Saint Joseph’s High School senior, Brian Huang, won the string division of the Young Artist concerto competition sponsored by the South Bend Symphony. This is an outstanding accomplishment! Brian also participated in the 2008 Indiana All State Orchestra playing the violin. In addition to his music achievements, Brian received a perfect score on the January Indiana Mathematics League contest.
The Fischoff National Chamber Music Association has named its artist of the month for September and October. The October award recipient is Brian Huang of Saint Joseph’s High School. Brian is currently concert master in the Side-By-Side South Bend Symphony Orchestra, a member of the Zenith Quartet, a Fischoff mentoring project, principal second violin, in the Side-By-Side South Bend Symphony Orchestra, and First Violin, Third chair at the Donald Dake Chamber Music Academy. Brian is a member of the National Honor Society, the St. Joseph tennis team, the Youth Leadership/South Bend and Mishawaka class XV of the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce, and active member and leader in the youth fellowship at church.
Adams High School senior, Joseph O’Rourke will represent Indiana in Boston in February at the national conference at the American Association for the Advancement of Science competition. His team beat approximately 75 Indiana students for the honor.
TMA graduates class of 2005 who were inducted into the National Honor Society at St. Joseph’s High School: Arnav Dutt, Brian Huang, Amy Jamieson and Kristi Potts. The TMA class of 2004 members: Curt Collingwood, Shannon Horvath and Alexandra Walker.
Marian High School announced the National Honor Society members for this year. Among its members are our alumni: Alex Reese, Maggie Konstantine, and Katie Firth. Kylie Poulin is the president of the Marian National Honor Society chapter.
Jim Heide is the 2007 Valedictorian of Niles High School.
Elizabeth Fleming is the Co-Valedictorian of Adams High School.
Zachary Stangebye is Salutatorian of Saint Joseph’s High School.
(Photo of Elizabeth and Zachary below, after they spoke at TMA 2007 graduation.)
Comments from Elizabeth and Zachary before they presented their speeches at the TMA 2007 Graduation:
Everybody wants to be successful. The problem with that though, is
that nobody really knows what success is. There is no true
definition of success. And there is no real way of actually
attaining the elusive “it.” Success is a journey. Each person must define that journey for him or herself. And then each person must decide how he or she is going to make that journey. We can’t tell you how to be successful. We can’t just give you a definition of success and a formula for how to attain it. But we can give you some ideas so you can define your own journey of success and then decide for yourself how you’re going to travel it. We each wrote a speech in which we will present the elements of life that we feel are most important.
Graduation Speech at Montessori Academy by Zachary Stangeby:
The time has come. Junior High is finally over. Some of you, I’m sure could not wait for it to end; others maybe would not mind staying a bit longer. But by whichever perspective you choose to take, the facts are the same: it’s time for high school. Some of you, the class of 2007, have been here almost all of your lives, moving up through the lower el and upper el ranks and finally to Jr. High; some of you, perhaps, have only been here for a few years or even shorter, but either way you look at it, it is still a major accomplishment. I’ve been through Montessori Jr. High and I know that it is not easy. Cycle after cycle after cycle seemed never to end until now. It was a brutal process, but trust me, you are very well prepared for high school. Academically, these next few years will not be terribly difficult for you.
The biggest fear to all of you, I’m sure, is change. Some of you are embracing it, and some maybe are not so comfortable with it, but either way you look at it, it is still frightening. You will lose your old lifestyle; you will not see the same people you used to on a daily basis and your class schedule may not go the way you want it to, you will meet new people; you will develop new friendships and relationships that you did not think could ever exist outside of Montessori, you will try new things: sports, such as track, football, soccer, cross country, or dozens of others, theater, mock trial, or even different clubs, you will find talents in yourself that you did not even know you had and you will develop them further, and finally, you will further discover yourself to a degree that, now, you do not even think possible. It is true that this change will have many effects on you, mostly unfamiliar, and therefore scary, but in the end, the knowledge and experience you will gain from these changes will be well worth it. It will not take long for you to adapt to your new environment, and I’m sure that all of you will eventually grow to thrive in it.
But as this change happens to you, so too do you have your own responsibilities. Montessori has prepared you well for high school, but they will not be there guiding you through it. The time has come for you to step up to the plate, take the initiative, and take control of your own life. Nobody will be telling you how to manage your time, nobody will be telling you where you need to be when, and nobody will be telling you how to live your life, at least, not in the way you are accustomed to now. You must discipline yourself and manage your time, just like Montessori has taught you to do. You must, however, do this out of your own motivation. Montessori has done their part, and now it is time for you to step up and take yours.
If I had one wish for you, class of 2007, it would not be for you to be rich; it would not be that you be smart or popular; it would not even be that you be successful. The only thing I wish for you, my friends, is that you seek the truth. Proverbs 3:13-14 says “Happy are those who find wisdom, and those who get understanding, for her income is better than silver, and her revenue better than gold.” Seek what is true, and what is good, class of 2007, and only in this way can you find fulfillment in life.
The initiative rests on you, class of 2007, and there is a change coming your way, but I’m confident that you take that initiative and embrace that change and, thus, thrive not only in high school, but in life as well. You’ve been well-prepared, and I have tremendous faith in the individuals you have all become and are developing into.
Graduation Speech at Montessori Academy by Elizabeth Fleming: Seeing the Unseen
Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable and pleasing to you, my strength and my redeemer.
Good evening! It certainly is great to be back here speaking at this occasion. The main idea that I want to present to you builds off of Zach’s topic of internal motivation. Motivation, just like success, cannot be seen. They are both important elements of life that drive us to action, but nobody can actually see them. Tonight, I want to speak to you about the importance of seeing the unseen. To help illustrate what I am trying to portray, I want to start by sharing a few excerpts from one of my favorite books, Le Petit Prince, or the Little Prince. The book begins with the narrator explaining his “drawing number one.” According to the narrator, who drew the picture when he was a child, the drawing is a picture of a boa constrictor with an elephant inside of him that he had just eaten. During his childhood, whenever the narrator would show the picture to someone, however, the person would always say that it was a picture of a hat because they could not see the elephant that was inside the boa constrictor. They could not see the unseen. Soon, the young narrator realized that he had to create “drawing number two” in order to explain the failed “drawing number one.” In the second drawing, the boa constrictor was transparent so the elephant could be seen inside the snake. Everybody understood this picture. There was nothing unseen. With this introduction to the book, one of the main themes of the book becomes the importance of being able to see the things that are not necessarily right in front of you – the importance of knowing the magic of the unseen.
Why is it important though to see the unseen? One of the characters in the The Little Prince, a fox whom the narrator meets, explains why we, as individuals need to look for what is not there. “One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” “Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” It’s true. Being able to see the things that the eyes cannot, is true vision. For example, many blind people have been quoted as saying that they are blessed to be blind because they can see the genuine side of people without having to see their physical appearance. The Bible comments on the importance of this as well. II Corinthians 4:18 reads, “While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”…. Sound familiar? “Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” So where exactly am I going with this? How does this apply to graduating eighth graders and their step into high school? It’s simple really. See the unseen. In high school there will be plenty of opportunity to just coast and to go with the flow. There will be plenty of opportunity to see what’s right in front of you and perhaps ignore what is truly important. But please be sure not to follow this trend, this easy route of turning your head. See the unseen. Look for sincerity. See people for who they really are. Dispel fakeness for let me tell you, there is a plethora of fake individuals. When you look into somebody’s eyes, don’t just look at their color…look into their soul. When you ask somebody how they are and they say fine, understand what “fine” really means. Understand when no really means yes and when yes really means I’m not sure. As you go through high school know that everybody has a mystery. There is magic behind every aspect of the unseen. Make it your mission to find this magic, to solve the mystery, to see the unseen. This means giving a little more, taking the road less traveled, and doing what is frankly hard. But often, the hard thing and the right thing are the same.
So as the little prince himself says, “What makes the desert beautiful is that it hides a well somewhere.” As you enter this next chapter of your life, live sincerely, pay attention to the details, find the essential things that are invisible to the eyes…and find the well, hidden in the desert. Congratulations class of 2007! May God graciously bless you in all that you do.
Letter from Zachary October 2007:
My name is Zachary Stangebye and I am an alumnus of the Montessori Academy, the salutatorian of St. Joseph’s High School Class of 2007, and currently studying psychology and philosophy at the University of Michigan. My academic journey over the past several years has been rigorous, but the education I was given at the Montessori Academy has more than prepared me for the challenges I have already faced and will face in the coming years.
At the Montessori Academy, I learned everything from time management skills to the efficaciousness of volunteering in the community. From the earliest of ages, children are encouraged and shown how to manage their own schedule, rather than being told what to do when. This allows a sense of responsibility and independence to develop from an early age and become refined in later years. Such skills have been invaluable to me in my academic pursuits.
I also learned social skills and leadership ability at the Montessori Academy. One of the Academy’s primary goals is to foster each of these skills through group projects at all ages. Through this, children learn to cooperate with each other and work together for a common goal. In these groups they also learn the appropriate times to become both leaders and followers and acquire the skills necessary for each. I would not have accomplished nearly as much as I have without these key abilities which the Montessori gave me.
As a student at the Montessori Academy, I was also exposed to a variety of scholarly subjects and fields early on in my academic career. In Jr. High, I was taught the formal technique of essay composition, exposed to other styles of writing such as narratives and novels which gave me an opportunity to further my imaginative capacity, and learned how to give an organized speech in public, boosting my own confidence. The exposure to this wealth of information spurred my curiosity which led to a thirst for knowledge later on in my academic career that I will always appreciate.
Montessori also showed me that volunteering in the community really can cause a change. Through frequent trips to Tanglewood Retirement Center and the Center for the Homeless, I learned how to use my time and talents for the benefit of others and for the whole community. No other school could have given me this experience.
I honestly believe that I am the person I am today because of my Montessori education, and I would highly recommend such an education to and parents seeking a quality education for their children.
Lauren Dunbar is now working at the Academy for the 2007-2008 school year as an Early Childhood intern. It is wonderful to have an alumnus working with us!
National Merit semifinalists wwere announced recently. Thirty-six area high school seniors have been named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. They are among 16,000 students selected from among 1.4 million who took the Preliminary SAT exam last year. Two of our alumni have qualified: Joseph O’Rourke of Adams High School and Margaret Firth of Marian High School. Congratulations!
Claire
Alvis (TMA 2003) recently graduated Summa Cum Laude from South
Bend Adams. She finished fifth in her class with a GPA of 3.98. She is a
National Merit Commended Scholar and was named as a 2007 Blue Ribbon
Senior by the South Bend Tribune. Claire was a lawyer on the John Adams
Mock Trial team that won the state championship in both 2006 and 2007.
Her team went on to place tenth in the nation in 2006, and third in the
nation in 2007. She also played soccer for Adams for four years, three
of them on varsity. Claire will be attending Indiana University
Bloomington in the fall. She received an IU Dean's Merit Scholarship,
and was selected for the Science, Technology and Research Scholars
(STARS) program as well as the Hutton Honors College. She plans to major
in Neuroscience and, through the STARS program, she will work with
a faculty mentor who is a neuroscientist, starting in her freshman year.
Claire and her parents recognize and appreciate the importance of her
Montessori education (pre-K through 8 at TMA) in nurturing her love of
learning and providing her with a solid foundation that contributed
significantly to her success in high school.
