New England
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July 30, 2022
When we last left off, students on the New England High School Summer Program had spent the day contemplating arguments for the existence of God, after which it was time for the afternoon recreation period. The female prefects took most of the girls thrift shopping at the local Salvation Army, where they perused the shelves — some looking for skirts and dresses to wear to class, others competing to find the strangest article of clothing. They also ventured to Target and TJMaxx to get essentials and trinkets, then for coffee. It was a great bonding experience for all the women, who compared their clothing hauls and marveled at each other’s choices.
Meanwhile, back on campus, the men staged a volleyball tournament, while a small group of programmers practiced their performances in Dolben Auditorium for the “The Arts” — the night’s upcoming theatrical production. At dinner in Gould Commons students chatted about the day’s events and made guesses about a “mystery activity” scheduled for later that night.
Then, it was time for The Arts, which kicked off with a staged reading of The Importance of Being Earnest, starring Matthew R. as Jack, Jamie K. as Algernon, Mara C. as Gwendolen, and Maeve C. as Cecily. The audience roared with laughter as Oscar Wilde’s tale of a double case of mistaken identity came to life before their eyes. “The hardest part was trying not to laugh at my own lines, since I’m supposed to be this stuffy old lady,” said programmer Anastasia O., who played Lady Bracknell.
The Importance of Being Earnest
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Next, Women’s Head Prefect Norah O’Brien (’24) narrated a five-minute comedic version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, starring Antonio G. as Romeo and Alisha R. as Juliet. The actors pantomimed the story as dramatically as possible, much to the enjoyment of the crowd.
Finally, the audience was surprised with a guest appearance by the Renaissance Boys, in which five of the male prefects ran up on stage and hammed it up for the crowd, performing a boy-band routine with lyrics about TAC.
After the students exited Dolben Auditorium, they filed over to Olivia Music Hall for an outdoor Stations of the Cross. Fr. Armano guided students around campus up to Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel, stopping at each Station along the way. Programmer Max G. led the group in singing the Stabat Mater between Stations.
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At the prayers’ conclusion, the prefects finally revealed the night’s mystery event — a campus-wide game of Clue! The programmers gathered in Dolben Library and were split into teams of four. The theme was “Early American Revolution,” and Head Men’s Prefect Paul Dinan (’23) explained the game’s premise: The captain of the USS Constitution has been kidnapped and must be found!
Teams traveled around campus to gather alibis from suspects, with prefects playing different characters who presented them with challenges in exchange for clues. Challenges ranged from doing the chicken dance to identifying five different types of trees. When time was up, everyone gathered back in Dolben to make their allegations and identify a winner. As it turned out, Paul himself — playing the captain’s first mate — was the culprit, with fellow prefect Anna Santschi (’24) as his accomplice. The winning team was that of programmers Sebastiano E., Dylan P., Marianna M., and Isabella H. — who will receive a special prize on today’s trip to Boston.
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Tired after the eventful evening, students headed back to their residence halls for Consecration and snacks before retiring for the night. This morning, after early Mass and breakfast, the group gathered in Gould Commons for a quick roll call, then outside to the buses for the trip eastward. By 9:30, they were on their way.
This will be the only Summer Blog post of the day, but check in tomorrow morning to read about the programmers’ Boston adventures!
