Fall 2009.indd - Elizabeth Seton High School

Volume XVII
Issue
Fall 2009
Elizabeth Seton High School
Sister Ellen Marie
Hagar ‘74
President
Sharon Pasterick
Prinicpal
Leeanna Burke
Vice Prinicpal
Maureen McCart
Director of Institutional
Advancement
Dear ESHS Supporters,
By now, I’m sure you have heard bits and pieces about the
new president of Elizabeth Seton High School. I am a graduate
of Seton, class of l974. I have served in Catholic Education for
34 years now, but primarily below the Mason/Dixon Line. I am
especially happy to return to Seton during this anniversary year.
I am hoping that many people will share the leadership and
responsibility of Seton with me, as you will see in my reflection
on one of my first days.
Did you ever have a perfect day, a day where everything
that you hoped would happen, did indeed happen? I had
one the other day; the highlights of which I’d like to share with
you. Unlike our favorite crime stories, the names of those involved
have been identified to give thanks for their blessings:
At an early morning faculty meeting to brief the faculty
on the kick-off for a campaign to raise money for our track and
field, Mary McGillicuddy left a check on my notebook when I
wasn’t looking
• At a visit to Sacred Heart Parish, Father Parry
offered deanery support for Seton and highlighted all the
parishes’ commitment to Catholic Education.
• At a meeting with William Geier from Geier,
Rachel Fus/The Gazette
Brown, and Renfrow Architects for our track and field project,
Mr. Geier offered to complete the project pro bono.
• At a 50th anniversary meeting, I announced that our vendors Flynn & O’Hara Uniforms,
Beelabor Janitorial, Bay City Pest Control, and Herff Jones Photography would underwrite the cost of
the reception after our Anniversary Mass.
• At a visit with Tommie Marcos, father of a new freshman, he gave us some new fundraising
options for Seton.
• A late night email from Stephanie Flores-Koulish, a Seton graduate, invited me to attend a
reception at Loyola University for the Convocation of their School of Education, an effort for which she
has worked very hard.
Okay, granted. It’s not exactly winning the mega million lottery, but it is a different form of
wealth. Having the active support and commitment of faculty, pastors, business leaders, vendors, parents,
and alumnae is a goldmine for a high school president. In fact, in today’s world, no high school can advance
without it. It is as St. Paul says, “the power that helps us reach perfection.” It is the power that goes
beyond any one person’s weaknesses or limitations. It is the power that sparks new vision, creates new
energy, and shares responsibility and leadership.
And so that night I prayed, “Lord, thank you for this perfect day. Please continue to send Seton more
people who have the power to help us reach greater perfection. You know that alone I cannot do it.”
And like St. Paul, I “was given a thorn in the flesh” because the next day, the day after my perfect day,
I broke my toe and was awarded a boot and a cane. “Okay, Lord. Really, I get it. You don’t need to make
it so obvious. ‘I can be content with difficulties because when I am powerless, it is then that I am strong’.
I know that we must trust in the power of Christ.” But truthfully, I like those perfect days better, when
the power that perfects Seton comes from the support of so many who love Seton. It is really okay if you
inspire more people to promote the mission and vision of Elizabeth Seton High School.
Grateful for all our support,
Office of the President
Stephanie Auletta
Seton Notes Design
Sister Ellen Marie Hagar, D.C. ‘74
President

50th Anniversary Mass
Elizabeth Seton High School celebrated
it’s 50th anniversary with a Seton community
Mass on September 23, 2009.
The Most Reverend Donald Wuerl,
Archbishop of Washington, was the
principal celebrant. Several local area
priests concelebrated with him. Current
students, faculty, staff, parents and
many alumnae were thrilled to take part
in this exciting day. They were joined
by former faculty and parents, Elizabeth
Seton Board Members, Daughters of
Charity, Mr. Tom Burnford, Secretary for Archbishop Wuerl accepting gifts at the offertory procession.
Education for the Archdiocese of Washington,
the Superintendent of Catholic
Schools, Dr. Patricia Wetzel-O’Neil, representatives of Prince George’s County and area schools. Members
of the class of 1963 joined us for the Mass and took part in the scripture readings and offertory procession
with members of the class of 2013. The Liturgy was enhanced by the performance of student groups
including the Gospel Choir, Symphonic Band, Seton Chorale, and the Divine Dancers. During the Mass,
Sister Ellen Marie Hagar, D.C. ‘74 was officially installed as President of Elizabeth Seton High School by
Archbishop Wuerl. Mrs. Sharon Pasterick, Principal,
was presented with a congratulatory citation
for Elizabeth Seton by State Senator Douglas J. J.
Peters, Chair of the Prince George’s County Delegation.
Sister Ellen Marie Hagar ‘74 and members of the Class of 1963
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Sharon Pasterick and State Sentator Douglas J.J. Peters

Bulletin Board
There are several ways that you and your family
can support Elizabeth Seton High School!
GIANT A+ BONUS BUCKS — You must re-designate
Seton each year. Our number is 00406. You may
register online at www.giantfood.com. Giant’s program
starts in October.
SAFEWAY RECEIPTS/ESCRIP – Renew your Safeway
grocery card and your credit and debit cards from
Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover
each year with eScrip. Visit www.escrip.com and click
on “Yes! Renew”. Our number is 148894953.
New Website!
Check out Seton’s new website at www.setonhs.org.
The Alumnae Tab allows you to update your information,
read about your classmates, see what alumnae
events are scheduled, read Seton Notes and donate
online. Also, keeps you updated on school news, and
athletic events and results.
Do you get e-mails with Seton news? If not, contact
Terry O’Meara at 416@setonhs.org to be put on our
mailing list.
TARGET GUEST CARD – If you have a Target Guest
Card, you may designate Elizabeth Seton. Sign up at
your local Target Store or at www.target.com. Click
on “red cards” and then “enroll now”. Our number is
17895.
FOOD LION MVP CARD – Register your MVP card
online at www.Foodlion.com. Click on “MVP card”
and then “Lion Shop & Share” or call 704-633-8250
ext. 3810. You need to re-register each year.
OFFICE DEPOT – We will receive a credit from any
purchase at Office Depot. Use our school ID# 70046245
at the time of any purchase in a store or online at www.
officedepot.com.
CELL PHONES – If you have old cell phones, laptop/notebook
computers, Apple iPods, digital cameras
and digital video cameras that you don’t want, donate
them to Seton. They are a tax deductible donation!
Accessories such as chargers, ear pieces, etc are not
eligible. Contact the Advancement Office at 301-864-
4532 ext. 7171 or 006@setonhs.org for more information.
GOODSEARCH.COM – Seton earns money every
time you search the Internet with GoodSearch.com.
We also earn a percentage of every purchase made
online through GoodSearch.com. It is a new Yahoopowered
search engine that donates half its advertising
revenue to the charities its users designate. Use it just
as you would any search engine!
Save the Date
April 24, 2009
Elizabeth Seton’s
50th Anniversary
Celebration
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Welcome to Seton
John Bolt, originally from
St. Louis, graduated from
Xavier University in Cincinnati
with a Bachelor of
Arts degree in Theology.
He is teaching freshman
and sophomore religion.
Courtney Jordan graduated
from McDaniel College
with a Bachelor of Arts degree
in English and a minor
in Writing. She also graduated
from Clemson University
with a Master of
Arts degree in Professional
Communication. Before
coming to Seton, Courtney
From left to right: John Bolt, Sister Ellen Marie Hagar, D.C. ‘74, Jamie Teigen, Courtney Jordan, Sister Alice
Matthews and Cassidy Erdecky ‘04
taught Freshman Composition for two years at Clemson University and worked in the Communications
department at a non-profit organization. She is very grateful to be at Elizabeth Seton and even more grateful
to be teaching English.
Cassidy Erdeky ‘04 graduated from University of Maryland College Park with a Bachelor of Science
degree in biological sciences: physiology & neurobiology. Cassidy first came back to Seton last year as
a substitute teacher. She is now working full time and is teaching Algebra I and II. She is also the head
novice coach for Seton’s crew team.
Sister Alice Mathews, D.C. is no stranger to Elizabeth Seton. Sister Alice first came to Seton in 1972.
She taught English from 1972-1981. She returned in the 1990’s and worked in the Development Office.
Sr. Alice is back at Seton teaching freshman English. She received her BA in English and Education from
St. Joseph’s College in Emmitsburg and her Masters in Teaching English from Trinity College.
Jamie Teigen went to school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and received a Bachelor of Science
in Secondary Education and History. She is from Maple Grove, Minnesota and taught 7th grade social
studies there for one year. Here at Seton, she teaches U.S. History to juniors and Government/Current
Issues to seniors.
4

Around Campus
Seton Welcomes the Class of 2013:
Daughters/Granddaughters Continuing in Their
Mother and Grandmother’s Footsteps
Gayla Freeman ‘10 spent two weeks in June with the
People to People Student Ambassador Program. She
completed some service hours by playing Japanese
games with sixth grade students at Ojika Elementary
School in Ojika, Japan on Hirado Island. While there,
she stayed in the home of a Japanese family for three
days and visited the cities of Tokyo, Nagasaki, and
Kyoto.
Sara Porter ‘12 worked with abandoned and disabled
children for two weeks this summer in Jamaica.
Veronica Leach ‘11 volunteered 135 hours at Washington
Hospital Center this summer..
Back row (L-R): Maureen Higgins, Taylor Tucker, Ashley Peacock and
Kayla Webster Front Row (L-R): Sydney Henry, Tori Montgomery,
Cheyenne Vaughn, Jessica Boileau. Not Pictured: Caitlin Kolb and Jennifer
Nuth
The class of 2013 represents alumnae from the classes
of 1964-1995. These students are Jessica Boileau,
granddaughter of Macella Schrott Shea ‘64; Sydney
Henry, daughter of Yasmin Leftwich ‘83; Maureen Higgins,
daughter of Elizabeth Lonergan Higgins ‘77; Caitlin
Kolb, daughter of Catherine Smith Kolb ‘79; Tori
Montgomery, daughter of Syndnee Nobles-Thompson
‘88; Jennifer Nuth, daughter of Patricia Evans Nuth ‘77;
Ashley Peacock, daughter of Joan Mahoney Peacock
‘86; Taylor Tucker, daughter of Kelly Savoy Tucker
‘85; Cheyenne Vaughn, daughter of Celena Vaughn-
Bosserman ‘95; and Kayla Webster, granddaughter of
Anna Crapo Hyatt ‘65.
Megan McGowan ‘11 volunteered over the summer at
St. Pius the VI’s summer camp where she was a camp
counselor to a pre-K and kindergarten group. This was
her 4th summer volunteering at the camp. While working
there she discovered that she wants to be a teacher
and work with children.
Katie Busch ‘11 volunteered at The Gabriel Network
Pregnancy Clinic as an office assistant and at the Perry
School’s summer camp named Camp Dream where she
was a camp counselor. She worked with children, many
of them suffering from abuse at home.
Prayerfully Remembered
Rosa Alvarez
mother of Karina ‘12
Erin Hayden Blair ‘75
Daniel J. Donoghue
father of Eileen ‘67, Ann ‘68, Clare ‘77
Rosa ‘77, and Mary Pat ‘87
Daniel McGillicuddy
father of Mary McGillicuddy, faculty,
grandfather of Megan Macheski ‘00 and Theresa
Macheski ‘06
Sherra Theresa Halcisak Peterson ‘77
William C. Washington
father of Shirleta ‘91 and Stefanye ‘94
Jean K. Woodhouse
mother of Nancy ‘67 and Kathy ‘70
Jackie Ferguson ‘87
sister of Joanne ‘88
5

Alumnae Updates
6
Barbara Criswell Robertson ‘64
and her husband have moved to
Ocean City. It’s been a year, and
they are loving it as well as their
grandkids. The two 15 year olds took their boating test and can now
drive the boat. She and her husband are still working; she is selling
MaryKay, and he is selling cars for Sherwood Ford in Salisbury.
Class of 1969 celebrated their 40th reunion September 19th at Carrol’s
Creek Restaurant in Annapolis. They raised $1,000 for tuition
assistance.
1970’s
1960’s
Carol Gerhardt Bachmann ‘70 is switching jobs from composing
taxonomies to writing user requirements. She never figured she’ be a
“techie” as an English major!
Francesca Avelleyra ‘71 began her 31st year of teaching Special Education
in Prince George’s County Public Schools this past August. She
loves her job; however, her knees have started to protest a bit. She is
also an empty nester and is looking forward to reading, sewing and trying
out all those recipes she has been cutting out of magazines.
Kathy Jones Repage ‘76 has been married to her husband for 18 years.
Her daughter, Kathleen Carol, is the Product Director for an IT Company.
Kim Dern Ogle ‘77 just celebrated the college graduation of her oldest
son, Jesse, from American University. Her youngest son, Noah, just
entered high school at South River in Edgewater.
Mary Hartnett Dill ‘79 has been working for the public schools for
24 years as a paraprofessional in Special Education. She started working
in Prince George’s County in 1985 and left there to work closer to
home. She now works for Queen Annes County Public Schools and
loves it. She is currently working for the local middle school and is also
a volunteer at UCVFD as an EMT-B. She tried to become a firefighter,
but found out that it was not for her. She also does some volunteer
work at the Animal Rescue Foundation walking dogs, cleaning cages
and laundry.
Margaret Robertson’s ‘79 son, J.J., is 15 and is a sophomore at
Prescott High School. J.J. enjoys baseball and fantasy football.
1980’s
Class of 1989 celebrated their 20th reunion on September 19th. Their
reunion was held at the Crofton Country Club.
1990’s
Charon Hines ‘91 was featured in the July E-Newsletter for Higher
Achievement. She graduated from Mary Baldwin College with a BA in
Sociology. She also received her Masters from Bowie State in Art and
Teaching and a Masters of Science in Education from Trinity University.
Currently, she teaches first grade in Montgomery County Public
Schools.
Joy Stevans ‘92 attended the American Institute of Musical Studies
(AIMS) in Granz, Austria over the summer. AIMS is the leading European
summer vocal program and the most comprehensive course of its
kind that brings future opera and concert performers together. Joy was
one of the 10 finalists of the 2009 Grand Finale Meistersinger Vocal
Competition. She is currently working on her Doctorate in Music at the
University of Maryland.
Mary Luebkert Truman ‘95 is the wife of Matt (DeMatha ‘93) and
mother of Alexandra, born in 2006. She is expecting a baby boy in December
2009. She started her tenth year teaching Early Childhood Special
Education in Prince George’s County, with a population of many
students with autism. She is the co-creator of myAutismcommunity.
com, an online “bulletin board” to find news, resources, discussions and
events within the autism community. She greatly enjoyed her 13 year
reunion and looks forward to the Sweet 16 reunion.
2000’s
Pamela Dorsey ‘02 graduated from Notre Dame in 2006 with a double
major in Political Science (concentration in International Relations)
and Philosophy and a minor in Arabic Studies. She graduated from
the University of Virginia law school in May 2009. She will begin
working in the DC office of Hogan & Hartson in November 2009. Until
then, she plans to travel. She also recently became engaged to Michael
Nydegger, who is also an attorney in D.C. They plan to be married in
2010.
Alexis Thomas ‘09 is a student at Morgan State University and is majoring
in medical technology. She has enjoyed her first few weeks and
looks forward to continuing her education. She thanks Seton for giving
her such a great start.

Alumnae News
Hall of Fame
Induction Ceremony for
Honorees
Sr. Mary Marguerite Butler, D.C.
Candy Cage ‘81
Maureen “Johnny” Johnson ‘72*
Clara Smiley Kircher ‘63
Sunday, October 18, 2009
10:30 Mass
11:30 Lunch and Induction
Come Join the Celebration!
Individual Tickets $38
Tables of 8 are $280
Congratulate the winners with an
ad in the program
Quarter Page - $50
Half Page - $100
Full Page - $150
RSVP by October 9th to
Stephanie Auletta at 006@setonhs.org
or 301-864-4532 ext. 7171
*deceased
Commemorate Seton’s 50th
Anniversary with a Seton
ornament. The window
depicted on this ornament is
part of a series of five windows
that grace the Seton
chapel. The ornament
highlights St. Elizabeth Ann
Seton, the patroness of the
school and the foundress of
Catholic Schools for young
women in the United States.
It is sold at the Seton bookstore
for $20. Contact the
Advancement Office if you
would like to buy one.
Year of the Alumnae
This year has been declared the Year of the
Alumnae. This is the reunion year for classes
whose graduation years end in 0 and 5. It is
time to plan your reunion! If you are interested
in helping to plan and organize your reunion,
please contact Stephanie Auletta in the Advancement
Office at 301-864-4522 ext. 7171 or
006@setonhs.org
If you would like to receive SetonNotes electronically,
please contact Terry O’Meara in
the Advancement Office at 416@setonhs.
org or 301-864-4532 ext. 7172
Alumnae Event Calendar
October 18 - Hall of Fame Mass and Induction
December 19 - Young Alum Christmas
Reunion
March 13 - Free Alumnae Dance
April 24 - 50th Anniversary Celebration
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Elizabeth Seton High School
5715 Emerson Street
Bladensburg, MD 20710
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Please designate Seton!
Seton Notes is published three times each year for students, faculty, alumnae and friends of Elizabeth Seton
High School. Please send news of interest to Elizabeth Seton High School Advancement Office, 5715
Emerson Street, Bladensburg, MD 20710, call (301) 864-4532, fax (301) 864-89465, or e-mail Maureen
McCart at mmm@setonhs.org
Calendar of Upcoming Events
October 14
Senior Retreat
October 18
Hall of Fame Mass and Ceremony (10:30 a.m.)
October 20
Tri-M Music Honor Society Induction (7:30 p.m.)
October 27
Ring Ceremony (7:00 p.m.)
November 8
Open House (12 p.m.)
November 11 Fall Athletic Awards Banquet
November 13-14 Drama Club Production (7:30 p.m.)
November 18 NHS Induction (7:00 p.m.)
November 21 Seton/DeMatha Dance Marathon
November 25-27 Thanksgiving Holiday
December 4
Choral Concert (7:30 p.m.)
December 11 Instrumental Concert (7:30 p.m.)
December 14-17 Exams
December 18 Reception for classes 2005-2009
December 19 Snowball Dance (8:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.)
December 21- Christmas Holiday
January 3