November 2011

Dates to Remember

Friday, November 4  

 End of First Quarter  

  

Monday & Tuesday

November 7th and 8th   

Vision and Hearing Testing

for Seventh Graders     

 
Thursday, November 10   
Report Cards Mailed

Thursday, November 10 
Middle School Dance 
7-10 P.M. 
 
Friday, November 11
Veteran's Day
No Classes
 
Thursday, November 17
 Faculty Meeting Schedule
School Starts at 9:00 A.M.
 
Wednesday, November 23  
Start of Thanksgiving Break
No Classes

Monday, November 28
Scoliosis Screening
for Seventh & Eighth Graders 

Wednesday, November 30 
Eighth Grade Presentation
by Special Agents from the F.B.I.
 _________

Higgins Armory Museum

by Joseph Scannell '17

Joseph Scannell 

Recently, the seventh grade went on a field trip to Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester.  The reason for this visit was to learn about the history of knighthood and their armor.  The visit started off with a presentation. During the presentation a few students were asked to go up on stage for a demonstration. The first example the presenter showed us was the strength of a material called chainmail. Chain was used by the early knights for armor. The presenter placed a sheet of chainmail over Finn Gunderson's hand. The presenter then grabbed a sword and began sawing away at Finn's hand, and amazingly there wasn't a scratch on Finn's hand. The presenter also used an axe on the chainmail to show the strength of the armor.

Mr. Carey with students at the Higgins

Next, he explained the different armors and their weights. The battle armor was about 30-45 additional pounds on a knight, the dress armor was 55-75 pounds, and the jousting armor is 80-100 pounds. The heavier the weight of each piece of armor, the more protection it provided the knight.  The presenter also explained the different styles and types of helmets. After the presentation, we were split up into several groups and went on a tour to see other interesting things in the museum. The tour guide talked about how jousting took place and how it got safer for the knights over time. I liked the field trip very much and I learned a lot about knighthood and armor. I can understand why the knight is the mascot for CM because it represents courage and strength and it often takes courage and strength to do the right thing.  I believe that most of the seventh grade students enjoyed the field trip also.

 

   

Thanksgiving Food Drive

 

 As in years past, CM will be conducting the annual Thanksgiving Food Drive to help needy families enjoy Thanksgiving Day.  Seventh and eighth graders are being asked to bring in CANNED GREEN VEGETABLES THIS YEAR (peas, green beans, lima beans, etc.). The food drive officially will begin on Wednesday Nov. 3rd and run until our Thanksgiving Liturgy on Wednesday, November 16th.  Any help you are able to give us with these items will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanksgiving

Virtual Travel 

 

Fall is a wonderful time of year to travel and that is what the students in Mrs. Sittig's Grade 8 French and Spanish classes have been doing.  All students have made travel brochures of countries in the French and Spanish speaking world.

 

Pictured are Paul Marino (right),  and Thomas Flaherty (bottom right) with their colorful brochures.

Bon Voyage and Buen Viaje !!

 

 

Chile Flag  

 

 

 

 

 

 

   


Safety First 

Beginning on January 1, 2012, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will enforce a new law regarding concussion safety and awareness for all student-athletes. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services now requires that all schools subject to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) rules adhere to the law.

Catholic Memorial School athletes in grades 7-12 and their families can read the full guidelines and more about the law by visiting the MIAA website.  Because the law just went into effect, the CM Code of Conduct that families signed at the beginning of the school year did not qualify their son(s) to compete in CM athletics throughout the school year.

Since the law takes effect in the middle of the 2011-12 winter sports season, it is imperative that all CM athletes have two forms on file with the school nurse's office by the beginning of the winter sports season.

Please click here to download these required forms.

If you have any questions about these policies or forms, please contact the CM Athletics Department.

Thank you for your attention to this very important matter.

Sincerely,

Alex Campea P'09
Athletics Director 

  

Lunch at Sullivan's

on Castle Island



 

 Just a thought:

 When God solves your problems, you have faith in His abilities; when God doesn't solve your problems, He has faith in your abilities.
Physical Fitness Day At Donahue Hall

by Jack O'Brien '16

  

Jack O'Brien 

A couple of weeks ago the CM middle school students had two presentations. The first presentation was given by Boston Police Officers who are in the Bicycle Unit.  Officer Ludwig Castillo came with two of his colleagues to speak to us--Officer Kerri Wells and Officer Gregory Joseph.

Boston Police Officers Castillo, Wells and Joseph

described some of the biking opportunities in Boston.

They spoke to us about the importance of the Bicycle Unit as part of the Boston Police Department. For instance, he told us about where he's stationed in Boston, what types of cases bicycle police handle, and what tactics they use to catch dangerous criminals on a bike. I thought this part of the presentation was very interesting because you never really think that a bicycle police officer really does much, but after listening to the presentation, I realized that they are just as important as the police officers in the cruisers and on the motorcycles. Next, Officer Castillo showed us his bike. This bike was no ordinary bike. It had its own sirens, flashing lights, reflectors, and a very large kit that an officer would need. This kit consisted of safety glasses, two types of gloves (one for when you are riding the bike and the other for first aid), and it also had it's own state-of-the-art medical kit. Lastly, he told us about the importance of wearing a helmet while riding. As he said, it only takes one stick or crack in the road to force your bike to tip over and knock you right on your head. Not only did he talk to us about wearing a helmet, but he also told us where and how we should ride our bike to be safe. He told us that we should ride on the right side of the street using the same rules that apply to car drivers.  Further, he said if your city or town has bicycle lanes, trails, or paths, you should use them since they are designed for safety.  He said we should not ride on the sidewalk because of the danger of bumping into pedestrians. Also, we should get into the habit of using hand signals and blinker lights so other bikers and drivers are aware of our movements.

 

After the bike presentation, we moved to the cafeteria to hear from Mrs. Levy who is a life coach at the Whittier Street Health Center. Mrs. Levy works with many people teaching and encouraging them to learn to relax and develop daily routines that will lead to better health.

Mrs. Levy from the Whittier Street Health Center showed our students the importance of developing healthy habits that they can follow throughout their lives.

Mrs. Levy talked to us about living each day to the fullest and the importance of having a sense of humor.  She said learning to smile puts people at ease and is a good way to interact with people.  She also had us write down three things that we could do at home to be healthy and fit. After we wrote down our three goals, she gave us a worksheet that consisted of numerous activities from jumping jacks to wood chopping that she said were all things we should try.   The key is to find an activity that we enjoy doing and get into the habit of doing it daily, even if it is only for 30-40 minutes a day.  Then she told us to pick one or more of these activities and make it a part of our daily routine. I enjoyed these two presentations because the speakers were very fun and interesting. Also, I enjoyed it because the speakers gave us several ways to live healthier and have fun at the same time..

 

 

 

 

Speech is a Favorite Activity at CMMS!

 

Over fifty 8th Graders completed their Term I Public Performance requirement for Mrs. Eberly's English/Language Arts classes by performing at one of nine CMMS Speech Parties hosted by the following 8th grade students and their families: Andrew Boyle, Kellan Grady, Billy Czar, John Campbell, Matt Kerrissey, Matt McGurn, Grant Jo, Curt Bletzer, and Dylan Chalmers.  Each student brought a parent with him and, as a group, the parents were the judges, completing ballots for each student performer.

 

Meanwhile, twenty-five members of the 8th Grade Speech Team were "snowed" out and unable to compete at the Nashoba Brooks School in Concord, MA, on Sunday, October 30th.  SPECIAL THANKS to the many parents who volunteered to serve as judges at these different venues.

 

Save the date: the next interscholastic competition will be held at the Pike School in Andover on Sunday, November 20.  There is no limit to the number who can compete, so we are hoping that all 8th graders choose to attend.  Speech Team practice continues to take place 3-5 days after school in the Language Arts room from 2:30-3:15 p.m. 

 

Seventh graders also have been practicing their dramatic speaking talents both in class and after school with Mrs. Murphy as members of the 7th Grade Speech Club which meets once a week.

 

Mrs. Eberly with members of the "Snowed-out Team"

who will go on to perform on another day. 

 

Moakley Federal Courthouse

 by Curt Bletzer '16

 

Curt Bletzer 

On Friday October 21st the Catholic Memorial 8th graders visited the Moakley Federal Courthouse.  We visited the Moakley Federal Courthouse because we are learning about the Judicial Branch in social studies.  The 8th grade was split up into two groups.  When we arrived at the Courthouse we got into a line and went through a metal detector.  After that the group was split in half again.  Then your group would be assigned to a tour guide.  The tour guide then took us all around the Courthouse showing us many different things.  In my group our tour guide took us up the main stairs onto the main floor where we looked out a glass wall about 7 stories high.  An interesting fact is that this is the largest glass wall of any building in the United States. There we had a great view of Boston Harbor and we could see all the boats in the Harbor and planes flying into Logan Airport.

 

The view of Boston Harbor from inside

the Moakley Federal Courthouse is spectacular.

 

Our tour guide then took us up in the elevator to the top floor where all of the offices are.  From there we went down the elevator to the 5th floor where we met with the other group and their tour guide.  Next we were brought into a courtroom.  There are twenty-seven courtrooms in the Moakley Courthouse.  We were then shown the layout of where everyone sat and how to act when you are in court.  It was then pointed out to us where the jury sat, where the prosecutor and defendant sat, and also where the judge sat.  We then had the opportunity to sit in another courtroom with a Judge.  There we could ask the judge any question that we had.  The judge sat at the front of the room in a high chair.  In front of him was where the prosecutor and defendant sat and to the left was where the jury sat.  We also learned that the Moakley Federal Courthouse was a public place and you could go in at any time and sit in on any trial that you wanted to.  We learned many things about how our court system works during our visit.  My friends and I had a fun time and it was a great learning experience.  

______________

Our Visit to the Kennedy Library  

by Patrick Comer '16 

  

Patrick Comer
 

On Friday, October 21st, the 8th grade class  of CMMS had the privilege of visiting the John F. Kennedy Library.  When we first arrived, we viewed a documentary of the life of John F. Kennedy.  It featured narration from JFK himself and how he went from being a hard working politician to becoming the first Irish Catholic President of the United States.  After the presentation, we were able to see exhibits focusing on the Kennedy family.  The exhibits ranged from a gallery of dresses worn by Jacqueline Kennedy to a remake of the oval office which included the famous desk that young John Kennedy would hide in and play games with his father.  Not only did it have the oval office, it had a replica of the entire White House.   It also had exhibits that told of specific events that occurred during his life, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs Invasion.  The Kennedy family is considered by many to be American Royalty.  These exhibits show why they are highly regarded in American politics because of the many achievements and sacrifices surrounding the entire family.

Inside the atrium at the Kennedy Library

 

On the Point at the Kennedy Library

 

If you are interested in history and are looking for a great place to spend a day learning about American history,  you will surely want to explore the John F. Kennedy Library.  It is located at Columbia Point in Dorchester.   I certainly enjoyed spending time at the Kennedy Library and learned many interesting facts not only about John F. Kennedy, but the entire family.  They devoted much of their lives to making America a better place for all people to live.  Even today, the Kennedy legacy lives on in the lives of the many people who were touched by their commitment to helping others.