Every Adult in Our Community is a Teacher

By Jeff Sutliff, Assistant Principal for Academics

On December 2, the entire faculty, staff, and administration of Saint Martin participated in a day of professional development led by Dr. Rita Pierson. The purpose of the day was for our entire adult community to learn more about our students, their families, and how we can serve them more effectively. Our curriculum is based in part on the belief that learning should be a collaborative effort that goes beyond the classroom. As principal Mary Ann Vogel described it, “Every adult who works here is a teacher, whether they work in an office, the kitchen, or the classroom, so everyone needs to understand our students and their families.”

The presentation outlined specific strategies for serving our students. One teacher described how much she appreciated Dr. Pierson’s discussion of formal and casual language and how we can improve our students’ communication skills: “I can easily address levels of language with my students by relating that even the corporate people our students work for switch between formal and casual language.” Another staff member noticed people quoting Dr. Pierson as they addressed students in the weeks following the workshop.

Joining us for the day were teams from other organizations who share our commitment to students from the city of Cleveland, including Boys Hope Girls Hope, Cleveland Central Catholic High School, and the Howley Family Foundation. Support from the Eva L. and Joseph M. Bruening Foundation made the day possible.

Screenwriter Angileece Williams `12 Finds Her Voice

By Rich Clark, President


Angi pictured with the star of Life's Poison


When I heard Ann Klonowski’s theology classes were writing essays for a national contest sponsored by Scenarios USA, I felt it was a good exercise for our sophomores and that was that. Months later, I was floored when it was announced that Angileece Williams `12 was one of the three winners and that a short film would be made by a professional director and actors.

If that weren’t enough, I later learned that there would be a world premiere of her film, Life’s Poison, in New York City! I had to go. I invited Fr. Joe Parkes, S.J., president of Cristo Rey New York, to accompany me to the Visual School of the Arts theatre on 23rd Street in Manhattan. In addition to Fr. Parkes and me, Angi’s family, and Ann Klonowski were in attendance for the December 7 premiere of Life’s Poison.

Angi’s film was screened along with three others and then the three young writers came on stage along with their directors. Angileece was the last to speak. She took the podium and began to speak of what the film and process taught her. She shared that during the filming the young man playing the central character came out with a big chain and large cross. Angi did not think that fit the character she had created, but when asked by the director, she shrugged and said it was ok. The assistant director came over to her and told her it was time for her to speak up and make a decision. She did and off came the chain and cross. She said there, for the first time, she found her voice. Prior to this experience she felt voiceless, but now she realized she had a voice and wanted to share it. She hoped that other students, with her help, would find their voice. Many in the packed theatre were brought to tears by Angileece’s words. When she finished, the crowd erupted in the loudest cheers of the night!

There are plans to screen Angileece’s film during the Cleveland Film Festival. We will provide details once they are available. For additional coverage of Angi's film and Scenarios USA, visit http://www.scenariosusa.org/.

Christmas Concert with a Broadway Star!

By Brian Hricik, Assistant Director of Advancement

Daniel Reichard (top right) sings with the Saint Martin Gospel Choir, led by Natasha Cooper.

The 2010 Saint Martin Christmas concert was held December 14 at The Breen Center for The Performing Arts on the Saint Ignatius High School campus.

The sold out concert was a special evening to honor the memory of Alex Zdrojewski, who was an early champion of the school’s mission of “Transforming urban Cleveland, one student at a time.” The evening was highlighted with a beautiful performance led by Natasha Cooper, Byron Brown, Nathan Stepp, and the Saint Martin Gospel Choir.

Following the choir, Cleveland native, Saint Ignatius alumnus, and Tony Award winning Broadway star, Daniel Reichard, performed a stunning set list which included a melody of Christmas songs along with a few songs from the Broadway hit, Jersey Boys. Daniel was one of the original Four Sensations when the Jersey Boys production was launched on Broadway. Daniel personally flew out two of his Broadway musician colleagues to come and help him perform for the show. Some members of the audience where standing and up and dancing with his last performance, “Oh, What a Night.”

The evening concluded with some thoughtful and inspiring remarks by Saint Martin senior and choir member, Jeremiah Parks. Daniel joined the choir for a final performance of “Joy to the World” to end the event.

The concert turned out to be a special evening for the school and Alex would have been proud of the Saint Martin community.

Rich Clark Honored as Nonprofit Executive, Person of the Year

By Keith Laschinger, Vice President of Advancement

The first week of December was quite a week for Rich Clark! On Thursday, December 2, the night LeBron James returned to Quicken Loans Arena, Rich was honored as the nonprofit executive director of the year at the Pillar Award for Community Service event hosted in Westlake. Rich, who was nominated for this honor by board member Margie Flynn, shared this honor with Mary Sue Tanis of Youth Challenge. Others honored at the event included corporate partners Achievement Centers for Children, Ernst & Young, Hyland Software, and A.J. Hyland, who received the Kent Clapp CEO Leadership Award.

A video highlighting the work of Saint Martin, and featuring board chair Nick Howley, provided Rich’s introduction. Upon stepping to the podium, Rich reminded the audience that “there is hope in Cleveland – even after LeBron!”

Hope was also a central theme in Rich’s acceptance speech as the Christ Child Society’s Person of the Year. During his remarks, Rich said:

"Over 80 percent of our students are or will be first generation college students. Our students come from families where the average income is about $30,000 with a family size of four. Many of our students have just one parent in their lives. But we do not define or limit our students by what they might lack. And that’s because they have the one thing that might matter most…and that’s HOPE."

Rich received the Christ Child Society honor at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Cleveland on Saturday, December 4. The honor was made even more special because Rich was introduced by the 2009 Christ Child Society Person of the Year and Saint Martin board member, Don Dailey.

Congratulations to Rich for his well-deserved honors.

Father Welsh Receives St. Martin Medallion

By Keith Laschinger, Vice President of Advancement

Founding VP of Mission, Father Robert Welsh receives the St. Martin Medallion from Founding President Rich Clark

Saint Martin de Porres High School’s founding Vice President of Mission, Father Robert Welsh, S.J., was honored with the St. Martin Medallion November 17 for his lasting impact on the Saint Martin Community. The evening began with Fr. Welsh celebrating the Eucharist in our Chapel of the Annunciation and concluded with a gathering in our main hallway featuring delicious hors d’oeuvres generously provided by our dear friend, Sue Stewart.

In addition to close friends of Fr. Welsh and Saint Martin, we were joined by very special guests Cindy Krawczonek and Shirley Wenson. Cindy Krawczonek is the mother of Kallie Krawczonek, who was a member of our first graduating class and is currently in her third year at Kent State University. Shirley Wenson is the mother of Sunni Wenson, who was a member of our Class of 2009 and is currently in her second year at Spelman College. Both Kallie and Sunni were recipients of the Rev. Robert J. Welsh, S.J., Work Study Serve Lead Pray Award. A plaque bearing their names, and the names of the other twelve recipients, as well as Fr. Welsh’s name and his image, was also unveiled November 17 and is now perpetually on display in our main hallway. This honor is bestowed annually at graduation upon the students who “most joyfully and faithfully live our school’s values in the spirit of Fr. Welsh.”

The medallion which was presented to Fr. Welsh was originally produced by Dominican priest and sculptor Thomas McGlynn, and past recipients have included B.J. and Bebe Cassin, Bob Mooney, Susie Murphy, Karen Nestor, Tony Stavole, and Mary Ann Vogel.

Winter a Time of Growth for Our Lions

By Treye Johnson, Athletic Director

Spring is often viewed as a time of growth and new beginnings. However, winter is proving to be a season of blossoming for our Saint Martin athletic teams.

Two weeks into the season, the Saint Martin cheerleaders got things started with a bang. In the first cheerleading competition in school history, the team, led by coach Cyndi Soltis, earned first place honors at the JamFest Rockin’ Jam.

Not to be outdone, the boys’ basketball team, led by coach Myran Jackson, is also enjoying unprecedented success. They followed their first place finish at the Melanie Williams Memorial Tournament at Andrews Osborne Academy with a 20-point victory over New Day Academy. These victories left the Lions with a 3-1 record overall.

While the girls’ basketball and bowling teams haven’t yet enjoyed a signature victory, both teams have shown promise. The girls’ basketball team is led by coach Stan Thornton and is getting better each day. The bowling team, coached by Brian Schaffran, is also improving on the lanes.

Please join us Friday, January 28 for Homecoming (with no football team we do our homecoming during basketball season!) when our varsity basketball teams take on Lawrence School at John Carroll University. Tipoff for the girls’ game will be 6:30 p.m. and the boys will begin at 8:00 p.m.

Wonder Week 2010

By Devon Lynch-Huggins-Szep

Michelle Brickner and her Body Art class display "body parts" made of plastic wrap.

Last year, sometime during the winter, I was having a conversation with a senior who commented to me that she was troubled by the fact that sometimes there is so much business to take care of at school that teachers and students never get to know each other as human beings. Aside from being impressed by the seriousness with which this student approached the possibility that I was, in fact, a human being I felt troubled because she was right. Sometimes school gets in the way.

We know that relationships are essential to learning. In order for learning to happen, there has to be a mutual sense of trust - some rapport between teacher and student. While genuine learning certainly happens in our classrooms throughout the course of the year, we know that often the most meaningful learning experiences happen in a way that is much more organic than the traditional classroom setting can facilitate.

Last spring, one of my really, really smart friends and colleagues, Adam Musser, proposed the idea of taking a week away from the confines of our complicated school schedule to let learning happen in a different way. He borrowed the idea of “Wonder Week” from a friend who teaches at another area high school. The idea is simple: for one week each adult in the community is asked to teach something that he or she loves. A small group of adults met to discuss the possible rewards (engaged learning, literacy and numeracy in context, relationships between adults and students rooted in shared interests) and challenges (a week away from curriculum, the logistics of scheduling 435 students, space, transportation, funding) of such a week. We decided that the potential benefits far outweighed the challenges and we took the idea to our administrators who trusted us enough to say yes.

We held our first Wonder Week during the week of October 4-8, 2010. Students participated in a whole range of courses that week: Cleveland’s Ethnic Neighborhoods, Graphic Novels, a running clinic, Hip-Hop Consciousness, modern dance, how to rebuild a motorcycle, yoga, Lunch Impossible (cooking lunch for the entire student body every day for a week) and many more. Each course that was offered represented an interest of some adult in the community. Most students took two classes each day: one in the morning and one in the afternoon and some sessions lasted all day.

The week was simultaneously draining and reinvigorating. We had strong attendance all week and both teacher and student feedback reflects that it was a positive experience. The week did not go off without a hitch, but because it was planned so carefully and because of the openness that we, our students and our administration approached it, the challenges that arose represent opportunities for growth and reminders that taking chances is both risky and rewarding.

Wonder Week 2010 was a fabulous learning experience for all of us. We are currently evaluating this year’s successes and challenges and are in the early stages of planning Wonder Week 2011. If you have questions about Wonder Week, please contact me at dlynch-huggins@stmddphs.org.

How Are Our Alumni and Alumnae Doing?

Written by Veronica Favela, Director of Alumni Outreach

I am often asked to report numbers and I am happy to share about three of my favorite numbers: 50. 78. 62.

If you’ve been around Saint Martin the past few years then you know all about these numbers. Fifty represents the number of graduates in our first class, the Class of 2008. Seventy-eight represents the number of graduates in the Class of 2009. And 62 represents the number of graduates in the Class of 2010. These 190 students were given an opportunity and rose to the occasion.

As the Director of Alumni Outreach, I think about these 190 students all the time and I reach out to them on a daily basis. I also spend a lot of time placing their experience into context and measuring our progress. In order to accomplish this, I have become well-acquainted with some staggering data:
• 69% of high school graduates in the United States directly enroll in college.
• Only 63% of Ohio’s high school graduates directly enroll.
• Only 55% of low-income students directly enroll in college.
• 83% of Saint Martin graduates have directly enrolled in college.
• Where overall college attendance of low-income families is 57% nationally; for a Saint Martin alum that number is 88%.
• For the fall 2010 semester we had 72% of our graduates in college, already completed with a two-year program, or serving in the military. And I am confident that percentage will increase during the spring semester!

With numbers that are 30 points higher than national averages, it is important for us to share our results with everyone we meet. We have something to contribute to the ongoing discussion about improving educational attainment in our region. It is also important to note that we are always looking to improve upon our results.

Even more importantly, though, it’s important to keep in mind that these numbers represent members of our family who are still just college kids who are always on the lookout for spare quarters for laundry and a postcard saying “way to go, kid!” We are proud of them and proud to provide them with as much support as we can.