January 17, 2012

Dear Parents, Students, Alumni, and Friends of the Mount, 

Over the last several months of his life, Brother James had several conversations with me about “succession planning,” or as Brother sometimes referred to it “what to do when I’m dead and gone.”  These were always frank talks, and his only goal was to do what was best for the Mount and for our students.  With Brother’s guidance the Board of Directors embarked on a path of transition that would lead to a directed search for a candidate to become our President, a candidate who could build successfully on the legacy Brother left us.  Brother wanted to be sure that we would remain true to our Xaverian and our Catholic roots.

Once the candidate was identified, the Board created a Succession Committee to help in the process of questioning the candidate.  He was then put in touch with five of our students and one alumnus from 2011.   The Board then spent an entire meeting with our candidate, assessing his candidacy.  On January 11^th, our candidate came to school, and he spent the day meeting with all of the faculty and staff, followed by meetings with some alumni and some parents.  Following those sessions, the Board met with the Succession Committee to receive final input prior to a full Board vote.  

I am happy to announce that the Board of Directors of Mount Saint Joseph has appointed George E. Andrews, Jr. as the President of Mount Saint Joseph for a three year term, beginning July 1, 2012.  George is no stranger to the Mount community, as he taught here from 1987 to 1998 in the Social Studies Department.  During that time he also served as Admissions Director and Assistant Principal, Director of Staff Formation.  For the last fourteen years George has served as the Principal of York Catholic High School in York, P.A., where, according to one alumnus of York Catholic, his “outstanding leadership was a major factor in the continuing success and viability of the school.” 

George is a graduate of the Xaverian Brothers’ school in Leonardtown, MD, St. Mary’s Ryken High School (Ryken HS at the time of his graduation).  He has maintained contact with the Brothers over the years, even serving on the Board at his alma mater when Brother James was the chair of that Board.  George and his wife, Mary Kate, have two children, Catherine, 16, and Michael, 14, both of whom attend York Catholic.  I am certain that a part of George’s heart will always be with York Catholic.   As he serves at the Mount as President and at York Catholic as a proud parent, I can assure you that he will devote every ounce of his energy to building on the legacy Brother James has left us to “take good care of the boys.”  Please join me in welcoming George back to the Mount and join me in praying for him, his family, and the community at York Catholic as he makes this transition.

Sincerely,

Barry J. Fitzpatrick
Principal

On the morning of December 3, 2011 at sunrise, around 6:55 AM, Brother James Kelly, CFX, our president, died peacefully in his home surrounded by his sister, Pat, and his Xaverian Brothers, Brother Lawrence Harvey, Brother Arthur Caliman, Brother Thomas Ryan, Brother George Donnelly, Brother Daniel Lynch, and Brother John Mahoney.  He died, as he wished to, on the feast of Saint Francis Xavier, the patron of the Congregation of the Xaverian Brothers.  The loss for his family, for the Brothers, and for Mount Saint Joseph is not measurable.  As one of our own said recently, he is one of those rare individuals that cannot be replaced, and we shall not try to do so.  What we shall try to do, with every fiber of our being, is to honor the legacy he has left us at his Mount, and we shall try to march on, as he would say, in the face of this loss.  He was my friend for over forty years, and I know him well enough to know that he would not want us to wallow in deep sadness but to resurrect in great joy at what we might accomplish if only we trust in God’s divine Providence.  That we shall do together, holding one another up, praying now TO Brother for our Mount community, for his Brothers, and for his family, especially his dear sister, Pat.

We need to call on him, as the psalm we have been praying asks, knowing he will come to us, arms full of wisdom and light, opening up our blocked paths, untangling our knots, and serving as our avenue to God.  With him we will surely find our way.

I am reminded of the words of the hymn we sang at school on Thursday, which Brother heard us sing via Skype, “You are Mine,” and I can imagine his loving Father, saying these very words to him as He welcomed Brother home:

                Do not be afraid, I am with you

                I have called you each by name

                Come and follow me

                I will bring you home

                I love you and you are Mine.

Home indeed!  May Brother rest in peace.

Peace,

Barry Fitzpatrick
Principal

Come out this Saturday at 1 p.m. to see the Mount Saint Joseph baseball team compete against Gilman in the President's Cup championship game at Camden Yards!

Admission and parking are FREE!! Fans should park in Lots B/C and enter the stadium through Home Plate Plaza (on Russell St nearest M&T Bank Stadium). The lower seating bowl is open between the bases. All of the same rules regarding what you can and can’t bring into the ballpark apply.

For those who can’t make it, the game will be broadcasting on WBAL.com and Orioles.com. The game is also available to anyone who has the WBAL app on their smart phone.

For more information, click here.

Mount Saint Joseph will conduct a basketball camp on May 4th, 5th, and 6th. The camp is for boys ages 10 through 15. The camp emphasizes fundamentals and skill development. For more information and registration information, please call Coach Pat Clatchey at 410-788-3441.

Cancer Awareness Week is next week! In an effort to increase awareness and to demonstrate the Mount’s ability to rally for this worthy cause, MSJ SOCKS FOR THE CURE will be sold by the school store until February 29th. MSJ SOCKS FOR THE CURE was created to show support of a Mt. St. Joseph student/lacrosse player whose mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Socks are available in a five different color options and can be purchased by clicking here.

Science teachers Greg McDivitt '86 and Jason Ader '03 are featured in an article by The Catholic Review about current teachers and their mentors. 

Thank you to both of these alumni for representing Mount Saint Joseph and our corporate culture so well!

To view the article, click here.

Congratulations to the Varsity basketball team who won over #2 Saint Frances on Friday night! Not only was it a a great effort by the team, but it was also Coach Pat Clatchey's 450th win. 

Click here to view a full recap from The Baltimore Sun.

Congratulations to basketball coach Pat Clatchey who was profiled this week in the Baltimore Sun's first 'Coachspeak' of the winter season!

Click here to view the article.

Gavin Floyd '01 and his wife Leann donate $21,000 to help a college student replace his prosthetic legs.

Click <a href="http://www.msjnet.edu/cf_news/forward.cfm?dest=http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baltimore-sports-blog/bal-sportsblitz-mount-st-josephs-gavin-floyd-and-his-kind-donation-20111129,0,1643824.story">here</a> to view the story.

Sunday, Mount Saint Joseph President Brother James Kelly, C.F.X. received the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal during a ceremony at the Cathedral of Mary our Queen.

The Catholic Review published an article summarizing the event, which can be found by clicking here.

Additionally, below are a few photos from the day.

Congratulations again, Brother James!

The Mount Saint Joseph C++ classes that entered as “Team MSJ” in MIT’s Zero Gravity Programming contest has advanced to the semifinals.

The contest asks competitors to program satellites to run in zero gravity and race other teams to orbit and mine ore on other planets in a simulated environment.

The top 8 teams get to go to MIT and test their code on a “gas floor” which simulates zero gravity. The top team gets to have their code uploaded to the International Space station.

Mount Saint Joseph is the only Catholic school in Maryland accepted into the Challenge and were ranked 59th after the first round. 

After the second round, we moved up to 43rd place and now qualify for the semifinals (which is only open to the top 54 teams).

Congratulations to all the C++ programming students for their hard work to this point. Good luck with the rest of the contest!

The Summit, sponsored by the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS), allows youth teams the opportunity to meet with federal and state leaders, learn about distracted driving and preventive efforts, then create an action plan to address this issue from a youth perspective.

Teams will work to develop a national action plan to host similar summits in their own states.  Activities will take place throughout the school year and culminate in May during National Youth Traffic Safety Month.

To view footage from the event (courtesy of ABC 2 News), click the video below or view it on the ABC 2 News site here.