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| Volume #6 Issue #4 Date: April 2020
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| HAPPY EASTER FROM FENWICK!
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CLICK HERE for tips and links on how to observe Holy Week at home.
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| VIDEO MESSAGE of Reassurance
from Board Chair John Barron '76
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| Doing Our Part During the Coronavirus Crisis
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The Fenwick Health Office and Science Department have donated ninety N95 masks to first responders at the Oak Park Police Department, reports School Nurse Donna Pape. Additionally, 3D printers from the school's Engineering & Innovation Lab are being used to manufacture COVID-19 shield frames (below, left) for nurses at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park. Last Friday, we also donated ALL of the school's protective gloves and goggles to nearby Rush Oak Park Hospital.
Current parent Meg Sweeney Nelligan writes on Facebook: "Hey Friars, if anyone else has a 3D printer and would like to join in, please reach out to me and fellow Fenwick parent Jason Huggins. We would love the extra help -- we are delivering 140 shields to Stroger Hospital ... and have hundreds more requests! Email us at: hello@tapster.io."
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| On the COVID-19 Front Lines ...
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Fenwick alumnus Dr. Ed Ward '85, a Rush Medical Center emergency-medicine physician in Chicago, was quoted on WGN-TV last week.
The hospital's Brennan Pavilion is named for another Friar: the late Edward Brennan '51, former Chairman, President & CEO of Sears, Roebuck and Company.
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| Fenwick TEAMS Takes 1st in State!
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Before school closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Fenwick hosted the TEAMS competition on March 13th. The Varsity A team had the 2nd highest multiple-choice score in not only the state or nation, but internationally, reports Coach/Math Teacher Kevin Roche ’05. Fenwick's overall score of 174 places us third internationally among large, selective schools.
The Varsity A team consisted of Claire Hill, Dan Castellano, Dan Majcher, Eva Homberger, Joe Zawacki (captain), Nate Crowell, Ronan Kristufek and Sebastian Torres. “I will miss this senior class,” Roche says. “They are a brilliant, fun and charming group. I am grateful that Dan, Claire and Ronan will be around to help lead the drive next year’s team.
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| Our Teachers Miss Their Students!
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Principal Groom and his staff sent this video message to Fenwick students last week:
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Mr. Groom adds: "I have received a much higher percentage of emails than normal thanking us for what we are doing for the kids. Some of these emails have come from parents and some have come from students. This email was sent to us from a family that has been a part of our community for over 10 years. The last of their children is a sophomore right now. The mother of the children sent me the following email. I think it says a lot about what we are doing right now:
I wanted to say thank you to you and the entire Fenwick staff for how well you have been managing the major curveball that has hit all of us. The commitment to continuing to educate has been evidenced by each and every one of my daughter's teachers. I am also touched by the outreach made by you and all of the teachers. It really highlights the concern and dedication to the wellbeing of all Fenwick students, both academically and emotionally. In the dark times of crisis, few things shine but Fenwick is definitely shining in my eyes! Stay well and healthy. Thank you once again!
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| Students Miss Their Teachers, Too!
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Check out the video produced last week by appreciative
members of the Class of 2020 for the faculty:
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| Virtual "Spirit Week:" #FenwickStrong!
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Next week, April 13-17, is Virtual Spirit Week for the Fenwick Community! Students are encouraged to don Friars' "spiritwear" and post their pictures on social-media channels using the hashtag #FenwickStrong. We are asking alumni Friars to do the same:
Put on something FENWICK and post a photo to your Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter feed using the #FenwickStrong hashtag!
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| How Do Friars Respond During Crises?
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Fenwick asks the Alumni Community to share memories of when the world seemed upside down and how, we as a community, responded. We want to hear from you about your experiences living through crisis.
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| Dusting off an Old Mothers' Club Cookbook
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Fenwick alumnus Tom Todd '76 says his "imposed monasticism" is going well so far. "I have been dusting off some recipes while working at home and made some Irish Soda Bread using a recipe from the 1973 Fenwick Mothers Club Cookbook," Todd writes from Aspen, Colorado. "It was contributed by Father Joseph Fogarty, who taught junior and senior English courses at Fenwick in the '60s and '70s and was the moderator of the hockey club. My older brothers (Tim '73 and Dan '74) and I have fond memories of him. He was a great priest and great teacher -- a classic old school Friar!
"The Mothers' Club Cookbook is full of simple but hearty recipes for large families," Todd continues. "Some recipes say they feed 12 or 20 while other recipes just offer ingredient ratios that can be increased based on the size of a family. It's quite a read!"
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| FACULTY FOCUS: English Teacher/Boys' Volleyball Coach Ms. Kate Whitman '01
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What is your educational background?
KW: I graduated from Fenwick in 2001, after being the first person ever from my grade school (St. Richard on the southwest side of Chicago) to come here. I then attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where I graduated in 2005 with a B.A. in English and a minor in Secondary Education. I received my M. Ed. in Leadership from Elmhurst College.
What did you do prior to becoming a teacher at Fenwick?
KW: I like to joke that I 'took four years off from Fenwick to go to college' -- I started teaching here right after graduation, in the fall of 2005; I did my student teaching down at Urbana High School and Paxton-Buckley-Loda Junior High. I also worked for (too many) years waiting tables at T.G.I. Fridays. Read more.
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| COLLEGIATE FRIARS: 2018 Classmates
Margaret O'Brien and Jacob Mazur
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JACOB MAZUR
Fenwick Graduation: 2018
Hometown: Elmwood Park, IL
Grade School: Elm Middle School
Current School: University of Notre Dame
Major: Computer Engineering
Summer Internship: I spent the past summer doing a six-week study abroad program through the College of Engineering in Rome (see photo). I took a computer science class and a quantum engineering class, but in my free time I was free to explore the city and the surrounding areas, which were full of so many amazing landmarks and beautiful views. Definitely one of my favorite college experiences so far!
This summer, I hope to be staying on campus at Notre Dame and participating in a research program with the Wireless Institute in the Department of Electrical Engineering. I’ll be working with a professor here on a project that uses machine learning to study RF information leakage in low-cost Bluetooth chips. Read more.
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MARGARET O'BRIEN
Fenwick Graduation: 2018
Hometown: Oak Park, IL
Grade School: Ascension
Current School: Saint Louis University
Major: Public Health
Summer Internship: This summer I hope to be at Rush, participating in an internship that allows students from inner-city high schools to earn a certification in EPIC, the software for the electronic medical record. This training provides students with in-demand, marketable skills that can greatly influence their path and their future.
Career aspirations: I hope to finish SLU with a Master’s of Public Health and go to law school. Ultimately, my only goal is to be impactful and effect positive change.
Fenwick achievements/activities: I ran cross-country and track for four years and was a captain for two of those years. I was also fortunate enough to lead and rector Kairos.
Read more.
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| From the Blackfriars Yearbook Archives
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Tuesdays are for trivia on our "social-media channels!" The Fenwick 1935 baseball team was known as the Dominicans. Back then, we played an American Legion schedule because the Chicago Catholic League did not yet have baseball as a conference sport. Eighty-five years ago, the finals were played at Wrigley Field!
Click on the icons below to follow Fenwick on Twitter, Facebook and/or Instagram:
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| Friar Classic Golf Outing
Friday, August 14
68th Annual Blackfriars Gala
Friday, November 20
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| Friar Classic Resets to Tee Off in August
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Class of ’01 Ready to tee off (from left):
Dan Dillon, Kevin Newell, Pat Thies, Matt Taglia, Rob Erfort, Tom Halleran, Kyle Glascott and Peter Murray.
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Join your fellow Friars for the 51st annual Friar Classic! We return to beautiful Cantigny Golf course on Friday, August 14th, 2020.
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| Accipter Award Luncheon Moves to Fall 2020
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The Fenwick Bar Association (FBA) is proud to announce that the 2020 Accipiter Award recipient is Hon. Thomas N. Casciato '67. Judge Casciato had a 22- year career on the bench with 10 more years as a lawyer. The Accipiter Award luncheon will take place in the fall of 2020. For more information, CLICK HERE.
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| Sign Up for "FriarsConnect"
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FriarsConnect recently went through an upgrade in its design! Log in or sign up today to check out Fenwick’s exclusive alumni platform. Nearly 1,000 members of the Friar Community have signed up for this service that keeps you connected to your fellow Friars.
FriarsConnect allows you to:
- Find jobs and opportunities where you can work with your fellow Friars
- Cultivate meaningful mentoring opportunities
- Connect with and organize the powerful relationships available via the
Fenwick community - And so much more!
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| PAVING THE WAY:
Purchase a Friar Courtyard Brick!
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Personalize a gift for the Friars in your life. Commemorative bricks can be purchased now for installation in the summer of 2020 in the ever more beautiful Fenwick Courtyard. (Orders are due by June 5, 2020). A brick makes the ideal birthday, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and graduation gift!
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| Know a Classmate Who's Not Receiving FAN?
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Do you know a Friar who is not receiving the Fenwick Alumni News (FAN) e-newsletter every month? All we need is her or his email address! Please have the person contact us at communications@fenwickfriars.com.
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Have something to share with your fellow alumni? Please send all of your alumni news and happenings to Peter Durkin '03, Director of Alumni Relations (pdurkin@fenwickfriars.com).
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Fenwick High School is owned and sponsored by the Dominican Friars
of the Province of St. Albert the Great headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
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