Dear MHC Academy Family and Friends,

This month, we anticipate completion of our new Athletic Center. It features both cardio workout machines and strength-building weight equipment. MHC Academy students will be strong and have significant endurance! We expect to host a ribbon-cutting ceremony September 8th at 7 PM, just before the Bonfire begins.

Now that final exams are in the rearview mirror, we can turn our eyes to the road ahead:
  • For our underclassmen, that means preparing over the summer for the upcoming academic year. 
  • For our Administration and staff, the same holds true - we will be working over the summer to ensure an even better school experience for 2023/2024. 
  • For Sr. Brittany in particular, it means establishing our new Advancement & Alumnae Office, focused on engaging our former students to involve them in our mission and our future.
  • For our seniors, it means setting off and establishing themselves at institutions of higher learning across the country. 

Finally, it means transitioning to a new Head of School, Sr. Kelly. I am truly confident in the way she will take the wheel and lead you closer to Christ; I can scarcely wait to see what you all accomplish here together! 

For me personally, it means undertaking a new set of responsibilities. Once again, I ask you to remember me in your prayers - I promise always to hold you in my heart before Our Lord. 

Sincerely,
CLASS OF 2023 GRADUATION
Another great class has joined the ranks of MHC Academy alumnae. We welcomed Fr. Larry Evans as the celebrant for the Baccalaureate Mass and Award Ceremony. He spoke to the graduates about the powerful impact of education and how, as young women, they can be leaders in the world tomorrow. A theme of gratitude of the parents as the first educators was prevalent in both the Baccalaureate Mass and the Graduation. Speeches given by the Salutatorian, Gianna Lamendola, and Valedictorian, Meghan Rydell, gave thanks for their time here and inspired their classmates to seek out a future with hope. This year's Salesian Spirit Award was received by Litzy Sanchez and the high honor of the Golden Scepter was awarded to Giuliana DiBenedetto. We look forward to seeing where the Holy Spirit leads these young women.
8th GRADE GRADUATION
The 8th graders of MHC Academy gathered on the evening of June 9th to take part in the milestone of transitioning from middle school to high school. Memory boards, made by the families of the graduates, filled the narthex of St. Joseph's Chapel to show the journey these young ladies have taken so far. Fr. Charles Lana, presider for the Baccalaureate Mass, reminded the graduates to be thankful for what God has done for them and challenged them to go out to be the salt of the earth for their generation. May God bless these young women on their journey ahead!
ANA MARIA AUXILIUM AWARDS
The recipients of the prestigious Ana Maria Auxilium Award were announced at a school-wide assembly on Tuesday, June 6th. The award is in memory of Ana Maria Baldor-Bunn (1972-2002) who believed “that one should seize and enjoy the moment and make the best of what God lays before you. If you have been wanting to do something with your life, do it now and never delay.” The award is given to a young woman in each grade who:
  • Lives as a good Christian and honest citizen using her gifts and talents in service of others.
  • Shows an active participation in her lived faith in school, church and community.
  • Exhibits a conscientious approach to the academics and activities of Mary Help of Christians Academy.
Congratulations to Heather Budez-Godoy, Emma Ibaria, Emma Pandorf, Isabella Facciola who each receive a full-tuition scholarship for the 2023-2024 academic year!
SCHOOL TRIP
MHC Academy took a school-wide trip to Six Flags Great Adventure on Thursday, May 25th. We celebrated our accomplishments and hard work for the year as we ran around the park and hopped on rollercoasters all day long. What a fun way to end the school year!
NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION
New student orientation at MHC Academy is anything but boring. This year was no different! We welcomed a wonderful array of young women entering all grade levels in the fall. After a day filled with fun activities with their new classmates, Chick-fil-A lunch, bounce houses and ice cream trucks; they left feeling fully immersed and even more excited to be a part of our Mary Help community. 
MAY CROWNING
The Sophomore class took the opportunity to celebrate May Crowning and the Rosary in the new St. Joseph's Chapel this year. They celebrated this Feast of Mary Help of Christians in a variety of languages, leading parts of the Rosary in American Sign Language, Spanish, Italian, Latin, French, German, Russian, and English. Some of these languages reflect the families of our students while other demonstrate what they have learned here at the Academy. During this prayerful experience we can be reminded of a famous quote from the Letters of St. Mary Mazzarello, "While studying the languages of this world, study also the language of the soul with God." Both "languages" were certainly present this feast day for those with ears to hear!
EIGHTH GRADE RETREAT
The MHC Academy 8th graders had the chance to participate in their end of the year retreat, with the theme “Looking Behind and Looking Forward.” The retreat activities helped them to reflect on where they have been as a class and how they can support each other as they move ahead on this next stage of their journey. 
PASTORAL PLAN - JUNE
As the academic year comes to a close we take a look at Community Participation. One student who exemplified this in our Salesian Family of holiness is Blessed Laura Vicuna. A student at the Salesian Sisters school in Argentina, Laura would take the smallest and hardest chores for herself, such as cleaning outdoors in the cold and taking care of the fire in the school room. What was remarkable was when some of her classmates would tease her or make her job more difficult, she never responded with unkind words or a cold shoulder, but sought to continue her work with charity and patience. This won over many of her classmates hearts and helped them to see the power of grace in the life of this young girl. St. Francis DeSales states, there is "nothing so strong as gentleness and nothing so gentle as true strength". Sometimes the small acts that we do in the community that we find ourselves can have a great impacts. The end of the academic year brings us to the end of our pastoral plan but hopefully only the beginning of our living Laudato Si in all the ways that we have looked at it this year.  
SPORTS AWARDS DINNER
The Athletics Program wrapped up their year at our Annual Sports Awards Dinner, which was held at The Tides Estate on May 24th. It was a wonderful night for our student-athletes, parents, families, coaches and administration to come together to celebrate our hard working athletes of 12 teams, across our three seasons. 

DON BOSCO PREP CHEERLEADERS
Our cheer tryouts were held at the end of May for our Varsity Cheerleaders, who cheer for the Don Bosco Prep Varsity Football Team. We had a great turnout for tryouts and the girls are very excited to begin their practices. Bosco's Home Season Opener will be on September 1st. 

ATHLETIC CENTER
Stay tuned for the ribbon cutting of our Athletic Center on Friday, September 8th at 7pm. We'll have cardio and weight-lifting machines as well as a section of turf to allow for indoor practice of field sports.

UPCOMING
Fall Tryouts for Soccer, Tennis, Volleyball and Cross Country will be held on Monday, August 21st. See you then!
MHC Academy
659 Belmont Avenue
North Haledon, NJ 07508
P. 973.850-7467
F. 973.790.6125