To the Band of Brothers: August 30, 2021

Good morning!

One short week in the books and another ready to begin. There is nothing like having you guys back on campus. I feel like wearing masks indoors is a small price to pay for being together. We have to make sure we keep this going for a while so we can assure a stay on campus. We already know of a couple of schools that have had to shut down and quarantine. I don’t know what their mask policy was, but what we are doing is the best thing for now.

As for the week, it was great. Having the new members of our family on campus on Monday for orientation was solid. I always love to see parents when they drop off their kids. They have a tendency of being more nervous than the kids. I try to tell them they have nothing to worry about. That orientation day is meticulously planned to make sure no one gets lost. Even though getting lost is usually the best way of finding things and learning the campus. In my day (I know, I sound like an old man) there was no orientation day. As a matter of fact, I don’t even think my father came to a complete stop before he opened the door and I went flying out.

Our Holy Spirit Mass was also a sight for sore eyes. For over a year we have been celebrating Mass virtually. Even though we were split up into two groups with the Middle School in the theater and the High School in the gym, we were all present and in prayer together. We need to get used to that. When the new chapel opens up sometime next semester, we will need to have two Masses either way. The plan is to have one Mass in the morning and the other in the afternoon. That way the campus is blanketed with prayer throughout the whole day. The Holy Spirit will definitely be let loose like a massive block schedule of worship.

By the way, if you didn’t see me Friday morning, it’s because I went to Orlando for the varsity football game. Our Wolverines played Greeley West, a team from Colorado. Looking spectacular in all-gold uniforms, they played more spectacularly, winning the game 35-0. Special kudos go out to Gavench Marcelin ‘24 who was named offensive player of the game and Jancent Wallace ’24 who was named defensive player of the game. Don’t forget we have the home opener against La Salle on Friday at 7:30 p.m. There will be a student section in the stands and we want you guys to come out and support our team. Cross Country also had their first meets. Half of the team went to the Kowboy Invitational in Kissimmee and the other half went to the Park Vista Invitational in Boca Raton. No surprise there, we won both meets.

Lastly, just to show you we are in full swing, on Saturday morning we had Father and Son Day on campus. It was actually the Father and Son Day for last year’s freshmen who were not able to have it because of the pandemic. The dads had a great time with their sons. For as much as I warned them after the morning prayer service, dads still decided to play the various games like they were teenagers. There were a few scrapes and bruises of course and a lot of sore muscles. I’m going to be sure to get Bengay to sponsor the event next year.

Week two starts today. Have a great time and be sure to study hard. Starting off strong is a key ingredient to sustaining success throughout the whole year. Harness the enthusiasm of the beginning of the year. Pace yourselves. Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.