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FEBRUARY 2020 VOL. 24 NO. 4
YOUR SOURCE FOR ROYAL AVE. NEWS
A conversation with Sr. Mary
Boyer, SSJ
Siobhán Loughney ‘20
Longtime educator and Sister of Saint Joseph reflects
on her time at Bishop McDevitt and the importance of
Catholic education
Sister Mary Boyer, SSJ has dedicated more than
just her career to Catholic education. She is a firm
believer in the significance of faith-based learning, and
she has poured her heart and soul into the art program
at McDevitt. During Catholic Schools Week, we have the
chance to reflect upon the traditions and values of
Catholic schools and what it means to keep those alive
today.
When I spoke with Sister Mary about the 2020
Catholic schools: Learn - Serve - Lead-
Catholic Schools Week, she was sure to emphasize the
importance of the Eucharist in our celebration, saying
Succeed
that her favorite aspects of this week of celebration is
“...the Mass and giving thanks to God for the things we
EDITORIAL
are being taught.” From past Catholic Schools Weeks,
Sister Mary fondly remembers pajama days, as This year’s Catholic Schools Week theme provides us with four words to
“Everyone looks so comfy.” Still, this year she was reflect upon: learn, serve, lead, succeed.
looking forward to the students praying the living rosary
this past Wednesday morning. Learn: Each morning at 7:45AM, the first bell rings, and the time for
learning has begun. Each student who walks into Bishop McDevitt is blessed
This year’s theme is “Catholic Schools: Learn. with the privilege of learning from 7:45AM until 2:21PM. What each student
Serve. Lead. Succeed.” Sister Mary said that service does with those six hours and thirty-six minutes is up to themselves. This
could be leading where leadership is needed the most. week is the perfect time to give thanks to God for the blessing of being able
She also noted that getting involved in service as a high to go to school, especially since we live in a world where young people
school student translates into life after graduation, as around the world are deprived of their education. From the first bell to the
she recalled former students who have moved on to last, it is our job as students to make the choice to praise God for the
service-related careers with the American Red Cross and blessing that is our education by taking advantage of every opportunity
the Brothers of Charity. provided to us as McDevitt students.
Looking at the future of Catholic schools, Sister Serve: Twenty-five hours. That is the number of community service hours
Mary hopes for a bright future. She recognized the great required of every McDevitt student on a yearly basis. Daunting, right?
sacrifices that families make to send students to Catholic Maybe it is at first, but there is another way to think about it. Twenty-five
schools, saying, “A lot of the future depends on the hours is one day and one hour. Have we not one day a year to give of
parents. Parents who have been educated in Catholic ourselves to another individual or group of people? This requirement is not
schools hopefully see the benefit, and it really is a so much of a burden as it is a guideline that opens the eyes of students to the
sacrifice. I do believe it is valuable.” While we celebrate amazing opportunities within serving others. There is so much to learn and
education, faith, and all the people who manifest these to experience by connecting with other people and giving back to our
core attributes, Catholic Schools Week is the perfect communities.
time to reflect upon the sacrifices that our families and
teachers make and the gift of Catholic education. Continued on page 3
IN THIS ISSUE
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK – CATHOLIC CURRENT EVENTS
PERSPECTIVE WITH SR. MARY EDUCATION AND SPORTS
BOYER SSJ
PAGE 1
DECEMBER 2019 / / VOL. 24 NO. 4
NEWS
Devastation in Australia
On preservation and perseverance
Bineta Brooks ‘21
Source: news.com.au and Supplied
Over the past few months Australia has been experiencing one of the worst droughts in decades. The dry
conditions have led to the kindling of large brush and grassland fires. Many sources have reported that
entire homes and towns have been engulfed and destroyed through these fires. The total area of land
affected by the fire is more than 10 million hectares. Although recent cooler conditions and rain have
brought some respite, more than 60 fires are still burning in the states of New South Wales and Victoria.
Australia’s wildfires were not inevitable. With the
increase of climate change each year, global warming is
becoming more and more prominent. January 1st marked
Australia's worst pollution it has ever seen, with air
quality index 23 times higher than what’s considered
“hazardous,” according to BBC News. More than 1 billion
mammals and reptiles lost their lives in the blaze,
creating a devastating dent on animals' habitat. Their
numerous has dramatically decrease putting some
species on the endangered list. Many conservatories have
been developing new ways to prevent these natural
disasters from continuing. Photo cred: Matthew Abbott for The New York Times
To keep the fires under control, Oceania relies heavily on firefighters and water aircraft. There has also
been extra support from the United States, Canada, and there have been reports of even Malaysia
preparing to send help too. Numerous volunteers have contributed their time and effort to help relieve
such efforts.
When is enough, enough? Over the past 50-plus years, the
average global temperature has been increasing at an alarming
rate, mostly because of the damaging effects humans have on
the earth. The over usage of natural oils and fossil fuels creates
more frequent droughts, heavier rainfalls, and powerful
hurricanes. By reducing carbon intake, conserving energy, and
by bringing more awareness in climate change. We can take a
stand to prevent wildfires in Australia and help preserve life
around the globe.
Photo cred: The Guardian/David Gray/Getty Images
UPCOMING EVENTS @ BISHOP MCDEVITT
• Bocce – Archbishop Carroll vs. • Sweetheart Dance - 2/14 • Black History Month performance and
OLC/Bishop McDevitt (home) @ 3:30, 2/4 presentation - 2/19 (Midday)
PAGE 2
DECEMBER 2019 / / VOL. 24 NO. 4
CONTROVERSY AND HEARTACHE AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE
VICTORIA MALONEY ‘20
While the current English monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has stated
In recent years, as technology and media have her support in their decision, she also notes that she wished the couple
become more interactive, one family in particular has only would have remained as “full-time working Members of the Royal Family.”
gained more attention from the general public, the British As the United Kingdom goes through its present turbulent state of affairs,
Royal Family. With the recent marriage of Prince Harry with Brexit, scandals, and fears untimely health issues, what people have
and Meghan Markle, which were decked out to the max started to call “Me It” has been heavily criticized since the original
and garnered the attention of millions around the world announcement.
from the crack of dawn to the end of the night,
the British Royal Family has been subjected to constant The departure of Meghan and Harry, currently two of the most
attention, from baby names to public engagements. popular British Royals, has impacted the entire family’s duties to the United
Kingdom, giving other members more responsibilities other than their own.
Some of the biggest news regarding the British With this interesting twist in British news, and different theories as to what
Royal Family has circled around Meghan Markle, an Meghan, Harry, and the British monarchy will do next, people have been at
American actress who married Prince Harry. From the the edge of their seats to watch the consequences of everything that has
lavish wedding to global public appearances, Meghan befallen the former empire.
and Harry have been the subject of overwhelming media
attention. Recently, however, this attention has been
focusing on an act that can be considered fairly uncommon
within the structure of the British Royals, an unexpected
announcement to formally leave the family.
A quick history of the first Catholic Schools: Learn-Serve-
Catholic school in the Lead-Succeed
United States Editorial continued from page 1
William Nguyen ‘20
Lead: The first two words often come around with motivation. This
As Catholic School Week takes place and we have our Catholic Schools Week, be that motivation for your friends. Lead by
celebrations, it is important to look back and reflect on how example in class by putting in an active effort to learn and lead in service
Catholic schools got to where they are today. In order to do by gathering a group of friends to do a service project. Leadership can be
this, it is paramount we look back at the first Catholic simple actions like having the courage to be the first to speak up in a class
school, Georgetown University to see how its beliefs, discussion or volunteering to help out with a school event.
structure, faculty, and its students operated.
Succeed: Success comes in all different forms. It might be the feeling of
The history of Georgetown University is a very accomplishment after completing an assignment, reaching a goal on the
interesting and surprising one because it did not start out field or court, or doing well on a test. With hard work, any goal you set for
as Catholic. At its founding, one-fifth of its student body yourself can become a success, so set goals. Give yourself something to
was Protestant. The school would not officially become work towards. Big or small, inspiring yourself to dedicate time and effort
Catholic until what happened during and after the Civil to your goals will help you to learn, serve, and lead in all aspects of your
War, which was a very tragic time for the school. Hostilities life.
and many injuries occurred on campus as a result of
conflicting ideals. The end of the civil war led to the
liberation of many people and led to an influx of many
Catholic students into the school. Fast times at Bishop McDevitt
After the end of the war, many people from northern High
cities that were populated by Catholic immigrants and Regan Loughney ‘21
refugees were finally able to move freely. College-aged
Catholic individuals joined the school, making the student Kendall White is a junior here at Bishop McDevitt. He has been
body majority Catholic. The creation of Georgetown helps running track at the age of 5 for Kappa Diamond Dashers, then moved
show that throughout the hardest turmoil, faith can always into the CYO track in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Kendall started his
win in the end. High School career well, earning All-Catholic as well as winning several
other meets. This year he started his indoor season with a bang. Running
a 50.79 in the 400m in early January, he moved up to #2 in the state.
Kendall then knocked almost a second off his time and recorded a 49.87
at the NYC Armory Games. He holds the fastest flat track time in the state
this season, and his time qualifies him for High School Nationals
Emerging Elite.
Kendall discussed his view on the season and moving forward: “I’d
say that I’ve just been consistently working hard at practice and trying to
improve. As far as the season goes, we have been working hard and
improving every meet to qualify for states and nationals, and hopefully,
win another District Championship for the School. Whenever we feel like
we do bad, it just motivates us to work harder for the next meet.”
Keep an eye out for more news about Kendall and his teammates
later in the season as they work towards their postseason.
PAGE 3
DECEMBER 2019 / / VOL. 24 NO. 4
SPORTS
ERIC WILSON ’20 & REGAN LOUGHNEY ‘21
Men’s and Women’s Basketball Update Men’s and Women’s Track Teams and
Boys Basketball: The Royal Lancers are 9-5 this season and are Men’s Wrestling prepare for Season
performing strong in Catholic League play. Big wins against LaSalle
College High School, St. Joe’s Prep, and Archbishop Carroll have the The wrestling team is approaching the end of their regular
team in excellent position in a season that seems to have them season with several medals from tournaments. Regan
destined for a return to the playoffs. Congratulations to Senior Robert Loughney took 5th at the Howdy Duncan Tournament, 3rd at
Smith on joining the Lancers’ 1,000-point club! The team, led by the Ralph Wetzel Classic, 3rd at the Church Farm
Jamil Manigo ‘20 and Shamir Mosely ‘20, finishes the season with Invitational, and 1st at the Spartan Clash. Eamon Foley took
tough games against Neumann-Goretti (2/2- Home), Bonner (2/7- 5th at the Church Farm Invitational, and Morgan Reser took
Away), and Roman (2/9- Away), so come out and show support! 4th at both the Church Farm Invitational and the Spartan
Clash. Good luck to Lancers Wrestling as they head towards
Girls Basketball: The Lady Lancers have begun their season 0-11, but their postseason over the next two months!
the future is bright for the young team. Led by Senior Captains
Caroline Cunnane and Amiyah Dixon, the team has fought to stay in
some close games. The captains know that their team is still in a
learning curve, but they are confident that their leadership will help
guide the underclassmen for future seasons. The girls continue to play
hard as they work to build skills and knowledge in their young core,
which includes multiple freshman playing at the varsity level.
Regan Loughney wins the match.
Seniors Dixon and Cunnane lead the Lady Lancers Photo cred: Patricia Loughney
Photo cred: Mike Greenberg, head coach
Baseball: The baseball team will be beginning winter workouts soon, Indoor Track has been working very hard this season and
so stay tuned for future announcements and meetings on what is sure have the results to show for it. Taleea Buxton was the runner
to be a competitive season! With more than 10 returning seniors, new up at the Bullis Champion Speed Invitational in the 60m
coaches Dave Collela and Matthew Slutz will have a lot of experience Hurdles. Her time was 8.57. Also, her PR of 7.95 in the 55m
at their disposal when the season begins this March. Hurdles puts her at #1 in the state! Kendall White has also
made his mark on the state rankings earlier this month,
running a PA #2 and fastest flat track time in PA in the 400m
dash. Make sure to check out the Athlete Spotlight to read
more about Kendall and his season.
A note from the faculty moderator
Dear students, colleagues, and Royal Lancer community,
I am grateful for the opportunity to work with the student staff of The Royalist. In the last issue, I decided to edit and publish a satirical
article about the traditional Christmas service held at the high school. I am sorry for linking a nefarious individual such as 6ix9ine with
the Roman Catholic institution of Bishop McDevitt High School. As moderator and editor, I am sorry to the students and Fr. Chris who
were quoted in the piece as well as the student-author of the piece for putting them in this compromising situation. I forgot one of the
skills of which I pride myself, which is the skill of listening. I did not listen to my inner-professional voice and the voice of the mission of
the High School. Bishop McDevitt Royal Lancers, I am sorry for any offense that might have been taken in the publishing of the piece. I
hope that you continue to value the voice and talent of the student-writers of The Royalist.
The Royalist staff
Siobhán Loughney Caira Flanagan Eric Wilson
Victoria Maloney Bineta Brooks Julia McNally
Luke Emlet William Nguyen Sean Rock
Regan Loughney Sara Ann Stoud Caroline Cunnane
Faculty moderator: Matt Slutz
PAGE 4
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