As we near Thanksgiving, alumni sitings may become quite frequent. Tonight? Trav, Jordan, Saddan, and Josh, wandering up and down Bedford Park, after the Thanksgiving food at Lehman ran out…

Wednesday I expect more alums than we can count, especially class of ‘09, almost done with their first term, back in NYC in large numbers, drawn to HSAS. Why? They want to see the wonderful teachers (ahem), and what’s happened to the school, and their friends in lower grades.

But they also know that other members of their class will be there – it is a convenient spot to meet and share stories from their first three months apart in the last four and a half year.

This is a segment I have been thinking about starting for a while now, and when I saw this article today I thought, “Why not today?”

Let’s all take a trip down memory lane and avoid as many cliches as possible.  The year was 2005 and UNC had just won Roy Williams his first NCAA championship. That June, UNC would make history with four players selected in the first 14 picks of the NBA draft and one more being picked in the second round. One notable exception from that list of draftees was shutdown man Jackie Manuel.

Jackie has forgone the usual route of playing oversees and now plays with the Erie BayHawks of the NBA D-League.

Last season Jackie averaged 9.1 points and 7.1 rebounds and shot 47.9 percent from the field as a starter.

Over the off-season Jackie has changed up his diet, added close to 20 pounds of muscle and worked to improve his shooting touch. He was an abysmal 27.3 percent from beyond the arc and 59.2 percent from the free-throw line.

Here’s to you Jackie, good luck in Erie and remember you’ll always have a possee in Chapel Hill.

Read the whole article on Jackie at GoErie.com

Willie Taggart was introduced as WKU’s new football coach Nov. 23 during a news conference with President Gary Ransdell and Athletic Director Wood Selig at Diddle Arena. Here is a selection of news conference photos by WKU’s Clinton Lewis:

Hally Davidson and Bryan Anderson at Shamrock Middle School

In early November, From the Top provided two Atlanta middle schools with an interactive demonstration before taping a From the Top broadcast at Emory University’s Schwartz Center. We brought Hally Davidson, 15, flute, from McDonough, GA and Bryan Anderson, 16, piano, from Stockbridge, GA,  members of the flute and piano duo “Music Two Share”, to play for students at Shamrock Middle School and Henderson Middle School, through the Emory Coca-Cola Artists-in-Residence Program.

Hally and Bryan performed the final movement from Widor’s Suite for Flute and Piano, Op.34, which they also perform on our upcoming broadcast.

After an electrifying performance, the students eagerly shared what they imagined while the two were playing.

“It was fun to see them really get into describing the pieces and the pictures in their heads. They gave [the] Widor so many great titles, it was hilarious—from a cat and mouse game to a boat sinking at sea!” Hally said.

A serious Tolkien fan, Hally explained that the music reminds her of a scene from the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

Then, Hally and Bryan each played a solo piece and talked about the challenges and benefits of their instruments. In fact, Hally’s favorite thing about the flute– which is that in playing the flute you only have to read one line of  music — was exactly what pushed Bryan from the flute to the piano. Bryan explained to the students that he also plays the organ, and on that instrument, it’s like having 20 flutes under your fingers!

After sharing some of their favorite classical pieces, including Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee” and a Chopin Etude, Hally and Bryan played a ‘mystery’ piece, which was quickly identified as the theme from Lord of the Rings by the excited audience. They followed that with the theme from Pink Panther, which was a definite hit.

Hally later commented, “I really liked sharing music at the schools…The students’ excited responses taught me how important finding a ‘common ground’ with your audience can be in building bridges with music.”

UPDATE: Check out Media Production Manager Scott King’s photo gallery here.

More than 800 APS students, parents, faculty members and staff welcomed prospective students, parents, and members of the community during the inaugural neighborhood education celebration on Saturday at North Atlanta High School.

The two-hour event included a pep rally, open house, live performances, a parade of schools, educational displays and other colorful events highlighting the educational experiences of students attending North Atlanta High School, Sutton Middle, and Brandon, Bolton, Garden Hills, Jackson, E. Rivers and Sarah Smith elementary schools. All of these schools offer the acclaimed International Baccalaureate (IB) academic program. 

Atlanta Board of Education members Kathleen B. Pattillo (District 4) and Mark B. Riley (At-Large), newly elected board members Reuben McDaniel III (At-Large) and Nancy Meister (District 4), and APS Superintendent Dr. Beverly L. Hall also participated in the event. Community leaders attending the celebration included Atlanta City Council members Clair Muller and Howard Shook, Rep. Ed Lindsey, Sam Massell (president of the Buckhead Coalition), Jim Alexander (president of the Atlanta Board of Realtors) and Cynthia Brown (president of the North Atlanta Parents for Public Schools, or NAPPS).

“When it comes to the North Atlanta cluster of schools, all six elementary schools, as well as Sutton Middle, are distinguished,” said Dr. Hall. “That means they’ve met adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind law for the last three years in a row. And North Atlanta High School’s college-prep course of study continues to raise the bar on achievement, with students walking out of the door with acceptance letters and scholarship offers to competitive colleges.”

Sharing master of ceremonies duties were comedian, actor and author and APS alum Finesse Mitchell and APS music teacher Greg Hucks.

The neighborhood education celebration was sponsored by APS, the Atlanta Education Fund, and the Parent Teacher Associations at each of the participating schools. APS also collected canned goods during the event to benefit the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

Based on the success of the initial event, APS plans to organize additional neighborhood education celebrations throughout the district.

This week’s episode of From the Top was taped on October 9, 2009 at the Libby Gardner Concert Hall at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City with Utah Chamber Artists and KBYU-FM. Here’s what the performers had to say about the music they played on the show:

Jossalyn Jensen

Jossalyn Jensen, 17, viola
Rhapsody by Tibor Serly
This piece is filled with Hungarian folk music from beginning to end. The rhythms in the opening are reminiscent of the strong rhythms of the Hungarian language. When I play this piece, there are parts where I can envision colorfully dressed Hungarian folk dancers dancing at a festival or a Hungarian violinist entertaining at a little Budapest cafe.

Weiyi Le, 15, piano
II. Chez Petrouchka from Three Movements from Petrouchka by Igor Stravinsky
Having seen the ballet of the piece, the image of an over-energized puppet dancing will always be on my mind as I perform this piece. My favorite section of the song is right after the introduction section, where the capricious mood of the music is best portrayed. Unlike most pieces I’ve learned, Petroushka is highly unpredictable.

John Ringor

John Ringor, 15, marimba
Virginia Tate by Paul Smadbeck
This piece special to me, because it was the very first solo I played with four mallets. But what I really admire about the piece are the different feelings—happiness, suspense, sadness, warmth—it invokes. When I play Virginia Tate I hope to trigger such emotions within the audience.

Gifted Music School Orchestra, ages 9-18
Violin Concerto in G Minor, Op. 8, No. 2, RV 315, “Summer” from The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi
This piece is full of imagery including a torrential summer rain storm, lightning bolts, and an incessant driving pulse and rhythm.

PPI is approaching its fifth year changing perceptions in the Middle East.

From the Field will offer you new updates Monday through Friday each week. But what if that doesn’t satisfy your PPI cravings? Well, there’s Facebook, Change.org, and Twitter, but there will always be some overlap between those and our current home  here on From the Field. For something really different? Check out the former PPI – ME blog, available right here.

Started in 2006 by some of our employees in the Middle East, the former PPI – ME blog has over 100 posts from PPI days of old. So take some time and surf around, and see how we got to where we are today.

Special thanks to all our former staffers who contributed to the front- and back-end of that blog over the years. They’re the real inspiration for From the Field today.

On Friday, November 20, 2009, Dr. Henrietta Smith and Maria Treadwell, East Coast Assistant Director, traveled to Miami to participate in a workshop for the school media specialists of the Archdiocese of Miami. The workshop, sponsored by the Catholic Library Association (CLA), was the first specifically focused meeting ever held for the media specialists of the archdiocese.

Dr. Henrietta Smith talking at the archdiocese

As the featured speaker, Dr. Smith spoke to the assembled group about collection development, censorship, and storytelling. The 40+ school media specialists were introduced to the various genre of literature for children and young adults and some of the awards given for quality youth literature such as the Coretta Scott King Award, Caldecott Medal, Pura Belpré Medal, and the Regina Medal. In addition, Dr. Smith discussed storytelling, its importance to children of all ages, and concluded her presentation with the story, “The Cat’s Purr.”

USF/SLIS professional development and South Florida educational opportunities were presented by M. Treadwell. The attendees learned about the new Enlightened Librarians Involved in Technology and Education (ELITE) program that will begin in the Fall 2010 Semester and about the opportunities an American Library Association accredited degree offers.

Other topics introduced to the group included Information Literacy and the Skills for Learning to Learn, Educating the Whole Child: Library Resources for the Arts, and the membership benefits of belonging to the Catholic Library Association.

Sister Frances O’Dell, SLIS alumna and executive board member of CLA, was the workshop organizer.

Sister Frances O'Dell (middle) with some attendees

~MT

Julie Hotchkiss

Julie Hotchkiss, a 1989 graduate of the Washington and Lee School of Law, has just been named director of development at the Oregon State University-Cascades in Bend, Oregon. The appointment is effective in early January. OSU-Cascades is the first branch campus in the Oregon University System. Julie has been working in nonprofit development for more than 17 years. She was most recently with the Deschutes River Conservancy in Bend and was with the High Desert Museum for 10 years before that. Julie began her development work in Charlotte, N.C., where she had gone to practice law. Her first job in development was as director of planned giving for Queens University in Charlotte. Julie comes by her success in development honestly, of course, since her father, Farris Hotchkiss, led W&L’s development operation for more than three decades prior to his retirement in 2001.

by Bill Henk
Helen Reilly died eleven days short of her 100th birthday.  A person can do a lot of living in that amount of time.  I didn’t know Helen, but I learned something truly remarkable about her in the homily of a mass one Sunday at my home parish.

She  was a graduate of Marquette and had been a second grade teacher at MPS’s William Cullen Bryant School for 14 years.  Those two counts alone qualify her as someone to honor on our Marquette Educator blog.    But there’s more.

For the record, Helen’s husband, John, had served as a Wisconsin Assemblyman representing Wauwatosa and as a Milwaukee County Civil Court Judge.  Their marriage produced two children, Jane and Peter, and in turn, two grandchildren.  A fulfilling family life is certainly worth celebrating, too.

But it’s another fact that truly sets her apart.  She was a daily communicant. Our priest told us that Helen had attempted to attend mass and receive the Eucharist every day since she made her first Holy Communion, probably around the age of 8.

He estimated her number of trips to the altar at 30,000 times.  If my calculations are correct, though, it’s probably closer to 33,000.  Maybe it seems like splitting hairs, but let me give you a lens on just the 3,000 difference.

A “Little” Perspective

I’ve been going to Communion pretty much weekly for almost 50 years, and I figure my highest possible total would be 2600.  Since my attendance hasn’t always been stellar, my number is probably a fair amount less.

In other words, my entire count of Communion visits at its most generous doesn’t equal Helen’s rounding error.  It will take me roughly eight more years just to reach that amount.  In fact, if I aspired to equal her overall total at my current rate, I would need to live to the ripe old age of 715, still short of Methuselah by 254 years, but obviously a ridiculous lifespan nonetheless.   Even Moses only made it to 120.

Please know that I mean no disrespect to Helen by interjecting these comparisons and references.  On the contrary, I am simply trying to make a point that qualifies as both profound and memorable.

Living the Marquette Mission

Recently I had the good fortune to connect with Helen’s daughter, Jane.  She told me that her mother had a deep love of education and passed it along to her children.   She also recounted a recent experience that gave her insight on the impact her mother had exerted in the classroom.  Her words were as follows:

An incredible thing happened about 2 months before her passing. A young woman, who is a caretaker at St. Camillus, came up and introduced herself to me. She said that she was shocked when she saw my mother. This woman – about age 35- 40 – had mom as her 2nd grade teacher.  She expressed nothing but fond memories of my mom.  It was so thrilling to think that someone remembered her after all those years.

There is one more aspect to Helen’s life that her daughter shared with me, and it bears mentioning.  It turns out that Helen was religious in a very different way.  How?  She almost never missed a Marquette basketball game!

So, please join me in celebrating Mrs. Reilly’s long life, one that surely enriched her family and friends  and touched many urban school children in wonderful ways. 

And let’s celebrate her receipt of the Body of Christ — done with such frequency that, one foot at a time would measure exactly 6¼ miles high.  That’s got to be pretty close to Heaven, which seems only fitting.

A weekend free of UMass hockey games afforded me the opportunity to get out and try and see some of the incoming recruits playing in the area, something I enjoying doing whenever feasible.  So yesterday without a reason to truck all the way out to Amherst I only went halfway instead to watch the EJHL’s Green Mountain Glades take on Colin Shea and the Junior Bruins in Marlborough.

So here are my thoughts from watching Shea play:

He’s a very smooth skater, he even may have a little speed.  The entire game he was very poised and relaxed, even at the end when things got chippy.  He played smart on defense, putting himself in good position.  His greatest skill is his poke check which stymied the Glades all game long.   

Offensively he was solid.  He made good outlet passes and moved the puck well both on offense and on the power play.  He seems to have a solid wrister but he only used it a couple times.  His slapshot needs work however both in terms of strength and accuracy.  He seemed to like to jump up into the play when possible and didn’t hesitate to skate down with or even lead the rush (similar to what we see from Justin Braun).  He finished the game with two assists, one on a slapshot that was stopped and put back in by a teammate and the other I think was him cycling it down for the goal.  I believe he was on the ice for four of the five goals (EJHL doesn’t have +/- on box scores), played on the first pairing and was on the first PP and PK units.

Now to the elephant in the room, he is very skinny.  He certainly has good height, but I think the 170-175lbs published is accurate.  The weight and his slapshot are the two things that pose the greatest challenges to him having success in Hockey East.  His poke check is excellent but there are times when you have to pinch someone up along the boards and he’ll have a tough time doing so currently until he bulks up.  I wanted to offer to take him out for a couple prime ribs and perhaps a pizza or two after the game but I don’t think the NCAA would’ve appreciated such a gesture.

Some other players who stood out in the game:
-  Joe Pendenza.  Lowell bound forward who had a good two-way game.
-  Justin Breton.  Had two goals in the game, looked to be the main scorer.  Heading to Bentley.
-  Dan Federico.  Shea’s defensive partner.  Unsigned.  Son of Hockey East linesman?
-  Joey Yeadon.  Only a junior.  Unsigned.  High energy, was all over the ice.
-  Matt Esposito.  Unsigned.  Looked to be Glades best player.

Δ

I’ve been able to add an Alumni page to Fear The Triangle hoping it will be a central place to keep track of where all the former Minutemen are playing or coaching nowadays and see their up to date stats.  I think I have almost everyone covered, mostly thanks to HockeyDB.  I’ll do my best to keep it up to date as guys change teams, etc.  There are a few players that I think are probably still playing somewhere but I couldn’t track them down, namely Scott Crowder, Kelly Sickavish, and most surprisingly Stephen Werner.  If anyone has any information on these three or any other UMass alums who are still in pro hockey in some way, shape, or form, please email me or use the comment function on the page itself.

Δ

New England Prep hockey begins today with an exhibition tournament out at the site of UMass’ latest win, Yale’s Ingalls arena.  Cushing and Conor Sheary will be in action.

John Parker assisted on three of Indiana’s four goals last night as the Ice beat Chicago 4-0 in USHL play.  Parker was named the game’s #2 star and had a +3 on the game.

Δ

For those that missed it, could’ve-been Minuteman John Carlson made his NHL debut for Washington on Friday.  He became the youngest Cap to do so.  Recaps say he played pretty well and even hit a post.

NUSANTARA – NUSANTARA: Kumpul-kumpul.

AGEARTH:
Graduates Association of Earth University

http://www.earth.ac.cr/ing/grad_aso.php

Undergrad Bradley Allen and Graduate student Kim Irby send their greetings from UVA, where they are attending the “Jefferson, Palladio, and the Fine Arts in America Symposium” at Charlottesville, which continues through today.  Alumna Julie Smith also attended.

Former assistant captain Peter Trovato was interviewed on Fox Boston morning news show yesterday regarding his Massachusetts Soliders Legacy Fund.  Unlike the Globe article earlier in the week, Peter freely mentions his alma mater.

Δ

There are probably not many better ways to make your debut on a team than scoring an overtime winner, and that’s exactly what Chris Davis did last night in his first game with the Wheeling Nailers.  Chris Capraro also scored a goal in the game.

Δ

Nothing too surprising from last night’s results as BC beat Maine, BU’s slide continues with a loss to UNH, and Northeastern beat Providence.  With their wins BC and UNH leapfrogged UMass into first place in Hockey East, but both teams have a game in hand or two over the Minutemen.  Those same teams will matchup again tonight with the addition of Lowell hosting Merrimack at Tsongas Arena.

Δ

James Marcou dropped a bit in this week’s Hobey Watch from Inside Hockey.  However Thursday’s game-winner plus an assist in addition to whatever he may do in Vermont will help him next week.

Δ

What’s life like for recruit Eric Filiou and the rest of the players in the British Columbia Hockey League?  Not Easy.  The Penticton Vees blog describes a 10 hour journey to get to opponent Powell River that includes not one but two ferry rides.  Maybe that bus trip to Orono isn’t too bad after all.

Δ

College Hockey News has an interesting article on the reemergence of former BU netminder Brett Bennett with Wisconsin.

Δ

The Road Trip page has been updated after a very enjoyable trip to New Haven on Thursday.  Also, with a link to the right you can stay up to date with your UMass hockey news and info through Twitter, email, and now Facebook.

Last Monday, Lambda Sigma invited alumni to join us at our GBM to see how we run business.

During our meeting our founding father’s pledge class’s VP Pledge Educator, Adrian Avalos, an alumni from Eta Chi’s Chapter, informed us the history of our chapter.

After the meeting we went to the Yard House and enjoyed watching a very heated up college basketball game, Fullerton vs. UCLA.

We’d like to thank all the alumni for taking their time to come visit us! We truly appreciate all the support we can get!

Cinta Yang Hilang

ku tak mengerti

apa yang terjadi..

cintaku pergi tak berarti..

hilang dan tak mugkin kembali..

sayang yang dulu aku nanti..

melupakan dirinya di hati..

sanggup membuat hatiku mati..

dengan orang yang sangat aku benci..

namun rasa itu hilang..

bersama kesalahan yang membuatku bimbang..

maafkan sayang..

ku tak bisa kembali padamu..

cintaku mati..

bersama hilangnya hati..

datang dan pergi..

dengan cinta yang tak berarti..

maafkan..

cintaku hanya untuk yang ku cinta..

yang ku cinta hanyalah untuk hatiku..

hatiku hanya untuk cinta yang hilang..

Biodata Penulis

• Nama : Wini Widiyanti
• TTL : Majalengka 25 Desember 1991
• Alamat : Kutamanggu, gang Sidajaya RT/RW 07/03 NO.02 dan Jl. Melong Kaler 01 no.04, Lengkong Besar Bandung
• Angkatan : 2006
• Hobi : Menulis, badminton, baca komik dan novel
• Email : wienz_lovely06@yahoo.co.id

It has been a long time since i was deeply into this idea of creating a website dedicated to my current school, SDVemhss.
It started as an idea of making a static website to include some pics, and some written stuff about the institution.
But later then, i had this change of including a guest-book(like a scrap book) thing and so on which has now been evolved to a social networking platform.

I mean what would be a school without students ?
So decided to make it an alumni portal with both the static data and the collaboration of the students.

My idea is to have a portal dedicated to the students of SDV, where they can send messages, write articles together, do their projects together, meet the old students, and the old ones can arrange get together functions, give instructions to the junior chaps and all
But apart from that, i would like to also add an orkut similar structure to the system so that every student will have a unique profile, and each student can get verified by any teacher in the community.
Every one will have a wall or a scrap book, in which others can scribble on.
Each one of the users can send others private messages, including videos, pics, and anything they like.
Places like teachers only area, students only area restricts access to the respective group only.

But before all this could happen, I need to know who all will be there with me through this endeour and i have included a poll with this. please be kind to vote in your opinion in it. any other suggestion or comments are all welcome, but please please don’t ignore this !

The Pageant of the Trees features an auction of an array of originally designed holiday trees to support student scholarships and programs.

On Tuesday, December 8 at 6:00 p.m., alumni, friends, and supporters of Santa Ana College will kick off the holiday season in style at the Seventh Annual Pageant of the Trees. While guests enjoy an evening of hors d’oeuvres, music, and holiday festivities, they will feast their eyes on an array of originally designed holiday trees—all available to the highest bidder.  The holiday auction benefitting Santa Ana College (SAC) students and programs will be held at The First American Corporation, 1 First American Way, Santa Ana, CA 92707.

 “This magical holiday event reveals the generous support our college receives from friends and alumni.  The artistic trees are a wonder to themselves, but they represent the transformation process for our students,” said Erlinda J. Martinez, Ed.D., SAC president. 

The event will feature a musical performance by the Santa Ana College Jazz Ensemble and student success stories. The First American Corporation, the evening’s premier sponsor and host, is joined by the following additional event sponsors: Citizens Business Bank; EMAE Industries; SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union; Aitken, Aitken and Cohn; Bernards; Wells Fargo; Crevier BMW/Mini; Student Insurance; Garden Grove Hospital; HMC Architects;  Dr. Carolyn Breeden; the Kiwanis Club of Santa Ana; and Santa Ana Firemen’s Association.

Tickets are $125 for five-star dining and a host bar. Space is limited. For reservations, call (714) 564-6091 or visit the Santa Ana College Foundation online.