SPEAKER_01 0:07

Welcome to Beyond the Weekend with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, a podcast of the Diocese of Patterson, New Jersey. Join us for conversations about our Catholic faith, and together let's strive to live a life of faith, hope, and love. We're so glad you can join us. I'm Jay Agnis. With me is Bishop Kevin Sweeney. Bishop Kevin, how are you? I'm good, Jay. How are you? Doing great. What's new? I hear this team in the Bronx is knocking on the playoff doors or something. What's what's going on?

SPEAKER_00 0:36

We're getting riding into post postseason form. Hopefully, um this coming weekend they'll take care of the Red Sox uh by winning three or four out of four.

SPEAKER_02 0:45

Absolutely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

So um well good. I hope I hope for your sake that they win. And uh and Brian Vowden, who is uh our guest today, is obviously also a Yankees fan. We connected to that pretty early, yeah. So um well good. So um we uh Brian is the is the uh president of Morris Catholic High School, and we're so glad to have you on today. Um and should we open up in prayer?

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Yes, we're gonna do a special prayer. Um uh our vicar for evangelization and education, uh Father Paul Manning, uh, was a predecessor, I guess, right? Uh um uh president, I think he was saying he was at Moore's Catholic from, I think he said '93 to 2007.

SPEAKER_03 1:32

That sounds about right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:33

Uh and um he uh we were just actually talking a little bit. We had a meeting earlier this week with um all the presidents and principals of our uh three Dowson Catholic high schools and our 14 elementary schools. Uh so Mary Bayer, superintendent, and um her staff and Father Manning, I had a chance to visit with them. We had mass in the morning. And so um uh I was speaking with Father Paul um uh about the Catholic identity of our schools, and he was talking a little bit about his time at Morris Catholic, and one of the things that he mentioned was that they had a a prayer that they created in his time, uh uh a Crusader prayer, is that the Crusader prayer. And uh is still prayed every day? Most days, yeah. Most days. It arrives in the morning prayers about once a week. So right. Um so I thought that might be a good way for us to uh begin our time together um by praying together the uh Crusaders prayer. We'll thank Father Manning for his contribution and pray for Brian and um all those uh who bless us especially by their leadership of our Catholic schools and our teachers and parents and families and students, and uh maybe pray especially for uh teachers and students who may not be too excited about going back to school, but that uh the Lord will give them the strength they need to place ourselves in God's presence in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Together let us pray the crusaders' prayer. Make me, O Lord, a holy crusader, champion of Christ, Christ my defender, Christ is my belt, his truth to hold me, Christ is my breastplate, his goodness to mold me. Christ at my feet will to guide me. Christ is my shield, his arms to hide me. Christ is my helmet, heaven in sight, Christ is my sword, his word, my might. Conquer, O Lord, the wrong this day brings. Christ be before me, Christ be my king. And we ask these and all our prayers in the name of the same Christ who is Lord forever and ever. Amen. Our Lady's seat of wisdom, mother of the church. Pray for us, pray for us, Saint Joseph. Pray for us. All holy men and women, pray for us, pray for us in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. We're praying today on also the feast of St. Pius X. Yes. Um, I had the opportunity to celebrate Mass this morning with the Sisters of Christian Charity. Um, your neighbors, right? They are Assumption College Sisters. We were there. Jay were with the um on site uh with um the president of Assumption College, sister. I recall for her name. I just saw her this morning. But uh, they're doing great work there. And uh this morning, the Sisters of Christian Charity were founded um in on October 21st. We had it 176 years ago, I think 1849 in Germany's sister. Blessed Pauline, yes, Mother Pauline Malenkratt, uh, with three others they started, and um beautiful story, and we're happy to have them here in the diocese. And almost all of the province of the eastern United States, although I think now actually the United States is one province, were there today for um their annual celebration of their jubilarians. One of the sisters whose 80 years in religious life was there and in good form, and 75, 70, 65, 60, 50, 40, 25. So um it was a great day, and they sh as I said with them, they share um since 1954 when Pope Pius X was canonized, they share a feast day, and um he is known for um encouraging frequent Holy Communion and lowering the age of Holy Communion. So I thought of those, all those sisters there, how many children they prepared for first Holy Communion over all the years. Um so it was that was a great uh great opportunity today to be with them. And sure. Now happy to be here together.

SPEAKER_01 5:29

Yeah, so a little bit about Brian. So Brian is is homegrown. He attended St. Patrick in Chatham. Oh look at that. From pre-K to uh three through eight. Uh he got his bachelor's from Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts, a master's degree in educational leadership, management, and policy from Seton Hall University. He worked at Pope John and the Catholic Academy of Sussex County for 19 years as English teacher, vice principal, principal, director of curriculum, and vice president, and recently, a year ago, took the president job at Morris Catholic. He's currently a parishioner at Notre Dame of Mount Carmel in the Cedar Knowles neighborhood of Hanover. And a little bit about the high school. Morris Catholic is a faith-based college prep high school where students are known by name, challenged academically, and formed as leaders for life. Thank you, Brian, for this great uh background information. We're rooted in Catholic values, but we welcome families of all backgrounds. We want a school that forms the whole person, mind, heart, and spirit. So that was pretty good. Yeah, that was good. Thank you for reading that. Had a great writer. Yeah, appreciate that. So, in your own words, Brian, we get to hear from you. So, how's how's it going?

SPEAKER_02 6:42

Oh, it's been a great year. Um you know, having been in one place for as long as I was, you know, I was obviously nervous about starting new uh in a new school, in a new environment. But I gotta say, the transition's just been it's been unbelievable. Mars Catholic is such a great community. The students are amazing, our parents are great, you know, our we welcomed our faculty back today. Um, and you know, when you get them back in the building, it just reminds you, you know, why you do that. You know, our teachers, they care so much about our kids and they put in the time and they want to make sure everybody is successful. So, you know, to go from one place for as long as I was to to a new school, the transition was almost easy because the people in the community are so good. So it's been it's been a wonderful year.

SPEAKER_00 7:24

With new responsibilities compared to your previous, right? Quite a bit, yeah, quite a bit.

SPEAKER_02 7:28

You know, I I'm fortunate because um Father Peter, my predecessor, um he stuck around to be the principal. So um that also made the transition quite easy as well. You know, to have the guy who sat in the seat before I did, um, you know, he could tell me, you know, things about the school that I didn't realize, told me about the culture of the school, can introduce me to the important people. Um so to have Father Peter in that role and to have him kind of helping me out in these first two years, um, and that really was a blessing.

SPEAKER_00 7:57

Is it two years now?

SPEAKER_02 7:58

Well, we're going into two years now. Yeah, it's my second year. Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

Um and uh being at Pope John in the Catholic Academy of Sussex County, as long as you were uh you were many years under a strong leader, right? And uh senior Kieran McHugh. Yep, uh who um uh was very present, right, as the president and principal uh or pres I think principal at one time, but then eventually president of the academy, and uh you saw um dedicated leadership in Monsignor McHugh.

SPEAKER_02 8:26

Yeah, I mean to cut my teeth under him. Yeah, I I the timing was right. You know, every you wind up, you don't wind up in a place by accident, you know, everything um is meant to be, and to wind up working for him for as long as I did. Now, I had a full head of hair when I started working for him. But uh, you know, working for him and learning as much as I did, that was another reason why I felt so prepared making the move over to Mars Catholic, because um, you know, you really got to see what great leadership can do.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

Uh and high school? What's that? Yourself, uh, where'd you go to high school? I went to Chatham High School, so that was the only public school that I have.

SPEAKER_02 8:58

Yeah, yeah. So Catholic school and everything else.

SPEAKER_00 9:00

But um St. Patrick's Grammar School and assisted charity, uh, I'm sure ra raised in a family of faith.

SPEAKER_02 9:06

Oh my gosh, yeah. My parents are very involved in St. Patrick's and Chatham still to this day. Um, two brothers, and you know, that that's part of the reason why I think I've wound up going down this road I have, is because I I grew up in that kind of family.

SPEAKER_00 9:18

What led you to uh Assumption College?

SPEAKER_02 9:20

It's funny. I at the time I needed a small school. Um I needed to be in an environment where I knew I wouldn't get lost. You know, I I was a student who needed a little extra push sometimes, and that school um with 2,000 undergrads, it was a it was a really good size for me. Um and one of the best decisions I ever made. I still keep in touch with professors from that college, you know, even though it was enemy territory for baseball. Well, it's funny, the Red Sox won the World Series while I was up there, and that was that was a pretty terrifying night, Bishop. That was a pretty terrifying night. But absolutely, I survived, I got out, and I came back to the good side. So that's great.

SPEAKER_00 9:54

Uh and then um did you start working right after college?

SPEAKER_02 9:58

Yeah, so right out of college, I got hired uh at Pope John to be an English teacher. Um so I started off doing that for a couple years. And then as the my role kind of changed as the school evolved and as the academy was formed. Um but what was interesting was that I never stopped teaching my entire time there. I always hung on to at least one or two classes the entire time. And uh as a school leader, that was it was so important to me because I really felt like I still had my finger on the pulse of the school. I was still interacting with students in a meaningful way every day. So that was um I really feel like I became a better school leader because I was in the classroom for as long as I was. And I guess you saw the importance of administration and did that lead you to study at Seton Hall for Yeah, so especially at the time too, Seton Hall was running a really great uh discount for Catholic school educators. So Father Kevin Hanberry, who's who's since passed, he was the director of that program, and um you know, put you in a cohort and really made it work for Catholic school teachers. You know, they they recognized that um our days were busy and our days were long, so um it was a weekend cohort model and um it was set up in a way that you know you were able to kind of get that finished in two years and uh and start that master. So it was great. It was a great experience.

SPEAKER_01 11:08

Awesome. Um yeah, I love that that you ke held on to the uh the teaching. Really cool. Um all right, so let's get into the high school a little bit. How like so how big is the school?

SPEAKER_02 11:18

Yeah, so we're just under 400 students, um about a hundred kids per grade. Um, you know, and I think it's it's a really great size to be because uh our students, every teacher knows every student in the building, and and really goes to all levels of of the adults in general. Like we have a this unbelievable security guard in our school, uh Officer Robert Sheets. He will greet every student by name when they come in the building in the morning. He knows every student's name. Um so you know, we'll have this year we've got 30 transfers coming in, we've got a whole new freshman class coming in. In two weeks, he'll know. He'll know every kid. Um, and he'll go to their sporting events and he'll cheer him on. So, like his kind of dedication at the security guard level, that really permeates throughout the entire building. How long has he been there? Oh my gosh. I'm sure I've met him.

SPEAKER_00 12:01

I think he's often there at Mass. He is, he never misses a day.

SPEAKER_02 12:04

Yeah, so he's a retired uh police officer from Chatham, and um, so there's a class three officer program here in the state. So he basically works for Denville PD and he's assigned to us, so he's been there a long time. It's yeah, we're we're we're very fortunate to have him.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

And in addition to a priest as the principal, you have a priest chaplain.

SPEAKER_02 12:20

I do, so I'm I'm lucky in that I have two very good priests in my building. Um we were joking before the youngest chaplain, probably no, so Father Carmen is um he's had a he has a very unique vocation story. Yes, yes, and because of that, he brings a different dynamic to our school. So Father Carmen um became a priest, I don't even know how old he was. He um his wife passed away sadly right after they retired, and that's when he got his calling. And so I have a chaplain, Father Carmen, who has grandkids, and um that adds a real element to what he's able to bring to our school. Did some of his children attend Morris Catholics? They did not, um, but they are in some Catholic schools. Uh his grandchildren attend some Catholic schools in the area. Yeah, right. So um one of them plays baseball. Yeah. So uh yeah, so he brings to have two priests like that, you know, Father Peter, who's so into education, and Father Carmen, who literally has a family, um, that really adds a nice spiritual element to our school.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

So we hear a lot about the education of the whole person, yeah, faith, academics, leadership, service. What does that mean to you? How do you how do you tell parents about that or speak about that?

SPEAKER_02 13:24

Yeah, so again, because of our size, it it's it's hard to fall between the cracks in our school and there's so much to be involved with. Um you don't come to Morris Catholic and be just the theater kid or just the baseball player or or just the the academic. But when you come to Morris Catholic, you get to be all of those things. And I think that's really what makes the place so special is um you have so many opportunities to try so many different things out and you won't feel out of place. Um so when you're trying to educate that whole person, you can try things out safely and uh and see if it's for you and it it's a very supportive community when it comes to that. Is there a club or or activity that when you first got there struck you as interesting or jumped out to you that Well, yeah, I I mean I I think what's neat about our school is kids very much will start the clubs and they'll see them through. Um but one group that I kind of saw early on, I said, wow, this is this is really special. I went to a robotics competition uh down at the Bridgewater Mall. And it was one of the first competitive events I had seen at Morris Catholic when I arrived. And um kind of got to know the kids there. I was still kind of getting to know everybody, and um just to see the dedication of those kids to to building the robot the robot, competing, and then seeing what it takes on the school side. You know, I see them now, they're there till eight o'clock at night, nine o'clock at night, working on the robot. It doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_00 14:45

So is there a head coach or is there a faculty member that uh Yeah, so Mrs.

SPEAKER_02 14:49

Campezi, who's our director of finance, she's our our coach for the robotics team, but she also has a whole crew of parent volunteers, and honestly, without them, uh her job would be a lot more difficult because again, those kids are on the campus, I mean, sometimes seven days a week. Wow. Um, especially when the competitions are coming up.

SPEAKER_00 15:05

Uh is there a uh a season like uh the other sports spring and uh fall, or is it all year round?

SPEAKER_02 15:12

They they tell me there's a season. I don't see when it ends and when it starts. Um I know like this that Bridgewater competition, they were literally wrapping up one season and starting for the other one in like November or December. So there's not much time in between. But every year the competition changes, so they have to dismantle the robot and then rebuild the robot and to do whatever task needs to be done. So it's pretty neat.

SPEAKER_01 15:33

And then service as a way of life. Students actively live their faith through meaningful service, partnering with organizations such as Celebrate the Children, Catholic Charities, Bridges, Outreach, Hope House, and Howard's Mission.

SPEAKER_02 15:45

Yeah, so we have um Mrs. Drew is um one of our theology teachers. She also heads up our campus ministry program. She gives our students so many service opportunities that, you know, so students they have to meet a certain number of hours to graduate. But what you find in Morris Catholic is getting there is not difficult because there are so many opportunities, and and Mrs. Drew tries to engage them with as many different community um organizations as we can. Celebrate the children, for example, to school for students with special needs up the road from us. We do a lot of work with them. Um we go to them, they come to us. Um, and that's a lot of what Mrs. Drew is doing. She'll take the kids to shop, right to you know, to buy food uh for the hungry. Um so it really becomes an immersive service experience and not just do a quick project and be done. She really immerses them in the service learning component of it.

SPEAKER_00 17:13

Um and that's part of the faith uh component as well, right? Uh and um uh talk a little bit about what makes a Catholic school a Catholic school, uh, and um how that's uh obviously Mass and Sacraments, uh, but um but how is it lived out on a day-to-day basis, would you say?

SPEAKER_02 17:32

Yeah, so having been in Catholic education now for 21 years, you see that I think what separates us from public schools, for example, is you hold students to a standard in every aspect of their life. Um when they come to Morris Catholic, they're not coming just to attend classes, they're coming and they're immersing themselves in the service life, they're immersing themselves in the extracurricular life. And they're done so in a way that's supportive and that teachers are rooting for them and trying to help them grow and mature. So I think that's really one of the things, one of the many things that separates Catholic schools from anybody else is that you have that network behind you and all those people pushing you to be better.

SPEAKER_00 18:11

Community, right? Uh the community of believers, I like that term for the Acts of the Apostles describing the early church and still what we strive for, right? To um have that experience of community, right? Of belonging, of being embraced, of being welcomed. And but also being held to account.

SPEAKER_02 18:24

Um, absolutely. And being able, being allowed to try things out, right? And being allowed to fail in a safe environment where teachers can pick you up and then and then lift you up again.

SPEAKER_03 18:33

Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 18:33

Yeah. Uh and when something's maybe going on at home to have a chaplain that they can speak to, right, and uh and and and receive some support and advice.

SPEAKER_02 18:43

And what's remarkable about him is he spent his life as a counselor. So yeah, he's not just you know, just a he's he's a chaplain, he's a true counselor. So many students avail themselves of of having that opportunity in the building. And I think what's pretty remarkable that I've seen is the number of students after their encounter with Mars Catholic, with Father Carmen, Father Peter, they asked to be baptized, they asked to be confirmed. Um, you know, we had uh a confirmation last year in in our in our school chapel, in our school chapel, and um you know, Father Carmen helped prepare the student. His entire family packed the chapel. They were so uh so supportive of what this this 16 or 17-year-old kid wanted in his life, his parents supported that, and I think that's that's what we're all about.

SPEAKER_01 19:26

I wanted to ask you, yeah, is there like um any other examples of of student interactions or or faculty interactions that you've had that that come to mind that really s stick out, stuck out to you in your first first year there?

SPEAKER_02 19:38

You know, I think what I have come to learn about Morris Catholic is, for example, we got we have all the freshmen arriving on Monday actually for their first day of school. A week before Labor Day. Can you believe it, Bishop? It's a mean president, right? Um But yeah, we'll have the freshmen in the building and and we will make sure the team around me will make sure every student feels like they have a place in that school. So when it comes to cafeteria duty, you know, the teachers will be in there, the administrators will be in there saying, Who's sitting alone? Who can we find a friend for? Um if we hear about a student that maybe isn't kind of finding their place, we'll introduce them to somebody who runs a club or somebody who um has an after-school activity. So again, because we're kind of a smaller environment, you can pick those things out nice and early. Um Father Peter this year is is is doing something right because it's great for our freshmen. We've created a true cohort of freshman teachers. They're gonna be meeting regularly and discussing to see, okay, are our freshmen doing all right, who's struggling, who needs a little extra help, um, who's thriving? You know, who who can we uh who can we pair them up with right now. So having this kind of environment and that that's the kind of team that you have, and that's what they're conscious of, is making sure every kid does feel like they have a spot in this place. And that's that's the norm, which is nice.

SPEAKER_01 20:52

Speaking of striving, Morris Catholic known for some excellent uh sports programs. Yes. Discuss that a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 20:58

So we've got the four-time uh state champions in girls basketball. Um so our girls basketball team is unbelievable. Um five-time county, four-time state. Um so and what was actually remarkable was they had won the non-public B for a few years. This year we got moved up to A, and and they took that one too. So we were down at Rutgers, pretty awesome experience, great for the for the girls. Um and there you are sitting in the arena and you see them up on the jumbotron. Like it doesn't get it, it doesn't get cooler than that. So our girls' basketball team, very competitive. Uh softball's great. Um we've got our boys' basketball team won the counties this year for the first time since 1981. So we had back-to-back nights um at County College of Morris where the boys won the county and the girls won the county the next night. So um and actually we beat my Alma Matt or Chatham on both of those nights. So it felt pretty good. Yeah. So um yeah, so our our sports teams are are great. We hired a brand new football coach this year. Um, you know, we're really trying to get that going right now. He comes with a great track record. Um we've we've hired him to be a teacher in the building, he's an educator first. Um so I think he's gonna be doing some great things, Coach Albano. So we've got some great things in place on the act in the athletic world right now.

SPEAKER_00 22:07

Yeah, and uh and esports?

SPEAKER_02 22:10

Yeah, so we're gonna dip our our toes in the water this year. So um I've been in touch with the league um throughout the spring and summer. Um we have a coach right now, we've got a space for it. Um so when the kids arrive next week, we're gonna see who's really interested. But um esports is really interesting because uh it it can run all year. They have a fall, a winter, and a spring season. Um they run competitions Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, but every day is a different game. So you you compete on Tuesdays of the whole season. Or Wednesday or Thursday the whole season. They're talking about games I've never heard of in my life. I was told I have to get a Nintendo Switch. I had to learn what Nintendo Switch was. But again, I think this is just another opportunity to kind of get kids involved and maybe try something new. If you've if you're not a football player, if you're not a lacrosse player, you can still be competitive now.

SPEAKER_00 23:00

It was this time last year, I think, at the meeting with the uh principals and presidents that um I think I first heard about uh the book The Anxious Generation. Yes. Um and uh uh you know uh I I think uh obviously uh kids spend a lot of time on screens and uh uh you know something like esports maybe is a way to uh engage that and and and give them some experience of team as well, right? And hopefully it's not only on the on the screen, but uh there'd be relationships as well. And uh but um maybe talk about even 20 plus years as in as an educator, um wha how have you seen the average student change or some of the challenges that uh students are facing, especially uh at the moment, uh technology or otherwise?

SPEAKER_02 23:44

Yeah, I mean it's changed dramatically. I think you know when I first started teaching, kids might have had a desktop computer at home, right? And that was that was their their technology. And now with the cell phones, it's it's tough to be a teenager right now. It really is tough. We um we're making the decision, we're we're going phone free this year in our building. So we read The Anxious Generation as a leadership team this summer, and and we've had a lot of discussions around that. So um we're gonna follow kind of what the science says right now, and we're gonna go phone free. So a lot of the difficulties that students do experience throughout the day, throughout the year, a lot of it does come back to those cell phones. And you know, and we all have them, right? We it's it's it's a part of our lives, but you know, we're really making a conscious effort. When you're coming to school, we need you focused for six hours a day, focus on your academics, we need you present in the moment. And that's what we keep saying to our teachers. You're not present in the moment if you're checking your phone over here or if it's buzzing in your pocket. Um so we are so what's interesting is we are also a one-to-one school, too. So we kind of we we balance that. So our students all have iPads. Um so we kind of have to walk that way.

SPEAKER_00 24:53

A one-to-one school?

SPEAKER_02 24:54

So every kid has an iPad in our school. Yeah. Okay. Um so when a student is enrolled at Morris Catholic, they're issued an iPad. Um, it's managed by the school throughout the day. Um, and then when it actually goes home, the management kind of goes off and it and it becomes theirs. The students actually wind up owning the iPad at the end, too. They they pay it off over their time at Morris Catholic. So, you know, from our perspective, you're trying to balance that. And we were giving them a device, but we're also telling them like this is not the device for school with the phone. So um it's a challenge, it's a real challenge. But um I I think every you look at every era in education, there's always the challenge, right? And that's just what we're facing right now.

SPEAKER_01 25:31

Well, good. I want to follow up with you maybe for the beacon for us to see how that goes throughout the year. Uh let us know. I'll let you know. Um before I forget, you have an upcoming open house in October. You want to tell us a little bit about October 15th and 26th?

SPEAKER_02 25:45

Exactly. 15th and 26th of October. Um come see what we're all about. You know, I think what people what people don't realize is how supportive of a community they're gonna find at Morris Catholic. Um we try to do a lot of things to kind of help them get there. I'm a firm believer and I will I will do everything I can to make sure finances are not the reason why you're you're not gonna attend Morris Catholic. I'll do whatever I can to make sure that's not the barrier. We also do everything we can to make it easy for students to get to school. We have the Denville train station right in our backyard.

SPEAKER_03 26:18

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 26:18

So we rent a bus to the train station, actually. Um so again, we try to make it easy if you if you live anywhere on the train line, and we have about 25, 30 students that do come on the on the train every day. So the the shuttle bus picks them up and brings them to campus and then takes them back at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

So students from 80, I think you said commute different communities.

SPEAKER_02 26:35

80 different zip codes at Morris Catholic right now. Students from 80 different zip codes, and um, yeah, so and and going through just their parishes, 40 different parishes in just our diocese. That doesn't include the Metucheon kids, the the newer kids. Um we have from our diocese alone 40 different parishes represented. So it's a real diverse community.

SPEAKER_03 26:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:53

Um and I you know I would argue it's probably one of the most diver most more diverse communities, uh, high schools here in this county, because we do draw kids from so far across northern New Jersey. Interesting. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:03

So come be a crusader for a day.

SPEAKER_02 27:05

We also and we have the Crusader for a Day program. So if you are interested in checking us out, um, you can come in, you we'll pair you up with a student, we'll find out what your interests are, and we'll make sure you pair you up with the the best student possible to kind of show you around and kind of introduce you to what it's like to be a crusader.

SPEAKER_01 27:19

And I think the bishop's a crusader for the year. I think he is, yeah. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 27:24

When you were saying the Crusader Prayer, I was wondering what you were thinking. Yes, yes. Uh Cathedral Prep and Elmhurst, we were the Crusaders as well. So uh you mentioned uh finances and uh uh part of your role probably uh much more than in the past um is uh a concern. And uh at our meeting on uh earlier in the week, uh we it's certainly an ongoing conversation for Catholic education, Catholic schools um in general. For um we're blessed in our diocese to have the three uh Catholic high schools. We had uh the new president of uh Pope John and the Catholic Academy, Dan O'Keefe. He was on podcast, and we're gonna have uh Ted Gaffney, the uh the also going into his second year. He is we started together. The three of you guys are um uh beginning somewhat together. You uh hopefully yourself and Ted can be uh a support for Dan as he begins his time, although he comes with a great deal of experience. And um, but uh the role of the president uh certainly involves outreach to alumni and um fundraising. Uh how has that been for you?

SPEAKER_02 28:26

You know, it's funny, having lived in the academic world as long as I have, it's a part of the job that I I really enjoy. Um and I think it it validates everything you're doing when you're running a school. When you when you go out there and talk to alumni and you realize what an impact this school has had on people, um it definitely makes going to work every day a lot easier and making the mission so much more important because you know it's turned out really great human beings into the world.

SPEAKER_00 28:54

And there's a strong alumni association, I pr I presume.

SPEAKER_02 28:57

Very strong, Bishop, very strong. You know, we've we've got um our alumni association is headed up by a gentleman who lives in Marstown. Um he is probably one of the most dedicated people I've ever seen to a school. He'll come to basketball games, he'll come to uh shows, he'll come to graduation. Um doesn't have kids in the school, he's an alum of the school and um just cares so deeply about the place. And then thanks to the the beauty of Zoom now, um you know we've got a women's networking group we just started with our alum. Um so we've got women from literally all over the country jumping on Zoom calls. Actually, there's a call tonight. Um so that's something we're trying to grow as well because we've got uh you know the beauty of Zoom. I've got a board member who lives out in Florida who's an alum. Um so you know, because of the technology we have right now, that really makes this job a lot easier because you can't connect with people in an authentic way with that technology.

SPEAKER_01 29:48

And Bishop Kevin, you've been to Morris Catholic graduations and celebrated Mass there and spent uh lots of time there and at our other high schools. Uh any any thoughts or reflections on that?

SPEAKER_00 30:00

Uh there's a a beautiful new chapel and Commons area, right? That um Father Peter headed up, uh fundraising and uh it came to reality um over the last couple of years. Um I'm sure having the chapel there right as you walk in is uh is a blessing with glass walls, right? So you can it's a beautiful yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 30:17

And when you're giving tours, it's a prominent part of the school, right? There's there's no there's no mistake of who we are.

SPEAKER_00 30:23

Right. And uh the the total student body again? About 400 students. Right. So they can't all fit in that chapel. So uh uh for large masses, uh I'm always comfortable when a gym becomes a chapel, which uh they do a great job uh uh turning the gym into uh uh a chapel so that uh we can celebrate mass, and that's where graduation has been held. Although we've had it inside and outside, I guess, depending on on the weather and the weather. It was hot this year, yeah. Right, right, right, right. Uh but we were inside, so yeah, well, it was fine. It was good, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um so um what are you looking forward to now in in your second year? Anything in particular that's coming up that uh as you're getting ready to uh the by Monday to have the freshmen come in. Uh yeah. Um what what's uh what are some of the uh you talked about um the uh freshman teachers, the teachers of the freshmen being together.

SPEAKER_02 31:13

Um any other things that are Yeah, we're actually we've dubbed this year the new crusade. So, you know, we're we're trying to do a a real nice jump start on the school year this year. We've done a deep dive into our academic programs, you know. We we've we've drilled down on where we are on the SATs, on the AP scores, um, you know, where we can where can we find improvement, how can we offer more support to our teachers? Um we've got that freshman cohort. Um yeah, I think we we've we've brought back uh computer science into the program, to the school right now that had gone away for a couple years, so we've brought that back. Um we've actually partnered with Catholic University. Oh, great. So we're offering dual enrollment courses this year through Catholic University. So we have a teacher who was trained by them. Um, and so we're starting with our business program right now. So students who take our business classes can pay a fraction of a cost of what it costs to get a college uh credit and they'll be getting college credits. Full-blown college credits. And then we've also actually partnered with Kings out in Pennsylvania, and we're trying to get a couple more of these where Kings will extend very significant um scholarship monies to Mars Catholic graduates because you know they know our reputation, they know what kind of student we produce. We're working with some other colleges right now and doing similar partnerships.

SPEAKER_00 32:24

I'm always so impressed at our um high school graduations to hear the amount of money that uh students get in scholarships and uh the some of the schools that they'll be heading to. Uh um uh I would guess it's uh w uh what over 90 percent is it the amount that go on to a a college after graduation?

SPEAKER_02 32:43

98 go to four-year, two percent go to two year. Well, maybe. Yep, yeah. Yep. And this year's senior class, I mean, I I was spoiled this first year. We had a great senior class. Um, you know, you heard the validator and salutatorian speeches, and just you could hear the love for the school from those two students and our validatorians heading off to Virginia, and our salutatorians actually, he got into medical school in Poland. Um and what's what what's remarkable, Bishop, is when you were at graduation, he still didn't know because he still had to take the test. Um there's one test you take to get into these these medical schools in Poland. He was literally studying for it, you know, leading up to the graduation. Went home, took the test, got a very high score, so he's starting medical school in the next few weeks out in Poland. So we we produced some pretty unbelievable students at our place.

SPEAKER_00 33:29

Right. And this year's graduating class um uh would have started um their high school career in uh the fall of 2020, I believe.

SPEAKER_02 33:37

So uh they've seen a lot. Yeah, they've seen a lot.

SPEAKER_00 33:41

Uh they graduated from eighth grade virtually probably and uh uh came into that crazy fall of uh of 2020 stuff. Nobody knew what was going on, right? All wearing masks behind. Thank God we made it through, and yes, yes, and uh it was certainly a joyful um uh uh year for for graduating from high school. And um we're blessed to have our Catholic schools. Uh and um uh you know, as we met with the principals and presence last week, I think of um like yourself, uh many years uh how blessed we are with um our religious and lay teachers, right? The faculty. Um maybe say a word about the the the quality of the the faculty and and their their own for them uh many of them could be earning a a higher salary in another uh public or private school, but um they're teaching in our Catholic school because it's not only a job, it's really a vocation, a mission for them, right? To and uh live out their faith by sharing it and and uh as faculty.

SPEAKER_02 34:40

Absolutely, and and and we're very blessed at Morris Catholic. We've got uh a great faculty who I'd said before it just they care so much about the students. Um we've got a m you know mo mo the majority of our faculty's got uh an advanced degree of some kind. Um we've got a couple doctorates on our staff as well, so you know they're committed to their own professional development and their own growth uh in addition to the growth of the students as well. And you have teachers at Morris Catholic who have been there 10, 15 years, and that says a lot about the institution.

SPEAKER_00 35:08

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And uh and and their faith is also often the motivating factor, right?

SPEAKER_02 35:14

Absolutely. We had mass in the chapel this morning. It was our our start of the year school mass, and um you know the the the spirit one of the things that the first thing I noticed about Mars Catholic when it came to the liturgy is that the spirit is is is real and authentic in this school. And it's a it's a a really great school to be in. The kids when you go to liturgy, they understand why we're there and they want to participate. And um same with the faculty. We had a beautiful mass this morning and it it just feels very authentic and that's nice to be there.

SPEAKER_00 35:41

And for both faculty and students that they can pray each day is a blessing, right, of a Catholic school and a Catholic education.

SPEAKER_02 35:47

Mass every day if they wish, and um obviously morning prayer every day and a closing prayer at the end of the day as well. Um so it's just very much ingrained um in our in our community. It's funny, we had a student last year at the open house, had never been to Catholic school in his life, was not raised Catholic, and uh he said very innocently, he goes, you know, I thought it was gonna be really intimidating and really scary, but he goes, it's just really nice to have the Catholic school. He was he was he was just so taken back by it's not that intimidating, it's just it's who we are, right? He I think he was afraid that you know he had probably had these visions of what Catholic school could have been like. But he just realized, no, it's a warm and caring environment, and um the spiritual life is just who we are, it's just ingrained, and that's nice. That's great. Yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_01 36:32

All right, well, thanks, Brian. Good stuff. It's great to fun to learn more about Morris Catholic. Um Bishop, any other uh anything you want to ask him or any perspective on Morris Catholic or or other high schools or schools you just want to reflect on?

SPEAKER_00 36:48

Grateful for Brian and um Mr. O'Keefe, Mr. Gaffney, the presidents of uh Catholic Academy, and uh and and to Paul and all the uh administration and staff um and parents who make the sacrifice, right, to to send their and the the donors who help us, right? Thank God for the donors of alumni who help us financially. And um uh yeah, we pray for our Catholic schools and our our Catholic school leaders. Um it's exciting as Bishop to know that we have uh we also have um uh four other Catholic high schools um here in our diocese, um, not administered directly by the diocese, but um uh Mary Help of Christians in North Harden run by the Salesian Sisters, uh the Academy of St. Elizabeth in uh Common Station run by uh the Sisters of Charity, and the um Villa Walsh run by the um uh the um Silesian No, no, no, no, uh the Philippines, sorry, sorry, sorry. Philippine sisters, uh St. Lucie, Philippine, uh, and they do such a great job. And Delbarton um uh uh on the campus of St. Mary's Abbey, run by the Benedictine uh monks and uh and and so um four private we say and um and three Dosin, but seven Catholic schools that that are a real blessing for for the church here in our diocese. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 38:09

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 38:10

Very good. Well thanks, Brian. Thank you, Jay. I appreciate it. Bishop, anything uh what else is going on with you? What are you what have you been reading or um listening to lately?

SPEAKER_00 38:21

As I mentioned, I was uh I'm reading a uh history or listening to uh audiobook, the history of Columbia. Yeah uh uh based on this river that runs through the whole country, the Rio Magdalena. Uh so that's been um very enjoyable. Uh so uh trying to uh get as uh much out of the summer as we can over these next uh ten days, I guess, uh before Labor Day and uh hoping to maybe get on a golf course a couple of times. So um so I love this time of year, love the um the weather, and um so try to make the most out of it.

SPEAKER_01 38:54

Yeah, and you'll be off to Rome a little in a few weeks, I guess. I and I hear there's one more slot available on the Bishop's pilgrimage to to Rome if anyone's interested.

SPEAKER_00 39:05

Might be a few if you can still can want to get into the last minute, yeah. Uh September, uh thanks for mentioning that. September 26th, we leave. Uh September 25th is um the New Jersey um mass rally in March for Life, uh the second annual in Trent. Uh yes. So um we look forward to um hopefully many people joining us to witness on behalf of life um in a public way um uh in our state capitol uh in a peaceful and prayerful way as well. Um so please join us uh for the mass rally in March for Life um uh September 25th in Trenton.

SPEAKER_01 39:44

Check the show notes for more. All right, well, thanks again, Brian. Thanks, Bishop. Thank you, Brian. And thank you all for joining us. Please subscribe, comment, and leave a positive rating. Get to know us better by following Bishop Kevin's Instagram and beyond the beacon on social media. Read the bishop's weekly column on beaconnj.org. Get in touch if you have a question for the bishop or a podcast topic idea, and discover our other podcasts, Coffee with Kupke and the Paul Street Journal. And Coffee with Kupke is gonna have a live recording episode uh in September. So stay um you'll hear more about that. Check out the show notes, and uh that's it. See you see you next time.

SPEAKER_00 40:22

Thank you, everybody. God bless you. Thank you, Brian. Thanks for being with us. Thanks, Jay.