Ave Maria Living.com
Ave Maria, Florida – the town with a Catholic heart.©™ Stories & information for residents & visitors.Archive for Rhodora J. Donahue Academy
Cardinal Newman Society lauds 2 Ave Maria institutions
The Cardinal Newman Society issues the annual “go to” guides for parents and students who are interested in attending a high school, college or university that has a solid commitment to offering an education in a context that is in accord with the Catholic faith. Each year the The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College is published – and each year Ave Maria University makes the cut. Likewise, each year the S
ociety honors select high schools by including them on its Catholic Education Honor Roll, and once again the Rhodora J. Donahue Academy of Ave Maria is a School of Excellence.
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8 things to click: a click-worthy Ave Maria update
It’s May June. We’re all so busy. Here is a quick and dirty mash-up of things of note for Ave Marians (and those who love us):
1. For the past few years, Sister Albert Marie, OP, DSMME, has been a graduate Theology student at AMU. On Friday she will present her doctoral thesis. All are invited. Click the flyer for details.
2. On Friday the Donahue Catholic Shamrock 8-man football team played a spring game. This was the first game since losing in the Florida state title game, and the first game playing without 12 seniors who were on that team. The boys won 20 to 14.
3. Our former neighbor and friend, the always compelling Joseph Pearce, gave a lecture in the UK on the delicious things about which he always writes and talks. AMU Classics and Philosophy professor Joseph Yarbrough was kind enough to draw my attention to the podcast of it. Pearce talks about the Second Spring, a reference to the Traditional Latin Mass, which he explains through a chain of references to Coleridge, Newman, Hopkins, Wilde, Chesterton, Belloc, Greene, Waugh, Lewis and Tolkein (are you hungry yet?).
4. The joy of having the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist here in town is temporarily tempered by the farewells that inevitably come each June when the Sisters depart for summer assignments. For some, the departure also marks the end of their assignment in Ave Maria, as it does this year for Sister Teresa Benedicta and Sister Mary Martha, who have been teaching at Donahue Catholic. Sister Teresa Benedicta has been teaching high school theology for the past five years, and next year she will be at a high school in San Francisco. Sister Mary Martha has been teaching in the grammar school for just one year, and next year she will be teaching in Peoria. Make sure you say goodbye and wish them well in their new assignments.
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Grapplers’ hard work on display at first Ave Maria tournament
The Shamrock Wrestling Club held its first tournament on May 24. Pictured are the wrestlers and their coaches, Bob Klucik, Lon Juricic, and Joe Chmielowski.
On Saturday morning, parents and friends got to see the hard work of the Shamrock Wrestling Club pay off. The club has been practicing twice each week for the past two months at Donahue Catholic. The program was led by Ave Maria town resident Bob Klucik, who has a wealth of experience coaching youth and high school wrestling.
According to Tim Donohue, the Shamrock father who spearheaded the idea, the club plans to run more clinic and competition programs in the near future. The interest in wrestling was sparked when several families in town began participating in a different youth wrestling club that held practices all winter at Palmetto Ridge High School. The goal is to develop the boys’ skills so that eventually they can feed into a school team at Donahue Catholic.
More photos here => Read the rest of this entry »
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Donahue Catholic honors fallen Army pilot and military alums
Margaret Padgett in front of the Major David Padgett Wall of Honor, newly installed at Donahue Catholic Academy in Ave Maria
This afternoon the Donahue Catholic Academy of Ave Maria dedicated a Wall of Honor to honor Army pilot Major David Padgett who was killed during the Vietnam War. The founder of the school, Marine Corps veteran Tom Monaghan, and the school’s benefactrix namesake, Mrs. Rhodora Donahue, were also on hand for the ceremony in the library where the Wall of Honor is installed. Read the rest of this entry »
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Great News: Scanlon new athletic & formation director at Donahue Catholic
Two sources have confirmed that beloved Shamrock football coach Rich Scanlon has been hired by Donahue Catholic as its Director of Athletics, Director of Formation, and Physical Education Instructor. Last week Coach Read the rest of this entry »
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West Point and Ave Maria
Jack Donahue, West Point Class of 1946, is one of Ave Maria’s biggest benefactors, as this bronze plaque behind the Oratory explains
What do Ave Maria and West Point have in common? Not much, really. But we can stretch to find a connection in order to share a really neat story that hit the internet this week. So here goes: Jack Donahue, who along with his wife Rhodora (that Rhodora) is one of Ave Maria University’s biggest benefactors, graduated from West Point in 1946. That really is enough of a connection, I think.*
The story being shared is simple, except that its two-dozen photographs give a glimpse into an American treasure that still holds fast to at least some anachronistic traditions. When you click through, be sure to scroll down to see a portion of the 4400 cadets who stream into the mess hall and simultaneously sit down to eat in a 20-second time-lapse video.
Just one ofmore six wings in the Gothic mess hall that seats 4400 cadets, who all sit down simultaneously to eat three times a day
*Full disclosure: As an alum and president of the West Point Society of Naples, yours truly is quite biased (and ate probably 3500 meals in this mess hall).
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Youth 2000: Thank you!
This team led about 100 students in the Youth 2000 retreat in Ave Maria, Florida, this past weekend, with the assistance of dozens more volunteers. Pictured are Joey Haas, Martin Doman, Sister John Paul O.P., and six members of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.
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Bishop Dewane in Ave Maria to support youth
On Saturday evening Bishop Frank Dewane celebrated the vigil Mass at the Ave Maria Oratory with parishioners. His visit was in support of the Youth2000 retreat being held in town this weekend.
Five Franciscan Friars giving the retreat and pastor Father Cory Mayer concelebrated the Mass. With nearly 100 local high school and college students participating, the retreat was organized by Sister John Paul, O.P., a teacher at Donahue Catholic academy, and supported by dozens of volunteers.
Bishop Dewane expressed joy in his own vocation while encouraging the retreatants to seriously consider whether God might be calling the young men to be priests or Religious, and the young women to enter Religious life. While in town he also spent time with middle school students.
Venice Bishop Frank Dewane distributes Holy Communion at the Ave Maria Oratory assisted by altar boy Joseph Klucik
A shaft of bright sunlight focuses attention on Venice Bishop Frank Dewane and Father Cory Mayer during Mass in Ave Maria
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Invitation from Sister John Paul: Youth 2000 in Ave Maria
The wise and wonderful Sister John Paul, O.P. (DSMME), wants everyone (especially students who mi
ght not have heard yet) to know about the upcoming Youth 2000 event. It is sponsored by Rhodora J. Donahue Academy of Ave Maria and will take place in the Ave Maria University ballroom. There is a requested fee, but scholarships are available to all who ask (just write “partial/full scholarship requested” on the application).
Forms are below. Here is the note that Sister sent me:
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