The Mount hosted over 100 colleges and universities at its annual College Fair on October 26. The event was coordinated by the Office of Student Services. Mount students from all grades had the opportunity to attend along with parents of juniors and seniors and a group of students from Oratory Prep.

Brianna Salort, grade 10, who is enrolled in Mrs. Abrams’ Painting and Mixed Media class, was the 10-12 grade Artsonia.com Artist of the Week for Dec. 6-12 for her acrylic painting of a house. Artsonia.com is a website where schools display their students’ artwork. Selected finalists are displayed on the site for a week and visitors to the site vote on their favorites.

Mount Saint Mary Academy in Watchung, NJ, profited from the summer study of their Biology teacher, Mrs. Anne Maxwell.

The Human Biology students recently evaluated several Grocery Store corn products for the presence of GMOs (genetically modified organisms). They isolated the DNA from corn chips, both organic and non-organic, and used PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technology to amplify the gene that would indicate that the corn plant used to create the product was genetically modified in some way. After they had amplified the appropriate gene for GMO corn, they isolated it using a DNA electrophoresis technique.

They were successful in finding the gene in commercially prepared grocery store products that were not labeled organic, free of GMO. Organic corn products did not produce a band, and were therefore not created from genetically modified corn plants. Said Mrs. Maxwell, “This was a great introduction to the world of biotechnology.”

All the equipment and reagents used for the lab were given to Mount Saint Mary Academy through a loan from the Princeton University Molecular Biology Department, courtesy of a grant funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.


Photo Credits: L to R “MSMA Biotechnology”
Kayla Pantano and Samantha McCarthy of Westfield and Lockett Reed of Summit.

Contest winners Hannah Shaw ’12 and her art teacher Miss Duffy Dillinger have created designs that were selected to be painted on rain barrels to be placed in public parks in West Orange. In an effort to raise awareness of the importance of water conservation in Somerset county, the West Orange Energy Commission held a contest to get artists involved. Hannah and Miss Dillinger sent in their designs and have won $350.00 each to paint the rain collection barrels by April, 2011. A percentage of the money will be donated to the Mount Mural Club

Mount Saint Mary Academy in Watchung, NJ is one of two first place winners in MSG Varsity’s contest “The School Spirit Mania.” The grand prize is a new club car personalized with the Mount’s logo and school colors. Sixty four schools from the tri-state area entered the contest which consisted going to a MSG website and voting for Mount Saint Mary Academy. The contest worked like the NCAA basketball brackets - working down to the "Final Two."

The last school in the competition against the Mount was Holy Trinity Diocesan High School in Hicksville, Long Island, with 1700 students. The Mount has 330 students. Email blasts went out to alumnae, past and present parents, members of boards and the students and staff. It was truly a group effort. Voting was neck and neck for most of the final session. Ms. Paula Fisher, the librarian who urged the school to take part in the contest and who was boundless in her enthusiasm, said, “At the end, everyone connected with the school pulled together as we knew they would. In the last hour of voting the excitement and tension was like and Olympic event as was the joy when we won.”

MSG Varsity was launched in late September 2009. A division of Cablevision, MSG Varsity is a dedicated High School Network designed to highlight as many events and positive school activities happening across high school in the Tri-State Area. Events include athletic games, theater performances, music concerts, student productions, and community programs. MSG Varsity runs on three platforms, Linear TV (Cablevision Channel 14); Interactive TV (Cablevision Channel 614) and Online (www.msgvarsity.com).
Photo Credits (L to R) “MSMA MSG contest winner”

Katherine Fallon of Warren, Melissa Alva of Piscataway, Ms. Paula Fisher of Piscataway, Catarina DiMaggio of Madison, and Mary Hrinkevich of Westfield.

Mount alumna and Board of Trustees Chair Lisa Fittipaldi Digirolamo, Esq. '75 received the St. Thomas More Award from the Diocese of Metuchen on October 9, becoming the first woman to receive the honor. Lisa was recognized at the Diocese’s annual Red Mass at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi in Metuchen and will receive the award during a luncheon to follow. The St. Thomas More Award is given annually to a member of the legal profession who exemplifies a commitment to moral conscience and an intense concern for others in the pursuit of justice.

Lisa is a member of the firm DiFrancesco, Bateman, Coley, Yospin, Kunzman, Davis & Lehrer where she specializes in family law and employment law. She is a member of the Texas and New Jersey Bars, the United States District Court, District of New Jersey and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Lisa is also a Mount Hall of Honor inductee and the school's mock trial team advisor.

According to Joanne Ward, Director of Communications for the Diocese of Metuchen, the Red Mass Committee selected Lisa from among a number of nominated lawyers and judges. Lisa was nominated by Mount Directress Sister Lisa Gambacorto, RSM.

Sister Lisa’s nomination letter highlighted the numerous contributions Lisa has made to the Mount Saint Mary community - from pro bono assistance with construction paperwork for the Angels of Victory track and field complex to the countless hours spent preparing Mount students for mock trial competitions. Calling Lisa “more than a role model,” Sister Lisa described her as “an example of a modern, intelligent, accomplished lawyer.”

Lisa credits her all-girls, college preparatory education at Mount Saint Mary Academy with instilling principles and values that have allowed her to succeed personally and professionally. “Academic curiosity and excellence were encouraged and applauded,” she said of her days in high school. “In the early 1970's that was not a common experience for young women. We were safe in that environment to argue, challenge and grow into self-confident women.”

The Mount is thrilled that Lisa has been selected to receive honor and is proud of all of her accomplishments. She is a true example of what a Mount Saint Mary young woman can become.

October is Italian Heritage Month and members of the Plainfield Chapter of UNICO visited the Mount on October 12 as part of their commemoration. Tina Carotenuto Dubas '63, District Governor Robert Bengivenga, Plainfield President John DeAndrea, and former National President Ronato Biribin presented Sister Lisa Gambacorto with a copy of Elizabeth Bettina's "It Happened in Italy." The book, which will be shared with the school's Italian and History classes, chronicles the stories of Italian citizens who saved others during the Holocaust.

TheThe National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) and New York Tri-State Area Affiliate Awards Team, selected Kaitlyn Pellicano of Dunellen, a 10th grade student at Mount Saint Mary Academy in Watchung, NJ, as a 2010-11 recipient of the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing New York Tri-State Affiliate. Kaitlyn is the main programmer for the Mount’s robotics team.

The award recipient letter said, “You are being recognized for your computing-related aspirations and aptitude, leadership skills, and academic achievement. The New York Tri-State Area Affiliate will honor you and three guests at an award ceremony scheduled for Tuesday, May 24 at 6:30 PM at the Eventi Hotel in Manhattan. This ceremony will be an exciting opportunity for you to connect with our New York, New Jersey and Connecticut educators, technologists, and other award recipients. In addition, you will be inspired by our speakers and the many companies, non-profits, universities, and schools who brought this national program to the New York Tri-State Area.”

Learn more about the National Center for Women & Information Technology at www.ncwit.org.

Photo Credits: L to R “MSMA computing award”

Sr. Lisa Gambacorto, RSM, Directress of Mount Saint Mary Academy; Mrs. Suzanne Grandstrand of Westfield, Moderator of the Robotics Club; and Kaitlyn Pellicano.

The Mount's McAuley Kids Club and Fathers' Club served nearly 400 pasta dinners on October 19 to benefit the McAuley School for Exceptional Children. Both organizations would like to express their gratitude to all those who helped make the event a tremendous success. Thanks to the wonderful turnout, the dinner brought in over $2,000 for the McAuley School.

Mount Saint Mary Academy alumna and Verona-native Stephanie Ferrell has broken Harvard University’s record in the 100-meter breaststroke. The freshman swimmer finished with a time of 1:02.64 at the Georgia Invitational last weekend.

“Our freshmen have been strong from day one,” said team co-captain Kristi Korsberg to the Harvard Crimson. “In a lot of ways, we’re following their lead ... riding the wave of their energy and enthusiasm.”

Stephanie is no stranger to breaking records, shattering numerous school, county, and state marks over her high school career. In addition, she won the 100-meter breaststroke and 200 IM at the Somerset County Championships for four consecutive years. Her many victories included first place at last spring’s Meet of Champions as part of the Mount’s 200-medley relay team. She was also named the Somerset County Girls Swimmer of the Year for 2011 by the Star Ledger and the Girls Swimmer of the Year for 2011 by the Courier News. Among other honors last season, Stephanie was named First Team All-State, First Team All Non-Public, and First Team All-Somerset. She helped lead the Mount Lions to first place in the Non-Public B division of the NJSIAA Tournament last season.

The news of Stephanie’s record was met with great enthusiasm at her alma mater, where she is respected not only as a standout athlete but as an exceptional student and friend. “Mount Saint Mary Academy is intensely proud of Stephanie and all of her accomplishments as a student and an athlete,” said Mount Directress S. Lisa Gambacorto. “She is a remarkable young woman whose academic and athletic abilities are matched by her poise, dedication, and spirit.”

Service is an essential core value all year long for students at Mount Saint Mary Academy and that spirit of giving is particularly evident during the holiday season. Throughout the month of November, students have coordinated food drives, book collections, and numerous fundraisers aimed at helping those in need both locally and around the world.

The Mount’s Peer Ministers, a student organization dedicated to faith and service, coordinated a collection of Thanksgiving food items to benefit the Mercy Center in Asbury Park, which will use the donations to create over 300 gift baskets for hungry area residents. The group also accepted a last-minute request to assist with the Angels in Action Food Drive in nearby Plainfield earlier this week.
“Every morning that I drive up to the Mount I am reminded of how blessed we all are in so many ways,” said Mount Campus Minister and Religion teacher Isabel Gachko. “As a community founded on the Mercy core values, it is our duty to share our blessings with others, especially at Thanksgiving and the holiday season.”

The Mount’s Home Economics Club has been working to raise funds and awareness for the “She’s the First Foundation,” a non-profit group that sponsors female education in the developing world. The club has chosen to donate all proceeds from their fundraising events to young women in Tanzania. “Girls helping girls – what better idea for a fundraiser,” said club moderator Carol Colluccio.

Individual Mount students have also coordinated drives to benefit various causes with the support of the school. Junior Margot Camino collected books for local children in first through fourth grades throughout the month of November. This followed a campaign by Svetlana Marhefka, also a Mount junior, to raise supplies and awareness for St. Hubert’s Animal Wellness Center in Morristown.

With Thanksgiving drives now complete for this year, Mount students turn their attention to a number of causes during the Christmas season. The Peer Ministers are also in the process of planning the school’s upcoming service day, an annual event which allows students and faculty to travel throughout the state to volunteer at hospices, food banks, and senior facilities.

Mount Saint Mary Academy’s robotics team enters this year’s competition season as the only team from an all-girls school in its division of the FIRST Tech Challenge, a national robotics competition for high school students. In an activity dominated by boys, the Mount team has excelled and looks to continue to improve its performance as it resumes competing this month.

“It’s really important for women to have opportunities in the science fields because in many areas, we’re underrepresented,” said Mount senior Meaghan Conlon of Edison. “We’re proud to compete and excited to have this experience.”

Students in the FIRST Tech Challenge design, build, and program their own robots which then compete against those created by other teams. A new robot must be created each year in order to perform specific functions pertaining to the challenge. The Mount team has named this year’s robot Sisyphus since it is designed to perform a similar task to the mythical king who repeatedly pushed a large bolder uphill.

For some students, the Mount robotics team creates the opportunity to expand on scientific knowledge in order to prepare for higher education. “It’s interesting to be able to learn, build, and program,” said Mount junior Kaitlyn Pellicano of Dunellen, an aspiring computer engineering major and last year’s recipient of the NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award. “It’s nice to apply academic skills to something fun while preparing for the challenges of college.”

The Mount robotics team was created only last year and in its inaugural season, the girls reached the state championship round and won numerous Motivate Awards for team spirit and community outreach.

The ten-player team gives much credit to faculty moderator and team founder Suzanne Grandstrand for helping them get off to such a strong start. “The teachers here are always looking for new opportunities to help students and we were fortunate to have Mrs. Grandstrand help us form the team,” said Pellicano. “It’s because of how supportive and encouraging our teachers are that we’re able to compete.”

The team’s hard work and ability has also have a lot to do with its success. In addition to practices after school, the girls spend multiple hours on campus every Saturday preparing their robot for competition. The Mount squad resumes FIRST Tech competition this month.

The Mount's Peer Ministers have begun their annual gift card drive to benefit Project Paul. They are collecting gift cards from stores including Target, Kmart, Sears, Kohls, and Toys R Us. The value of each card should be $25 or less. Students can drop off donations in homeroom.

The Mount is also sponsoring a Toys for Tots collection to benefit the children of health care aides at McAuley Hall. Unwrapped toys can be dropped off in collection bins located in the Student Center, Mount Building foyer, and the Mount faculty room.

Alyssa Torres '13, Kaitlyn Pellicano '13, and Janelle Kranz '13 have been nominated for Somerset County Somey Awards. The Someys are awarded to students who have created outstanding videos highlighting a Somerset County non-profit or government agency. Through the Mount's Communications Club, the girls submitted public service videos on the Somerset County Parks Commission and the Somerset County Library Commission. The girls will attend a red carpet event and awards presentation at Raritan Valley Community College on December 10.

Kelly O'Connor '14 and Tashanique Brown '14 have both been named winners in the VFW's Voice of Democracy Contest. Kelly placed second and Tashanique placed third for the Mount's VFW Post 10122. Kelly has also placed first in the county competition. The girls earned these honors as a result of their original essays and audio recordings reflecting on the sacrifices of American military personnel.

Kaitlyn Pellicano '13 has been selected as a runner up for the 2011-2012 National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) Award for Aspirations in Computing. She is among 200 young women selected from a pool of 1177 applicants. This is the second consecutive year Kaitlyn has won an Aspirations in Computing Award. She is an aspiring engineer and a member of the robotics team and communications club.

In an effort to raise awareness about responsible pet ownership during National Pet Wellness Month, Svetlana Marhefka '13 gave a presentation on the topic in Mercy Hall on October 19. She detailed the research, time, and effort involved in pet ownership and cited statistics on animals placed in shelters due to improper care. Svetlana was joined by Ellen Goldberg and Finn, a six-year-old Labrador, from St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center. St. Hubert's will use Svetlana's presentation in future assemblies at local schools. An aspiring vet, Svetlana will be collecting toys and treats for St. Hubert's dogs through the end of the month.