Schools roundup: Mount St. Joseph names new athletic complex

 

Mount St. Joseph High School in Irvington recently named its new 58,000-square-foot athletic complex after an alumnus.

Vincent ‘Vinny’ Smith ’82 pledged $4 million to the school in April. The gift was the largest the school has received to date and earned him the right to name the building, according to the school. The Smith Center name pays tribute to Smith’s parents, Vince and Sue, as well as his wrestling coach while at Mount St. Joseph, Allen Smith.

The project, part of Phase II of the Campaign for Mount St. Joseph: Building Men Who Matter, cost $18.5 million and includes the renovation of the existing gymnasium, in addition to the new construction, according to the school. The new facility includes a performance basketball court, concession stand, wrestling room, men’s locker rooms, training suite and fitness center.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer the future generations of Mount St. Joseph students an updated space that will accommodate both their academic and athletic needs for years to come,” George Andrews, Jr., the school’s president, said in a statement. “Part of our mission is to help mold these young men into the men God intends them to be, and this space will help us achieve those goals.”

Phase I of the Campaign for Mount St. Joseph was completed in 2008. It included the construction of the school’s stadium, track, turf field and a pedestrian bridge that connects the academic and athletic sides of campus.

Barbara Skotarski Ferrara, a Catholic High School of Baltimore alumna, recently received the Lux Tua Luceat Service Award.

The annual award is presented to a Catholic High alumna who demonstrates the Franciscan core values of personhood in community, loving service, ongoing conversion, witness to justice, peace and reconciliation and stewardship, according to the school.

Ferrara exemplifies Catholic High’s mission and vision by applying her education, initiative and humanity in the community, nation or world, according to the school.  Since retiring from Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, Ferrara has become an active volunteer at Catholic High, in her community and at her parish, according to the school. She is a leadership volunteer at Catholic High, president of the alumnae association and chairwoman of the decorations committee for the annual gala. 

Ferrara helps prepare and serve lunch at Beans and Bread in Fells Point, according to the school. A member of the Sodality at St. Joseph in Fullerton, she is co-organizing the St. Vincent de Paul annual Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets.  

“I was honored and humbled by the award,” Ferrara said in a statement.

“ … Giving back is very easy for me. Also, through volunteering at Catholic High, Beans and Bread and St. Vincent de Paul Society, I have met a number of dedicated and good people.”

Mother Seton School in Emmitsburg welcomed eight students into its Vincentian Marian Youth chapter Sept. 27, the Feast Day of St. Vincent de Paul.

The students are: Amina Beasley, Emily Longenecker, Hannah Hartness, Samantha Mariano, Tara O’Donnell, Kimberly S., Maria Torborg and Jack Walker.

Mother Seton’s chapter now has 19 members.

The VMY, an international youth service organization, encourages youths to become missionaries of Christ through outreach to their communities, according to the school. Mother Seton’s VMY chapter recently held its annual food drive to benefit Seton Center’s food pantry. Students collected 25 cartons of nonperishable items.

Three fourth-graders at Mother Seton School in Emmitsburg received scholarships from the Frederick County Friends of Catholic Education at an Oct. 17 ceremony.

Clarence Pavlovic received the Pline Memorial Scholarsip, Shae Archie received the Linwood and Helen Offut Memorial Scholarship and Raphaela Smaldone received the Seton Dubois Scholarship.

The Pline and Seton Dubois scholarships are one-year, $1,000 awards; the Offut scholarship is a one-year, $1,500 award. The scholarships are open to any Frederick County Catholic school student.