie Wright Harris ’75 and Marilyn Lenggenhager ’73, and proceeds from the event benefited the Belles Booster Club, which supports student programs and activities at Mount St. Mary.

 

Fore more photos from these events, click the Flickr albums below.

 

Belles Birthday Bingo 2018Founders Day 2018MSM Homecoming 2018

 

 

 

 

MSM Chapel Sees Renovation, Restoration

This year during Catholic Schools Week, January 28-February 3, Mount St. Mary Academy held a special dedication for the newly renovated school chapel. Those involved say the generosity of donors and volunteers made it all possible.

 

“We started work at the end of last school year, and we had the help of so many talented people,” said Mount St. Mary Academy President Karen Flake. “With insight from from alumna Elaine Kelly Green ’04, artist Kevin Kresse, and school administration, we began to see a vision for a lighter, brighter school chapel, full of inspiration for our students.”

 

The Mount St. Mary Academy Chapel, first built in 1982 when the 1908 school building was razed, offers students a place to sit and pray, meditate and host visiting speakers for theology classes. Mass is held in the chapel twice a week by MSM Chaplain Monsignor Lawrence Frederick.

 

While the beautiful stained glass from the original convent provided a calming and spiritual backdrop for these activities, much of the room was in need of updates. The renovation included replacement of the wall coverings as well as new seating, drop-ceiling and carpet to lighten the appearance and remove allergens.

 

A beautiful, back-lit crucifix depicting Jesus at the Resurrection was crafted by local artist Kevin Kresse and gifted to the school in memory of Rev. Monsignor Bernard G. Malone by his nephew and former Mount St. Mary Chaplain, Monsignor Francis I. Malone and the Joseph V. Malone, Sr., family of Philadelphia. Kresse is a Catholic High School alumnus with several sisters who graduated from Mount St. Mary Academy. Monsignor Malone received an early assignment at Mount St. Mary as a young priest and has remained involved with the school, now serving on the Mount St. Mary Academy Board of Directors.

 

In order to inspire on campus the spiritual presence of the Sisters of Mercy who founded the school, several items from the Mount St. Mary Convent Chapel were relocated to the school chapel as well. Mount St. Mary Campus Ministry Director LouAnn Gieringer shared how MSM students will now be able to observe the Stations of the Cross with the addition of 14 wooden stations from the Sisters. Other items from the chapel included a marble holy water font and a framed copy of the St. Pudenziana painting of “Mary Mother of Mercy” from one of the oldest churches in Rome. A letter dated July of 1890 explained the original painting had been blessed and a reproduction commissioned by Pope Leo XIII, who had given it to the Sisters of Mercy as a sign of deep appreciation for the work of their entire congregation.

 

At the dedication ceremony on January 31, President Flake thanked the donors present, and MSM Chaplain Monsignor Lawrence Frederick gave a special blessing for the chapel. The renovation was made possible by gifts from Nabholz Charitable Foundation; Libby and Lee Hastings, Michelle and Stan Hastings, and Cathy (Hastings ’76) and Steve Owen in honor of Rosalyn Jones Hastings ’48; the Mount St. Mary Class of 2016; and an anonymous donor.

 

With the joyful dedication of the renewed chapel, all in the school community are encouraged to visit this chapel in prayer to rededicate their life, work and efforts to the Lord and shine Christ’s Light to the world.