News From the Academy 

Two Tartans Accepted into Operation Understanding DC

Two AHC Class of 2009 students have been accepted into Operation Understanding DC, an award-winning educational program for African American and Jewish high school Juniors. Nominated for their leadership skills, academic achievement, and community involvement, these Tartans will participate in a year long program to promote respect, understanding and cooperation while striving to eliminate racism and anti-Semitism. Founded in 1993, Operation Understanding DC has given over 300 students the opportunity to make an impact on these two prominent groups in the nations capital.

The Academy inducted 49 members into the National Honor Society on Thursday, January 24 during a special induction ceremony. To be a member of the National Honor Society students must meet stringent requirements regarding academics, service and leadership and must be selected for membership. The NHS, established in 1921 by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, requires continued participation in service projects and maintenance of the required cumulative GPA throughout the student’s high school career to retain membership.

On Thursday, January 24, national bestselling fiction author Alice McDermott addressed junior and senior students at The Academy of the Holy Cross. Ms. McDermott has published six books, all of which have received national acclaim. She has been called “one of American fiction’s preeminent realists.” Ms. McDermott read a soon-to-be-published short story “Our Girls,” which resonated with the audience as it focused on the relationship between mothers and daughters. Following the reading, students peppered Ms. McDermott with questions about the story, her writing process and her career.

On Monday, January 21, an AHC student from the Class of 2011 was the keynote speaker at the Holy Cross Hospital celebration of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The celebration’s theme, “And the Children Shall Inherit the Earth” focused on keeping Dr. King’s message alive with today’s youth. The student shared with the more than 150 attendees what Dr. King means to her and related his message to Maya Angelou’s poems “Still I Rise” and “Phenomenal Woman,” which she then recited. Recently, this Tartan won first place at a Speech and Debate Team competition for her recitation of the two poems.

The three performances of Little Women on January 18, 19, and 20 sold a record number of tickets for an AHC drama. The two-act play, based on the beloved novel by Louisa May Alcott and directed by Taryn Hirschfeld, included eleven Holy Cross students with the four male roles acted by young men from area schools. The leading roles of the four March sisters were double cast and included two Freshmen, two Juniors and four members of the Class of 2008. More than 20 AHC students worked behind the scenes to ensure that the drama went off without a hitch. The sets were built to accurately portray a New England home in 1863 and the authentic-looking mid-nineteenth century costumes were designed and constructed entirely by AHC students and faculty.