On the atmosphere at the WCAC Football Championship
December 2, 2011I attended my first WCAC Football Championship on the Saturday before Thanksgiving weekend. I had been at all but one of our home games, including the comfortable regular season victory...
View ArticleOn remembering a great Xaverian
December 7, 2012In ten years as principal at John Carroll, I got to know Br. James Kelly a little. I would see him at the two or three meetings a year for high school presidents and principals of the...
View ArticleOn books and downsizing
January 3, 2012My wife is big on getting books from the library. Me, not so much. I'll get audiobooks there from time to time but the truth is I began my career early as a book buyer and I've yet to...
View ArticleOn taking the Good Counsel message on the road
January 26, 2011I took Good Counsel on the road to New York City late last week. The goal was to connect with alumni working in the city and introduce myself as the new leader of their alma...
View ArticleOn eating lunch with seniors
February 6, 2012Realizing he never taught any of the current senior class, Principal Pat Bates figured he needed to get to know all those students who would be receiving diplomas in May down at the...
View ArticleOn the Metro swim meet
February 14, 2012It sure was bleak outside on Saturday night. The wind was howling, the snow flurries were horizontal, and temps were in the teens.However, once my wife and I stepped inside the...
View ArticleOn going on Junior Retreat
March 2, 2012I had heard it time and again, a kind of refrain in my conversations with alumni: "Junior Retreat was the most memorable and important experience of my time at Good Counsel."I've been on...
View ArticleOn Grand Celebration
March 14, 2012We held the 24th Grand Celebration for Our Lady of Good Counsel High School this past Saturday night at the North Bethesda Marriott.Throughout the school year I have watched the Grand...
View ArticleOn Culture Day
March 27, 2012A year ago I attended Culture Day as the newly-hired-but-not-yet-in-office President, more than three months before my July 1st start. I came away exhilarated then. My first close...
View ArticleOn falcons
April 17, 2012I spent the latter half of Easter week with more than 10,000 Catholic school educators up in Boston at the Annual Convention and Expo of the National Catholic Educational Association. I'm...
View ArticleOn coming home
May 4, 2012I get on a plane at BWI tomorrow morning to begin the 33-hour journey home to New Zealand. It will be my first visit in about five and a half years. My siblings and I will be celebrating...
View ArticleGraduation address | Class of 2012
May 23, 2012Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate ConceptionFr. Barry, members of the Board of Directors, graduates of the Class of 1962, graduates of the Class of 2012, parents and...
View ArticleOn Freshman Convocation
August 20, 2012A bit of history this morning and, hopefully, the beginning of a tradition. We welcomed the Class of 2016. Our past practice had been for parents to drop their sons and daughters off...
View ArticleOn Neil Armstrong and humility
August 31, 2012Neil Armstrong died last weekend. He was a great American and a hero for the entire world. I am old enough to remember the Apollo 11 and July 1969 vividly. I was 11 years old, a...
View ArticleOn AP and IB performance
September 7, 20122011-2012 was a terrific school year. I was reminded how spectacular this past week, as we put up the three large posters listing the college acceptances and scholarship tallies for...
View ArticleOn being here
September 18, 2012This blog is an edited version of my address to the student body at the Opening Mass of the 2012-2013 school year on August 31, 2012I want to talk with you this morning about "being...
View ArticleOn school discipline
September 26, 2012I listen to the news on NPR most mornings as I drive to school. Once in a while there's a story that's a doozy. This morning I heard about a Texas school district where two parents...
View ArticleOn being in the hope business
October 18, 2012Earlier today as I was preparing some remarks to share with faculty and staff, I found myself focusing on the essence of what we do as a group of people dedicated to young people.We are...
View ArticleOn Xaverian Assembly 2012
November 7, 2012[The following is an adaptation of a reflection I shared at a gathering of the Chief Administrators of Xaverian Brothers Sponsored Schools on November 1, 2012. The reflection is on the...
View ArticleOn demographics and the changing face of the Church
November 26, 2012You didn't need to pay much attention to the election to pick up on the fact that the demographics of our nation are changing. Winning key demographic segments played a part in the...
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