“A Great Time to Be a Tiger”
By: Dr. Joseph Murry
Holy Cross High School Principal
Yes, this is a great time to be a Tiger! With the new campus location and the completion of our state-of-the-art Middle School, High School, and Administration Buildings, the Holy Cross community has a great deal to be thankful for and to celebrate. However, the real celebration centers on the achievements and the winning spirit of our students. Responding as real Holy Cross Men would, our students have racked up some pretty awesome accomplishments in the past and current school years - both inside and outside of the classroom. As we prepared to enter our new abode, the class of 2009 laid the foundation for our underclassmen to achieve high levels of success in our new surroundings. Last year’s graduating class racked up approximately $1.4 million in scholarship offers. As well as acceptance into LSU and many of the local state universities, our students have received scholarships to attend Loyola, Tulane, Auburn, University of Southern Mississippi, St. Edwards, Hamline University and United States Merchant Marine Academy to name a few.
Building upon their success and example, our current senior class is fast to follow in their footsteps and surpass their scholastic achievements. This class is on track to have the highest percentage of TOPS awards of any recent class. Additionally, two of our seniors are on track to receive appointments to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy. This year’s senior class is working to become one of the best as they move toward graduation. However, student academic success does not end with the senior class. This year’s junior class led the school with 44% achieving the honor role while 41% of the freshman through senior classes achieved such an honor for the first semester of this year. This coupled with the fact that 77% of the high school has achieved an overall grade average of B or above indicates that our students are working hard to succeed in the classroom.
But the mission of Holy Cross, inspired by Venerable Basil Moreau, does not end with only academic success: for it calls for the development of the “whole man—mind, body, heart and soul.” So, in that regard, our Campus Ministry Department has already conducted retreats for our seniors and juniors. Retreats have been scheduled for the remainder of the school year for the rest of the underclassman. This moving experience has provided time to reflect on both individual and spiritual goals. The spiritual side of the program has given our students opportunities for service and charity as we have coupled with other schools in the Southwest Province to complete an immersion trip in California this past summer. This trip was designed to give back to the needy and less fortunate. This service and compassion is an intricate part of the ministry program. Our students collected toys for Children’s Hospital this Christmas and food for the Food Bank. The gift of our “lending a helping hand” continues as our students respond with generous collections in support of the Drew Brees Foundation and for the needy families of Haiti in their time of crisis.
As programs are in place to ensure the fulfillment of the mission, nothing illustrates their effectiveness more than the successes that we observe as the students of Holy Cross respond to the challenges placed before them. That success was evident this year as the Tiger band achieved “1s” at the District VI Marching Festival, and our senior Drum Major, Robert Benoit, was named to the All State Band. In the arts, our students made great strides in the acting arena by tackling the major musical “Oliver.” Under the direction of Ms. Maria Baisier, our students did a magnificent job as they sang, danced, and acted through four nights of performances.
Finally, one important part of any school is the athletic program. This is of particular importance at Holy Cross because it fulfills the “body” part of our mission. It is not only in place to give our students a chance to compete and to learn important lessons of leadership; it is there to teach them to set goals and to overcome adversity as they exert winning efforts. Our athletic accomplishments have been a very exciting part of the past two school years; beginning with achievement of the State Wrestling Championship under the direction of Coach Eric DesOrmeaux in 2008-09. This is our first State Championship in 45 years. Seeing the Brother Melchior trophy returned to its true home was a moving experience. This year, our football team swept District and made it to the second round of the State Playoffs. As a result, many of our team members were named to the All-District Squad, with Devon Smith being named MVP and Quarterback Ryan Deems being named to the All-State Squad. Additionally, not to be out done in the classroom as well as on the field, Offensive Tackle Drake Tassin was named to the Academic All-State Squad. As we moved through the fall, two additional State Championships were garnered: Our Cross Country Team, which was led by Brent Kitto under the direction of Coach Sean Allerton, captured the State Championship, and the Swim Team won the school’s first State Championship that same week under the direction of Coach Dale Turner.
So as we continue the year, we look for more exciting accomplishments from our students. Our teachers continue to challenge all of our students to do their best. We take the “college prep” portion of our mission seriously as we have infused ACT prep into our curriculum on a daily basis and PSAT training as an enrichment. Being a successful test taker is a critical part of being prepared for college. We continue to improve our instructional delivery with the addition of advanced technology in the classroom and continue to assure that our teachers are well prepared and up to date on the latest instructional strategies through continued professional development. Couple the care in the classroom, continual commitment to the mission of Blessed Basil Moreau, with new buildings and state of the art programs and the realization is clear: “It’s a great time to be a Tiger!”
Sincerely,
Dr. Joseph H. Murry, Jr.
High School Principal
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