While not quite as frenetic as the regular school year, Xavier and her Sons are busy on 16th Street and beyond. We are happy to share a few updates. The annual Xavier Summer Tour got off to a great start with receptions in Belle Harbor and Spring Lake. George and Joan Clark P’16 hosted over 80 parents, students, alumni and friends at their home in Belle Harbor. A few days later at the Bath and Tennis Club in Spring Lake, Tom ’63 and Karen Kevaney once again hosted nearly 50 alumni and spouses at the Jersey Shore. The class of ’67 had another strong showing in Spring Lake and was joined by alumni from the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Xavier (K)Night at the Brooklyn Cyclones saw an early season Cyclones win; the CHSAA championship hockey and basketball teams were honored; coaches Joe McGrane (basketball) and Al DiMauro (hockey) threw out ceremonial pitches; over 250 Xavier family members enjoyed a great night in Coney Island, and Xavier VP Dan Dougherty enjoyed both a ride on the Cyclone and a chili dog at Nathans. Thanks to Dan for coordinating a great night.

The Jesuit Higher Achievement Program (HAP) is back at Xavier in its 48th incarnation, under the direction of Xavier faculty member Pat Mahon ’04. Pat takes the reins from Brian McCabe who with Ben Hamm capably directed the program for the past 8 years. This is Pat’s 14th year of HAP going back to his days as a Xavier student. Over 240 rising 8th graders from the five boroughs, Long Island, Westchester and New Jersey are taking part in this year’s program. This week saw the second leg of the HAP Games against St. Peter’s Prep. While Prep may have notched a few more wins than our junior Knights, we emerged victorious in maybe the most important contest of all—HAP Dodgeball. Fr. Mike Flynn, S.J., one of the guiding lights of Xavier HAP had a special place in his heart for the HAP dodgeball players. Ken Ng ’80 and Ray Whiteman ’78 first met Fr. Flynn during their HAP days. Last year they both visited and spoke with our HAP students. Both have endowed scholarships in Fr. Flynn’s memory. Fr. Flynn will be posthumously inducted into the Xavier Hall of Fame on November 7th at Pier 60 for his work with HAP and his many contributions to Xavier.

A host of physical plant projects are taking place. Larkin/Hurtado Hall is being readied for a new floor after last summer’s first full painting in over 30 years. Once the floor is down new chairs and tables will greet students in September. Work has begun on a new fire alarm system for the campus. Installation will continue throughout the new school year. Beyer Blinder Belle (BBB), Xavier’s architect and master planner, is working with our engineers, AKF, and other consultants to complete the construction documents (CDs) for the 15th St. Building. We anticipate completion of the CDs in August. A good deal of attention in recent weeks has been paid to the recording capacity of the music complex in the new building.

This week 25 students and 5 faculty members are working with Habitat for Humanity as part of CFX Tennessee. CFX Mexico 2 just returned from Tijuana. This CFX was a joint project of Xavier and Rockhurst, Kansas City’s Jesuit High School. Please visit Xavier’s website, for an excellent reflection on CFX Mexico by our headmaster, Mr. Mike LiVigni. While our students were working in Mexico and Tennessee, Dennis Langley ’70, trustee and chair of the plant committee, was working on a Habitat for Humanity project in Beius, Romania. Loyola Jesuit Center in Morristown hosted 45 seniors and 5 faculty members on the Ad Majorem Retreat this week. The students are the leaders for the various Xavier retreats for the upcoming school year.

Ms. Lindsey Willert assumed her duties as registrar on July 1 following the retirement of Ms. Janet Bonica and happily reports that the schedule for the new year is virtually complete. Over the next few weeks the “i’s” will be dotted and the “t’s” crossed before final schedules are distributed to students and faculty. Ms. Willert has done yeoman’s work in developing the schedule as we move to a new time order. Ms. Bonica reports that she is thoroughly enjoying retirement. Shane Lavin ’03 has begun his work as Director of Annual Giving after five years as our alumni director. Maggie Murphy made her move to Chicago and her work at the Big Shoulders Fund after three great years at Xavier as part of the advancement team. Congratulations to Mr. Jon Cambras, Xavier’s admission Director, who will marry his fiancée Kaitlin on Sunday in Vermont. Fr. James Donovan, S.J., our newest Jesuit faculty member, has completed his move to 16th St. Fr. Donovan brings years of experience as a science teacher to his work at Xavier. We are thrilled to have him with us.

The final edits are being made on the Xavier Magazine before it heads to the proofreader then printer. It should be in your mailboxes in four weeks. Meanwhile, work on the Annual Report has begun. The Annual Report will celebrate a record fundraising year at Xavier and will be mailed on October. Thanks to all who made the record fundraising year possible.

Check out a slideshow of Xavier’s summer below. Our next summer e-News will appear in your inbox in late August. Until then, you can find updates at www.xavierhs.org. Happy Summer.