Winter 2012 /2013

no sports, and no APs. Today we have 65 students, a much larger program and some awesome accomplishments: Four league championships and one State Quarter f inals in vars ity gir ls volleyball, 7 perfect 800’s on the SAT’s, 14 National Merit Finalists or Commended Scholars, a regional Poetry Out Loud Winner, dozens of National Latin Exam Gold Medals. Our graduates are in engineering, nursing, television and film CGI, vocal arts, liberal arts, ballet, medicine and education. Impressive for a school with only s ix graduating classes !”

On October 10, St. Monica Academy was elevated to the Catholic High School Honor Roll 2012-13 by the Cardinal Newman Society, which recognizes only 50 Catholic High Schools across the United States. The top 50 schools are recognized for excellence in Catholic identity, academics and civic education. “We welcome this award, not only as recognition of the rigor of our academics, but of the beauty of our Catholic identity,” said Marguerite Grimm, headmaster, at the all-school celebration at St. Andrew Church in Pasadena. “Nine years ago we had three students, no activities,

St. Monica AcademyNamed Top 50 High School

Fr. Paul Sustayta, pastor of St. Andrew and chaplain of St. Monica, conferred the Top 50 Award on behalf of the Newman Society to Andrew Zepeda, President of St. Monica Academy. Mr. Zepeda thanked St. Monica benefactors who saw the necessity of such a school, the teachers for their devotion, and the pioneer parents and students who embarked on a new educational enterprise. Two other California Catholic High Schools were named to the Honor Roll: St. Michael’s Prep in Silverado and St. Augustine Academy in Ventura.

Ph o t o s a n d a v i d e o o f t h i s e v e n t a r e a v a i l a b l e a t www.stmonicaacademy.com/photos and www.stmonicaacademy.com/videos.

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Mr. Andrew Zepeda PresidentMr. Martin Boles Vice PresidentMr. Khushro Ghandhi TreasurerMr. Donald Harrahill SecretaryMr. Alan ArnallMr. Daniel CollinsMr. Len GolbransonDr. T. Murphy GoodwinMr. R. Scott Turicchi

Board of Advisors

Board of Directors

Mrs. Laura BerquistDr. Don J. Briel Dr. Thomas E. Dillon†Dr. John C. EastmanRev. Ernest L. Fortin, A.A.†Dr. Robert P. GeorgeProf. Mary Ann GlendonMr. Nicholas H. Healy, Jr.Dr. Alice von HildebrandDr. Charles R. KeslerRev. Matthew L. LambRev. Paul Mankowski, S.J.Msgr. M. Francis MannionMr. Nicolas MartinDr. Ronald P. McArthurDr. Ralph McInerny†Dr. Timothy O’DonnellMr. Peter M. RobinsonRoy S. Rohter, S.F.O.Dr. Kevin RyanRev. Michael Scanlan, T.O.R.Mr. William Simon, Jr.Mr. James StensonDr. Michael WaldsteinMr. Paul M. Weyrich †

The Dan Murphy Foundation Grants St. Monica $100,000

Crusaders earned their place among the “Elite Eight” volleyball teams in all of California Division V.

On the next day, the Pasadena Star-News published an article that began with the following quote:

“Caitlin Hall admits [that] four years ago she wanted to go to a larger high school and play for a high- powered Valley volleyball program. Look who is the last one standing. Of the more than 100 schools that represent the Valley and of the more than 1,000 athletes who play the sport in the Valley, only Hall, fellow St. Monica Academy seniors Kristen Gates and Monica Golbranson and their teammates remain standing. ‘I went here for the education, mainly,’ Hall said. ‘I wanted to play volleyball at a really big school and with a really good volleyball program, but that did not happen. I ended up here. It’s OK because we’ve become a really awesome volleyball team. I guess it all pays off at the end.’”

Caitlin’s words reflect the unique spirit of St. Monica Academy’s athletic

program. Our students value academic excellence over sports. They also play with great charity, never putting down their teammates when they commit errors. Even more striking is their enthusiasm and cheerfulness during games.

St. Monica Academy’s volleyball team has been league champion four years in a row now, led by seniors Caitlin Hall (four-time CIF Southern Section All-Star, four-time League MVP), Kristen Gates (two-time CIF Southern Section All-Star, four-time First Team League All-Star), and Monica Golbranson (three-time First Team League All-Star).

This was only the 4th year of St. Monica’s membership in CIF, during which time they have posted a 45-1 record in league play. They have had three Section Semifinals appearances in four years, and this year they appeared in both the Section Finals and the State Quarterfinals for the first time. This year, their playoff record was exceptional, defeating most of their opponents (University Prep of Victorville, Lake Arrowhead Christian, and Riverside Christian) in straight sets, losing one match to Orangewood Academy in the Southern Section Finals, and finally advancing to the State Quarterfinals with their victory over the Minarets Mustangs. Although the SMA

On November 20, 2012, our girls’ varsity volleyball team narrowly defeated the Minarets Mustangs of O’Neals, CA (25-15, 26-24, 26-28, 25-22) to advance to the quarterfi-nals of the state tournament. Senior Caitlin Hall led the team with 30 kills, and senior Kristen Gates had 32 assists. With this victory, the

St. Monica Advances to the State Quarterfinals

Many of our Latin students are asked by their friends at other schools, “Why are you taking a dead language?” Although some students will probably answer, “Because I have to,” most of our high school seniors know that three or four years of Latin studies at St. Monica Academy have benefitted them tremendously. The following are a

few reasons why St. Monica’s classical curriculum emphasizes Latin:

•Latin is the language ofthe Catholic Church, our mother. A good child learns his mother’s language. Therefore, a Catholic who knows Latin can read many of the Church Fathers’ writings in their original language. He can also understand the Latin Mass and the Vulgate, as well as the sacred music of Gregorian chant and the secular (but profoundly Christian) music of the great polyphonic masters.

• Since Latin is a highly structured language, it requires students to readily identify and analyze the parts of speech as well as verb tenses and moods. The understanding of Latin grammar greatly improves the student’s grasp of English grammar. It also lays the foundation for learning modern languages like Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese, since they are so similar to Latin.

•Another consequence ofunderstanding Latin’s grammatical structure is that it trains the mind to think analytically and logically, which in turn prepares students for future studies in mathematics, s c i ence , and eng ineer ing .

• Knowledge of Lat in vocabulary is extremely helpful for students preparing for the verbal sections of the SAT, since 60% of

Why Study Latin?

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The Dan Murphy Foundation Grants St. Monica $100,000Our heartfelt gratitude goes to the Dan Murphy

Foundation who, for the eleventh consecutive year, has generously supported St. Monica Academy with a grant to help fund our operating expenses. This year they have donated $100,000 to refurbish our aging office technology, expand our science lab materials, amplify our field trip opportunities, and pursue more frequent professional development for our teachers. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Grant, for your continued support!

St. Monica Participates in go2bat4life

Crusaders for Life, St. Monica’s very active pro-life club, sang the national anthem to kick off Walk4LifeSocal’s “go2bat4life” pro-life rally at Dodger Stadium on November 18. About 8,000 people attended, including guest speakers Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, Lila Rose (founder of Live Action), and actors Eduardo Verastegui and Mauricio Kuri. Photos and a video of this event are available at www.stmonicaacademy.com/photos and www.stmonicaacademy.com/videos.

all English words come from Latin roots. This allows students to intuit the meaning of unfamiliar English words by identifying their Latin origins.

•KnowledgeofLatinvocabularyis also extremely helpful for students intent on pursuing careers in law and medicine, since many legal and medical terms come directly from Latin.

Crusaders eventually lost to Calvin Christian in the State Quarterfinals, they had a truly impressive season for a high school with only 65 students.

Photos and a video of the volleyball playoffs are available at www.stmonicaacademy.com/photos and www.stmonicaacademy.com/videos.

St. Monica Academy301 North Orange Grove Blvd.Pasadena, CA 91103

MissionSt. Monica Academy, an independent, coeducational school for grades one through twelve, founded by parents in fulfillment of their primary responsibility for educating their children, seeks to form students in faith, reason, and virtue through a classical education in the Roman Catholic tradition.

(626) 229-0351 phone(626) 229-0343 faxheadmaster@stmonicaacademy.com e-mailwww.stmonicaacademy.com web

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Eleventh Annual Christmas Concert

Choral singing is an important part of St. Monica’s curriculum. It forms the students’ sense of beauty and order, and it fosters teamwork and camaraderie. Moreover, the lyrical content of sacred music deepens the spiritual life of developing souls. This year’s Christmas Concert, performed on December 17, surpassed all expectations. Music directors Stephen Grimm and Jane Forsyth brilliantly combined the best of traditional Christmas carols, modern songs, and Renaissance polyphony. Photos and a video of this event are available at www.stmonicaacademy.com/photos and www.stmonicaacademy.com/videos.