Alumni Night 2008
Alumni Night - January 3, 2008
St. Catherine’s Montessori hosted its 4th annual Alumni Night on Thursday, January 3rd. This special event gives our current families the opportunity to hear our alumni students speak on their high school and college experiences and also to answer any questions our parents may have. The purpose of this evening is to share with our parent community the wonderful lives our alumni students are experiencing with a St. Catherine’s Montessori foundation. If you were unable to attend, we hope to see you next year at the fifth annual Alumni Night.
Alumni in Attendance
Mitchell Auth – a senior at St. Pius X High School
Chris Deavers – a senior at St. Thomas High School
Lindsey Calder – a sophomore at Rhodes College (graduated from Westbury Christian High School)
Marcella Lunn – a sophomore at Awty International High School
Angela Simpson – a sophomore at Incarnate Word Academy
Patrick Morris – a freshman at University of Texas (graduated from Strake Jesuit High School)
Michael Marks – a freshman at University of Texas (graduated from Strake Jesuit High School)
Edward Wycliff – a freshman at Ithaca College (graduated from St. Pius X High School)
Matthew Chapman – a junior at University of Chicago (graduated from Kinkaid High
School)
The following are some of the questions that were asked of our alumni and their answers:
1. Based on your experiences in other environments, how would you characterize your Montessori education?
Matthew – I had more interaction in Montessori with my peers and my teachers and there was much more a flow of ideas. This helped me in work situations where you have to collaborate with others and work with others, as well as working out issues that you may not agree on. I learned how to do all of this at St. Catherine’s.
Angela – I had more independence and more freedom at St. Catherine’s and was much more in charge of my learning.
2. What skills did you learn at St. Catherine’s that have proven helpful in your academic career?
Lindsey – I learned to interact with many students and to do group work as well as learning how to “roll with the punches”. I also learned how to manage my time and to have a great love of learning – I am going to class to educate myself because I want to learn.
Patrick – My time management skills began at St. Catherine’s as well as my love of learning. The many research projects that we did led to my interest in many areas and helped me during high school.
Angela – I learned how to be organized, keep a planner and use organizational tools available to me. This helps a lot in high school!
Marcella – The integrated curriculum gave me a well rounded education. The emphasis on speech through giving classroom presentations, participating in the musicals, and doing group projects made me comfortable with being in front of a group and led to my participation in debate in high school.
Matthew – The skills I learned at St. Catherine’s are independence, structuring your time, learning how to teach yourself, and becoming more adaptable.
3. Describe an experience that you had at St. Catherine’s that was unique to Montessori.
Angela – I loved the internship I did during my 9th year in Ms. Cynthia Blessman’s class.
Mitchell – I enjoyed going to Costa Rica in the summer for a month. We lived with a host family and went to a language immersion school. We had to learn to budget our money.
Patrick and Edward – They both enjoyed the Wednesday morning community service projects that they did and both continued their service hours in high school.
Marcella – I enjoyed my internship where I learned how to make a professional video and film of St. Catherine’s with the help of Jean Roberts who mentored me through this project.
Matthew – I liked riding the MS 150 because it made me enjoy physical activity and to become a well-rounded person. Now I enjoy cross country running and trail running.
Lindsey – I enjoyed the community meetings that led to a sense of unity and taught us how to work out our problems with each other.
4. Describe your transition from St. Catherine’s to high school and then to college.
Matthew – I found it hard to adjust to the formal structure of teacher to student, especially after the teachers at SCM, but I was given the tools to be adaptable to many situations.
Mitchell – It was hard to get used to assigned seats and to the size difference.
Marcella – I was academically prepared, but didn’t know you had to ask to go to the bathroom! There is a huge emphasis on grades and everything counts towards your grade.
Angela and Edward – The lockers and the combinations were frustrating!
All of the students emphasized getting involved in an activity such as sports, debate, drama, or music which is what these students did. They were able to make friends easier from these groups.
They also all spoke about the many situations they encountered that prepared them for the so called “real world” such as developing the parking lot program which raised money for their trips and meeting with city leaders to discuss various issues.
These students also spoke of their faith and religion which was nurtured at SCM. Many are involved in their parish youth groups and learned to love mass and the atrium here.
