Newton Catholic High School - Newton Yearbook (Newton, MA)

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MONSIGNOR JOHN MCMANMON As administrator for Newton Catholic School, Monsignor Mc- Manmon has many duties. His responsibilities include the upkeep of the school, maintenance, per- sonnel and the burden of finances. Monsignor's job requires pa- tience and persistence. We realize that his job is not an easy one. We rarely see Monsignor at school, for his work is behind the scenes. He is always on the giving side and he gives his all, not asking anything in return. Hisrole, makes him responsible for keep- ing Newton Catholic going. With- out the backing of Monsignor McMahmon, we would find our school missing a lot that we now take for granted. As the first graduating class of Newton Catholic, we wish to thank Monsignor McManmon for all the extra effort he has put into trans- forming Our Lady's High into Newton Catholic. We realize all that he has done for us and we are grateful.

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AD MAMTA Paul Murphy, Chairman of the school board, responded to our questions, the following is an edited version: What has the school board accomplished? In April 1973, an apparently herculean task lay before the Newton Catholic School Board, which was meeting for the first time. Considerations about bud- geting, accounting, enrollment, transportation, administration and even the function of the board itself, were to be placed before us. In its less than one year of operation, the board is confident in the disposition of these problems, insofar as possible at this time, as well as several other matters that arose to confront us in later meetings (e.g. how could we provide scholarship assistance to students needing this help? ) What are the goals of the school board, how close have you come to these goals? .«« Lhe School Board seeks to insure a stable, successful, dynamic and heal- thy Catholic School System in Newton. We are engaged in an.endeavor which is unique to the Archdiocese of Boston, that of the consolidated school ... The board is indeed optimistic and confident about the success of this new school system... As Chairman of the School Board, how do you feel about the group? It is a pleasure to be able to share the responsibility for the Newton Catholic Schools with the members of the Board. Obviously, without them, this new ex- periment in educational systems would not be possible and could not have suc- ceeded. Publicly, I would like to say to all of them, thank-you. Members and alternates of the - - School Board is as follows:... Joseph Baranosky Sister Yvonne Bossi Joseph Chevarley Sister Anna Vincent Clark Rev. Donald Clifford Mary Coletti Rev. Robert Connors Rev. John Corcoran Claire Cox Karol Donney Dominic Dougherty Rev. Robert Fichtner Sister Bernadette Gallagher Rev. Msgr. William Granville Sister Rita Hennessy Sister Therese Higgins Sister Margaret Horan Sister Eleanor Keane William King Rev. Joseph McGlone Rev. Msgr. John McManmon Sister Simon Morrissey Mary Murphy Paul Murphy William Nealon Joan O'Halloran Rev. Msgr. Daniel Reordan Mary Terry James Waters

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The role of a High School Principal is a very complex one. We see mountains of papers, endless meetings, and discip- line, all of these duties calling for attention. But Sister Anna Vincent performs all these time consuming tasks without letting them stand in the way of being her own kind of principal. Sarge , as she has been nicknamed, is a different type of leader. She's dedicated and she's concerned. What does this mean? It means that we have been provided with opportunities to grow, that not only our educational requirements, but our personal needs receive her concern. Sarge has a unique way of getting her message across. She challenges you, but she doesn't stop there, she dares you, she gets you so mad that you go ahead and do it, just to show her. It's funny how you can be furious at her one minute and feel so close to her the next. Sister Anna Vincent understands, that's her big plus! Sister probably doesn't realize this, but many of us do understand her, we realize the problems that she must cope with. We can tell when she is discouraged and we feel discouraged too! But through it all Sarge has stuck with us, that's dedication! Sarge is a fighter, we can fight and provoke her, but in the long run, you know she'll win. She's fighting for us, to make us face life, face each other, but most important-face ourselves. She's fighting to provide us with a well-rounded education of life. The odds are against her two hundred to one, but with Sarge there are no odds. She knows what she wants and she gets it. You may say that any really concerned principal can function in this fashion. That may be so, but can they also give, along with a part of themselves, a part of their faith? That this is a Catholic school has been made perfectly clear to us. We have been provided with the guidelines for living as a Christian. Yet the decision has been left to us. The difference between an ordinary principal and Sister Anna Vincent is one very big factor, her faith, in us and in God. I wouldn't want to be in her shoes. I doubt that anyone could do a better job. I wish that there was some way to say thanks, but the only thanks we can provide is by living up to her expectations of us. How shall we choose? SISTER ANNA VINCENT