NOVEMBER Alumni Newsletter

Meet FALCON X, pictured above, the new mascot for FALCON GIVING DAY, which is Friday (Dec. 3), the Feast of St. Francis Xavier.

 

For all alumni, their family and friends, the FALCON GIVING DAY 2021 appeal will hit all of Xavier's social media outlets on Friday for a one-day fundraiser. This is our first major online one-day fundraiser to empower Xavier through connectedness with alumni and their relations. On Dec. 3, please give a gift of any size to build our percentage of alumni giving, and please share the appeal with your classmates, family and friends to empower our school and our students.

 

Many members of the Xavier High School community have recorded messages that you will hear throughout that day. Please open your messages on Friday to hear our speakers, give a gift, and to make your own giving page that can be shared with family and friends. 

 

Thank you in advance for all the support you show this school and the students.

 

If you have any questions please contact Director of Advancement Liz Whitty at 860-346-7735, ext. 732, or email [email protected]

 

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and took the opportunity to spend time with family and contemplate your answer to the question, “What am I grateful for?”

 

For me, family and health and a disposition that helps me find the positive in the buzz around me.

 

For Xavier students who have received scholarships that help provide a Xavier education, I share some of their words of thanks:

 

“Words cannot express how appreciative I am. This past year hasn’t been easy on my family, and I can’t express what Xavier provides in and out of the classroom.”

 

“I am thankful for this scholarship, because without it, I would not get the education that Xavier offers.

 

“I have developed as a person in a way I never could have, without the scholarship that let me go to Xavier.”

 

If you can provide support for future Xavier students, please give them something to be thankful for during Xavier’s Falcon Giving Day on Friday.

 

One final note: The Holiday Season can be both a wonderful and difficult time. When it is difficult to find a reason to be thankful, it is when you most need the support of community.  If you have a concern about a member of our community, or struggle to find thankfulness yourself, reach out, you will be grateful you did!

Brian Farrell '86, Alumni Association President 

Around The Campus

The National Honor Society hosted a bake sale in November to support the National Alliance on Mental Health, a non-profit based in West Hartford, which raises awareness for the importance of mental health and educates and supports those impacted by mental illness. The sale brought in $262.50.

 

When Xavier won the Class L title in cross country on Nov. 1, it marked 40 State and New England titles in the sport since the first state title in 1970: 21 Class championships, 13 State Open titles and six New England championships. The Falcons finished second at the State Open on Nov. 5 and seventh at the New England Open Nov. 13.

 

The soccer team went to the CIAC Class LL semifinals before losing on penalty kicks to Cheshire. Xavier had beaten Cheshire three times this season, each by a goal, including the SCC Tournament championship game. The Falcons finished 19-1-2. Mercy and Sacred Heart shared the Class M title after a scoreless tie that went two overtimes; a CIAC championship game does not get decided by penalty kicks. 

 

The Xavier football team beat Glastonbury in its final game of the season, 42-11, to finish a 6-4 season. Senior Drew Kron threw four touchdown passes. He's headed to UConn next fall on a baseball scholarship.

 

Pier Bos, the Class of 2019 salutatorian, is in his junior year at the U.S. Military Academy. He spent the fall semester in the Service Academy Exchange Program, which allows cadets at the service academies to apply to go to another academy for a semester during their second-class (junior) year and experience life there. He attended the Coast Guard Academy this fall. "It has been very rewarding," Bos said. "It is very useful to see how the Coast Guard operates and how it fits into the overall U.S. military mission." Next semester he will return to West Point until he graduates and commissions in 2023.

 

Brian J. Farrell, III (Xavier 2018) and Grace O’ Brien (Mercy 2018) were engaged on Oct. 7. Farrell's father Brian '86 is president of the Xavier alumni association. 

 

Tim Boyle '13 made his first NFL start on Nov. 20. Boyle started for the Detroit Lions in a 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns. He became the first Xavier graduate to start an NFL game at quarterback.

 

Kentucky quarterback Will Levis '18 had a dominating performance in a 52-21 win over Louisville on Saturday. Levis rushed for four touchdowns as he gained 113 yards on the ground. He was 14-for-18 for 149 yards passing yards. One of his TD runs was from 29 yards. Levis was in his first year at Kentucky after transferring from Penn State. Sports Illustrated projects Kentucky (9-3) will play in the Citrus Bowl vs. Ohio State on New Year's Day. 

 

The 18th Arthur M. Kohs Christmas Tournament, Dec. 27-28: The yearly event is back after last year’s tournament was canceled because of COVID. The schedule:

      Monday, Dec. 27: Waterford-Glastonbury, 5:30 p.m.; Valley Regional-Xavier, 7:15 p.m.

      Tuesday, Dec. 28: Consolation game, 5:30 p.m.; championship game, 7:15 p.m.

 

The Class of 1972 is planning to hold its 50th reunion in the September/October time frame in 2022. Dates and details to follow. 

 

These accounts are taken from the Xaverian Menology, a book of deceased members of the Xaverian Brothers. This month we look at some Brothers from Xavier High School who died in the month of November:

 

Bro. Robert Sullivan, C.F.X., first Principal at Xavier, Dec. 14, 1927-Nov. 9, 2013: "A talented, brilliant, eminently sociable man, Brother Robert was ever willing to do whatever was asked of him, to go wherever he was sent, never seeking position or plaudits but the betterment of others."

 

Bro. D. Stephen O'Donnell, May 12, 1932-Nov. 22, 1999: "His final assignment was at Xavier teaching English and working in the business office. Although his final illness of eight months caused him to eventually be confined to a wheelchair, he never lost his sense of humor or enthusiasm." 

 

Bro. Celestine (William M. Killigrew), Oct. 6, 1939-Nov. 28, 1964: "Brother Celestine died as the result of an automobile accident on the New England Thruway the day after Thanksgiving as he was returning with other members of the Xavier High community from the holiday vacation at home. He was only 25 ... all who knew him loved him."  

 

In Memoriam

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